Are you planning a playground project for your local community? Is the idea of getting funding a little daunting? Get the whole community involved and start your fundraising today.
Finding the funding for a community playground isn’t always a straight forward task and the demand for investments from external funders is high. When applying for funding, it’s important to make your project stand out and funders often favour groups who have made an effort to start the fundraising themselves. We’ll be talking about where to look for external funding and playground grants next month, in the meantime we’ve put together some of our favourite ideas for involving the local community in helping to raise money for a new playground.
Sponsored Walk
Set up a sponsored walk in your local area and encourage each participant to get a donation for every mile or kilometre they walk. The best part about this event is that as many or as few people as you like can take part - and it’s healthy too! Try setting a challenge for the event too, can the group collectively walk the distance to the top of Mount Everest?
Music Concerts and Competitions
Use a community space to host a music concert, or competition, showcasing the best local talent. You can charge a small amount for tickets to help raise money for the project. The winners could even have the opportunity to be VIP attendees at the new playground’s opening ceremony. You could even extend this idea to a summer music festival. Ask local bands or entertainers to perform and have a long weekend day of music to enjoy with families brining their own picnics and drinks. You could persuade local businesses to supply drinks and get the whole community excited about the new playground.
Fetes and Fairs
A classic fundraising event is a local fete or fair. If your community usually holds fairs or markets, consider adding a stall that is designed to help with the playground funding. If it doesn’t, take this as an opportunity to organise one just for your fundraising. There are lots of fun stalls you could set up including; cake selling, a dunking stall, lucky dip, coconut shy, book sales, cake decorating - the list goes on.
Want more? If you’re planning a new community playground project and need some advice of finding the funding, request one of our new funding guides by emailing sales@playforce.co.uk.