Are you looking for new fundraising ideas for your wildlife charity? Protecting wildlife is a noble cause but it can be difficult to keep bringing funds in, especially if you’re a smaller organization. We’ve come up with a few ideas to kickstart your next fundraising campaign! Fundraising Ideas for Wildlife Charities Animals can be very…
Are you looking for new fundraising ideas for your wildlife charity? Protecting wildlife is a noble cause but it can be difficult to keep bringing funds in, especially if you’re a smaller organization.
We’ve come up with a few ideas to kickstart your next fundraising campaign!
Animals can be very appealing and this can form the basis of some fun and effective fundraising campaigns. Here are 7 ideas for raising more funds for your wildlife charity and raising awareness of your cause too.
Producing and selling wildlife-themed cards can be a great way to raise funds for your wildlife charity.
See if your organization can partner with an artist to create the images. Sometimes, an artist will donate their time and the use of their images or work for a reduced fee.
Alternatively, you can ask your supporters to submit photos and choose one as the winner. User-generated content can be a powerful way to build stronger relationships with your donors.
Pro tip: You can sell the cards on your website and at fundraising events. You can also ask local businesses to sell them on your behalf.
Creating wildlife-themed desk and wall calendars is another option for raising funds.
If you don’t want to do the photography yourself, you can use royalty-free images or team up with a photography student.
If you want to get your supporters involved, try hosting a wildlife-themed photo contest and asking for submissions.
As with cards, you can sell them through your website and ask local businesses to stock them.
Printing is likely to be the biggest expense linked to producing a calendar. See if your organization can partner with a local printer to cut costs. If you’re happy to promote them in your calendar, they may offer a reduced price or even donate the costs.
You can also use a site like Shutterfly if you think your organization will need to produce calendars in bulk.
Pro tip #1: Start the process in the summer months so your organization has plenty of time to get calendars ready to sell from December onwards.
Pro tip #2: Along with photos of animals, you can also include facts and quotes about them.
Pro tip #3: If you’re a registered nonprofit, include your contact information on the calendar and a link to your donation page. This makes it easy for people to find out more information about your organization and donate.
Pro tip #4: Team up with small to medium-sized corporates in your city. If they’re interested in charitable giving, they may buy calendars for their offices.
Looking for zoo fundraising ideas? Animal experience days can help raise funds for zoos, wildlife centers, and rescue centers.
It’s a great opportunity for animal lovers to get hands-on with the creatures your organization supports. They can even help at feeding time!
You can create gift packages for special occasions, including Christmas and birthdays.
Staff and volunteers will need to have the right training. You’ll also need to do a risk assessment and look into the necessary insurance. Use animals that are comfortable with being around people and being handled. Not all animals will be suitable candidates for this, so you may need to be selective with the ones that are included in an experience day. Allowing visitors to pet baby animals is ideal. Baby rabbits, cubs, and puppies are great examples.
Pro tip: Use an online fundraising tool to easily raise funds during these days. Donorbox lets you create an on-brand donation page and add a recurring donation form to it. You can also use crowdfunding, peer-to-peer fundraising, and text-to-give to boost donations for such events. Donorbox also gives you a free QR code with each campaign you create. You can download the QR code and use it at your venue to encourage more donations from the visitors.
You can host a wildlife-themed fancy dress event for kids and invite your younger supporters to get creative with their outfits. This can be a fun way to raise awareness about your wildlife charity and raise funds, especially for kids who may not be aware of what you do.
You can charge an entry fee, and offer a reduced ticket price for turning up in a fancy dress.
Pro tip: Fancy dress can be as simple as an animal-themed face mask or face paint. Broadening the definition of fancy dress can mean that more people are interested in attending.
Offering the chance to sponsor or become an honorary “parent” to an animal can be a great way to secure recurring donations.
Campaigns that are based around one specific creature can help supporters build a connection to the work that your wildlife charity carries out.
Send information to sponsors every quarter, with updates on how their “pet” is doing. If it’s feasible, invite them to visit in person.
Pro tip: Offer your supporters the option to sponsor an animal for $1 per day. This can seem a lot less daunting than the yearly equivalent and makes it more likely that donors will continue to give in the longer term. It also makes it easy to have more than one supporter sponsoring the same animal.
Stuck for zoo fundraising ideas? Children and adults alike can have a lot of fun with a scavenger hunt.
Even if you’re not a zoo, most wildlife charities could benefit from hosting a scavenger hunt. You can theme your clues around wildlife to raise awareness of the work your nonprofit does.
If you charge even a small amount for attending, it can be a great way to raise more funds.
Pro tip: Ask local businesses if they’ll donate a prize for the winner.
Let your supporters see if their animal-related knowledge is up to scratch with a trivia night.
Putting on trivia night can feel daunting, but a lot of planning is done beforehand.
When you’re creating questions for each round, think about whether you’ll include picture rounds or music rounds.
Make sure you double-check the answers. This can avoid disputes about the correct answer when competitive streaks kick in!
The winning team can spend some time with your animals. Let them have 30 minutes with their favorite animal, for example.
Set a ticket price for taking part in your trivia night and promote the event to your supporters. Social media and email communications can be key to this. You can also promote it in the local area to reach out to people who aren’t already supporters.
Pro tip #1: Are there any local businesses that regularly run quiz nights? Find out when they’re happening so you don’t clash with other events. You can offer to promote their quiz night, especially if they’ll spread the word about yours too.
Pro tip #2: If your trivia night is a big success, consider making it a regular fundraising event. You can expand to include general knowledge rounds and keep one round for animal questions, for example.
Finding effective fundraising ideas for wildlife charities isn’t always easy, but there are plenty of animal-themed options.
You can even involve the creatures you support! Cards and calendars are great examples of this. Get the kids involved with animal-themed activities too.
Visit our nonprofit blog for more advice on fundraising and donor management.
Sally Aquire is a copywriter with a background in crafting communications and fundraising for a women's center. She writes about fundraising, nonprofit management, and wellness initiatives.
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Sally Aquire