In thousands of small towns and cities, volunteer fire departments serve as more than just emergency responders. They’re the hub of parades for events, like the Fourth of July or a pancake breakfast. However, their most important role is showing up when you need them, but their gear takes money. So, these heroes typically have to do a fire department fundraiser.
Breathing apparatus, hoses, ladders, fire clothing, and other gear are expensive. Unfortunately, most volunteer departments can’t rely reliably on municipal funds. So, they hold a fire department fundraiser to raise money and also serve as hubs for their communities. A well-run fundraiser closes the funding gap.
What follows are 10 fire department fundraiser ideas starting with one that asks the least from your community.
Why Volunteer Fire Departments Need Fundraisers
Fundraising for volunteer fire departments isn’t a nice-to-do, but a standing budget item on volunteer firefighter calendars. Inflation has only accelerated the costs of the essential gear they need to serve their communities. Add to that annual recertification training, maintenance, communications upgrades, etc., and with cuts in government funding, fundraising is essential.
While grants are available in some areas, volunteer organizations need to remain on the lookout for fire department fundraising ideas. The following is the easiest and best one!
1. Our Favorite Fundraising Idea for Volunteer Fire Departments: A Shoe Drive Fundraiser
At the top of the list of fire department fundraiser ideas is a shoe drive fundraiser. Why? Well, it asks the least from your community during inflationary times of great uncertainty. There’s no need for anyone to open their wallets or sell any merchandise. Instead, the volunteer fire department collects gently worn, used and new shoes from the community.
The shoes collected in your community have a value in the reuse economy. In short, instead of allowing most families to have them at home in storage or hidden in closets (i.e., gently worn, used and new shoes), your volunteer fire department can become a central shoe drop-off location. And if you partner with schools, libraries, local retail stores, they can raise funds for your fire department.
Sustainability is appealing to broader audiences, and they can make a meaningful contribution to your fire department fundraiser simply by donating shoes. By now, you may wonder how you earn the funds, and it’s simple. Funds2Orgs issues you the payment for all the shoes you collect, and the more you collect, the more you earn.
9 More Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser Ideas
A shoe drive fundraiser is a great option you can pair with one or two of the following. These nine fundraising ideas will help you round out your firefighter calendar.
2. Chicken BBQ Fundraiser (& Grill Safety Day)
A chicken BBQ fundraiser is a staple because it’s inexpensive to run and scales. Another reason is that people want to show up for food and community. They’ll pay to attend this fundraiser, and if you add other add-ons, such as grill safety, grease fire response, and proper extinguisher use. In other words, you can do a fundraiser and a public safety service.
3. Firehouse Tour and Open House
Another great fundraiser that will get your community involved is a firehouse tour. It costs almost nothing to run, and it’s an opportunity to connect with the locals. For this fundraiser, you can charge a fee for the tour, let kids sit in the trucks, and run demonstrations. This event pairs well with a shoe drive fundraiser to boost your earnings.
4. Firehouse Auction
An auction is not just for other organizations. It’s an excellent fire department fundraiser. You can hold a silent or live auction (or both) featuring donated and sponsored items from local businesses and individuals. Auctions are also a great opportunity to ask for volunteers to help you get items, be an auctioneer, etc.
5. Firefighter Calendar
A lot of people are going analog, and a firefighter calendar, printed on demand, can help you in two ways. It can raise funds for your firehouse through local business sponsors and promote it. To increase sponsorship demand, give a business a feature for each month of the year.
6. Firehouse Merchandise Sale
Have you ever thought of doing a merch sale? T-shirts, hats, branded office supplies, or even children’s toys with your logo are walking advertisements for your fire department fundraiser. To get the biggest bang for the buck, so to speak, promote it on local community apps, groups, and within your community (e.g., schools, community, and sports centers).
7. Community Safety Fair
Your firefighter calendar for the year should include a community safety fair. It’s sure to draw in families looking to protect their loved ones. You can do car seat checks, fire extinguisher demonstrations, and share information on what people should do in case of…Plan a weekend day and promote it in all your community groups and through organizations.
8. Firefighter Fitness Challenge
Fitness challenges are great fire department fundraising ideas. One approach is to challenge people in your community to try a scaled-down version of the test for firefighters. Partner with gyms and health facilities to secure sponsorship, and ask participants to contribute. People will love the dummy carries, stair climbing with gear, and hose drags.
9. Adopt-a-Hydrant
When you ask your community to adopt-a-hydrant, residents and business sponsors financially support your efforts with a recurring donation. They can also commit to maintaining a specific hydrant, such as clearing snow and keeping it visible in case firefighters need access.
10. Firefighter for a Day
Our final item on the list of fire department fundraiser ideas is a firefighter-for-the-day. You can auction this off for a ride-along, a station tour, or a day at the station. You can auction it off several times a year and pair it with another fundraiser, such as a shoe drive, to generate more buzz. This idea is sure to generate interest.
Tips for Hosting a Successful Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser
Now let’s get to some quick tips to ensure that any fundraiser you choose will be successful.
- Promote it early (about four to six weeks out from the fundraising start).
- Use platforms such as local Facebook groups, NextDoor, schools, universities, and local businesses to sponsor your fundraiser and/or to spread the word.
- Don’t forget your local newspapers.
- Pair a low-effort fire department fundraiser, such as a shoe drive fundraiser, with one that takes a bit more effort.
- Ask local businesses for in-kind donations, including food, auction items, and even printing.
- Finally, don’t forget to update your community on your fundraising goal and success, what you did with the funds, and thank your supporters publicly.
3 Key Takeaways
It’s important to remember that volunteer fire department fundraisers share three things in common:
- Fundraisers should be low-cost or with no out-of-pocket costs such as with a shoe drive fundraiser.
- They should ask just something small from most people.
- The fundraisers should give the community a reason to show up in support of the firehouse.
A shoe drive fundraiser tic those three things. If you’re curious as to whether it’s a fit for your department, get started with Funds2Orgs.
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