14 Quick Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits
Falling behind on your fundraising goals? Don't worry. These 14 quick fundraising ideas are easy to pull off and perfect for filling in the gaps.
Falling behind on your fundraising goals? Don't worry. These 14 quick fundraising ideas are easy to pull off and perfect for filling in the gaps.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!Fundraising is like a marathon. It takes sustained efforts over a longer period of time and a lot of grit to achieve the desired outcomes and goals.
While successful fundraising campaigns usually take some time to plan and execute, sometimes all you need is a unique, easy, and quick fundraising idea to bring in immediate support or reach your final fundraising goal!
If you’re wondering how to fundraise quickly, we’re here to help. In this article, we provide 14 fundraising ideas that make money fast without too much effort.
If you’re wondering how to run a successful car wash fundraiser, we’re here to help.
Here’s how to streamline your car wash:
A car wash fundraiser is a proven and quick money maker. All you need is a team of volunteers, a location, bold signs, and some cleaning supplies. And, they are a great way to involve everyone, have fun, and build a community.
Pro tip: Want to boost the success of your car wash fundraiser? Bring in extra revenue by selling doughnuts and warm beverages for supporters to enjoy while they wait!
Selling customized wristbands, either as a part of a larger campaign or on their own, makes our list of unique and easy fundraising ideas because it’s a great way to bring in money fast.
Fundraising wristbands are an excellent way to raise awareness and promote your cause. This fundraiser is quick to put together, yet very effective.
Pro tip: Make sure your wristbands are unique and made from high-quality materials in order to best represent your cause. Silicone wristbands are a popular choice because they’re customizable and can be ordered online.
If you’re wondering how to fundraise quickly, then this activity is for you. Activity workshops are not only quick to put together but also incredibly versatile and customizable. And, they’re appropriate to host seasonally.
Here are some seasonal activity workshop ideas to get you going:
You can adapt them to all the different ages, too! Naturally, activity workshops will look very different if you’re creating them for kids vs. adults.
Host a class and charge an entry fee using an event ticketing tool like Donorbox Events to cover supplies and collect additional donations.
A very quick and easy way to fundraise is to set up a donation page and collect donations through a brand-aligned donation form.
Donorbox allows you to offer multiple payment methods and include up to four recurring giving intervals on your form. Customize your form to align with your brand, add a compelling call to action and visuals, and allow donors to repeat their gifts in one click with QuickDonate™.
See how Project Wet is collecting donations to help advance water education using a Donorbox-hosted donation form:
Donation jars are simple, effective, and one of the easiest ways to fundraise. They can be used in a variety of situations. Partner with local cafes or businesses (especially those with values that align with your nonprofit) – and have them place the donation jar at their check-out registers.
Nowadays, there are also digital donation jars that can accept card donations, too.
Use a cashless in-person alternative like Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, which turns your tablet or iPad into a mobile giving kiosk when paired with a card reader. Or, fundraise on the go with an Android smartphone using the Tap to Pay feature – no additional hardware required (coming soon to iOS). This way, you’ll be able to accept cashless donations from donors using their credit/debit cards and digital wallets.
Check out this quick video to see how Donorbox Live™ Kiosk works:
Game nights are one of the top fundraising ideas for nonprofits because they bring people together to have fun while raising critical funds.
Select five to ten different games that require at least four players and set them up at different stations. Charge each person for every game they want to partake in to raise funds for your cause.
Here are some great ideas for your game night:
Adjust the games depending on the age and preferences of your audience. Add a theme to make it more fun – encourage people to dress up and align your snacks and décor with your theme. Ask local businesses to donate a prize and/or food and drinks!
Besides being quick to organize, your nonprofit can promote sustainability and thriftiness by organizing “swaps.” These are commonly organized for clothes, but other items like books and accessories can be swapped, too!
Go big with this fundraising idea if you can, and appoint teams of volunteers to sort the items dropped off in advance or upon entry into separate areas for tops, pants, dresses, coats, and sweaters. You can have catering, entertainment, and even a lecture about sustainability.
Advise supporters to bring gently used (no stains or rips), preferably stylish clothes. Swap events work well during the change of seasons when people tend to shop for new clothes. Charge for entry and donate the leftover clothes.
Pro tip: If you’re short on time, creating a simple token system and limiting the number of attendees will work in your favor. Basically, you get a token for every item of clothing you bring, and you can use it towards another piece of clothing.
This fundraiser is a classic, and for good reason. It takes no time to organize, and it’s a perfect way to bring in additional funds while allowing to give as much as they’re able to.
Write dollar amounts from $1 and higher on the envelopes. Go as high as you want. Put envelopes on a board or wall, and include messages that will encourage people to give. People take an envelope and put the corresponding amount of money in it to donate (e.g. $50 inside an envelope with the number 50 on it).
This works best if you have a physical location that gets a lot of visits or if you’re running an event. However, you could even partner with an organization/local business that could put the envelopes up for you.
There are many versions of the Guessing Game, but the principle remains the same. Participants are given the opportunity to guess something, and they pay for each guess.
Many popular versions of the Guessing Game include jars. Fill a jar with (affordable) items – usually candies – and ask participants to guess how many are inside. The smaller the items are and the bigger the jar, the more difficult it becomes to guess and the more funds you can raise. You can also use pennies, paper clips, confetti, and more.
Make sure the jar is placed in a high-traffic location. This is a great university or school fundraising idea! Charge about $1 per guess and award a prize to the winner.
Social media is an important component of a modern nonprofit’s fundraising strategy.
Create a post sharing a compelling photo or short video spotlighting a single donor and how their donation made a difference. Make sure you tag the donor and get their permission before posting.
You can also showcase your beneficiaries, perhaps sharing the before-and-after story. Seeing the impact donations can have on real people can make all the difference to donors – encouraging them to give.
Don’t forget to link to your online donation form in the post (idea #4).
This fundraising idea is incredibly simple and ideal for those looking for fundraising ideas that make money fast.
Simply choose a day of the month and then run a campaign on that day, asking people to donate the exact same amount of money to your nonprofit (e.g., $20 on the 20th).
This works best if the day is meaningful in some way. For example, World Lymphoma Awareness Day is on September 15, so any nonprofit linked to this cause could run a $15 on the 15th campaign.
Create a couple of powerful social media posts and share them on the day. Find a full list of awareness days in this blog post.
Another classic and versatile fundraising idea. Run a lemonade or juices & smoothies stand in the summer and a warm beverages stand in winter.
Choose an area with heavy foot traffic to ensure your booth is visible – like a local mall or busy street in your town.
You’ll need a booth, cups, the beverages of choice, and any add-ins. You can even round up long tables and cover them with plastic or paper cloths (go festive if you’re doing this during the holiday season!).
To keep as much of the funds as possible, ask for in-kind donations from local businesses willing to donate cups, lids, napkins, and stir sticks. Have an organized plan to collect the cash received and enough small change to break larger bills, and don’t forget about signs promoting your stand!
Fundraising calls are relatively cheap and quick to put together and execute. Fundraising calls also support other fundraising strategies, since you can call to follow up on an email or a direct mail.
If you have the basic script ready, you can get almost anyone to do the calls, which makes this fundraising idea scalable. Dedicate a couple of hours (or a whole day) one day of a week to calling your current and potential donors. Make it into a team activity – this can help make it fun for everyone!
Have your staff and volunteers ask for donations and pledges.
Pro tip: If you want to go the extra mile, create a leaderboard and have a reward ready for the most successful team to keep people motivated.
A twist on the classic auction, a skills auction gets people to offer up a skill/service to be “sold” to a bidding member of the group.
Essentially, instead of physical items, services and promises are offered. Ask for contributions to the skills auction from your staff, volunteers, or community members ahead of time.
Here are some examples of skills and services that can be auctioned:
Then, you run the skills auction the same way you would the “regular” auction.
Bonus resource: Looking for more fundraising ideas? Here are 100+ fundraising ideas for your nonprofit!
While it’s important to do what’s tried and tested, quick fundraising also calls for experimentation and innovation. We hope this list of top fundraising ideas for nonprofits helps you get closer to reaching your end-of-year fundraising goal.
At Donorbox, we’re passionate about creating powerful fundraising features that boost donations to your cause.
Sign up to start fundraising in minutes!
Check out our Nonprofit Blog for more nonprofit resources and tips.
Some easy ways to fundraise include organizing a car wash fundraiser or game night, placing a donation jar in high-traffic areas like restaurants, or collecting funds with an online donation form using fundraising platforms like Donorbox.
Some of the top fundraising ideas for nonprofits that bring in donations quickly include seasonal activity workshops, envelope fundraisers, skills auctions, raffles, bake sales, and beverage stands.
To ensure the success of your car wash fundraiser, promote your event well in advance, make sure you have dedicated access to water, and try to host it over the weekend. Streamline your event by assigning tasks like washing, drying, and soaping to individual groups.
Ilma is a content writer with over eight years of experience, specializing in nonprofits and social impact, marketing, language, and psychology. She draws on years of volunteering in the nonprofit sector to craft thoughtful, research-informed pieces. Ilma is also a therapist passionate about mental health and often weaves this perspective into her writing.
Join the fundraising movement! Join the fundraising movement!
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