The fundraisers that work best for a pilgrimage or mission trip ask your own community for help: a personal support letter, a parish appeal, a prayer-intention sponsorship and a shirt your supporters actually want to wear. Start eight to twelve weeks out and combine two or three of them.
At a glance
- Start: 8 to 12 weeks before departure
- Easiest first step: a personal support letter
- Best for a parish group: a shared goal and one fundraiser everyone helps with
- Always: check your parish or diocese rules before you collect money
1. Send a personal support letter
A short letter or email to family, friends and godparents is usually the simplest place to start. Say where you are going, why it matters to you, what the trip costs and how they can help, by giving, by praying, or both. Send it by mail or email, then follow up in person.
2. Ask your parish to help
Ask your pastor whether the group can announce the pilgrimage after Mass, put a note in the bulletin, or hold a second collection. Many parishes already support youth pilgrimages and mission trips, but every parish has its own rules, so ask first.
3. Offer prayer-intention sponsorship
Invite supporters to send the intentions they want carried on the pilgrimage, with an optional donation. It suits a pilgrimage well: people who cannot travel take part in it, and your group has a reason to keep them updated while you are away and after you return.
4. Sell a shirt or hoodie people want to wear
A merch fundraiser works when the design is good enough to wear on any day, not only on the trip. Your supporters buy one, your group earns a set amount on each, and every person who wears it reminds others what you did. The worked example below shows how the numbers add up.
5. Host a meal after Mass
A pancake breakfast, soup lunch or coffee hour after Sunday Mass is a classic parish fundraiser. It costs some food and time, brings the community together and gives you a chance to talk about the trip in person.
6. Hold a rosary night or concert
An evening of prayer or music with a free-will offering at the door raises money and keeps the spiritual purpose of the trip at the center.
7. Set up an online giving page
An online fundraising page makes it easy for relatives far away to give. Link to it from your letter and your parish bulletin, and post short updates so donors see the group's progress.
How a shirt fundraiser adds up: a worked example
With print-on-demand merch there is no stock to buy up front: each shirt is printed when someone orders it. You set a giveback amount, and the price your supporters pay is the base price plus that giveback.
| Example | Amount |
|---|---|
| Base price of a tee | $24 |
| Giveback your group chooses | $10 |
| Price your supporters pay | $34 |
| Raised if 50 supporters buy one | $500 |
This is an example to show the math, not a promise of results: what you raise depends on how many people buy.
Leader tip: pick one main fundraiser for the whole group and one personal one for each pilgrim. Too many small events tire out the same supporters.
A simple support letter outline
- Where you are going and when.
- Why this pilgrimage or mission trip matters to you.
- What it costs, and how much you still need to raise.
- How they can help: a gift, a prayer intention, or both.
- How to give, and by what date.
- A promise to share photos and stories when you return.
Raising funds with Go2MARY merch
Go2MARY designs and prints pilgrimage and parish merch with no minimums and no design fees, and your group chooses the giveback on each piece. Tell us about your group or write to hello@go2mary.com.
Ordering matching shirts for the trip itself? Read how to organize matching shirts for your pilgrimage group, or see group orders.