We've gathered a list of 100+ fundraising ideas and rated them by cost, difficulty, and fundraising potential to help nonprofits of all sizes and missions discover fundraisers that work for them! Keep reading to spark your creativity.
Are you looking for fresh, inventive, and effective fundraising ideas for your nonprofit organization?
Look no further!
We know that choosing the right fundraising idea for your nonprofit can be challenging. There are a lot of factors to consider, including budget and time constraints, human resources, and your audience.
Through our work with thousands of nonprofit organizations that use Donorbox as their online donation solution, we’ve seen hundreds of fundraising strategies.
In this article, we outline more than 100 of our favorite ideas for nonprofits of all kinds. We have also rated each idea’s cost, difficulty, and fundraising potential to help you decide which ideas to add to your own strategy. Naturally, each one of these simple charity fundraising ideas can be tweaked and adapted to your specific circumstances and fundraising goals.
We also have some quick videos to help you implement these fresh ideas! Check the Donorbox YouTube playlist here.
From the navigation tool to the right, you can skip ahead to the ideas most relevant to you – or just browse through all of them for inspiration. You’ll also find other resources linked throughout, each filled with even more powerful and creative fundraising ideas and tips.
Happy fundraising!
Raising funds for a school? We’ve got several ideas for educational institutions of all levels, as well as clubs and organizations associated with schools.
High schools, middle schools, and elementary schools often need to raise money to conduct various school activities, cultural and co-curricular events, and functions. Here are a few of our favorite ways to raise money for schools! For more creative ideas, head over to this blog.
This popular elementary school fundraising idea is a favorite among teachers and parents alike because it encourages children to read for pleasure.
Students obtain pledges for the number of pages or books they can read, and then they log the hours.
You can choose to track chapters, pages, or reading periods (i.e., minutes, hours, or sessions), but the most common model for a read-a-thon is to have students read as much as possible during a designated time period. Make sure to prepare a reward for the winner!
Create a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign online and allow students to create their own fundraising pages to share with friends and family, where they can share their reading and fundraising goals.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
A talent show gives students recognition for their non‐academic talents and interests. It also provides lessons in persistence and commitment to students during tryouts, practice, and performance.
Start by picking a date – be careful not to pick days around exams, school‐wide testing, or other major events. Then, pick supervisors and organize auditions.
When organizing the show, stagger your performers so that all the musicians, singers, and dancers are evenly distributed throughout the program.
To turn your talent show into a fundraiser, you can sell tickets at the door or ahead of time, as well as sell t-shirts, bracelets, food, professional photographs of the performers, and more. Ask students to make posters and hang them around the school and in town to entice more people to attend.
Fundraising Potential: +
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Organizing a school movie night fundraiser can be fun and rewarding!
Most importantly, you’ll need to choose a movie to show. Be sure to consider your audience and select a movie that’s both appropriate for and interesting to the age group. You’ll also need a movie license, so it’s best to choose two to three movies and fill in the appropriate movie license applications.
Set up a movie screen in your gym or auditorium, or team up with your local cinema to get a special rate for families to attend. Decorate the space and make it comfortable by adding pillows and blankets.
Charge for entry and raise money by selling popcorn, candy, and drinks. Better yet, bring in local businesses to sell refreshments or provide pre-movie entertainment in exchange for a portion of their proceeds – this saves on your up-front costs. For maximum results, create hype around your event by advertising in your school’s newsletter and putting up posters.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +
Click here for more quick fundraising ideas.
What could be more enticing to a student than a day off? Before getting started with this high school fundraising idea, make sure you get permission from the school authorities.
Then, organize a raffle contest with great prizes. The student who collects the most donations by selling the raffle tickets gets one day off from school!
You can also brainstorm other fun rewards to act as incentives for students.
Fundraising Potential: +
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Trivia nights, sometimes known as quiz nights, are relatively inexpensive to put together, and the returns are excellent.
To get started, make a list of all the things you’ll need to run the trivia event. This includes a venue, a microphone and speakers, screens (if needed), handouts, trivia questions, and any other items you can think of that will ensure that everything goes smoothly.
For the trivia itself, you can purchase a ready-made trivia night package or put together the categories, questions, and answers yourself.
Don’t forget about the prizes! Vouchers from local businesses make great prizes, as are movie tickets and other types of gift cards. Be sure to also recruit a host/quiz master – even better if it’s a local celebrity who will draw their own crowd!
Charge for entry (tickets can be sold per person or per team) and raise more money by selling food and drinks.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +
With young people upgrading to newer and better models almost every year, this is a straightforward fundraiser that works well for schools.
In many countries, old mobile phones can be exchanged for cash. There are many ways in which mobile phones can be recycled, and a number of companies will want to buy them from you (to either repair, refurbish, and sell or to reclaim parts).
Set up a collection point, perhaps at your school, where people can drop off their old phones. Advertise your mobile phone recycling drive, making sure to highlight that the drive is for a good cause. Throughout the drive, keep people informed about the progress (e.g. 100 phones donated so far), and encourage further donations.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
This simple – yet effective – middle school and high school fundraising idea often gets overlooked. To assist you, recruit a team of helpers. This committee can then decide on a theme and help with designs for any tickets, posters flyers, and decorations. Make sure to take care of the basics: the food and drinks you’ll serve, as well as the music and the lights.
Calculate how much money you need to cover all the costs (décor, food, DJ, etc.), and how much you want to make on top of it. Use this to price your tickets.
Recruit volunteers from the Parent Teachers Association/Organization and other parent volunteers to work in the cloakroom, at the door, serving food and drinks, and more.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
There are ample opportunities to raise funds for colleges and universities. After all, college communities need money in order to fund their clubs, festivals, and community events. Check out these fundraising ideas for university and college fundraising.
Many students take pride in their dorms. Why not turn dorm decorating into a competition?
Promote the contest on campus and on social media. Recruit a committee to assess the entries/submissions. Alternatively, choose a winner based on the number of votes (e.g. likes, retweets, shares) that they’re able to gather via social media or through a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Have students pay a small fee to enter their room in the contest or have other students vote through their donations – say, $1 equals one vote.
Think of an incentivizing prize and award it to the best spruced-up space. A gift card to Target or another store with a selection of home décor items would work well for this fundraising idea.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
A serve-a-thon can really mobilize your students to raise money for your college/university. Have each class or student organization in your school choose a volunteer activity that will benefit the community as a whole (e.g. raking leaves or a park or beach clean-up).
Then, start by promoting your serve-a-thon both online and offline. Supporters pledge money to the individuals or teams in support of their work. The group that reaches their fundraising goal first wins a prize and can feel good about making a real difference in the community!
Watch this short video to learn how you can easily host a community serve-a-thon for your school.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Turn this classic fundraiser into a college student-approved fundraising activity by sourcing interesting prizes.
Contact local businesses who may want to donate something to your raffle. Make sure you contact those businesses whose products or services would be appealing to students (e.g., new school supplies, clothes, tablets, headphones, trainers, laptops, and more). This presents a great branding opportunity for local businesses at a relatively low cost, and it helps your nonprofit secure affordable and appealing prizes for your event!
Most people are willing to spend a dollar or two (or even a little more) if there’s a chance they might win a prize. Sell raffle tickets both online and in person to reach even more students!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
A video game tournament is sure to attract the college crowd! Pick one game or a few and invite participants to come out to your event to either play in the tournament or watch the action.
Do a little bit of research into what the most popular video games are at the moment and make sure you have a good variety of those available. The better the games are (sprinkle in a couple of classics and a couple of new ones that your audience might not have tried), the bigger crowd you’ll attract and the more funds you’ll raise.
Ask students and other community members to donate video games and lend you some equipment. This will help to keep the costs low. You can also look into renting the games and the equipment.
Promote the event and come up with a prize for the winner – perhaps a pack of the most popular video games or new headphones!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
This is a unique college fundraising idea that you may not have thought about! Recruit some of your professors or staff to accept a dare – they only have to complete this dare if students manage to meet a specific fundraising goal.
For example, the dare might be to wander the university in a ridiculous costume, dance the chicken dance in the student cafeteria, skydiving, kissing a goat, camping on the university roof, and more – the options are endless! Invite the media out on the day the dare is completed to garner more awareness for your school in a fun and exciting way.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Field days are fun! And not only for kids. This unique college fundraising idea will appeal to the inner child in your students.
Think of appropriate, fun, and just-the-right-level-of-challenging activities (jumping ropes, obstacle running course, water balloon pass, balancing acts, solving riddles while jumping in sacks, and more – the possibilities are endless)!
You can charge a flat fee to participate in the field day or charge individual fees for each activity. Have donation boxes and jars set up to collect any additional donations throughout the day, and sell food, snacks, and refreshments. Better yet, set up giving kiosks throughout your event to capture donations and payments with cards, smartphones, and smartwatches.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Ramen has become somewhat of a signature student dish. Invite your students to show off their best ramen recipe and require a registration fee for those who wish to enter the competition!
To determine the winners, you’ll simply need to assign staff members or volunteers as a panel of judges. Don’t forget to provide a prize to the winner!
If ramen isn’t your thing, chili is another classic option for this unique fundraising competition. Sell tickets to your event – and give the public the opportunity to taste and judge the food – to raise more money with this fun idea.
Fundraising Potential: +
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Find more creative and unique college fundraising ideas in this article.
If you’re looking to raise money for your clubs, here are some ideas you can take up right away!
The ’10,000 Steps Challenge’ is not only an excellent way to raise money, but it also encourages and promotes a healthier lifestyle. Taking more than 10,000 steps a day is associated with better mental and physical health. Studies show that people who walk at least 10,000 steps a day have lower anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue!
The 10,000-step challenge requires participants to walk 10,000 steps a day for a length of time (e.g. a week or a month). Have your supporters accept pledges on how long they’ll last and have them monitor their steps (on their phones or smartwatches).
You can also turn this challenge into a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, where participants can encourage their friends, family, co-workers, and classmates to join their teams or make a donation to support the work of your organization or club.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Do you have a cultural club? Organize a Cultural Theme Day, with the theme centering around one country or celebrating a variety of cultures from around the world.
Challenge separate clubs or members to research and design a booth based on the culture or country of their choosing. To raise funds, sell a variety of traditional meals from the country or cultures, or even charge for cooking classes that show people how to make the cuisine. Inviting the community? Open up a children’s area with crafts, skits, and dress-up clothes designed to teach youth about cultures other than their own.
You can also sell tickets to enter the event and set up various in-person fundraising methods, like giving kiosks or text-to-give, to capture more donations.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
This is an eco-friendly fundraising event idea that everyone will want to be a part of! Simply commit to planting a certain number of trees that match up with your fundraising goal (for example, 10 trees for $1000).
When you reach your fundraising goal, members of your club will get together and plant the trees at a local park, forest, or nature preserve.
Try to see if a local tree nursery would donate saplings to this event to increase your earnings even more.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Board games of all kinds are having a comeback. A board game tournament is a great way to get people of all ages to spend some quality time together – and raise funds for a good cause!
Pick the board games and invite students or members of the community to register. Don’t forget to prepare prizes for the winners!
Charge a small fee to participate and sell food and snacks during the tournament to raise more funds. You can also request a free-will donation from attendees who simply want to watch.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
The beauty of this creative fundraising idea lies in its simplicity. Hug booths are simple to put together – all you need is a stand/booth (or even a big sign will do) and a bunch of loving volunteers willing to give out hugs.
You can choose to set a donation amount (e.g. $3 per hug) or use the ‘pay what you want’ model. Hug booths can be organized everywhere and anytime, but work best when there are crowds. So, this is a great fundraiser to add to a larger event or take to a community event or fair in your area.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Karaoke is a fun and uplifting way to raise money for your club. You’ll just need a karaoke machine, a location to host the event, and contestants!
To save money, look into renting karaoke equipment. This fundraising idea can also easily be incorporated into bigger events (like dances and festivals).
To make karaoke even more fun, turn it into a charity challenge. Make it so that when a certain amount of donations is collected, a particular person or group will need to sing. Or, the person with the highest donation gets to choose someone else to sing! For example, students will love the chance to get their principal or favorite teachers to sing on stage.
Let people pay an entry fee to take part and help you raise more money.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: ++
Difficulty: ++
Yard sales are especially lucrative for clubs and organizations with locally-based supporters. They bring the community together, encourage a sustainable approach to consumption, enable some serious decluttering, and help you raise funds for an important cause!
To get started, pick a date and a venue. Consider hosting the yard sale in the parking lot of your school, town hall, or other well-known location. Then, start collecting items. Ask for contributions from your club members as well as the larger community. Aim to have a good mix of high- and low-value items to cater to everyone’s interests and budget.
Finally, start promoting your event both online and offline, encouraging people from all around the area to attend. You can charge a small fee to shop or simply keep the funds from the items that are sold.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Looking for more effective ideas for clubs and organizations? Check out our blog post here.
From crafts fairs to restaurant nights, here are six fundraising event ideas perfect for Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs)!
This PTA fundraising idea enables you to engage your school community by allowing parents, teachers, and members of your community to show off their hobbies, art, and crafts.
Organize a fair where vendors of all kinds can set up booths to sell their arts and crafts. Have a percentage of all the proceeds go to your PTA or charge a small admission fee to all visitors. You can also charge vendors a fee to sell their wares at your event!
Fundraising Potential: $$$
Cost: $
Difficulty: +++
Every parent appreciates an occasional night out and away from the kids!
Raise money for your PTA by offering to take care of the kids while their parents are out. A good time would be around Valentine’s Day or just before Christmas, when parents do their Christmas shopping.
Gather some student volunteers and ask to host the event at school. Think of a couple of activities and games to entertain the kids and keep them all in one location.
Charge per hour or choose a flat rate – whatever you think would work best for your specific PTA.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
A ‘teachers vs. parents’ sporting event can be fun for everyone involved!
Pitting their favorite adults against each other in a friendly game of basketball, volleyball, softball – or even something like bowling – will have the kids bubbling with excitement.
Your PTO/PTA can charge admission fees for the game, and even sell snacks and refreshments for some additional funds. This PTA fundraising idea promotes parent-teacher cooperation and an active lifestyle, while also raising money for your cause.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: $$
Many parents love taking a break from cooking dinner! They’ll likely jump at having an excuse for dining out while supporting a good cause.
Partner with a local restaurant to host a restaurant night on a mutually beneficial date. The restaurant will provide a percentage of their profits from the day or evening to your cause.
In return, your nonprofit will bring in new customers and boost sales. This way, you help the local business grow and you also raise money. This also gives parents and families a chance to meet and mingle. If you decide to try this fundraiser, make sure to plan well in advance to give you time to promote it to the community!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
While simple, this fundraising idea is incredibly effective at bringing in donations. Ask your supporters to give up modern luxuries – think coffee, eating out, going out for drinks, an afternoon candy bar, weekend movie nights, and more – for a week or month. They then donate the cost of these luxuries to your organization!
You can also turn this into a peer-to-peer fundraiser by having your participants collect pledges from their friends and family.
It would be ideal if you could set up a text-to-donate system so that the participants can simply send a text to give each time they would have indulged in their ‘luxury’. This makes it much easier to stay on top of giving!
Watch this Donorbox video to learn how to successfully run a ‘Give it up’ campaign for your mission.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
A fun twist on the traditional bake sale, treasure cupcakes are sure to be a win! Hide a little something in a cupcake or two (e.g. a token or a ceramic figurine) that will trigger a “grand prize”. Supporters purchase cupcakes at a set price for a chance to win the prize – and they still get to enjoy a delicious treat!
Choose a prize that will be enticing to your audience. It can be something related to your cause, a ticket to an upcoming local event, a gift card to a popular shop, or anything else that will motivate your audience to pay a higher-than-usual price for the cupcakes.
You can easily go from $2 cupcakes to $5 cupcakes if the prize is appealing enough! It’s a fun way to raise money for your organization.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Small efforts reaping significant results! Your sorority and fraternity need funds to operate. Check out some of these favorite fundraising ideas to raise funds.
Date auctions are fun and light-hearted and can be an excellent way to raise money for your sorority or fraternity. Rally willing participants and have them come up with a variety of dates (e.g. going to the movies, an amusement park, or dinner).
Members of your audience can then bid on the dates they want the most. Make sure that the tone of the event is light-hearted, and that it’s evident the event is for a good cause.
As a precaution, ensure that there will be someone in the audience to bid for every date – so that none of your volunteers are left ‘hanging’.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
As a fun twist on the traditional talent show, organize a ‘No Talent Show’.
During a ‘No Talent Show’, the contestants purposefully perform badly (e.g. singing out of tune for an entire song, failed magic tricks, out of sync dancing, etc.).
Charge a small donation for admission, but more for exiting the room. For example, place signs at the entry point that state the entry fee is $5 and that the exit fee is $10.
Make sure you advertise this as a fundraising event and share the impact of each donation to attract a bigger crowd. Sell tickets online to amp up the excitement and help you plan in advance for the number of attendees you will have!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Let’s face it: many of us have piles of books that we won’t be reading (again) just lying around.
Organize a community book sale fundraiser. Have your members and the wider community donate unwanted books to your fraternity or sorority. Then, run a book sale and charge a small price for each book (alternatively, you can charge by the pound).
You can also organize a textbook sale at the start of the school year. Textbooks are expensive, and this lets you raise funds while also allowing some students to gain access to inexpensive textbooks.
Collect cash or accept card or digital wallet payments via fundraising kiosks that serve as your cashless point of sale system.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Raising money for your cause could not be more easier and fun!
Cardboard boat races bring in a lot of attention for being unique. Have participants (in teams) construct boats out of cardboard, glue, and duct tape. Once their boats are completed, have them race to the finish line. Whoever crosses the finish line first is the winner! You can also reward the best or the funniest/most creative design.
Advertise the idea with other fraternities and sororities as well as academic groups, dorm councils, and more, encouraging them to each create boats of their own to enter the race.
Collect a small donation from each participating group and charge a small fee to watch the race. You can also sell fun t-shirts, koozies, and other merchandise! The winner of the race can take home half of the money raised while your fraternity or sorority keeps the rest.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
A pop-up thrift store is an ideal fundraising idea for all those sorority and fraternity members looking to stay fashionable on a budget.
This fundraiser will work best during the times when people typically purge their wardrobes – for example, in between seasons. Ask for clothes and accessories to be donated, then organize a hip thrift store pop-up (both online and offline can work) and promote it on your social media pages.
You can even sport higher prices than a commercial thrift store – as long as you make it clear that it’s for a good cause.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +++
Kickstart the fundraising season by helping students move into their dorms in exchange for a donation to your cause.
You can also run this unique fundraising idea multiple times per year during times when students are typically leaving campus for extended periods of time (i.e. holiday breaks).
Just be sure to have several volunteers on hand who are able and willing to carry heavy loads, or at least maneuver moving carts!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Ready for more fraternity and sorority fundraising ideas? Find them in this article.
Make use of the season of cheer to raise money for a cause close to you with these fundraising ideas perfect for the Christmas holiday.
An ornament or bauble decorating competition is a unique and fun Christmas fundraising idea.
Think of an alluring prize that will appeal to your target audience. Some ideas include a handblown ornament from a local glass artist or a gift certificate for a holiday lights display in the area.
Charge participants a small fee and provide a variety of plain ornaments as well as various craft supplies needed to decorate them. When they’re done, a small panel of local judges can select their favorites. Or, post images on social media and let your followers vote for their top choice!
Each entrant can take their ornament home after the competition. Or, you can use all the baubles from the competition to decorate your organization or community’s Christmas tree!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
This Christmas fundraising idea allows for simple and straightforward giving – which many appreciate during the hectic holiday months.
Simply ask if you’re supporters will donate their last hour’s pay before Christmas to your nonprofit. This can be run as a peer-to-peer campaign – with peer fundraisers asking their coworkers to contribute – or you can ask your corporate partners to encourage their employees to make a matched gift.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Polar Plunge is the ultimate winter activity guaranteed to heat up your Christmas fundraising efforts and raise money! Have participants pay a flat entrance fee or solicit donations through pledges. The pledges will often pay for the amount of time (in minutes or seconds) the plunger lasts in the water.
Start recruiting participants at least several weeks in advance, and if possible, get a couple of local celebrities to participate. It’s also best to have some medical volunteers on hand, as well as volunteers to help with planning, promoting, and executing the event itself!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
The digital counterpart of the ‘envelope fundraiser’, this Christmas fundraising idea is simple and effective. Starting from December 1, count the days to Christmas. Ask your audience members to donate a corresponding amount online. For example, $1 on December 1, $15 on December 15, and so on.
This Christmas fundraiser requires minimum effort in terms of soliciting donations. All you need to do is draft a compelling online campaign using powerful imagery and text. Make sure you have a simple-to-use, but powerful online donation system to process the donations.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
This is another simple idea that enables you to raise money while helping others!
For this Christmas fundraiser, you’ll need to mobilize keen helpers and volunteers and partner with an area supermarket. Approach your supermarket of choice well in advance to ensure success!
The day of the Bag Pack, your volunteers help pack bags for the supermarket’s customers in exchange for donations. Many people will be more than happy to donate a little extra something for a good cause during the holiday season, especially if they’re getting something in return! Bonus points if you can offer branded paper or reusable shopping bags that will remind customers about your organization long into the future.
During the Bag Pack, ensure that your volunteers strictly follow any guidelines and stipulations the supermarket makes. If packing bags isn’t an option, see if you can offer to take loads of groceries to people’s cars or even to their homes!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
A fundraising classic, Christmas auctions can raise a lot of money for your nonprofit organization, if done well. After all, many people are willing to pay a bit more for an item they want if it’s for a good cause.
During your Christmas auction, put appealing items and experiences up for bid, such as spa deals, baskets full of holiday treads or decorations, travel packages, new electronics, and so on.
You can buy the products yourself, but, to minimize costs and maximize your earnings, we suggest partnering with local companies for in-kind donations.
Combine the Christmas auction with a Christmas gala dinner or other event to further boost donations!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
Many people love Christmas, but this time of the year is perhaps the most magical for the youngest amongst us – and this fundraising idea is catered to them!
Find a facility you can use for free and pick a date. Recruit your Santa and plan a bunch of activities for kids and their families while they’re waiting for their turn to take a photo with Santa. You can provide a coloring or craft table with simple activities like making a card or an ornament, face painting, story-telling, and bubble-blowing, to name a few.
Serve juice and pancakes (and have a yummy toppings bar). You can charge a flat fee for entry or charge for each activity separately. Sell tickets online in advance and be sure to have donation kiosks and other in-person giving options in place at the event to secure even more gifts.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
More Christmas fundraising ideas that work are waiting for you here.
Halloween doesn’t have to be all about candy, pumpkins, and ghosts! Here are some fun ways to raise donations on Halloween.
Halloween is all about a good scare. And a haunted house is exactly what you need for that!
Source a location (a school, an office building, a big house, or even a field – whatever works for your specific circumstances) and get started on transforming the space.
Plan your path in the haunted house. Consider who will be coming and then design your path appropriately.
Think of a theme and a story that will inform the path and the décor. Perhaps there was an old lady murdered in the house or a family on their vacation. Perhaps the house was built on an old graveyard or it was an asylum. Cover your walls in fake spider webs, fake blood, and bones, or anything Halloween-y. Make sure the lighting is dark and the music is ominous.
Enlist volunteers to act like ghosts, goblins, monsters, etc. Have them jump out at guests and make scary noises or laugh maniacally.
Charge admission fees and set cauldrons across the Haunted House (especially at the exit) in case guests want to donate more. Use an online ticketing tool like Donorbox Events to enable visitors to purchase their tickets online in advance, helping you plan for the size of the crowd you will have!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
To make a run or a race Halloween-appropriate and to add a fun twist to it, turn it into a Zombie Race. Have all participants come dressed up as zombies and race to the finish line. Alternatively, you can organize a walk instead of a run. Bonus points for zombie moves!
This is also a fundraising event that can generate a lot of buzz. As word of mouth spreads, you’ll have registrations pouring in. To make it even more interesting, you could organize the run/walk at night and have volunteers come out at certain times and scare the participants!
For alternatives, you could organize a zombie mud run or flag football tournament, dividing participants into teams of humans trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world and zombies looking to feed off them.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Organize a big horror movie night and charge admission fees to raise funds.
First, consider your audience. There are many different types of horror movies out there, and some are not appropriate for children.
Choose a venue and make sure there’s enough seating. Look for a movie theatre ready to donate the space for the night, or another big space where you can put up a movie screen. Decorate the venue with the colors of the season, as well as cobwebs, fake blood, goblins, zombies, witches, and more. To raise even more funds, sell yummy treats like Halloween candy and popcorn!
To make the night memorable, plan a trick for your guests that will coincide with the theme of the movie. For example, you could set up a phone to ring during a screening of “The Ring” or a clown passing through the audience during a screening of “It”.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
A costume competition is a classic Halloween fundraising idea!
Let your guests know about your competition a few weeks in advance. This will give them plenty of time to plan out an amazing costume. Choose the categories that prizes will be awarded for. You can have as many winners and prize categories as you like (e.g. scariest, funniest, best overall, best couple’s or group costume, etc.).
You can also add a fun twist to this fundraiser by asking your audience to make donations through your online donation page, with the highest donor getting to choose your costume!
Host your costume competition as part of a larger event or festival, or you could even host it online, with participants submitting their photos to be voted on via social media!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
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A fun and quirky Halloween fundraising idea, a pumpkin smash is also a way to extend the use of some of the billions of pounds of pumpkins sold each year in the United States alone.
Advertise your pumpkin smash by distributing flyers and posting about it on social media. Before the pumpkin smashing event, set up collection points where people can drop off their pumpkins after they’ve served their purpose.
If you’d like to avoid collecting, buy damaged pumpkins from a wholesaler. Lay down plenty of groundsheets, get a couple of baseball bats, and let your guests loose! Charge a dollar or two per smashed pumpkin.
Raising funds, letting off steam, and having fun – all with a simple pumpkin smash.
Fundraising Potential: +
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Sometimes, simple is better when it comes to raising funds. This Halloween fundraising idea is a twist on the most popular Halloween activity of them all: trick-or-treating!
Mobilize a group of young volunteers to knock on doors in your local community and ask: ‘Trick or donation.’ The more houses you visit, the more you can raise funds for your cause!
This works best for a nonprofit with strong ties to the community or a large number of committed volunteers.
As an alternative, you could host your own Trunk-or-Treat! Invite community members to set up (and decorate) their cars in your parking lot and invite area families to walk from car to car collecting treats, all for a small donation to participate.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
This Halloween fundraising idea is perfect for nonprofits with health-focused missions!
While Halloween candy, bars, and other sweets are very delicious, they are also usually loaded with sugar. Put a spin on a traditional baking contest and ask members of your community to enter a contest to create the best Halloween healthy treat.
These treats should be refined sugar-free, with all-natural and locally sourced ingredients. Have your judges rate the treats based on health value, Halloween spirit, and taste!
The winner could get a bag of goodies from a local health store, a blender, or another ‘health-related’ item as a prize.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Didn’t find “the one”? Look at more Halloween fundraisers here.
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to raise donations, as many are in a thankful and generous spirit. Here are our top creative and unique ideas for Thanksgiving fundraising!
Walks or runs are great fundraisers for almost any time of the year. For a Thanksgiving-inspired run, organize a 5k, 10k, or a marathon Turkey Trot. Let participants set up peer-to-peer fundraising pages to collect donations for racing and encourage them to share their pages across their social media accounts. This way, they’ll simultaneously gather more donations and promote the race, increasing sign-ups.
Encourage your runners to dress up and reward the best costumes. You could also reward division winners (or anyone crossing the finish line) with cinnamon rolls or another treat!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
The holiday season is all about giving, and gift baskets are amongst the most frequently given gifts.
Create your own gift baskets to sell, preferably designing several different ones to fit different buyer profiles and budgets (e.g. a wine basket, artisanal baked goods, or body care packages). You could also raffle off a few baskets with bigger ticket items. For example, one basket could contain a $50 gift card to a popular store and another one an iPad.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Most everyone loves potatoes. And they’re a staple side dish found on most Thanksgiving tables! So, why not use this popular root vegetable to raise money for your nonprofit organization?
Potatoes are cheap to buy in bulk, easy to store, and can be prepared in a myriad of ways. Organize a Thanksgiving event and set up an all-you-can-eat potato bar. Offer a buffet of different toppings and appetizers to accompany the potatoes (broccoli, cheese, baked beans, and more). To make the event even more memorable, organize games, karaoke, or other entertainment.
Charge a fee at the door for full access to the potato bar.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Thanksgiving is all about gratitude, and expressing gratitude has been shown to have positive emotional, cognitive, and mental benefits.
Run a social media campaign titled “Five Days of Gratitude” (or whatever number of days works best for your nonprofit) and encourage your audience to share one thing they’re grateful for on each day, followed by a donation to your nonprofit. Have them use the campaign hashtag as well so that you can easily find and interact with the user-generated content. In turn, your organization can also share what you’re thankful for each day, from your donors to your staff to your volunteers, and beyond!
This Thanksgiving fundraising idea is a great way to encourage giving thanks, expand your online fundraising, and spread the word about your nonprofit.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
A lot of food shopping happens around Thanksgiving! As the holiday is usually celebrated with food, many families pride themselves on their traditional family recipes.
For an innovative approach to Thanksgiving fundraising, partner with a local grocery store or a supermarket to offer shoppers a chance to ‘scan away hunger’. At the checkout, checkers simply ask shoppers if they would like to add the cost of one meal to their receipt as a donation, which can be done with a quick scan of a code they have on hand. Shoppers could also be offered an opportunity to buy a bag of groceries for someone in need!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
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Check out these Thanksgiving fundraising ideas for more inspiration!
Warm up the spirit of giving with these cool ideas for the colder months of the year.
Now, this is not what it seems! While a holiday fair, a Christmas market, or a meet-up with Santa and the elves are all great winter fundraising ideas – this is not what we have in mind.
Promote a Holiday Elves service to your community. Your Holiday Elves can set up or dispose of Christmas trees, wrap gifts, set up holiday lights or decorations, shovel snow, and provide other useful seasonal services in exchange for donations.
Of course, this will require mobilizing enthusiastic volunteers willing to donate their time to your cause. Advertise your Holiday Elves services offline and online and, as usual, make it clear what you’re fundraising for to entice more people to donate for your services!
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Cost: $
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Benefit concerts are a great way to bring a community together in a fun and inspiring way! During the winter months, and especially around the holidays, enlist local choirs, bands, soloists, and other musicians to participate in a community-wide winter concert that is sure to be well-attended. Your entertainers can perform seasonal favorites, popular tunes, or even their own original songs!
Find a local indoor venue willing to host the event (ideally as part of a sponsorship). Even better, ask performers if they’d be willing to participate for free as well – all for a good cause.
This means that all of the ticket proceeds would be going directly towards your mission. When promoting the event, make sure you’re clearly communicating what exactly the ticket sales will be supporting (e.g. building a new animal shelter or providing 10 villages with wells). You can also place donation kiosks around the
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
Ice skating and sledding are winter favorites amongst kids and adults alike.
Source an appropriate snowy or icy location that can accommodate as many participants as possible. This winter fundraiser is best organized outside, but if it doesn’t snow or get cold enough where you live, you can organize it at an indoor rink.
Charge for entry to the event and collect donations in exchange for sled or skate rentals.
To raise additional funds, sell hot chocolate, tea, baked goods, cider, non-alcoholic eggnog, and other winter goodies to help everyone warm up after all the fun!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Cooking and baking competitions are a foolproof way to bring the community together and raise funds for your cause.
This winter, organize a soup-off. Invite your local cooks, from amateurs to professionals, to prepare their most delicious winter soup recipes. Warm, hearty, and comforting – soups are the perfect wintertime food.
Those who bring soup can get in for free, but charge all the tasters/attendees to enter. You can ask for a monetary donation, or – if your nonprofit collects canned goods for those in need – you can request that all attendees bring a can of soup to participate! Have tasters vote for the best soup, or appoint a judging panel.
Have an enticing and relevant reward ready (e.g. a set of pots, a crockpot, or a cooking course).
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Organize a massive snowball fight and a fort-building competition, involving as much of your community as possible. Have participants form teams (e.g. one school competing against another, or one local business against another).
Consider charging each participant a small fee to register online.
You can go the extra mile and turn this into an all-day snow fest with a carnival, a winter market, crafting activities, and more. How ‘all-out’ you go will depend on your fundraising goal, your current capacity, and how much time you have left until the event.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Not convinced? We’ve got you. Take a look at more winter fundraising ideas and find the right one for your nonprofit.
From outdoor excursions to ice cream parties and golf tournaments, summer comes with many fun fundraising opportunities. Raise more donations with these unique ideas that are perfect for warmer weather!
As the days get warmer, more and more people look for ways to get out of the house. Respond to this need by organizing summer excursions or hikes!
The simplest excursion to organize is a simple day trip to a nearby forest or a national park. If you want to really take it up a notch, you could add these to create a full experience:
Wildflower hikes: Follow the blooms with a guide.
Waterfall hikes: Visit several waterfalls on one trip.
Berry picking: Pick wild berries with an expert.
Camping: Spend a night or weekend in the woods!
With this summer fundraiser, it’s best to have a local guide who knows the ins and the outs of the planned trail. Also, make sure one person is first aid certified in case of an incident. If camping, try to borrow equipment from local companies (or have participants bring their own) to minimize costs.
Charge a participation fee depending on the activity you choose to organize (i.e. if you’re organizing a two-hour hike, charge less than if you were to organize a weekend-long camping trip).
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Cost: $$
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I scream, you scream, donors scream for ice cream! This summer fundraising idea is sure to be a hit.
To organize an ice cream social, pick a location (an ice cream shop, a local café, or a park would all be great options) and choose a good time (Saturday and Sunday work well). Be mindful of the weather – you want to choose a warm day.
You’ll also need a cool space to store the ice cream and enough space for visitors to talk and mingle. Promote your event on social media and distribute flyers. Finally, you’ll also need volunteers to help set up the event and pass out ice cream.
You can either charge for each ice cream purchased or offer the ice cream for free while requesting free-will donations. To bring in more funds, set up a booth or a table where people can learn more about your nonprofit.
Pro tip: Try and get a local ice cream shop or a bigger ice cream producer to sponsor your event.
Fundraising Potential: +
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Yoga is gaining popularity around the world, and outdoor fitness classes are ideal for summertime. Organize a donation-based yoga class in an appropriate location, like a park. Set your class up for financial success by setting a ticket price or by asking for donations (at a suggested amount) to participate.
Making the event a little extra special with music, refreshments, a guest teacher, or a themed class will boost attendance.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
A cider-tasting event is a great alternative to a wine-tasting event if you’re looking to switch things up a bit. Find a cider merchant willing to help host the fundraiser and market the event to your audience and those in the area you feel may be interested.
Offer your attendees to sample many different ciders and feast on crafted and paired plates using the finest local produce. This fundraiser also pairs well with auctions, if you’re looking for an additional fundraising activity!
Depending on how you price the ticket, you can either offer a limited number (e.g. five) or an unlimited number of pours throughout the evening. Or, offer both options at different tiers!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Golf tournaments can be very lucrative. When organizing a golf tournament fundraiser, soliciting event sponsorships from local businesses is key. In-kind donations can also be solicited for printed materials, silent auction items, raffle prizes, goodie bag inclusions, beverages on the course, and more.
To gain instant credibility within the golf community, sponsors, and players that attend, choose an exclusive course that is highly rated in your area. Then, take care of the logistics, including table or tent rentals, cash boxes, golf cart rentals, placing event signage, as well as pre and post-event meals and activities, and coordinate entertainment. Don’t forget about the day-of volunteers and prizes for the winners!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
Still stuck? Here are more summer fundraising ideas that work!
Spring is peak event season for many nonprofits, thanks to the nice weather and the fact that many people aren’t taking vacations like they do in the summer. It’s also a time of year that sees more people with a tidy sum of cash, thanks to tax returns! Make the most of this spring with these creative ideas.
DIY projects and crafts are very popular right now, and that includes creating your own flower arrangements! Capitalize on this trend with your own workshop centered on arranging flowers.
A floral workshop typically lasts about two hours, with participants learning the basics of floral design and creative techniques (i.e. how to choose, condition, and arrange flowers), followed by a hands-on session on creating hand-tied bouquets or other floral arrangements.
Charge a participation fee that covers the flowers, wrapping, tool usage, instruction, delectable treats, complimentary refreshments, and the donation to your fundraiser.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
More than 140 countries around the world celebrate Earth Day in April each year, making an effort to clean up the planet for a better environment. Consider hosting your own green fundraiser and Earth Day cleanup.
The premise is simple – each volunteer gets a roll of garbage bags, a pair of gloves, and a shovel or garbage pick, and helps to clean up a designated area!
Firstly, set a date and time for your clean-up event (ideally the weekend of Earth Day). Get your volunteers to collect pledges from family members, friends, local businesses, and neighbors in your community.
The pledges can be a flat rate, or per bag, kilo, pound, or truckload of trash collected. They can also be per square meter or road mile cleaned. Consider making this into a competitive fundraiser where neighboring communities, schools, or teams see who can collect the most trash in one day!
Pro Tip: Earth Day is just one of many awareness days throughout the year. Awareness days are ideal for fundraisers because they allow you to capitalize on existing messaging and audiences – as long as they align with your cause. Click here for a comprehensive list and find one that fits your nonprofit’s mission and goals.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
While galas are great at any time of the year, the spring weather definitely calls for a more seasonally appropriate event.
Garden parties are the perfect way to create an interactive and intimate setting where you can speak to your donors face-to-face. Being outside in a blooming garden can create a relaxed atmosphere, making garden parties ideal for cultivating relationships with donors. Be sure to have an array of teas, biscuits, berries, scones, tea sandwiches, and cakes available to enjoy.
If you’re looking to put a creative spin on it, consider organizing a Mad Hatter Tea Party. Gather the most extravagant teacups and teapots you can find and ask your guests to dress up.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
If your nonprofit team is social media savvy (and we hope they are!), run a social media campaign appealing to local high schoolers and college students.
Ask for donations in place of paying for expensive beachside spring breaks. High schools and colleges typically schedule their breaks around the Easter holiday, which can fall in March or April. Alternatively, if your nonprofit organization often works with volunteers, plan an excursion/mission trip that allows students to apply their time and money to give back.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Brunch reservations can be hard to find on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, as can the ‘perfect’ gifts. With families wanting to do something extra special, set up a breakfast delivery system where donors can sign up for a delicious breakfast brought straight to their house.
While this idea works best for locally-based organizations, it can easily be adapted. For example, you could partner with local restaurants, let them manage the logistics, and get a percentage of each sale.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +++
Need to put a spring in your fundraising step? Fear not, there are more spring fundraising ideas!
Saving animals is a rewarding but costly mission. Here are five effective ideas for animal shelters that can help propel your animal fundraising to new heights.
Sure to attract a crowd, this idea combines education and fundraising.
Everyone wants to know how to take care of their beloved pets better – especially first-time owners! Have your staff or local vets offer community classes for pet owners or animal lovers on different topics of interest. For example, you could organize classes like “Basic Cat Care” and “Pet First Aid and CPR.”
Keep the prices accessible, around $10-$20 for an hour or two. Make sure to promote the event on social media and drop off flyers to local pet stores, other shelters and sanctuaries, and vet clinics.
Organize these regularly to bring in a consistent stream of money for your mission.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Did you know that 70% of U.S. households have a pet? Take advantage of the fact that many of your donors likely have pets in their homes with this fundraiser. After all, having pets is expensive, so any help with pet sitting or pet washing is greatly appreciated by pet owners!
Recruit your volunteers to help with pet sitting, and charge pet owners less than a professional pet sitter or a pet hotel would – with all the funds going directly to your shelter or other animal charity.
The owners will also feel good knowing their money will be helping animals like theirs! Make sure to promote the service on social media and by handing out flyers.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Partner with local pet-friendly restaurants that will not only prepare a tasty dinner for the human attendees but food and treats for their animal companions too. Ask that the restaurant donate a percentage of the proceeds to your nonprofit!
Make the dinner extra share-worthy by setting up napkins for the animals and serving their meals with as much attention as the human ones.
Everyone will be bursting with excitement to have a meal with their furry (and non-furry) friends and will surely share it on their social media profiles – generating more buzz for your shelter or rescue.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Yoga with dogs, yoga with cats, and even yoga with goats…this innovative animal shelter idea combines a popular workout with a love of animals and is guaranteed to raise funds.
Get a certified yoga teacher to donate a couple of hours of their time to a good cause. Organize a couple of one-hour yoga classes and open them to all levels (beginner to advanced). Feature animals that are available and charge for participation, with all proceeds going to your nonprofit, of course.
This not only raises funds but also helps with the adoption and fostering of the animals in your care, as well as with raising awareness for the importance of adoption in general. And who wouldn’t want to cuddle with dogs while working out?
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Just like it’s easier for donors to identify with a single individual’s plight than with a faceless group, it’s easier for them to empathize with a single animal.
Have programs in place where a person can sponsor a specific animal in your shelter for a month. Make this a recurring giving program, with the opportunity for the person to cancel the donation at any time.
Be sure to send regular updates – including photos and videos – of each pet to their sponsor. To get more sponsors, be sure to share the stories of each animal in your care across social media!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
We know fundraising is tough. Here are more animal shelter fundraising ideas.
We know that humane societies require a lot of funds to cover all costs that go into feeding, bedding, caring, and sometimes even saving animals. Here are five effective fundraising ideas for humane societies!
Given how much many people love animals, it should come as no surprise how wildly popular pet calendars are. Plus, wall or desk calendars are easy to create and sell!
To create your own pet calendar, choose to either photograph animals in your shelter, or you can run a contest for pet owners to submit an entry for their pet to be featured. Then, charge for the sale of each calendar – just make sure to have next year’s calendar complete before the year begins!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
If your donors are passionate about wildlife, try organizing a bird-a-thon.
Bird-a-thons are competitive and educational events for any level of birdwatchers where participants collect pledges for finding and counting bird species. Each counter collects pledges from friends, relatives, neighbors, businesses, and/or corporations for either a per-bird-species pledge or a one-time donation for all the birds that they count in that one 24-hour period.
Organize a guided trip or allow participants to count independently. Participants will have fun, make new friends, connect with other bird lovers, and raise funds – all at the same time!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
This fundraising idea is not only filled with “awwws”, but it can help your humane society create and foster strong business relationships. Not to mention that alleviating stress is a huge perk that many employers wish to offer to their employees!
Reach out to local businesses in your area and see if they would like to partner with you on this initiative. Bring in some of your most adorable, adoptable animals for employees to play with. For example, set up a “cuddle cube” in the office and ask for small donations to cuddle with the animals. Also, ask the company if they would like to match the donations made by the employees.
You can easily use this humane society fundraising idea to make a buzz on social media, so make sure you capture good photos and videos for your fundraising campaign!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
This fundraising idea will promote some friendly competition and net in some cash for your humane society!
Paw Wars is your classic penny wars fundraiser with a twist. Partner with local cafés or restaurants and have them put up two jars (one with “Cats” written on it, and one with “Dogs”). Guests will then put coins in one of the two jars, “voting” for either cats or dogs.
Concerned that people won’t have coins on hand? Create two online fundraising pages – one for cats and one for dogs – and post a QR code on each jar that sends donors to the form of their choice, where they can give using a card or digital wallet.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Reach out to a local university or college and see if you can organize a doggie date event or a rent-a-pup extravaganza!
“Rent out” puppies on campus for playtime, charging $5-$10 per 30 minutes. Students, who are often not allowed pets on campus, get to have doggie dates, and you get to raise funds.
Book a location on campus and promote the event on social media. This fundraiser is sure to spread via word of mouth as more and more students come and then let their friends know!
Keep track of who rents a puppy (and which one), note their reservation and return times, and be sure to keep hold of an ID.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Check out more humane society fundraising ideas here.
Nowadays, most political campaigns need to bring in extraordinary amounts of funds to be successful. Here are five ideas for political campaigns to help you raise more!
To take your standard contribution letters to a new level, give chain fundraising letters a go. A supporter gets sent a letter in which they are asked to send in a donation and then forward the letter to 10 of their friends. Better yet, ask each donor to include a personal note asking their friends to send in the same amount they did, and then forward the letter to more friends!
Chain fundraising letters are sort of a non-digital approach to crowdfunding or peer-to-peer fundraising. Although they lack the efficiency and speed of digital payments, they are helpful because they secure donations from those parts of the population that prefer traditional giving methods.
To turn this into an online fundraiser, try using the Facebook tagging functionality. For example, you could have your donors tag 10 of their friends and ask them to donate too, visibly demanding their attention.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Although virtual connection has taken the place of many in-person outreach in today’s world, door-to-door canvassing can still be effective. In addition, several political campaigns have experienced success with hosting booths at community events or appearing in parades.
To ensure you’re able to accept funds on the go, wherever you are, set up a mobile fundraising campaign. This can be done using several in-person giving techniques, such as including a QR code for your donation form on a brochure or pamphlet or sharing text-to-give information with those you meet. You can also create an in-person donation station using just a tablet and a card reader with tools like Donorbox Live™ Kiosk.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Celebrity fundraisers are the way to go if you want to give the regular dinner fundraiser a glamorous makeover! This political fundraising idea can rake in donations like no other if it’s hosted by a recognizable person many in the community trust.
For example, in 2012, actor and social activist George Clooney organized a dinner to raise funds for Barack Obama. A plate cost $40,000 for dinner with the President and included Hollywood’s biggest celebrities.
While most fundraising campaigns cannot pull off dinner with this price tag, a celebrity-hosted dinner attracting major donors is a great fundraising tactic for campaigns of all sizes. If you’re a smaller operation, you could do this with a local celebrity and set the price accordingly.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
Flash mobs are fun, innovative, and ideal when you’re on a budget. They also bring a touch of lightheartedness to the world of political fundraising.
These viral sensations are a great way to gain attention for your campaign and bring in funds. Pick a song, come up with choreography, and choose a location. Have a volunteer teach the choreography and lead the event!
Ask several people in your network if they want to get involved, but keep everything under the radar. During the flash mob, have someone ask the observers for free-will donations, or simply pass out flyers with a QR code or text-to-donate information. Make sure you have the necessary permits if you’re using a public place or a private property (e.g. a mall).
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Because the donor is getting something tangible for their donation during an auction, donor burnout decreases and contributor loyalty increases. Not only do donors appreciate getting something in return, but someone who may not have donated before may now become a loyal supporter if they win!
To maximize your chances of success, use a professional auctioneer who specializes in fundraising auctions. An experienced fundraising auctioneer can more than double, even triple the funds raised.
Don’t purchase anything for your auction. If possible, have auction professionals teach you how to get donated items worth thousands of dollars. In addition to that, they can source the items and experiences for your auction that will bring high prices from the bidders.
Have the candidate hold a speech before the auction takes place to excite the crowd and encourage more donations.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +++
Looking for more? We’ve got tons of political fundraising ideas in our blog post.
To do great things for the congregation and in the community, churches need a strong foundation of support. Here are five ideas to help your church raise more funds.
Everyone has stuff they don’t need lying around their house. Use your congregants’ unwanted goods to raise money and give the unwanted stuff a new home (points for sustainability)!
Here are some ideas:
Make sure you have a way to collect the funds and provide receipts for your donors!
Alternative idea: You can combine these three into a big ‘jumble’ drive or rummage sale where books, shoes, clothes, household goods, and more are sold.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
The famous “Buy One, Give One” concept, popularized by TOMS, is a straightforward and inspirational way to fundraise.
For example, if your church is helping the homeless, you can organize a community lunch sale offering “buy a lunch, give a lunch”, pricing the food slightly higher than average to support your cause.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Try throwing arts and crafts classes to raise funds. Watercolor painting or drawing classes, knitting or crocheting nights, and other craft projects and activities are all good options.
Find someone who can teach the class (ideally a congregation member willing to donate their time and skills). Charge a flat rate that includes supplies for the attendees, with any proceeds benefitting your church or mission. You can also check with your local colleges, art or craft supply stores, artisans, and other companies to see if they can donate some of the supplies.
Alternatively, you could organize a crafts fair where sellers would pay a small fee to join or donate a percentage (e.g. 10%) of their sales to your church. And you could make additional money by selling refreshments!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
This church fundraiser works best for development projects such as building an auxiliary building, repairs on your main building, or rebuilding the front pathway.
Host a virtual buy-a-brick fundraiser and have people buy their bricks (donate to your church) online. To attract mid-level donors ($50-$500 range, establish a brick wall, walkway, or other tiled or bricked surface (either indoors or outdoors) and have them donate a certain amount in return for being allowed to engrave one of the bricks with their personal name or message.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Bake-offs and bake sales are fundraising classics for churches and faith-based organizations. Give the participants the general theme and let them choose their own recipes or choose a single recipe or dish and have all of the participants make the same one.
To make the bake-off even more exciting, pick a theme (e.g. from a book) and devise a whole evening of activities inspired by the book’s plot.
Have your participants register online or offline and bring in a home-baked treat. Each one should be judged on a number of criteria, such as presentation and taste.
You could also sell recipe books and run games like trivia or bingo during the event. Fundraising opportunities are plenty!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Here are more fundraising ideas for your church.
Worship and charity are the key factors of Ramadan. Raise more this Ramadan with these five ideas!
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating any food, drinking any liquids, smoking cigarettes, and engaging in any sexual activity, from dawn to sunset.
Muslims are also supposed to try to curb negative thoughts and emotions like jealousy and anger and even lesser things like swearing, complaining, and gossiping.
This is why Ramadan is a great time to launch a “Give Something Up” campaign. You could ask your donors to give up takeaways, coffee, driving, chocolate, or shopping during Ramadan and donate that money to your nonprofit.
Not only will donors get a chance to kick a bad habit, but they will feel great supporting a good cause. Win-win!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often observed as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is taken just after the call to prayer Maghrib, which is around sunset.
Being such a community practice/tradition, the Iftars are perfect for fundraising. Organize a community Iftar at a venue of your choice.
Prepare a tasty menu, offering options for all dietary choices and requirements. Invite your donors, supporters, partners, volunteers, and staff to break the fast together or simply celebrate the spirit of Ramadan.
There are many ways in which you could raise additional funds during your Iftar event. In addition to charging for entry, you could set up collection points throughout the venue where donors could make additional donations in cash or using a credit card.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Host a game night where your community can enjoy a few board games at the local mosque. During Ramadan, this can help pass the time until Iftar and get the community even closer together.
Ensure that you have a variety of board games to host your fun day. You can play games like Monopoly and chess. Either charge a flat fee for the entire event or charge per game.
Make sure there are volunteers to help with the setup and handling of admission!
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Sell cakes in your local community to raise funds during the holy month of Ramadan. Have people pay a donation in return for a cake.
During Ramadan, many of the cakes will possibly be used as a part of Iftar (breaking the fast).
To make the process more streamlined and efficient, collect cake orders in advance so you can meet the demand. Depending on the size of your project, you can either bake the cakes yourself (and/or with volunteers) or partner with a local bakery (and share the profit).
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: ++
Invite the non-Muslim members of your community to fast during one day of Ramadan, then join you for Iftar. Partner with a restaurant willing to organize and sponsor the Iftar, so that all the food is free for the attendees.
You can also invite the local Mosque Imam to come along and give a brief talk as to why Muslims fast during Ramadan, answering any general questions people may have.
This Ramadan fundraising idea not only raises funds but also helps bridge the gaps in local communities and raise awareness about Ramadan and Islam in general. Get more info about our online fundraising solution for Islamic charities here.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
More creative Ramadan fundraising ideas await you here.
Mission trips usually come with a huge price tag. Here are five ideas to finance your plane tickets, food, and accommodation, as well as your mission itself.
A fun and fitting spin on the basic trivia night, Geography Blitz is a great missionary fundraising idea. This idea is particularly good if you have a few friends or family members interested in geography, or if your mission trip is international. Put their knowledge to the test and raise money for your trip!
You can host the event at your home, or you can reach out to a local restaurant or bar. Charge a small admission fee and encourage people to make additional donations throughout the night. Everyone will have fun guessing the answers to tricky geography questions and can learn even more about your mission trip’s destination as well. You can also make it into a team competition to make everything a bit more exciting and dynamic!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Do some research on the country or area you will be doing your mission trip in and create a book of recipes featuring dishes from that cuisine. This will give your community a taste of your destination, will get you excited about your missionary trip, and will get you and others more familiar with another culture.
You can print the cookbooks yourself or find a sponsor that does it all for you, but keep in mind that most have a high order minimum. Organize a fun day cooking and shooting photos for all the recipes. Finally, have friends, family, and community members purchase your cookbook as a donation to your cause.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Imagine the buzz you could create if you hosted a raffle and – instead of the traditional items – you were giving away plane tickets! Raffles are enticing in general, but a travel raffle is sure to draw in an even bigger crowd. Who doesn’t want to dash off for a mini-vacation?
Before you start planning your travel raffle, check with your congregation to see if any of them have a connection with any travel agencies or airline companies that could donate the tickets or offer you a discount. Even if you don’t manage to get a discount or free airfare, you can still book an inexpensive getaway, like a hiking trip.
Promote your raffle and encourage more participation with a compelling mission trip fundraising letter.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
A “Make the Grade” fundraiser is a great way to raise funds for schools and mission trips.
The students set goals for the GPA they will maintain throughout the semester, or collect pledges for individual grades (e.g. $2 for each B or $4 for every A). If they meet their goals, their family or other members of the congregation will chip in accordingly for the travel costs.
This initiative not only raises funds but also motivates the students to achieve better grades and helps build a community.
Fundraising Potential: ++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
T-shirt fundraisers are great for mission trips because they allow you to raise money for your trip while offering your supporters something tangible in return.
There are tons of companies out there that can produce and ship the t-shirts to your supporters. An added bonus is that they often offer ready-made designs, so you don’t have to worry if you are lacking in the design department.
Once you’ve launched your t-shirt campaign, get the word out about the fundraiser and start sharing about it on social media.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +
Fear not! We have even more ideas for mission trip fundraisers.
From fancy galas to grateful patient programs and planned gifts, here are five unique ideas to raise more funds for your medical organization.
This classic and proven fundraiser is often more formal than other events, with guests like corporate supporters, community leaders, and board members.
Galas are a great platform for attracting, networking with, and approaching major donors. Medical research organizations often depend on major donors for the advancement of their programs, which is what makes galas an ideal fundraising solution!
Add fundraising activities like auctions, wine pulls, and more to your gala to bring in additional donations.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $$
Difficulty: +++
While peer-to-peer fundraising is a great technique for a variety of nonprofit organizations, it lends itself particularly well to medical research fundraising.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is essentially an extended crowdfunding solution. Whilst crowdfunding generally uses one landing page to collect general donations or cause-specific donations for the organization, the main purpose of a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign is to mobilize your supporters to fundraise on behalf of your organization.
Your supporters can create their own personal fundraising pages connected to your campaign and ask their friends and family to donate to your organization in lieu of a birthday gift, commit to a challenge, or fundraise at school or work.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Fitness fundraisers, like cycle rides, are great for medical organizations! To organize a cycle ride fundraiser, form a steering committee that includes at least an event coordinator and volunteer coordinator who have experience organizing a cycling event and/or participating as a rider in similar events. Select a date based on other athletic events and choose a location.
Choose the bike route, contact the relevant authorities to obtain permits, mobilize volunteers, and start promoting the event. Be sure to charge a small booking fee to cover costs, with proceeds going to your mission.
Participants can also pledge to help with fundraising by donating themselves or asking friends and family to give on their behalf. Don’t forget to give your riders plenty of tips and ideas to help you reach your goal!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +++
Developing a Grateful Patient Program can do wonders for your medical research organization.
This program lets the patients express their gratitude to your organization, researchers, or physicians, and it also bolsters your reputation.
When setting up your grateful patient program, think about how your program will be managed, how the donor data will be organized, and how you will screen prospects. And remember to treat your patients and donors as people first, and potential donors second!
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: ++
Planned giving refers to donors setting aside funds in advance in order to make a major investment in a healthcare facility or medical research. Donors typically make planned gifts by allocating funds in their wills or trusts as well as donating life insurance policies.
When handled appropriately, planned gifts can become a major funding source for your medical organization. Learn more about planned giving here.
Fundraising Potential: +++
Cost: $
Difficulty: +++
Across the globe, for organizations big and small, fundraising can become associated with stress and pressure. But it doesn’t have to be so! Fundraising can be simple and enjoyable – all it takes is the right idea, hard work, and a positive attitude!
However, choosing an idea from this list is just the beginning. Get inspired by these, but talk to your team, your volunteers, and your donors – what would they like to see and take part in? Every organization is different. Give yourself the opportunity to go outside of the box when it comes to this year’s fundraising.
Remember that even the simplest fundraising idea takes time and requires preparation. Leave yourself enough time to plan the event stress-free.
We know it’s difficult to come up with distinctive and compelling ideas, so we hope this article helped you begin to understand your options so you can start planning your fundraising. And, when you’re ready to get started, check out Donorbox’s suite of innovative fundraising tools, each designed to help you raise more.
Be sure to also take a look at the rest of our Nonprofit Blog to find more creative ideas, as well as tips and actionable advice you can use to implement them for your nonprofit. Sign up for our e-newsletter to receive the latest articles, resources, news, and more in your inbox.
Have fun!
Raviraj heads the sales and marketing team at Donorbox. His growth-hacking abilities have helped Donorbox boost fundraising efforts for thousands of nonprofit organizations.
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Raj