Ten easy ways to help raise money for the cause

1. Have your office put together a $5 lunch day (either weekly or monthly). Everyone sign up to bring a dish and pay $5 to eat (with all the money going back to RCD). You can even get a ham or turkey from Honey Baked Hams and ask your BIC or firm owner to pick up the cost for the meat!
   
   
2. Have your office host a garage sale with all proceeds going to RCD. Pick a location (parking lot at work, someone’s home, etc.) and have colleagues bring things from home that they no longer want. You can even run an ad for approximately $35 in the Charlotte Observer!
   
   
3. Have the office host a Saturday car wash and charge to wash cars with proceeds going to RCD.
   
   
4. Hold a bake sale! Have Realtors® in your office make baked goods and sell them to colleagues, clients, friends and family. You can make a friendly competition out of this!
   
   
5. Have a Pampered Chef party at the office. Pampered Chef will give a percentage of all sales to your cause (which you can designate as RCD). Go to www.pamperedchef.com for more info.
   
   
6. Have a bucket for donations to RCD at all office functions between now and the project (i.e., sales meetings, Realtor® luncheons or any other company event).
   
   
7. Hold an office raffle. You can ask a local restaurant to donate a gift certificate to be raffled off, with proceeds going to RCD. You could do this weekly or monthly.
   
   
8. Have your office put together a chili cook-off and charge $10 to eat, with proceeds going to RCD.
   
   
9. Have your office organize a pie cook-off and charge $10 to eat, with proceeds going to RCD.
   
   
10. Host a wine and cheese or dessert party! You can solicit donations from the local deli, wine store or dessert shop. Charge $10 a head and then hold a raffle for the extra wine bottles, food, etc. Costco and Trader Joes are both known to donate food.

Fundraising suggestions offered by Cathy Speizman, Realtor® with Dickens-Mitchener & Associates.

For more information about donating to Realtors® Care Day, contact the Canopy Housing Foundation at 704-940-3148 or e-mail crrafoundation@carolinahome.com.