Whether you're raising funds for a favorite charity, a trip to camp, or a pilgrimage; the best church fundraisers are quick, easy, and most of all: fun!

The best fundraisers have two things in common: minimal preparation and maximum fun. Here are nine easy and entertaining fundraising ideas:

Family Night Out

This quick-and-easy fundraiser starts with a pot-luck dinner of donated food. A family movie, complete with popcorn, is enjoyed after dinner. Tickets are sold in advance for planning purposes but can also be sold at the door for a higher price. Families pay a modest sum for "dinner and a movie" and the whole family gets a night out.

Kids Night Out

Fundraising teenagers provide fun activities to kids ages 7-12 for several hours on a weekend night for a modest fee. Kids have a safe and fun outing and parents have some "couple time." If enough adults are on board, you may want to lower the minimum age to 4 or 5 years old in order to include younger siblings and appeal to more families.

Sidewalk Carnival

You can hold this event in the parking lot after church on a sunny weekend. Borrow a popcorn cart, have high school kids steam donated hot dogs and pour donated drinks into donated cups (ask local supermarkets for donations) while middle school kids run the game booths. Kids from all age groups brainstorm ideas for the games and booths, and bring their own supplies. Kids can make crafts to sell or set up games to play for a fee. Carnival goers pay for food, drinks, and games/activities.

Biblical Market

The market can be set up indoors. Kids dress in Biblical costumes and create their own booths to sell unleavened bread, figs, "manna" (a sweet unidentifiable confection) and other foods or items (real or imagined) from Bible times. A photo booth is fun if someone has an instant camera ("Get your Picture Taken with Moses/ Elijah/Isaiah/John the Baptist....")

Dinner Theater

Middle- and high-school kids perform a play or a series of skits for guests. The menu can be a simple and inexpensive soup-and-salad. Younger kids can set up the tables and act as servers by filling water glasses and bread baskets.

Bottle Drive or Penny Drive

For a quick and simple fundraiser, these are amazingly successful. Divide a neighborhood into sections and send teams (with adult chaperones) to knock on every door in their assigned area, collecting pennies or returnable bottles and cans (bottles and cans are brought to a redemption center and exchanged for cash). Encourage competition: for example, the losing team serves and cleans up after the victory potluck dinner. Bottle and penny drives work well when they are done in one marathon day of knocking and gathering; this keeps the energy and enthusiasm high.

Camp-a-Thon

This can be either and indoor or an outdoor event. Campers get pledges for silly things... like a dollar for every hour they stay awake or a quarter for every hour their flashlight battery lasts, or a certain amount for every perfectly toasted marshmallow.

Plant a Memory Plant Sale:

Kids can grow a flower/herb/vegetable plant in a small pot and sell the grown plants along with a small packet of seeds. Encourage purchasing parishioners “plant the seeds” for kids to "grow a memory" at camp, on their trip, etc. Seeds may be donated by a business or purchased wholesale/tax exempt.

Bread-of-Life-a-Thon

This is a great idea for older kids (especially teens). Ask parishioners or parents to donate ingredients and have the kids knead and bake bread all Saturday night then sell the fresh bread on Sunday after church. To entice the congregation to buy the fresh loaves fo bread, toast some samples to serve at coffee hour.

Fundraising empowers kids to work as a group for a common cause, and giving kids the satisfaction of succeeding together is what fundraising is all about.