when I was in band we sold stuff from a catalog. I guess it was pretty successful because we did it almost every year. It was summer sausage, cheese spread, candy, etc. One year we did a car wash and I guess it didn’t do as well because we were back to the catalog sells the next year. We also sold pizza’s one year and it didn’t do too well(so I would suggest not doing anything like that). I’m trying to come up with fundraising ideas myself. I was thinking something like some kind of candy bar sells. I know there were kids that always sold them every year at school (don’t remember what it was for) and they seemed to do really well.
You’d be surprised how much a snow cone stand can make. That requires as few as 4-5 people.
Let me explain a little more… (sorry it was late last night and I wasn’t thinking about it too much 
First: I should mention we aren’t a youth group… we are the former members (we have to be at least 18 to attend, so most of us are in college)
We are trying to raise ~$4000 for each member, and we leave in the summer of 2016. We have to make $700 payments every other month. Also… I love all of the ideas and really want to use them… but (at least here) we have a ton of snow:) )
Thank you guys so much, I am horrible with ideas sometimes, and our leader is a bit crabby sometimes about us coming up with more ideas. (She is really just worried about the money and doesn’t want us to have to pay for so much of it.
Auctions are good, too. You don’t say what the size of the community is, but businesses are usually happy to put together a donation basket of goods from their store (or services) that you can auction off at a gala fundraiser event.
I’m still not clear on your goal. You’re trying to raise money for a trip? Are you a non-profit? If you could give us a clearer picture of your situation it would really help. Your local library should have a lot of books on fund raising. Also a Google search “best fundraising ideas” should return about 6 jillion hits. Frankly, it sounds like your group is clueless in this area.
I tried google, but I value the opinions of real people more, which is why I’m here and not searching google still. We are from a church, so yeah, of course non-profits. I live in Bay City, Mi. This isn’t the only fundraiser we have done or even have planned.
Thank you, but I really don’t appreciate being called clueless. I believe you have left the name calling board. Check your web history
Our grocery store has baggers on staff, so that wouldn’t fly… but they have a grocery gift card sale program where your organization buys the cards at, say, 95 dollars, but the face value is 100.00. You sell them for the 100.00, and keep the 5.00.
I don’t know the details of what’s required or what organizations may participate, and I presume you have to front the 95 dollars per card, so it doesn’t work well for small-budget groups, but as an ongoing thing it might be an idea.
My son’s Boy Scout troop sells discount cards for a pizza chain. They buy them for 5.00, sell them for 10.00, and the purchaser gets 2-for-one pizzas (pickup only, not delivery) fora year.
Near us, there’s a facility that hosts events (basketball games, circus performances, etc.) and members of some groups can work concessions and the money is banked for their use - my daughter’s Girl Scout troop did that to raise money for an overseas trip. Re snow: how about a snow-shovelling business?