How to Hold a Penny War Fundraiser

Easily raise money for a worthy cause

A penny war fundraiser is a fun and creative way of raising money for your cause. Because of it's friendly competitive nature, this is a fundraiser that will have people talking for weeks, if not longer. The best part is that the losers are the big winners in this type of competition so everyone walks away feeling victorious while never losing sight of their purpose - to raise money for a worthy cause.

*This would be an easy fundraiser to set up to raise donations for Haiti relief. Once donated through a registered non-profit organization that is helping with the Haiti earthquake, it would also be tax deductible for your school or group.

Things You'll Need

• Large glass jar for each group. Recycled pickle jugs work great.
• Paper, glue and markers to decorate each jar.
• Plastic canning jar lids to fit your jar.
• Utility Scissors to cut coin hole in jar lid.
• Calculator or someone good at math.
• Paper to print short list of rules for penny war and tape to surface near each penny jar.

Instructions

1. Decide how long you will be hosting your penny war fundraiser. These types of fundraisers seem to do best when run for a week or less so nobody loses momentum in their competitive streak.

2. Assign one jar per group. If you are not naturally already in groups, such as school classes, create them. This can be as simple as boys vs girls. Your imagination is the limit with this one.

3. Attain a plastic canning jar lid for each jar if the lids are not already plastic. This makes cutting a coin slot hole not only easier but safer for those cutting and those who are placing their hands there to donate. Sand it down if needed.

4. Decorate your jar. You will want it to prominently display both your cause and your team but try to keep as much of the jar publicly transparent as possible so everyone can see your contents.

5. Print the rules out so each group member can learn them as well as having one copy to secure to the surface where the jar is being placed so those not in a group understand what they are donating for as well as how their penny war is being played out. Keep the reason for the fundraiser short but heartfelt.

   The rules are:

   - The most money wins (not necessarily a prize, simply status works here)

   - Pennies count as one cent each as you would expect but silver coins and paper money (including checks) count AGAINST that team. This is where the competitive nature comes into play. Teams can then place silver coin and paper money into their competitors jars themselves.

6. Have someone do the math in counting up the money in each jar and publicly announce the winner as well as the amount raised by each team and as a combined effort. Give everyone a round of applause. Make this announcement as a 'Drum roll please...' type announcement after spending some time discussing your charity or worthy cause.

Tips & Warnings

• Having the representative of your cause present adds to the fun. You may wish to ask them to speak on behalf of your cause as well.

• If you are going to give the winner a prize, have it be something silly or something that will help promote your fundraiser rather than deterring from your cause. This could be as silly as a penny painted gold attached to a neck ribbon like the Olympics or it could be the threat of the losers dressing silly the next day or shaving their heads. Again, imagination is king.

• Start your promotion efforts a week or so before the penny war fundraiser actually starts for the best results.