Fundraising Ideas
Asking your friends, family, clients, coworkers, church members, social media connections—everyone you know!—to give to a cause you care about directly will always go a long way. They love you, want to support you, and will be proud of your involvement! Consider each person individually and their preferred communication methods. While we encourage you to reach out one-on-one and ask your community to give, here are some other fun ideas and ways to fundraise!
The best fundraisers are planned well!
Be sure to plan ahead! What are you going to do? When and where are you going do it and how will you market it well? Give yourself plenty of time to tell everyone. The more people are aware of your event, the more successful it’s likely to be.
Digital Fundraising Ideas:
- 50/50 raffle – sell “tickets,” 50% goes to the winner, 50% goes to your fundraiser!
- Squares fundraiser – sell each square on a 10x10 grid for a price, where participants choose squares and the winners are determined by the last digit of the scores at the end of each quarter, with a portion of the proceeds going to the winners and the rest to the cause. Choose a game you and your community are passionate about!
- Design and sell a t-shirt/hoodie
- Organize a coupon book
- Training tunes – let people choose your long run playlist! You could ask them to make a donation on your page and comment the song (or songs) they want to add. The higher the donation, the more songs they can add.
- Social media challenges
- Run a sweepstake – organize a prediction game, with people paying a donation to guess your finish time. Put up a small prize for guessers to win.
- Gaming/streaming marathon
- Give something up challenge – invite your friends to join a “give it up” challenge for an extended amount of time – take something they would normally buy on a regular basis and give it up for a week or more.
In-Person Fundraising Event Ideas:
If you’re thinking of hiring a venue for your event, many venues are happy to support charitable causes and may let you use their space for free – so don’t be afraid to ask! Many people also love supporting charitable events. Do you have any talented friends willing to offer free entertainment, or are any local businesses happy to give prizes? It’s always worth an ask. We think you’ll be amazed how eager people can be to support a worthy cause.
- Silent auction – ask community organizations to donate prizes
- Local restaurant partnership – charge an entry fee or ask the restaurant to donate a portion of food & drink proceeds from the night
- Talent show or open mic night
- Host a master class – which of your friends or family have a special skill you wish you had? Maybe they’re great at baking, pottery, music, or something else. Ask them to host a masterclass and invite people to come and learn.
- Speak at church
- Ticketed community potluck
- Team trivia night – ask a local spot to host an event: charge a small entrance fee and/or ask the restaurant to give a portion of the revenue they make from food and drinks
- Sports tournaments
- Auctions of promise – allow your community to offer “promises” that can be bid on at the auction.
- Dress down day at work – helping a great cause while being comfortable at work. Everyone wins!
- Sweets in a jar – classic game of asking people to guess the number of items in a jar, winner gets a prize!
- Various community sales: garage/yard sale, bake sale and coffee, used book sale
- Concession stand at a sporting event
- A good old fashioned donation jar