Cadet unit service fundraising (catering, marshalling, quiz nights)

Outdoor: weather matters

An ATC, Sea Cadet or Army Cadet unit's Unit Support Committee raises money by selling the cadets' disciplined labour: catering and marshalling at marathons and events, plus quiz nights, movie nights and sizzles.

Typically raises

$2,000

$500–6,000 a yearest.

About $114 per organiser hour

Based on several marshalling or catering jobs a year

Is it right for us?

Money: $2,000–10,000
Work: Weeks, part-time
Helpers: 7–15 people
Lead time: 1–2 months
Red tape: Some

Uncommon: specific to cadet units, little known outside

People: 10-30 cadets plus 3-6 USC members or staff per job (estimate)
Organiser time: 10-25 hours per event incl. liaison with the event organiser, roster, food buying (estimate)
Lead time: 2-3 months: event organisers recruit volunteer groups early (estimate)
Up-front cost: $300. Food stock for catering jobs; marshalling jobs usually need no outlay because the event supplies hi-vis and radios (estimate).
Risk: Low for paid marshalling (fixed fee or koha agreed in advance); medium for catering if numbers are overestimated.

Suits: Cadets (ATC, Sea Cadets)

Less usual for: Scouts or Guides

When: Summer (Dec–Feb), Autumn (Mar–May), Spring (Sep–Nov)

How big a job: Several weeks, part-time, 7–15 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Sell at $500 a job, keep $500, so 5 jobs = $2,500, or about $2,200 after about $300 of costs. That’s about the typical result.

Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

No NZ dollar benchmark found. No. 5 Squadron ATC says over 60% of its cadet budget comes from grants and fundraising events, listing marathon help (Omaha, Coatesville, Waterfront, Maraetai, Orewa), movie nights, quiz nights and a November raffle (5 Squadron ATC). Figures are an estimate: $500-1,500 per marshalling or catering job, several jobs a year (estimate).

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

USC and Unit Commander agree the year's fundraising plan and which events cadets will staff.
Contact race and event organisers (marathons, fun runs, A&P shows, school galas) and offer a crew of disciplined marshals or caterers for a fixed donation.
Confirm in writing: shift times, number of cadets, ages, what the event supplies (hi-vis, radios, briefing) and the payment.
Roster cadets with an adult in charge per group; collect parental consent where the unit requires it.
For catering, register the menu against MPI's fundraising rules, buy in bulk and keep raw and cooked food apart.
Run one or two of your own events a year (quiz night, movie night) in the unit hall to keep cash flow steady.
Invoice the event organiser from the USC account and bank promptly.
Report results to parents and thank the event organiser publicly.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Members to take a shift, and someone with the gear or the site.
Ask people to buy: People to come along, or book, and pay on the day.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 3–4 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.
Facebook events and what’s-on listingsMake a Facebook event people can say they’re going to, and list it on your council’s or town’s what’s-on page.
Community newsletters and magazinesResidents’ newsletters, village magazines and other churches’ bulletins often run community notices free. Small ones close early.
Other groups sharing itAsk the school, kindy, church, sports club or marae down the road to share it in their newsletter or page. Offer to share theirs back.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: NeededA business’s site (shop front, store BBQ)
Landowner’s permission: NeededYes, in writing
Council permit: Not needed
Food rules: CheckNo registration if you sell food to fundraise for a good cause up to 20 times a calendar year. It must still be safe and suitable, and your council may need a stall permit
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: Not neededNot gambling
Health and safety: CheckA simple risk check and briefing
First aid: NeededA first aider and kit on site (recommended)
Insurance: CheckCheck your cover

Money is raised and banked by the Unit Support Committee, not the NZCF. Marshalling on roads is covered by the event organiser's traffic management plan; cadets stay where it places them.

Make more from it

Unit quiz night in the hall
$1,500-2,500 for 60-80 people (Raised)
uses the unit hall and the USC's families
USC raffle sold at events
several hundred to a few thousand dollars (estimate)
cadets in uniform at public events sell tickets well
Movie night
a few hundred to $1,500 (estimate)
low effort, family-friendly, repeatable

Stack it: on its own, about $2,000. With the 2 priced add-ons above, roughly

$5,500est.

What you can get donated

Event organisers often pay a fixed donation per volunteer or per shift; ask a supermarket for catering stock.

Tips

Cadets' reliability is the selling point; event organisers will rebook a unit that turns up on time in uniform (estimate).
Recurring annual events (the same marathon every year) give predictable income with little new organising.
Grants still do the heavy lifting (5 Squadron ATC); use event income to cover the local share most grants require.

Watch out for

Committing cadets to long shifts in bad weather without water, food and shelter.
Money paid to a staff member or cadet personally rather than to the USC account breaks the audit trail.
Overlapping events with unit training nights or parades.

Free tools for this

Checklist for any ideaBefore, on the day and after, built from this idea’s own steps and rules.

Typical rules

Money is raised and held by the unit's support committee, not the NZCF: every unit has a Unit Support Committee of community volunteers that 'assists with fundraising, handles the finances of the unit' (NZCF), and a unit cannot exist without one (NZCF terms of membership). Some are incorporated societies and registered charities.
Food Act 2014: selling food to fundraise fewer than 20 times a year needs no registration, but food must be safe and suitable; catering meals for an event as a regular service may need registration (MPI).
Raffles run by the USC are lotteries under the Gambling Act 2003: no licence if prizes are $5,000 or less and turnover $25,000 or less, and proceeds must go to authorised purposes (DIA).
Marshalling near roads must follow the event's traffic management plan under NZTA's NZGTTM; cadets should only stand where the plan puts them.
Uniform and NZDF name: check unit and NZCF guidance before wearing uniform at commercial events or using NZDF branding in promotions (estimate; ask your Area office).

Check the details

Selling food · MPI: Fundraising and community event food safety rules

Sources

Researched October 2026. All fundraising ideas

* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide