Best Practices for the Short Term Mission

Introduction

The following information on organizing and conducting short term missions programs is derived from The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Code of Best Practice in Short-Term Mission is designed to assist organizations in running successful programs.

Their motivation in developing these guidelines was that God is glorified in all that your program strives to do. Not every situation will lend itself to the literal application of each of these suggestions but they are advisable.

The guidelines are based on the underlying core values of commitment to culturally appropriate expressions of lifestyle and ministry activities, a commitment to all the stakeholders in the short-term mission program, such as the participants, sending local church, mission agency, and host church or ministry, to the ideals of partnership and co-operation, and to communication between the stakeholders as early and as fully as possible.

Determine Your Aims And Objectives

  • Have a defined purpose for your program.
  • Have clear and realistic aims and objectives, including how achievable your expectations of the outcomes, and a consideration of how your program serves the long-term objectives of all those involved.
  • Clearly determine the benefits to, and responsibilities of, the participants, the sending organization or local church, and the host organization, missionary, or local church and communicate them to all parties.
  • Develop partnerships when possible with your host organization to agree upon program priorities, task responsibility and ownership, and mutual expectations.
  • Include opportunities for personal and spiritual development throughout the trip for all participants.

Publicity, Selection, and Orientation

Publicity

  • Be as accurate and truthful as possible in making known what participants can expect on the trip and in describing the trip and its objectives to your sending organization.
  • Publicity should clearly represent the ethos and vision of the sending organization. It should not reflect negatively on the host culture or ministry. It should also define the purpose of the program in terms of service, discipleship, and vocation.

Selection

  • The application process, including timeline, all financial obligations, and the use of funds, should be clear and thorough.
  • A suitable selection process should be established, including selection criteria and screening. A pastoral care element should be included, regardless of whether or not the individual is accepted as a short-term participant.
  • It is essential that there is a disclosure of the relevant details concerning the short-term participant between the church, agency, and field.
Yummy Hearts Lollipops

Our Yummy Heart Lollipops virtually sell themselves leading up to Valentine’s Day. But they are also appropriate any time you want to show your supporters love. There’s a 1 case minimum, shipping is free and you will make 50% profit on each Yummy Heart Fundraising Lollipop sold. Each case comes with 640 Yummy Heart Lollipops.

What You Should Know

Yummy Heart Lollipops are the same as all of our other lollipop fundraisers. You will make the same profit no matter how many cases of lollipops you purchase or sell. Sell the lollipops for twice what you pay for them. In other words, you will always double your investment. Here is a quick profit chart for you to review:

Profit and Cost

  • In-hand products
  • Free shipping
  • Start in under a minute
Cases Bought Cost Per Case Profit %
1 min $320.00 50%
Smencil School Fundraisers Image

“What’s a Smencil School Fundraiser?” It’s a cute name and a great school fundraising product. Smencils are scented pencils made from recycled newspapers. They are the perfect fundraising product for schools. Shipped in cases containing 10 buckets, each bucket contains 50 Smencils. Each scented pencil sells for $1. Kids love them making Smecils easy to sell.  Smencil school fundraiser pencils come in two varieties. Regular black lead as well as assorted fun colors. Best of all, shipping is free!

What You Should Know

Profits on Smencil school fundraiser pencils are extremely easy to calculate since you are buying them by the case. Smencils have a 40% profit margin. The retail price is $1 per Smencil. You will make a $200 profit for each case you sell.

 

Profit and Cost

  • In-Hand Products
  • Free Shipping
  • Start in under a minute
Cases Bought Cost Per Case Profit %
1 min $300.00 40%
Bag Garden Fundraiser

Our NEW Bag Garden Fundraiser is a terrific way to raise money in a very earth-friendly fashion. We offer a wonderful selection of herbs, vegetables, and flowers to attract pollinating insects.  Available year-round, this fundraiser has high-profit potential, free brochures, and order forms, and can qualify for free shipping.

What You Should Know

A Bag Garden Fundraiser is like candle fundraisers. Your profit percentage is not affected by the number of orders you take. You get 50% profit, or half the selling price for every item you sell. That means smaller groups make the same profits for selling bag gardens as larger groups.

If you sell less than 150 bag garden items, though, there is a $65 shipping fee. Orders of 150 or more bag garden orders will qualify you for free shipping.

Profit and Cost

  • No upfront cost
  • Free brochures for your participants
  • Free shipping (orders of 150 items or more)
  • Start in under a minute
Items Bought % Profit Free Shipping
150 plus 50% YES
1 to 149 50% No
Yummy Lix Round Lollipops Fundraising

Yummy Lix Round Lollipops are our #1 selling lollipop. They come in an assortment of all your favorite flavors. Yummy Lix Round Lollipops are packaged in cases of 640 pops. Inside the case are 8 packages. Each package contains  80 lollipops. You will make 50% profit selling just one case. Shipping is free!

What You Should Know

Yummy Lix Round  Lollipops offer the same profit regardless of the number of cases that you purchase. Sell the lollipops for two times the cost. Meaning, you double your investment no matter how many cases you purchase. Here is a quick profit chart for you to review:

Profit and Cost

  • In hand products
  • Free shipping
  • Start in under a minute
Cases Bought Cost Per Case Profit %
1 min $320.00 50%
Snackin' in the USA Fundraiser

The Snackin in the USA fundraiser gives you 20 mouth-watering treats to choose from. All products are made from premium quality nuts and candies. It costs absolutely nothing to get started. Simply let us know how many participants you have and we’ll send 1 order-taker for each of them, at no charge.

What You Should Know

Snackin in the USA is a fantastic fundraising program. Easy Fundraising Ideas give you a 50% profit on each and every snack you sell. The only additional charge is a $65 shipping fee if your group sells less than 150 snacks.

Profit and Cost

  • No upfront cost
  • Free brochures for your participants
  • Free shipping (orders of 150 items or more)
  • Start in under a minute
Items Bought % Profit Free Shipping
150 plus 50% YES
1 to 149 50% No
School Fundraiser

School Fundraising Made Easy

If you feel that selecting the best school fundraising idea is a daunting task, don’t worry! Since it seems the gap between school budgets and funding required for extracurricular programs is getting larger every year, the need for profitable school fundraisers is growing.

Sports Fundaising Ideas

Sports Fundraising Ideas That Win

Sports fundraising goes hand-in-hand with playing sports. Whether you are a basketball, football, soccer, or cheerleading organization, we have fundraisers that will score big money for your team.

Church Fundraisers

Church Fundraisers Move the Spirit

Top Church Fundraisers by Group

Non-profit fundraisers

Non-Profit Fundraising for Charity

Top Non-Profit Fundraising Ideas by Group

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Christian Fundraising Ideas

Christian Fundraising Idea

Churches and faith-based schools often come to us asking for good Christian fundraising ideas. Whether they are looking for mission trip fundraisers, school fundraisers or fundraising ideas for other needs, we always suggest they consider a candle fundraiser. This candle fundraiser offers a wonderful selection of options.

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Your Christian organization may be starting the best fundraising program the world has ever seen. You may be raising money for the most worthy cause on earth. But if nobody participates, the fundraiser is a failure. You are left asking yourself where you went wrong; reevaluating your motives and questioning your judgment. The answer? you probably did not advertise.

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Your church is one of the most important places in your community. You attend services there, everyone gets together there, the youth group uses it as a meeting place, and any number of activities and club functions happen there. In fact, the church is such an important part of our lives that we want to do whatever we can to help out when the church is in need.

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Church Scratch Cards

If you’ve been trying to think of church fundraisers that work, it’s likely that your top concern is how much profit you can make, and how quickly you can make it. There are many roads to the same destination, but if you’re looking for some church fundraising ideas that work, here are some great choices. Read More »

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Personalized church cookbook fundraising and custom fundraising cookbooks, in general, are a great way for your group to make the money it needs. It is not uncommon for churches, schools, civic organizations, and other large non-profits to report profits of a thousand to ten thousand dollars every time they hold a cookbook fundraiser. So, why Read More »

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If this is your first time being in an organizational position with church fundraisers and having to come up with good church fundraising ideas, you may be wondering just how you’re going to get through all this. Of course, good fundraisers require some effort on your part, but it’s not going to be as hard Read More »

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Ideas For Free Church Fundraisers

If your church doesn’t really have enough extra funds on hand to pay in advance for a church fundraiser, then obviously you’ll be wanting to look at some free church fundraisers.

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If this is the first time you are in charge of fundraising then you should learn the ABC’s of fundraising ideas. So consider this article ABC Fundraising Ideas 101:
A. The first thing to do before even beginning the process is to determine if your group members are motivated to do a fundraiser in the first place.

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The Methodist Church is known for its community service outreach. If there is a need in their local area, the church can be counted on for manpower and aid. However, sometimes those needs require financial resources, not in the church budget and that starts the Methodist Church fundraiser planning session. Church fundraisers are certainly no Read More »

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Catholic School

If you are part of a catholic school and are interested in having a catholic school fundraising event here are few options that could help to raise the much-needed money. Schools can rarely go wrong by having a cookie dough fundraiser. Here the students and teachers would sell cookie dough using a free order form Read More »

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Gourmet Cookie Dough Tub Fundraiser

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Earth Candle Fundraiser

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Journey of Faith Candle Fundraiser

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All Sport Scratch Cards

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Custom Discount Fundraising Cards

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Gourmet Cookie Dough Tub Fundraiser

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Yummy Lix Round Lollipops

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Popcorn Fundraisers make Profits Pop!

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Journey of Faith Candle Fundraiser

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