Fundraising using Silicone Wristbands
Fundraising using silicone wristbands is not a very novel concept nowadays. There was this champion cyclist called Lance Armstrong – a survivor who successfully battled cancer. He was the 1st one to champion the cause of fundraising using silicone wristbands. He made rubber wristbands out of silicone rubber and sold them to raise funds for cancer victims and create awareness about cancer – the deadly disease.
This is how fundraising through silicone wristbands became popular and the famous yellow rubber wristbands flew off the shop racks like hot cakes. In fact, the yellow Lance Armstrong wristbands or rubber wristbands became so ubiquitous and common that they achieved some kind of a cult status among the youth.
If you want to raise funds through silicone wristbands, all you need to do is to place bulk orders in some online store selling custom silicone wristbands. There are millions of stores who sell a mind boggling variety of rubber wristbands in myriad colors, patterns, designs and motifs.
You have to specify the number of rubber wristbands you require along with the design specifications and the message or slogan you want inscribed inside that silicone custom bracelet. Usually the finished products will be shipped to your doorstep within 3 to 5 days and you can use these message bracelets to raise funds by selling them.
When pretty little rubber bracelets that also double up as cool and pocket friendly fashion accessories champion some kind of philanthropic cause or noble cause , people love to lap them up as they think they are doing their bit for society.
Some of the fundraising events for which charity organizations use silicone rubber bracelets are “eradicate illiteracy or polio or dyslexia or diabetes or flu campaigns”, “helping out poor orphans and rehabilitating them”, prevention of child and women trafficking, rehabilitation of victims of sexual abuse, creating awareness about deadly or strange types of diseases and helping out victims of diseases with financial and medical assistance, drug abuse and its after effects, alcohol abuse and its after effects and a variety of similar other causes!
Just invent any noble cause, sell message bracelets to raise funds and mint money faster than you can pronounce m-o-n-e-y! It also helps that these custom rubber bracelets don’t cost more than a few cents, sometimes less than a dollar!
However when you want to raise funds through sale of custom silicone wristbands, you have to register your charitable trust or charity organization with your state government.
The section under which you have to do this is internal revenue service’s clause 501 (c) (3). This may result in some kind of tax exemption. However, just because you are registering your self doesn’t mean you will get a 100% tax exemption.