Needed: Ideas, suggestions for MONDO fundraising

[TAPat]

I'm talking $350,000 worth here.

Our little UU church (170 years young!) is growing by leaps and bounds and we are in need of more space to expand, especially for good works in the community.

An 8th grader in the congregation has proposed that we buy the building across the street - the super cool old Post Office - and we're all sort of scratching our heads about where to start :freak:

So, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I will pass them along tomorrow.

Thanks in advance helpful DUers!

P.S. - I'm lobbying for an emergencey food bank and a program for GLBT youth :woohoo:

[rosesaylavee]

1. We do

pledges by canvassing, silent auctions, massive church-wide rummage sales, etc. I thought we had the oldest UU in Illinois - appears you beat us by about 8 years. Good luck to you!

[TAPat]

2. Thank you!

We just had our 170th birthday last Sunday. We're in Alton and the beautiful building sits about 3 blocks up the hillside from the river.

A nice GIANT picture for you:

[rosesaylavee]

3. Gorgeous!

Has it always been a UU Church? Maybe that's our claim to fame... Ours started in 1843 as a Unitarian Church and has maintained a continuous membership thru thick and thin since.

[TAPat]

4. Yes - sort of - the building itself

was built in 1905. The church was founded in 1836.

The underground railroad also ran through Alton - nice history here.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

5. Cookbooks!

Really, really classy cookbooks. Our Junior League (of which I was never a member) made about a quarter of a million here on one called Thymes to Remember.

Our church used to rent out tables at a "flea market" where you could rent a table for $25 or $50 and sell your stuff... pulled in a huge crowd and we sold food and stuff.

There is a Greek church in Tallahassee that has a Greek food festival that is amazing, brings in megabucks, and is always very crowded.

How about a jazz festival in a nice park with tables and refreshments? Jazz just seems very UU to me!

That's all I can think about right now.

[TAPat]

6. Thanks Grannie! Yeah, cookbooks...

Although all the ladies who used to cook for the church have now retired from their duties, if you catch my drift...

Seems that I'm taking up the cooking baton, but that doesn't mean that there are not great recipes out there.

Great ideas & thanks again!

Edit: The Reverend does jam with a bluegrass-type band... :think:

[JerseygirlCT]

7. If there are good works in the community to be done with this building

then perhaps there might be grant opportunities to be found from foundations in the area? Worth investigating. You can do some preliminary research at the Foundation Center's website if you like.

Heck, there may even be some national UU foundations out there willing to help. You never know!

And when we've needed to do some capital repairs, my diocese (Episcopal Church) made low-cost loans to our church. We're repaying over time, which makes a big difference. In fact, we just bought a parcel of land next to the church, and are doing the same sort of thinking about what it should be!

Good luck with it all. And your church IS gorgeous!