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Master Calendar 2000: November Holiday and Seasonal Fundraising Ideas

Each month we take a look at what fundraising opportunities the holidays and other seasonal events present for a future month.

Election Day - November 7th

Although there may be possibilities to incorporate fundraising into this day, most nonprofits will not find this a good holiday for fundraising.

Veteran's Day - November 11th

Although there may be possibilities for the veterans to incorporate fundraising into this day, most nonprofits will not find this a good holiday for fundraising.

Sadie Hawkins Day - November 13th

Sadie Hawkins Day is not your typical holiday. It was named for a cartoon character developed by Al Capp for his Li'l Abner comic strip. Sadie Hawkins was so ugly that her father, Mayor of Dog Patch, U.S.A., feared he would never marry her off. In desperation, he decreed a Sadie Hawkins Day. All unmarried men in Dogpatch would get a ten minute head start before Sadie and the other unmarried women began running after them. The man each woman caught would end up in front of Marryin' Sam for a shotgun wedding.

Sadie Hawkins Day so captured people's imaginations that it has evolved into a modern American tradition. The first Sadie Hawkins Day took place on Wednesday, November 9, 1938, but now days is usually celebrated on the nearest Saturday to accommodate all the "girls-ask-boys" school dances and other events.

For those of you choosing to hold an event tied to Sadie Hawkins Day there are a lot of benefits:

  • Sadie Hawkins Day isn't trademarked so you can use the name without danger of being sued or paying a royalty.
  • It has national recognition by all groups of people

Types of events suitable for Sadie Hawkins Day

  • Dances

    As the tradition of the holiday dictates, "girls-ask-boys" is the feature of any dances held on this day. Tradition also dictates that couples dress alike, usually casual nowadays. At some schools, girls buy her and her date matching shirts to wear to the dance. Some girls even go as far as to get matching pants.

    Decorations for the dance usually run from the farm to hillbilly. Bundled corn stalks, bales of hay, farm animal cut outs, haystacks and scarecrows are the norm.

    Cider and donuts make for inexpensive refreshments.

    For fun try holding a mock weddings (with Polaroid picture, ring, certificate, all for a small charge of course),

Resources

  • Girls- send your guys a cyber invitation