Valentine’s Day is a month away! Now is the time to begin planning a love-filled fundraiser for COTA in honor of your transplant patient. Here are some ideas for Valentine’s Day fundraisers:
Valentine’s Day Bake Sale. Homemade treats are the perfect gift for a special someone. Ask volunteers or a local bakery to assist with a COTA Valentine’s Bake Sale at work, church, school or at an already-scheduled event. Consider cookies shaped like hearts or the type of organ your patient needs/received.
Dine and Donate. A restaurant night is a simple idea and a great COTA fundraiser. Contact a favorite local restaurant and ask if they would donate a percentage of their sales to your COTA community campaign when diners present a special Valentine-themed event flyer. Remember that restaurants are popular spots around Valentine’s Day, so consider different locations — a favorite local hangout for teens, family restaurants and upscale locations. Make sure to encourage everyone to enjoy a dinner out while raising funds for transplant-related expenses.
Share Love Virally. Implement a social media campaign asking supporters to donate $14 for the 14th to COTA in honor of your patient. When you ask for contributions in oddball amounts (that have significance), supporters are more likely to round up their gift amount.
Paint and Sip. Consider holding a paint night with snacks and drinks that benefits your COTA campaign. Obtain donated art supplies and ask a talented volunteer to lead the painting, or partner with a local Wine & Canvas to host the event and send proceeds to COTA. This can be a great Galentine’s Day outing for the girls!
Valentine’s Day Photo Sessions. Know a local photographer? Ask them to donate their time and talents (which can be receipted with a COTA Gift in Kind Form) for a day of photo sessions. For a donation to the COTA campaign, couples can get special photos taken while benefiting a good cause.
Delightful and Delicious Roses. Often associated with love, roses are a great item to sell as a Valentine’s Day COTA fundraiser. You can offer single roses, a dozen, various flower bouquets … or even delicious chocolate roses. While roses can be purchased at most supermarkets or online in bulk, you might consider partnering with a local florist to provide roses and other flower bouquets. Take advance orders when possible (using a COTA Event Thermometer) and have a central pickup point. In addition to pre-selling your roses, try staking out some high-traffic areas to reach last-minute shoppers. Or perhaps a local florist would donate $1 to the COTA campaign for every dozen roses ordered for Valentine’s Day.
Couples’ Cooking Class. Volunteers who are chefs and bakers can offer a cooking class. Register participants in advance to ensure enough cooking supplies (donated from local grocery stores) and host this tasty fundraiser at a local restaurant, cafeteria, bed and breakfast or school home-ec classroom — wherever you can find some stoves and have space! Or if your volunteers are frozen dinner connoisseurs, ask a local celebrity chef if they would host the cooking class.
Film Series. Seeing a movie is a common date night activity.Work with the local community center, church or other organization to secure an area large enough to host a movie night. Charge for entry and provide popcorn, drinks and candy for additional contributions to COTA. Remember to set a COTA Coin Canister at the concessions stand to collect change.
Tasting and Auction. A wine and/or chocolate tasting event with a silent auction takes the pressure off supporters trying to find a restaurant table on one of the busiest nights of the year. Host the event at a local winery or chocolate shop and ask community businesses for in-kind gifts of items for the silent auction. Supporters will get to enjoy a night out and potentially be able to win a gift for their sweethearts — all while benefiting a good cause.
Valentine’s Cards with a Special Message. A handwritten card or note from a loved one can be treasured for many years. This year, instead of purchasing traditional Valentine’s Day cards, buy blank cards you can find at your local card, office supply or department store. Create a label that can be placed on the front of a blank card with the campaign website link and QR code, a picture of your COTA patient and any other important information about the COTA community campaign. Inside the card write a note to your loved one and update them on your COTA patient’s transplant journey, with a call to action for life-saving contributions. Be sure to send your materials to CampaignInfo@cota.org before printing.
We LOVE hearing your ideas, so please email your plans and photographs of COTA fundraising events to CampaignInfo@cota.org.