When it comes to fundraising creativity, the residence halls at The University of Tennessee have earned the grade of A+.

UT Housing, which consists of staff, graduate students, hall directors, resident assistants and, of course, the residents themselves, stage creative competitions and events that raise a surprising amount of money to build homes as a Covenant Partner with Knoxville Habitat for Humanity.

Each of the 12 residence halls sets individual fundraising goals and a committee of “Habitat Honchos” meets weekly during the Fall semester to plan participation among residents.

The activities definitely have a festive flair.

For example, Reese Hall raised $1,600 in two nights by having a haunted house in the basement and charging $2 per person. South Carrick created art board and sold them. Massey Hall competed in “Penny Prank Wars,” where spare change was used to vote for or against the RA’s on the various floors. The winning floor got to prank their R.A., who had to spend a night on the roof.

“The residents go on and on with creativity for the amount of money they get for their activities,” said Jerry Adams, associate director for resident life.

Depending on their fundraising goals, the residence halls are rewarded with food prizes and other incentives, such as $250 for equipment for their building. Winners are awarded based on the highest total amount raised, the largest individual donation, and the highest average donation per resident – to make it a level playing field for both the larger and smaller residence halls.

Additionally, resident assistants and hall directors are encouraged to make payroll deduction donations that go towards the construction of a Habitat house. Even though the amounts are small, usually $5 to $10 per paycheck, the money adds up.

“They raised $5,000 this year in payroll deduction alone,” said Adams. “We try to encourage everyone to participate and get used to giving back to their community at a young age.”

UT Housing has been so successful with its fundraising that the group has built nine houses since it first became a Covenant Partner in the Spring of 1996. They will begin construction on their 10^th home in the Spring of 2011.

“We built one house a year for the first three years we were involved with Habitat, including a house in the one week, 20-house blitz build in Easton Meadows,” said Adams.

Since then, UT Housing has had a goal to build one house every other year and to raise money in the ‘off’ years to build the next house.”

“My goal has always been to build 10 houses,” said Adams. “I didn’t realize we were going to do it a year early.”