Every year, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stony Ridge, Ohio, undertakes one major service project. This year’s service project, the Community Rehab Project, involves renovating the home of a local woman in need, according to The Press in Ohio.

To raise $15,000 for the project, St. John’s is hosting multiple church fundraising events—sometimes weekly—to involve as many people and raise as many funds as possible.

One fundraising event, the “Celebrity Serve,” involved local celebrities serving ice cream to town residents. The celebrities, including the church pastor, local politicians and local public figures, were able to raise $450 in tips alone.

As a second event, the church hosted a drive-through chicken barbecue in its parking lot. Combined, the two events raised $2,000, the church reports.

Other events supporting the Community Rehab Project include:

• A book sale during the Stony Ridge Festival

• A spaghetti dinner, where guests dined on spaghetti, coleslaw, desserts and more

• A pie sale

• Several McDonald’s nights, where a portion of the fast-food restaurant’s sales were donated

• A Max & Erma’s night, where a portion of the local restaurant’s sales were donated

St. John’s has hit on an effective way to ensure maximum interaction and participation: By offering a variety of fundraising event options, the church is:

• Speaking to diverse interests and involving many different talents

• Allowing more people to participate since they aren’t limited to one date and one time

• Keeping the charity case top of mind in the community and in the local media

Discover other ideas for how church fundraising events, like those hosted by St. John’s, can take participation and interaction to the next level in “Audience Interaction: The Recipe for Success for Cookbook Signing.”

Posted in Church, IML - Tagged: audience interaction, church fundraising events, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Stony Ridge Festival