Host an Event

Hosting an event is a wonderful way to raise money for JF&CS. To get started, review our Event Hosting Guide. This handy how-to is intended for individuals and organizations who want to offer a donation to JF&CS from the proceeds of a fundraising event, activity, or a cause-related-marketing promotion.

Once you have a plan for your event, please complete our Host an Event form.

If you’re not sure what type of event to hold, feel free to take inspiration from the following tried-and-true fundraisers:

• Bake-off: Run a traditional bake sale but spice it up with a little friendly competition. Assemble a panel of judges and have competitors in the bake-off submit their desserts for review. Charge for admission and/or sell the baked goods to help support JF&CS.
• Car Wash: Grab friends, family members, fellow students, teammates, or colleagues and host a car wash with proceeds going to JF&CS.
• Fantasy Sports: Encourage people in your network to join a fantasy sports league and set aside a portion of everyone’s entrance fee for JF&CS.
• Garage Sale: Sell your unwanted clothes, furniture, books, and gadgets with all or a portion of the proceeds donated to JF&CS.
• Spin/Yoga: Ask your local spin/yoga studio to hold a special fundraising session, with a portion or all of the class fee donated to JF&CS.

Raising money for JF&CS can make your next special occasion even more meaningful. Instead of presents, invite family and friends to make a gift to JF&CS to celebrate birthdays, graduations, bar/bat mitzvahs, anniversaries, or other special occasions.

Once you know the details for your celebration, please fill out our Special Occasion form.

When you invite your guests to your celebration, remember to mention that you are soliciting donations in lieu of gifts! Feel free to adapt the sample invitation below for your needs.

Sample Text for an Invitation

Sophie’s Birthday Party

Sophie has opted for a “no gifts” party. She would love it if anyone who is able would instead please make a donation to Jewish Family & Children's Service. JF&CS provides service to more than 14,000 clients in need in our community, supporting their basic needs and helping them pursue their purpose in life.

Please visit www.jfcsboston.org/SophiesBirthday to help ensure that others in our community have the healthy food they need to feed their families. Thank you so much!

If you’re active on social media, creating a virtual campaign can be a phenomenal way to encourage your network to support JF&CS.

Before launching your campaign, be sure to fill out our Virtual Fundraiser form, so we can send you our social media toolkit.

Here are a few tips for fundraising via social media:

• Create a fundraiser on Facebook. Facebook has a built-in fundraising feature that makes asking for donations a breeze. For more information, check out our step-by-step guide to setting up a Facebook fundraiser.
• Provide regular updates. Keep your connections up to speed on developments in your campaign by posting updates every few days. Keep these posts short, cheerful, and encouraging to motivate more people to donate. To help get you started, JF&CS will provide sample social media posts for your campaign.
• Diversify your platforms. Facebook and Twitter are popular and widely used, making them strong places to start, but they’re not your only options! Take advantage of the features and formats offered by different platforms, like sharing pictures on Instagram. Remember that your networks will be inspired in different ways to give.
• Remember links on Instagram. Looking for an easy way to engage your Instagram followers? If you’re using Instagram, you can provide a link to our donate page in your bio (JF&CS will provide a custom link for your campaign). Links can also be added to individual posts, but they will not be clickable.

We are honored to work with you as you plan for your Mitzvah Project. It’s important that you choose a cause you care about. JF&CS serves a wide range of people with different needs and our Mitzvah Project options reflect that, so we hope you can find a cause here to support.

View a list of options below or let us customize the right project for you by contacting us at volunteers@jfcsboston.org or 781-693-5007.

Use Your Project to Help

• People Experiencing Food Insecurity
• Older Adults
• Holocaust Survivors
• Basic Needs
• CHAI Services