Bring a little life to your fundraiser with tree planting!  This exciting segment of our Go Green Fundraising series highlights fundraising ideas with trees.

Adopt-A-Tree fundraisers are a great way to raise funds, make a difference in your community, and teach your group about the importance of preserving green space.

An Adopt-A-Tree fundraiser is easy to organize.  Here are the steps you would take:

1.  Find a location to plant your trees.  Your city may have an open space, park, or stretch of road in need of some shady trees.  You can also ask schools, libraries and community centers if they would like some trees planted on their grounds.

2.  Choose a day for your tree planting ceremony.  Be sure to give your group at least 2 weeks to collect donations before the ceremony.

3.  Determine the number of trees you can plant in your space.

Note:  If you can’t find a location for several trees, try to find a spot for just one very special tree.

4.  Determine your fundraising goal, and divide it by the number of trees you can plant to determine your “adoption fee”.

Example:  $800 (fundraising goal) / 10 (# of trees) = $80 (adoption fee)

5.  Assign a tree to each group member, or put your members in teams if you have more group members than trees.

6.  Each group member (or team) is then responsible for raising the adoption fee by asking friends, family, neighbors and coworkers for donations.

Note:  Tell your group members to explain to supporters that this is a fundraiser for your group, and that the tree planting is something special you’ll be doing for the community as a thank-you.

7.  On the day of your tree planting ceremony, invite all the “adopters” (supporters) to attend the planting of their “adoptees” (the trees).

At the ceremony, have a member of your group give a brief speech thanking everyone who helped you reach your fundraising goal.  If you’re fundraising with children, have the children sing a song, or recite a poem.  As a special touch, present each of your supporters with an ‘official’ adoption certificate for their tree.  You can create certificates on the computer, or have children design them.

Now, the question you’re probably asking is, “Where do we get the trees?”  Good question.  You can get small saplings (baby trees) from a local nursery, or ask the nursery to donate them.  Be sure to ask the nursery what type of trees are best for your climate, and how to plant and care for them.

If you can’t get the nursery to donate them, include the cost of the trees in your adoption fee.  Here’s how it would work, using the example from above:
 
$800 (fundraising goal) / 10 (# of trees) = $80 + $20 (cost per tree) = $100 (adoption fee)

To raise even more funds, sell refreshments at your ceremony for a small cost.

This is a really easy fundraising idea for summer that is sure to be a big hit with your community, and of course, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that not only did you reach your fundraising goal, you also did something positive for the environment!

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