How to Host a Fun and Profitable Fundraiser with Inflatable Rentals

Schools and non profits are always in need of ways to raise money, but it can be tiring to constantly be planning and executing small fund raisers that don’t offer a big payoff.  Instead of planning lots of small fund raisers, you may find that you realize a better payoff by putting more effort into one large event that really draws a crowd and that creates lots of rich memories at the same time. 

If your school or group is seeking an exciting new way to raise funds, then try organizing a carnival with inflatable rentals.  With big, fun activities like inflatable slides, inflatable obstacle courses, an inflatable gladiator challenge, and sumo wrestling in inflatable sumo suits, putting together a carnival can be simple, fast, and profitable.  To pull off a great event with inflatable rentals, plan early and keep these ideas in mind:

Delegate preparation tasks:

Don’t spend extensive amounts of time in meetings discussing every detail.  Instead, put people in charge of various parts of the event.  Allow them to research and manage their part and report back to the group to agree upon before implementing the ideas. 

Decide on inflatable rentals and reserve early

There are so many exciting inflatable rentals that can serve as the focal point for your fundraiser carnival.  You can either charge a flat rate admission for guests, or have them buy tickets for access to the various inflatable rentals activities.  Select different types of inflatable rentals that will appeal to a wide variety of guests so that adults and kids can enjoy the event. 

Some people prefer more solitary, low impact activities like the inflatable human sphere, others prefer competitive races, and still others take delight in head to head battles like inflatable gladiator jousting that really get the adrenaline pumping.  Categorize your inflatable rentals into 3 ‘impact’ groups and choose inflatable rentals activities for each.  For example:

Head to head battles

• Inflatable sumo wrestling:  There are few things more humorous than watching two contestants suit up in oversized inflatable sumo suits and try to tip each other over.
   
• Inflatable Boxing: Inside of a pillowy boxing ring, participants use enormously oversized boxing gloves to knock over their competitor.  Try arming a volunteer who has a funny sense of humor with a microphone to narrate the challenge. 

Races and competitions:

• Inflatable obstacle courses:  On inflatable obstacle courses, guests can maneuver through tunnels and tubes, scale inflatable walls, and swoosh down big slides to try to reach the finish line before their opponent.  Try blasting some upbeat music to keep the races lively. 
   
• Velcro inflatable climbing wall:  This Velcro version of the rock climbing wall is fun for kids and adults.  Participants wear a suit made of Velcro and scale up one side of this inflatable Velcro wall and down the other. 

Low or no impact activities

• Inflatable slot machine:  Just about everyone loves a game of chance, and stepping inside of a huge inflatable slot machine where prizes pour down for winners is a fun experience for guests of all ages.
   
• Inflatable bowling:  With inflatable bowling, the contestant is the ball!  After stepping inside the enormous inflatable bowling ball, guests are rolled down the lane to see if they can knock over a set of gigantic bowling pins. 

Feed your guests the simple way while earning a profit

Providing food can be one of the most stressful and time consuming parts of any event.  Instead of utilizing an army of volunteers for this task, find a local restaurant or taco shop with a food cart to serve food at the event.  You won’t earn as much as if your volunteers cooked and served the food themselves, but you can charge a vendor’s fee or a portion of each sale made by the food service provider. 

Silent auctions:

There is something about a silent auction that turns an ordinary prize into an object of great desire.  Bidders become almost addicted to checking the silent auction bid sheets and raising the ante if they’ve been outdone.  Ask guests and local businesses for prize donations to help raise money for the cause such as restaurant coupons, free hotel stays, massages, etc.

Midway games

Family-friendly carnival games are a great way for carnival goers to enjoy themselves and for your organization to earn a profit.  In addition to the bigger prizes, stock up on lots of smaller prizes so that everyone feels like a winner and has a great time.  Most midway games can be made with basic materials and can be put together by your group.