Holding a bazaar can be an excellent way to interact with your community and raise money for a cause or organization. No matter how many or few stalls you have available, your bazaar fundraiser can be a success with careful planning and lots of creativity.
Food and Drink
![Sweet treats are a fail-safe bazaar food item.](http://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/360x200/s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/contentlab.studiod/getty/cache.gettyimages.com/51d7cdd4c77241c5a93fc42918c7d5e3.jpg)
Buy marshmallows, assorted fruits and a chocolate fountain. Use craft-store wooden sticks to make a variety of kebabs and sell them. Charge an extra dollar to dip them in the chocolate. Set up a cake stall and sell slices of different kinds of cake. Arrange a couple dozen jars of different kinds of candy. Charge $5 to fill a cup with as much candy as desired. In winter, put up a stall for hot drinks, such as cocoa, hot tea and coffee. In summer, sell punch, lemonade and sweet tea.
Raffles and Quick Contests
![Raffle tickets are cheap and can yield big profits.](http://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/360x200/s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/contentlab.studiod/getty/cache.gettyimages.com/822bb845429c4957922f246158bbfd6f.jpg)
Canvas your community businesses and solicit donated merchandise to use as prizes. Sell raffle tickets at the entrance, and have volunteers walking around to sell more. Give away a door prize every 15 minutes so that people stay interested. Give away a "big" prize, such as a flat-screen TV, at the end of the day. You could also hold a five-minute contest every half hour. Play a short song clip and challenge attendees to identify it, or ask a sports trivia question. Turn this into a fund-raiser by requiring attendees to purchase a special ticket to be eligible to enter.
Games
![Ask poker players to donate part of their winnings to your organization.](http://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/360x200/s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/contentlab.studiod/getty/cache.gettyimages.com/bc4dd7e6d7f04c9cad71997846951353.jpg)
Set up classic games at your bazaar, such as a milk bottle ring toss or balloon darts, and charge participants a dollar per try. Put up a small stage and hold your own version of trivia game shows such as "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" or "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" Charge each entrant five dollars. You could also rent professional card tables and have a poker game. Or, fill a bucket with water and place a quarter at the bottom. Give a prize to whoever successfully lands a dime on top of it.
Other Fund-raising Ideas
![Auction the cleaning services of a local youth group.](http://img-aws.ehowcdn.com/360x200/s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/contentlab.studiod/getty/cache.gettyimages.com/7c5a56f7be884ecf91b649724f647482.jpg)
Set up a hoop and hold a basketball shoot-out. Charge each entrant a dollar. Solicit donated merchandise from local vendors and hold a silent auction. Create a team treasure hunt with clues all over the grounds of your bazaar. Charge each team an entry fee. Stick large lollipops, some with painted bottoms to indicate they're winners, into a bucket of sand. Charge a dollar for a pull. If a winner is pulled, give away a small prize.
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Writer Bio
Kate Bradley began writing professionally in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in international studies and a minor in German from Berry College in Rome, Ga; TEFL/TESOL certification from ITC International in Prague; and a Master of Arts in integrated global communication from Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga.