Family reunions--like any large gathering--require extensive planning. For the host, bringing together a large group of people, providing food and finding a location to host the event can make a family reunion an expensive proposition. Before you host a family reunion, consider the out of pocket expenses you will incur, and consider a family reunion fundraiser to help offset your costs.
Family Cookbooks
Ask members of the family for favorite recipes and hidden family recipes you can use to compile a family reunion cookbook. Sell copies of the cookbook to friends, family members and others; use those funds for the family reunion. This is not only a good way to raise funding. It also makes a great keepsake and provides something valuable to those purchasing it.
Social Networking
Create a MySpace or Facebook family page where family members can sign up. These Websites offer fundraising widgets you can install that allow visitors to the page to donate to your cause. The widget shows how much money is being raised, so everybody in the family can watch the fund grow. Ask family members who sign up on the Website to encourage their friends to contribute. Building a family network and taking advantage of individual family members' networks can create a large audience of people who could potentially donate to the family reunion fund.
Family Tree Posters
If you know someone in your family who has done the research of your family tree, have a print shop turn the family history into a poster. You can have posters custom made at a print shop. Sell these posters to family members as a keepsake.
Auction
Explain to family members that you need help funding the reunion and ask for donations of items you can sell at a yard sale or flea market, to help raise funds. As an alternative, use an online auction site to raise money with items donated by family members. If some members of your family have a talent for crafts, ask them to make items you can sell to help offset the cost of the reunion.
Tags: family members, family reunion, your family, family members sign, help offset, items sell, members sign