Oh the newsletter sounds like a great idea. Even if you have a somewhat different philosophical perspective from much of your family....not all us Christian Republicans are deaf to a good cause just because someone's views don't line up exactly with our own.


My personal experience with getting help from businesses is that big corps usually dole out all their charity money in January...but many locally owned businesses and franchises have a lot more freedom in choosing how and when to support local charities...especially when its an individual doing the fundraising.

Some other ideas:

BBQ/Auction.....get local grocers to donate all the food and paper plates and such, and other retailers to donate items for the auction. Have everyone pay a small fee to attend and find a fun, outgoing person to MC the Auction. Two fundraisers in one.

Raffle....Find either a bunch of small donations such as dinner coupons, movie tickets, etc and make a basket of them to raffle off...or a single bigger donation like an iPod or other cool gadget. Talk to your gym or other businesses you frequent about allowing you to put up a little raffle station where people can buy tickets.