We love the mission behind Speed the Light, and we are so excited to give some creative ideas for raising money.
First, we have seen great success with our bottle drop fundraiser. We decided to donate all the proceeds from the bottles and cans our church collected for May. We also had several students get together and go out to collect cans in their neighborhoods. We raised over $1200, and we are so proud of our kids for their hard work.
Secondly, we had a thought that it would be a great idea to get your Fine Arts students involved by creating prayer journals out of their artwork and photography. You can go online to Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and create a journal for free! Amazon handles all the printing and shipping for a small fee. First, create a profile for your youth group or church on Amazon KDP. Then you can download the students' art pieces into Canva to create the cover and then make lined pages to go along with it. You could add a scripture verse to the cover and, of course, add the student author's name to the bottom. The fee that Amazon charges for a 120 page, 6x9 journal is about $2.57. You could then sell the journal for $12 - $15 and make a nice profit to give to Speed the Light. This idea could even expand to the writers you have in your youth group. Have them create devotionals, or a book of poems partnered with photos from your students who are photographers. It will allow them to use their gifts and minister to others, all while raising money for another ministry!
You can see a full tutorial on how to create your journal by following this link: Amazon KDP Publishing Tutorial Make $300 Per Day Easy Side Hustle
Our last idea is to have your Fine Arts students passionate about theater create and put on a play for the church and community. We have done dinner theater several times in our facility, where we have a stage and a full kitchen. Allow some of your students and youth leaders to prepare and serve food while the theater team puts on the production. All the ticket sales, food, and drink sales could go to Speed the Light! You could even do an intermission where one of the students or a leader could talk about Speed the Light. Have a slideshow running in the background of things that Speed the Light has accomplished, and take an offering to allow people to give toward the cause.