Davies's First Law of Fund-raising :
There is no such thing as a foolproof way of raising funds.

Davies's Second Law of Fund-raising :
Someone else's foolproof method of fund-raising won't work for you.

These two laws are immutable. Keep them in mind whenever you set about trying to increase your unit / troop funds. Also bear in mind the First Corollary to the Second Law : a method of fundraising which works when raising funds for a charity other than your own will bring in a net profit £5.63 after paying for the village hall rent and other expenses if you try it for your own unit.

These things I know to be true. However, you might like to try some of the following .....

GOLDEN OLDIES such as jumble sales, car-boot and table-top sales, sales of work / craft fairs (especially if seasonal - Christmas Fair, Spring Fair etc. but bear in mind that everyone else is trying to sell at the same time.)
Jumble, car-boot and table-top sales need minimal work beforehand apart from collecting stuff to sell; craft fairs need a lot of preparation if you are going to make things of good enough quality to sell.

GAMES OF SKILL AND GAMES OF CHANCE : (Check to make sure the latter are permitted on the premises, especially if using church halls.)

Bottle stall : equipment needed - 2 packs of playing cards, 1 complete, just the picture cards from the other pack. Bottles (full - no need to be alcoholic! - anything that comes in a botle will do) as prizes. Spread out picture cards face up on table and allocate a bottle to each (if you only have a few prizes, reduce the number of cards you put out - say, kings and queens, or even just kings if necessary). The customers pay a small fee and cut the other pack of cards - if they turn up a picture card, they win the bottle on the corresponding card. TIP : only put out one or two "good" prizes at a time, plus several cheaper bottles eg. pop, sauce, shampoo etc. (Don't forget to replace bottles as they are won.)

Golf putting - an outdoor game, suitable for garden parties etc : equipment needed : golf putter and ball, new £5 note, pins. Choose a flat piece of lawn (or better still, one with a slight slope) and pin the £5 note out flat. Mark out a start line 10 or 15 feet or so away. The task is to use the golf putter and hit the ball so it stops completely on the £5 note - anyone who succeeds wins the note. (You could make it a £20 note - I have never seen anyone succeed! The friction of the grass slows the ball down but once it reaches the smooth note it speeds up again and will roll straight over the note and off the other side.) Otherwise sensible men, especially if they fancy themselves as golfers, will spend a fortune trying to prove it can be done!

Coin-in-the-glass : equipment needed: bucket of water, £1 or £2 coin (or equivalent), small glass e.g. spirit or tot glass. Very simple - put the coin in the glass and put the glass in the bucket of water. Customers drop their coin (10p is usual) from ABOVE the surface of the water and try to win the £1 or £2 coin by getting their coin in the glass. Very rarely done, and then by pure luck - the coin does not drop straight down but floats from side to side as it passes through the water (try it yourself beforehand to determine the "best" height to drop it from.)

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