MESSAGES LOG IN EXPLORE HELP US EDIT Home » Categories » Finance and Business » Fundraising and Charity Article Edit Discuss Edit Article How to Run a Dinner Fundraiser Edited by Teresa, RMunsonNJ, Tryme2, Anugal and 2 others Dinner fundraisers are a great way to bring the community together to raise money for a good cause. The following steps help make organizing the event easier. Steps Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 1.jpg 1 Read “Set up a Fundraising Event.” Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 2.jpg 2 Determine your menu. A simple and popular menu is spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and drinks. 3 Consider including a table of donated desserts that are “sold” for donations of any amount. This has several advantages: It raises more money for your event Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 3Bullet1.jpg It allows people who cannot be at the event to volunteer by baking foods ahead of time. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 3Bullet2.jpg It is simple to run and will probably get more donated money than a regular bake sale. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 3Bullet3.jpg Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 4.jpg 4 Decide if other events will be run with the dinner, such as fundraising games or a silent auction. Google “fundraising games” or specific games, such as “50-50” to get ideas for these.) Determine if entertainment will be part of the evening. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 5.jpg 5 Make a list of eating utensil supplies. Guess how many people you think will show up and buy more than that. Buy from a store with a generous return policy. If you don’t want to use disposable supplies, make sure you have adequate dishwashing facilities and volunteers. If you go with disposable, make sure you have adequate garbage bags, cans, and facilities. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 6.jpg 6 Make a list of food needed. Make sure you have enough refrigerator space for anything that needs to be kept cool. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 7.jpg 7 Brainstorm about other needed supplies, such as paper towels, and make a list. Go through the whole event in your mind and consider supplies and items for cooking, serving, and cleaning up. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 8.jpg 8 Find a store near your event that will be open during the event for emergency supply runs. If the store requires a membership, make sure you have a member available to make runs to that store during the event. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 9.jpg 9 Recruit and organize volunteers. If possible designate people in charge of each crew (set up, kitchen, pay table, serving tables, cleanup). If possible, have those crew leaders determine responsibilities for each volunteer. Volunteers need (and want) clear, simple instructions on what to do. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 10.jpg 10 Make a list of volunteer jobs with descriptions (if needed) and a place to note the people who have signed up for each job. People often volunteer at the last moment. A list makes it easier to tell them where and how they can help. Don’t worry too much if your cleanup crew lacks volunteers. There will be people hanging around at the end of your event. Just announce that helpers are needed to clean up and direct them to the person in charge of the cleanup. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 11.jpg 11 Solicit donated desserts a few days in advance, if you plan to have a “bake sale.” Have your bakers put portion-sized desserts on disposable plates covered with plastic wrap. Have disposable plates and plastic wrap available for people who forget to do that. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 12.jpg 12 Figure out what you plan to do with leftover food from the event. Prepared or opened things can’t be returned. Refrigerated items probably also cannot be returned or might be accepted and then tossed. (The store cannot assume the items were refrigerated properly.) Options for leftover food include giving it to volunteers, leaving it for the next fundraiser (if appropriate), or donating it to a food bank, local shelter, or soup kitchen. In any case, you will need containers for storing prepared food. If nothing else is available, consider getting some large heavy-duty baggies for this. (You may need boxes or something similar to carry several of these.) Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 13.jpg 13 Prepare two to three hours before on the day of the event. You will need the time not only for setting up but also to allow for any mistakes. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 14.jpg 14 Designate someone who is willing to go to the store to buy forgotten items. If you are buying foods at a warehouse store that requires a membership, make sure that person has a membership. In addition, make sure that person has a cell phone and that a key person at the event has that number. After they have left for a supplies run, you’ll surely find something else that needs to be picked up. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 15.jpg 15 If you’re making pasta, heat the water early. It takes a long time to get a huge pot of water to the boiling point. One option is to make some noodles early, toss them with olive oil to keep them separated, and keep them warm in a Crock-pot or other heated serving appliance. If you are cooking pasta, one of the hardest things to do is getting the water hot. If you planned to use a new pot of water each time, but are getting overwhelmed, consider using the same pot of water for more than one batch of pasta. It is not how pasta is supposed to be cooked, but you do not want hungry people waiting around for an hour. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 16.jpg 16 Have someone designated for kitchen cleanup. Once things get started cleaning will need to be done continuously. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 17.jpg 17 Set up your serving areas and eating tables and chairs. Consider taping banquet roll (disposable tablecloth) to the tables. Your layout should be flexible in case you get more people than expected and need to move things around. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 18.jpg 18 Consider if some seasoning, such as salt and pepper, work better at the eating tables than at the serving tables. For example, if you are serving pasta, consider putting small containers of Parmesan cheese at the eating tables. (Even simple drinking cups filled with cheese work well.) Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 19.jpg 19 Make sure garbage cans are scattered around the room, especially if you use throwaway plates and utensils. In addition, make sure each garbage can has some extra bags in case one or more needs to be emptied during the event. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 20.jpg 20 Prepare coffee and other drinks as early as reasonably possible. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 21.jpg 21 Set up your dessert “bake sale” table, if you decided to have one. Make a sign to draw attention to the table. Put a donation jar or bucket on the table with a sign explaining what it is and how people should pay. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 22.jpg 22 Set up entry pay tables. This is a good place for a sign to explain for what the event is raising money. Put a donation jar or bucket at this table to make it easy for people to toss in money or checks. Make a sign that tells people who or what to make checks out to. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 23.jpg 23 Once the event starts, make sure someone is monitoring the serving tables and telling the kitchen crew which food items are running low. This is especially important if the kitchen and serving areas are not close to each other. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 24.jpg 24 Make sure someone is checking for spills and full garbage cans. Make sure cleaning cloths or paper towels and extra garbage bags are handy. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 25.jpg 25 Have a volunteer take pictures and/or video of the event. This is especially nice if the event is for someone who cannot be there. Some tech-savvy volunteer could burn a CD or DVD to give to people. Also, consider having a big card made up for attendees to sign, if the event is for a person or family. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 26.jpg 26 After the event, make sure you turn off all ovens, stoves, and anything else you used for heating. When you are getting ready to leave double check that you’ve cleaned out the refrigerator. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 27.jpg 27 Clean up the eating and serving areas and put everything away. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 28.jpg 28 Make sure you properly clean the pots and anything else that needs cleaning. You don’t want anyone getting sick from improperly cleaned items. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 29.jpg 29 Count the money that night or the next day. Keep some aside to pay people who bought things for the event but have not been reimbursed. Deposit the rest in the appropriate account. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 30.jpg 30 In the following days, return any items you borrowed. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 31.jpg 31 If a volunteer did take pictures or video, make sure those get distributed. Run a Dinner Fundraiser Step 32.jpg 32 Thank everyone who helped. Send thank you notes out via email and/or phone. Send a thank you letter to the local newspaper. Add your own method 1. Save Tips If you have pasta, try to get a large propane burner built for heating large pots. They need to be used outside, but they heat water quickly. Consider cooking some noodles shortly before the event starts, then toss them with vegetable oil and keep them warm in a Crock-pot or similar heated serving dish. Buy painter’s tape for taping signs or other things to walls. Painter’s tape is much less likely to pull off loose paint or plaster. Buy small cups. People can always come back for more, but large cups will result in more waste. Also, consider buying a large quantity of insulated cups for all drinks. Insulated cups are not needed for cold drinks, but fewer types of cups makes things simpler. The menu does not have to be anything fancy. One example is pre-made tomato sauce with meatballs (which can be purchased frozen and then thawed), garlic bread (slice French bread loaves and spread with pre-mixed garlic bread spread), a simple salad (mix iceberg salad mix with coleslaw mix), and drinks. In addition to a “bake sale,” you can also get people to bake fancy desserts, such as pies or cakes, and sell them using an outcry auction. You may need to put drip pans or buckets below drink dispensers. Be prepared for this. If you do, you will probably need to tape the drip pans to the floor, as they will probably be bumped out of place. Warnings If you decide to hold other events in conjunction with the dinner, be careful not to overload your evening and burn out your volunteers. Things You'll Need Cooking and serving items (some may be available from the facility you are using) If you have pasta: really large pots for cooking pasta, a large colander for straining the noodles, and heated serving bins or crock pots for sauce and noodles Serving bins, trays, and utensils to deal with large amounts of food Plates, silverware, napkins, and cups (hot drinks need insulated cups) Garbage bags A large coffee urn Insulated drink dispensers for water and mixed drinks (like the kind athletes dump on coaches after winning a game) Drip pans or buckets for drink dispensers Kitchen cleaning supplies (if not supplied) Paper towels and/or cleaning rags Salt and pepper shakers for individual tables. Colored paper, pens, markers, and tape for making last-minute signs. Baggies and boxes or something similar to deal with leftover cooked food List of volunteer jobs Plastic wrap and disposable plates to package portion sizes of large desserts, if you have a dessert table Paper for making lists for last-minute supply runs Cell phone to call your last-minute supply runner for last-last-minute supplies Banquet roll (disposable table cloth) for tables Tape to secure banquet roll to tables and to hang up signs Jars or buckets with signs for donations Lock box for cash and checks at entry pay table Information sheet that tells people who to make checks out to Plastic food serving gloves (not latex) Related wikiHows How to Set up a Student Store How to Run a Silent Auction How to Set up a Fundraising Event Article Info Categories: Fundraising and Charity Recent edits by: Jeff, Anugal, Tryme2 Discuss Print Email Edit Send fan mail to authors Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 43,568 times. Was this article accurate? 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