Bounce-a-Thon

The Assembly of God has a program for children’s mission giving called BGMC – Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade. The mascot for this program is a yellow “Buddy Barrel” so we call this fundraiser the “Buddy Barrel Bounce” or just the BBB. This is almost an annual event for us. Money raised goes to missions.

The event runs for 24 hours that normally starts around 4PM on Friday and ends around that time on Saturday afternoon. For 24 hours, we have somebody bouncing on a trampoline that has been set up in front of the church.

You will need at least one trampoline that can be set up for bouncing. I suggest using a trampoline that has an enclosure around it to prevent anybody from falling off. If no enclosure is available, always have 4 or more spotters around the trampoline. If the trampoline is going to be used outside all night, make arrangements to have the area well lit with lots of supervision. You will also want to consider what will be done about drinks, food, and restrooms.

About a month before the event, furnish each child with a pledge sheet and an explanation of the event. The child will then go to church members, friends, relatives, etc to collect pledges for bouncing 10 minutes. The child may be allowed to commit to additional 10 minute slots after a preset amount has been raised for the first 10 minutes. For the first year, I would suggest setting a minimum of $10 in pledges for each 10 minute slot. If you fill all 24 hours with bouncers, the event will have raised $1440. You may want to consider approaching your workers, church staff, and some youth about taking a turn at bouncing. This will give you some extra people and also help to cover the late night/early morning times.

Two weeks before the event, have all the pledge sheets and time slot elections/permission slips turned in to you. I provide a second page to each bouncer when they take a pledge sheet that lets them make three choices on time slots. For children, this sheet also has a permission slip and a place for the parents to okay the time slot choices. I take these choices and assign time slots to each person. If more than one person has asked for the same slot - I look at the age, how much was pledged, and other time slots to determine who gets the slot. The list with time assignments is posted in the church that day and a copy is given to each person that has signed up for a slot. If any changes are made to the times, I just reprint the posted sheet and give a copy to those that were changed. This is probably the most difficult part of the entire fundraiser.

Unless you plan on spending the whole 24 hours at the event, be sure to schedule workers to help you out. There should be at least two adult workers there during daylight and four workers after dark.

Encourage people in the church to come watch people bounce. Send a press release out to the media telling them what you are doing and why. Sometimes the media coverage can generate “unexpected donations”.

If possible, add a moonwalk, refreshments, or other activities to encourage people to stop by. Put some donation buckets near the trampoline for those that may want to contribute. I have had some bouncers offer to do flips or other tricks for tips. If you can create a carnival type atmosphere, people will be more likely to show up. Whatever you add to the event, try to keep the trampoline the main focus of the event.

One year I had some missionaries that were passing through set up a booth displaying things from the mission field. Another year I had a race car out front that kids could have their picture taken in.

When the event is over, the bouncers collect their pledges and turn them in. Count the money, pay the bills, and have a check sent out to missions (or whatever the cause is).

If someone has a trampoline that you can use, the upfront expense for this event is very low. The potential for profit is quite good. Be sure to check on insurance in case of an accident to a bouncer or bystander.

The one drawback to this fundraiser is the amount of help that is required to make it run smoothly. The first year we did this, I spent the entire 24 hours at the church (plus setup and teardown time). By the time I got home around 6PM Saturday, I was exhausted. I scheduled extra help to work 6 hour shifts. The following year, I scheduled sleep time for myself and tried to rotate workers about every 4 hours. That seemed to work better.

With good planning and scheduling, this can be a very successful event.