Organizations often need to raise money. Maybe you are hoping to build a new playground for your child's school, pay for a class trip, sponsor a pet at the local orphanage, or get new costumes for the drama department. No matter what you need to raise money for, Halloween has plenty of fundraising opportunities that you can take advantage of. Here are a few fundraiser ideas that you can take advantage of.

Trick or Treat

If the age group raising money is older and trustworthy, you can use trick-or-treating as a way to raise money. Volunteer to take children, younger siblings, or neighbor's children around trick-or-treating. When they ring the bell and ask for candy, ask the homeowner if they would be willing to donate their spare pocket change. Even a little change can add up over several houses, and some people may be sympathetic to the cause and donate more.

This fundraising idea works best if the volunteer stays in neighborhoods where he or she is well known. It can also be helpful if you send around a flier a few days before and carry a special collection box or jar to collect the donations in.

Pumpkin Carving Contests

Pumpkin carving contests can be a great way to raise money. See if a local farm or grocery store will donate pumpkins for the cause. You can then charge for the pumpkins and supplies. Or, have participants bring their own pumpkins and charge a small entrance fee.

You can also have people pay to vote for their favorite pumpkin. Sell tickets or tokens for them to place in a jar in front of their favorites, or have them put money directly in the jar. The pumpkin with the largest amount of money wins.

Keep in mind that you will need a place to carve and display the pumpkins, as well as some sort of prize for the winner.

Halloween Housekeeping

With Halloween taking place in the fall, many people have outdoor work that needs to be done. Plus, with hundreds of little feet tramping through their yards on Halloween night, the morning after can leave lawns looking a little mess.

For a fundraising idea, consider having volunteers go door-to-door and sell Halloween Housekeeping plans. They can offer to do anything from raking leaves to taking down decorations to simply cleaning up candy wrappers and other trash left in the yard. You could choose to have a flat rate, or do it by donations only.

To make sure that you are going to be able to get to everyone on November 1st (or by the end of the following weekend if kids are school-aged) you might consider selling plans ahead of time. Have someone print up a certificate that you can “sell” to the neighbors. You can then plan to go to all of them, or have people call in by a certain date to redeem the certificate. For obvious reasons, this works best if done in your own neighborhoods.

There are plenty of things that you can do over Halloween to earn money for your organization. All you need to do is come up with a plan and put it into action!

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Paul Hulse writes for the Halloween Costumes online retailer InCostume .com. Please visit their site for more information on Teen Costumes