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Since the AAHS has limited staffing, it can be, at times, difficult for us to handle large groups of volunteers under our direct supervision.  Not to say that we do not desperately need your help.  Your help can most effectively be used if your group is able to be self-directed.   Here are a few examples of fundraisers that you can do that would be a big help, along with some other things we are currently in need of:

• E-philanthropy-AAHS works with FirstGive to create webpages for each person.  People then send their personalized WebPage to their friends and families asking them to sponsor an effort.  This is great for people who do not like to directly ask for donations because it takes the face to face rejection out of the equation.
  Here is a sample of a page.  http://www.firstgiving.com/crystalschultz
  If you are interested in this as a fundraiser go to www.firstgive.com to set up your page.
• A Sale-Ask 2-5 friends to help with a bake sale, book sale, or garage sale. You and your friends bake the goodies, or get the books or the other stuff required for the sale, staff it, and help clean up afterwards. This is an excellent way to get people involved in fundraising without ever actually asking them for money.
• Have a Party:  Have a fancy dinner or fun party.  Charge people $20 to get in.
  Spaghetti Dinner or Spay-ghetti Dinner (get it?)-Host a spaghetti dinner at a church or union hall or other big room with a large kitchen.
• Change for Change-Ask all your friends, family, and classmates to save all their change for 3-5 months.  Then cash it in and donate the money.
• The farm out method-The Farming Out Method: Entice 5 friends to sell 100 raffle tickets each, or to raise $100 however they like. Share this list of suggestions with them. Give them a nice dinner at the successful end of their efforts (or a bottle of good wine, or a weekend away).
• Host a movie night, it can be fun and educational. Invite friends, family, neighbors, sororities, and classmates to watch your favorite animal movie (Like Babe, Lady and the Tramp,  or Finding Nemo or one of my favorites Because of Winn Dixie). Make animal-friendly snacks to enjoy with the show (Animal Crackers, Goldfish). Ask attendees to bring an "admission fee" of donations or supplies from the AAHS Wishlist. 
• Hold a yard sale.  Yard sales are a great way to clean out items from your house you no longer need and help animals at the same time. It could be a School Yard Sale where everyone is asked to bring stuff they no longer need or want and all the sales go to the AAHS.  Ask parents, friends, teachers and neighbors to donate items
  to your yard sale.
• Trick or Treat for Wishlist items-send out a flyer to everyone in your neighborhood that you will be "trick-or-treating" for the Athens Area Humane Society and what day you will be around to pick up their donations, don't forget to list suggested items to donate. (This doesn't have to be in October, you can come up with another creative name)
• Helping in the classroom- Volunteer to help younger students with their reading, and read a story about people helping animals.
• Helping in your community- Do you know an elderly person or someone sick who has a pet? Volunteer to help feed, walk or bathe the person's dog, or change kitty litter. Your help may enable someone to keep a pet they might otherwise have to send to a shelter.
• Create a bulletin board for your school or library with pictures of adoptable animals.
• Make posters for the neighborhood about taking care of animals, spaying and neutering, adopting older animals, and everything that is involved in taking care of a pet. Ask permission to put these up in stores, veterinarians' offices, or on community bulletin boards.
• Our Recycling Container for aluminum cans needs to be rebuilt.  We have had cans stolen even though we have a lock.  It is getting pretty old too. It is at the shelter if you need a look.  If you are comfortable with some construction.  It needs to be something that people can easily put cans in but not so easy to get them out but still have access for us to retrieve the donations.
• Create lesson plans for the AAHS Advocates to go to school and teach the students about spay/neuter, responsible pet owenership, importance of ID tag, etc.

Good luck and let us know if you have any questions or other ideas.  You can email our Special Projects Manager at denise@athenshumanesociety.org for any questions.

Important things to remember: 
 
1.)  The above items are just some examples of things you can do.  Feel free to come up with your own unique way to raise funds.
 
2.) This is your fundraiser.  You will be responsible for the organization, production and cleanup.  Make sure you have enough people to accomplish what you plan to do.
 
3.) AAHS will gladly help you by providing a copy of flyers, handouts, and cards that you can print and provide to your team.  

Feel free to look over a our website for ways we are raising money and maybe your group could help promote something.  www.AthensHumaneSociety.org  Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help getting started.