If you need assistance with funding your contribution to house costs or the cost of your personal trip, try some of the following fund raising ideas (we have included what people have told us they have raised per event FYI)

Charge a cover charge, get someone to teach Salsa, eat Mexican food and decorate the venue in a Latin theme. Tell people what you are going to be doing on the trip, and you might get other donations. One person raised $3400 from a Latin night.

Tell them what you are going to be doing. They may write an article on you before the trip (with an appeal for funding) and after the trip, where you can tell everyone what happened on the trip.

Invite your friends, and their friends, and their friends to come along to a movie. Tell people it’s a fundraiser, charge more than the ticket price, and then before the movie starts, spend 5 minutes telling everyone what you will be doing and how they can help you. Most movie theatres have a fundraising package. One person raised $2200 by selling the tickets to a 220-seat theatre at $10 profit

Let them know what you are going to be doing – they may have some people who want to sponsor you on the trip.

Go to local businesses or artists and tell them what you are doing. Ask them to donate goods (eg a painting, jewellery etc) or services (eg free hotel night etc) and then auction them off on the night. Promote the auction to local businesses, your church or community group and your friends. Serve chips and salsa, and play Latin music. Spend 5 minutes telling everyone what you will be doing in Mexico on the auction night. One group raised $10,000 from their auction.

Log on to a confectionary company’s website and search for their fundraising section for more details.

Some department stores allow you to cook and sell sausages outside the front entrance to their stores. Check with your local department stores to see whether you can book a Saturday slot for a sausage sizzle. One person raised $1300 one Saturday and $700 another.

Find a farmer willing to donate some trees then you cut them down and chop them up into firewood – one group made $40,000 doing this!

Often major retailers require extra help during stock taking periods (generally end March/start of April, and end of June/start of July) and welcome your request to help out. One retailer was offering $800 for a nights stocktaking (team of 20 volunteers for 4 hours)

Design up a tee shirt and sell it for a profit to friends, family, local schools etc. You could also list it for sale on the internet (eg Trademe or Ebay)

Approach several fashion retailers to see whether they would support you in a fashion show by providing clothes. Get your friends to be models, rent or borrow a community venue, sell tickets at say $10 or $20 per ticket, promote through your local community newspaper and community groups.

Some Real Estate agents will donate a sum of money to a charity of your choice when they sell your home. FundMAX donations can be as high as $500 from the commission.

Approach your friends and family to get their unwanted items and list them for sale on the internet (take photos of the items as this works best so that people know what they are buying).

Approach your friends and family for their unwanted items, advertise your Saturday garage sale in your local newspaper and be prepared for an early start in the morning!

Approach your friends and family for their unwanted items, advertise your Saturday garage sale in your local newspaper and be prepared for an early start in the morning!