Fundraising occasions are a good way to your nonprofit, college, enterprise, or different group to interact with its group and increase cash for its trigger on the similar time. However choosing a fundraising concept that matches your finances and entails your supporters isn’t at all times the best activity.
That’s why we’ve put collectively this record of our favourite fundraising occasion concepts which can be confirmed to lift the cash your group wants and enhance engagement together with your group:
Every concept options the fundraising potential, value, and recognition to assist information you towards a fundraising occasion that’s proper to your group. Are you prepared to start out elevating cash to your trigger? Let’s dive into our favourite fundraising occasion concepts!
Interested by promoting t-shirts to your trigger?
Create a fundraising marketing campaign on Bonfire at the moment!
Our Favourite Fundraising Occasion Concepts
T-Shirt Fundraiser
Designing and promoting t-shirts is an efficient fundraising occasion concept that people and organizations can use to lift cash.
A t-shirt fundraiser is a win-win scenario for everybody concerned. The marketing campaign creator will get to lift cash and promote their trigger by way of merchandise, and supporters achieve a memorable merchandise in return for his or her donations. If you wish to increase cash on behalf of a nonprofit, Bonfire will ship the funds on to that group on the finish of your marketing campaign so that you don’t need to.
Whenever you use Bonfire to your on-line t-shirt fundraising wants, there are:
- No month-to-month subscriptions
- No stock necessities
- No upfront bills
Our purpose is to make every step of the fundraising course of as fast and straightforward as doable for you so you possibly can give attention to maximizing your donations.
5K Race
5K fundraisers will attraction to your energetic supporters, bringing them collectively to increase consciousness and cash to your trigger. Begin planning your occasion a number of months or perhaps a 12 months prematurely so you’ve gotten sufficient time to safe a location, recruit volunteers, and promote the race.
Elevate much more cash by promoting customized 5K race shirts with a customized design commemorating the occasion. We suggest utilizing a t-shirt fundraising platform like Bonfire that makes designing and promoting the shirts simple. This fashion, your staff can focus its time and power on organizing the fundraiser.
Moreover, join with native companies to see if they may sponsor your occasion. With the assistance of an official company sponsor, it can save you cash on all of the supplies you’ll want for the occasion, like water for the members, tables, banners, and decorations.
Merch Sale
Organizations that wish to give donors a strategy to present their assist can promote branded merchandise at any of their occasions. From t-shirts and hats to espresso mugs and water bottles, there are many objects you possibly can promote!
Merchandise makes an ideal addition to any public fundraising occasion, like a road honest or live performance. Plus, promoting merchandise earlier than a fundraising marketing campaign or volunteer engagement will help you increase more money. For instance, you would possibly ask volunteers to buy particular t-shirts in order that they match and stand out within the crowd.
Work with a merchandise firm that allows you to create your individual branded merchandise. Ideally, this platform must also provide the choice to promote branded shirts on-line or simply place bulk orders to promote in individual.
Karaoke Evening
Who doesn’t love an evening crammed with pals and karaoke? Accomplice with an area restaurant or venue that already provides karaoke nights to lift funds to your trigger. Let the native restaurant know what you’re elevating funds for, and ask them in the event that they’d be keen to donate a share of the night time’s proceeds to the trigger.
Encourage all of your family and friends to take care of reap probably the most rewards out of your fundraising occasion.
Pub Crawl
Plan a pub crawl to lift cash to your trigger—reserved for members who’re of authorized consuming age, in fact! First, select venues inside secure strolling distance of one another. Then, contact the bar house owners to ask in the event that they’d prefer to take part and donate a portion of their proceeds to your trigger.
Promote tickets prematurely and designate the beginning spot. You may even select a theme or raffle off enjoyable prizes all through the night. Providing customized tees forward of time for members to put on on the day of the occasion is a straightforward strategy to enhance income, too. Think about partnering with an area rideshare service or taxi firm to supply free or discounted rides residence on the finish of the crawl.
Carnival or Road Honest
Convey out your group with a carnival or road honest! Although these occasions might be expensive and resource-intensive, they’re thrilling events that may usher in income. For a road honest, cost distributors a price to arrange their sales space or stand and an entry price to individuals who wish to browse. Guide the house prematurely, maybe with an area park or college.
For a carnival, look into renting rides, video games, or skilled artists. Guarantee you’ve gotten the suitable insurance coverage, permits, and waivers in place to forestall questions of safety. To offset a number of the prices, look into sponsorships and donations from native companies in change for being featured in occasion advertising and marketing supplies.
Enjoyable and Cheap Fundraising Occasion Concepts
Sip and Paint Evening
Sip and paint occasions work for organizations that assist causes of all styles and sizes in addition to people seeking to increase cash for private or charity initiatives.
For this fundraising occasion concept, you’ll have to associate with an area sip and paint retailer that’s keen to donate a share of the night time’s proceeds to your trigger. Or, you possibly can create a paint and sip arrange in your individual services or a rented venue.
In case you’re creating your individual occasion, ask an artist to volunteer to show the category, and buy all of the provides you’ll want. Cost admission to your occasion and promote meals and drinks to lift further funds.
Recreation Event
A recreation match is an superior fundraising occasion concept that may increase cash for any trigger. You might have a few choices when planning this:
- Have a match involving completely different video games that your members carry to the occasion.
- Have everybody play the identical recreation. On this case, you’ll probably provide many of the recreation boards.
Assemble a staff of volunteers to maintain monitor of the scores, and discover a big house you possibly can hire with sufficient tables. Cost a price to participate within the match and award small prizes to the winners!
Trivia Evening
What higher strategy to carry out some pleasant competitors than with a trivia night time? Group up with an area restaurant or different venue that hosts trivia occasions and ask in the event that they’ll donate a portion of the night time’s proceeds to your trigger. Or, plan and host your individual.
Choose an evening and promote the occasion round city and on social media to maximise attendance. Then, all it’s important to do is brush up in your trivia information! To fundraise, cost every attendee an entry price.
Proportion Partnerships
Collaborate with an area enterprise, reminiscent of a clothes retailer or restaurant, for a share partnership. Designate a time frame (a night, full day, or weekend, for instance), the place a share of the enterprise’s gross sales will profit your trigger.
A share partnership is a good fundraising occasion concept as a result of your supporters can get pleasure from a purchasing day or a pleasant meal, all whereas supporting your trigger. Companies of all sizes have acknowledged the worth of CSR, or company social duty, for enhancing their public photographs, so many will probably be excited to work with you.
Penny Wars Contest
Penny warfare occasions are a straightforward strategy to fundraise. Church buildings and colleges, particularly, can have nice success holding month-long penny wars. Through the “warfare,” two or extra teams gather cash and payments to attain factors primarily based on the quantities and denominations collected.
The worth of pennies collected in every staff’s bucket counts towards the ultimate rating, whereas another cash and greenback payments (donated by rivals!) are subtracted from the rating. It is a nice strategy to encourage competitors and enhance donation income.
Meals Fundraising Occasion Concepts
Prepare dinner-Off
A cook-off fundraising occasion works nice for people as a result of you possibly can carry collectively a bunch of pals to lift funds to your trigger. Have your mates contribute their finest dish and a donation for the occasion.
Current all of the meals and have folks vote on their favourite dishes with {dollars}. The chef whose dish earns probably the most cash wins the occasion!
Buy a prize for the winner or supply them a portion of the funds you increase. Both approach, this occasion is cheap and straightforward to plan.
Spaghetti Evening
Internet hosting a spaghetti dinner is a traditional (and filling!) fundraising occasion concept. Past placing collectively the meals, publicize the occasion by way of social media, e mail, and different communication channels to spice up attendance.
Discover a low-cost venue, reminiscent of a group middle, college fitness center, or church corridor. Promote tickets to the occasion to lift cash and embody a donation jug subsequent to the money register. To boost further funds, incorporate a silent public sale or raffle into the night.
Bake Sale or Ice Cream Social
Whether or not you’re a bigger group or a person, you and a few volunteers can bake scrumptious treats or placed on an ice cream social as scrumptious fundraising occasion concepts. Place your sales space with the baked items in a heavy-traffic space, and coordinate it with one other occasion, like a sporting occasion or theater manufacturing.
For an ice cream social, host it on the weekend at an ice cream store or restaurant with loads of cooler house. Clarify your trigger and the way internet hosting your occasion can be nice publicity for the enterprise. Even when they select to not host it, they could nonetheless be keen to sponsor your occasion or donate the ice cream, cones, and different provides.
Espresso Stand
To get this fundraising occasion concept began, you’ll have to work with a espresso store or discover a wholesale supplier the place you should purchase the espresso at a reduced value.
As soon as you identify your partnership, arrange your espresso stand with a couple of espresso carafes or your machines of selection. Make sure you’re in a well-trafficked space in your group and be strategic together with your timing. For instance, promote freshly brewed espresso within the mornings to folks on their strategy to work or throughout weekend brunch hours. For an skilled contact, see if any of your volunteers have barista expertise.
Let folks know why you’re elevating cash, and get the phrase out by selling your espresso stand and posting flyers across the group.
Potluck or Picnic
Potluck-style fundraising occasion concepts are a good way to draw consideration and incentivize supporters to donate to your trigger!
Host a potluck or picnic occasion in a group house, and ask for donations in change for admission. Encourage members to carry their favourite dish, and also you’ll be in your strategy to elevating donations very quickly!
For big-scale group picnics and festivals, customized occasion t-shirts are at all times a sensible addition!
Fundraising Occasion Concepts for Small Teams
Themed Social gathering
Themed events are fundraising occasion concepts that work nice for any trigger or venture. When executed correctly, they are often very worthwhile.
Step one is to, in fact, choose a theme. Think about the people who find themselves more likely to attend and choose one thing that aligns with their pursuits. Some examples to get you began embody:
- A long time
- A well-liked ebook, film, or TV sequence
- Sports activities
- Popular culture (e.g., well-known singers or actors)
Cost admission to enter your themed get together. You may also pass over a donation jar or encourage folks to donate by way of your web site or marketing campaign web page to provide friends a number of handy methods to contribute.
Generate curiosity in your occasion effectively prematurely by sharing the occasion particulars on social media and sending out personalised invites via e mail and unsolicited mail.
Silent Public sale
Silent auctions are a preferred selection amongst small teams and nonprofits — and for good purpose! In case you can procure attention-grabbing and distinctive objects, you’ll enhance your possibilities of elevating extra funds. For that purpose, procuring objects to your silent public sale needs to be a prime precedence.
Prepare a committee to amass in-kind donations from donors and native companies, and give attention to discovering uncommon, distinctive objects that may inspire friends to spice up their bids.
Neighborhood Storage Sale
Internet hosting a group storage sale is a good way to provide undesirable objects a brand new residence and lift cash to your trigger. You gained’t want lots of time to plan this occasion, so it’s excellent for a last-minute fundraising occasion concept.
Recruit your neighbors and group members to take part, and collect all of the objects round your properties that you just’re keen to half with. Arrange a central location with lengthy tables the place cut price hunters can peruse the rows.
Publish indicators across the neighborhood to attract in consumers. To usher in a good larger crowd, promote your group storage sale on social media or via word-of-mouth a couple of weeks prematurely.
Area Day
Host a subject day in an area park with video games and different occasions. It is a nice fundraising occasion concept as a result of it’s family-friendly, attracts massive crowds, and promotes pleasant competitors.
Embrace video games like a three-legged race, water balloon toss, and tug-of-war, amongst different enjoyable actions. Let the adults really feel nostalgic as they play Purple Rover and duck-duck-goose, and let the youngsters simply have enjoyable!
Promote refreshments to maintain attendees energized and supply memorable occasion merchandise to lift further funds.
Image Gross sales
Recruit a talented buddy or native photographer and supply your supporters photograph periods for a price. The extra commitments you get, the extra income you’ll usher in. Take motion photographs, household vacation images, and extra.
Company Fundraising Occasion Concepts
Matching Present Drive
An effective way to get native employers concerned in your fundraising occasion is to host an identical present drive. There are two ways in which you might do that:
- Deal with particular person donors and their matching present eligibility throughout quite a lot of employers.
- Work with a single firm with an energetic CSR technique that agrees to match a fundraising purpose in the event you’re capable of attain it.
Matching present drives are a good way to encourage native corporations to assist your nonprofit. Your group advantages from the added assist, and so they get constructive PR — and new clients — from the occasion. Make sure that to prominently function the businesses that assist you at your occasion!
50/50 Raffle
Whether or not you pair it with a bigger fundraising occasion concept or host it as a stand-alone fundraiser inside your workplace, a raffle fundraiser is a fast and straightforward approach for corporations to lift cash for a trigger. The 50/50 raffle works like another raffle, besides the winner will get half of the funds you increase and the trigger will get the opposite half (therefore the identify 50/50).
Because the prize is half the funds raised, supporters are extra motivated to buy raffle tickets and encourage their family and friends members to do the identical.
Use the retailers the place you’ve gotten probably the most followers to unfold the phrase about your raffle, and announce the winner throughout an occasion the place you possibly can talk about your chosen trigger in additional depth.
Profit Live performance
Profit concert events are glorious company fundraising occasion concepts, however it’s worthwhile to begin by asking your self what sort of present you wish to placed on. Take into consideration what sort of music your group is taken with. When you’ve decided that, look into venues and group areas and start planning! This concept is versatile and might be tailored for communities of all sizes, ages, and pursuits.
Does your band want to lift cash?
Take a look at our prime 5 band merch concepts & promoting methods
Take a look at native bands who’d be keen to donate their abilities and ask them to assist together with your fundraising main as much as the present, too. Be sure to have water and snacks available, and promote the profit live performance by way of social media and native retailers. That is similar to how peer-to-peer fundraising works; even when folks aren’t conversant in your organization or trigger, they’ll wish to assist their buddy’s band!
Official Sponsorships
Firms seeking to assist charitable causes ought to discover their choices for forming extra structured partnerships with native organizations. The rise of company social duty (CSR) means many nonprofits have already got sponsorship plans in place and may supply particular ranges of sponsorships and advantages. With regards to occasion sponsorships, companies would possibly print your brand on t-shirts, present signage on the occasion, offer you venue house, supply pro-bono companies and free merchandise, and extra.
Firms also can promote their matching present applications, and even organize a particular matching interval throughout a nonprofit’s occasion.
On line casino Evening
On line casino nights usually contain stay leisure, a catered dinner, auctions, sponsorships, ticket gross sales, and lots of different shifting components that require cautious planning. With cautious group and the correct quantity of manpower, on line casino nights might be profitable fundraising occasions that give your associate firm’s CSR picture a lift.
Set your ticket value excessive sufficient to cowl bills and publicize the night time by way of newsletters, emails, word-of-mouth, and even media protection. Increased ticket costs will even make the occasion extra unique and entice wealthier donors.
Wine Wall
Wine partitions are distinctive company fundraising occasion concepts the place donors buy the possibility to decide on a random bottle of wine from a wall. Every bottle is roofed so nobody can see which wine they’re pulling.
The bottles usually vary in value, so relying on their luck, donors might stroll away with a bottle that prices greater than what they paid to play!
Fundraising Occasion Concepts for Faculties Okay-12
Due to more and more tight budgets, fundraising for colleges is important to their capacity to placed on applications and fund their lessons. Nonetheless, tight communities also can make a distinction for efficient college fundraising.
Fundraising for teenagers doesn’t need to be a problem. Make it enjoyable and interesting, and you might pull the entire group in behind you!
Tie-Dye Occasion
A tie-dye occasion is a good way to carry your college’s group collectively and have a enjoyable time creating a novel t-shirt. As an alternative of simply promoting white t-shirts at your occasion, create a t-shirt fundraising marketing campaign on-line. Design white shirts together with your college’s brand or use a slogan that represents your college.
Promoting the shirts on a t-shirt fundraising web site saves your college precious time since you gained’t need to course of and ship the orders. The t-shirts will likely be shipped on to your college students and households to allow them to carry them to the occasion.
Elevate much more cash with this fundraising occasion concept by promoting concessions. Don’t overlook to have enjoyable and assist everybody create a beautiful-looking shirt!
Occasion-a-Thon Occasion
Occasion-a-thons are nice fundraising occasion concepts that usher in donations from supporters of your college. With shrinking budgets and rising wants, event-a-thons will help increase much-needed funds.
Concepts embody read-a-thons, walk-a-thons, and spell-a-thons, the place college students can increase funds and be incentivized to learn, be energetic, and participate in spelling bees. Small prizes might be awarded to the scholars who efficiently full every exercise.
Shoe Drive Fundraiser
Internet hosting a shoe drive is a cheap and distinctive college fundraising occasion concept. College students can carry of their gently worn, used and new sneakers to assist assist the varsity. You may even get the entire group concerned by organising shoe donation drop-off facilities across the neighborhood.
Work with a shoe drive group that may gather your donated sneakers, and offer you a verify in change for the sneakers that you just present.
Mother and father’ Evening Off
A dad and mom’ night time off fundraiser can take many kinds, which makes it a superb fundraising occasion concept to your college. The largest factor to maintain on the forefront of this plan is little one care, which is the principle income.
Arrange an occasion like a pub crawl or bowling night time for the dad and mom. Cost an entry price to your occasion that covers the actions and babysitting companies on the college. You’ll additionally carry your group collectively and let dad and mom get to know one another within the course of!
Product Fundraisers
Product fundraisers are enjoyable and easy college fundraising occasion concepts. These can embody cookie dough gross sales, t-shirt and attire gross sales, pizza fundraisers, and extra.
Determine on the product you wish to promote and select a provider or venue to get you going. Encourage households to stroll round their neighborhoods with their children to promote the merchandise and lift cash for the varsity!
Fundraising Occasion Concepts for School
Lip Sync Battle
As a preferred faculty fundraising occasion concept, faculty college students can type groups to “sing” their favourite hits. When you gained’t really be singing or enjoying devices, you’ll nonetheless wish to impress the viewers!
Cost an admission price for the occasion. Then, let the viewers select the winner primarily based on their applause, or ask college members on campus to be the judges!
Jail Your Associates
To kick off this fundraising occasion, have college students pay to have their pals “jailed” on the middle of campus in a chosen spot. To get out of jail, the scholars should then match the preliminary quantity their pals paid.
It is a nice fundraising occasion concept that will get the complete campus concerned in your fundraiser, and you may even embody college and workers members within the enjoyable!
Beard-Rising Problem
This is a wonderful fundraising occasion concept that permits fraternities or social golf equipment to lift cash for his or her group. Every participant can get hold of sponsors to donate as they develop their beards. The longer your beard grows, the extra money you get. Run this occasion throughout No-Shave November for much more income!
Dorm-Adorning Competitors
As a enjoyable and aggressive fundraising occasion concept, have dorm residents pay a small price to enter their room in a dorm adorning competitors! Give them a restricted period of time to get that sense of urgency going, and see who makes probably the most of their cramped house!
The winner takes residence a prize, and also you achieve publicity to your group!
Fundraising Occasion Concepts for Nonprofits
Gala and Stay Public sale
Galas are excellent for internet hosting stay auctions as a result of they’re already massive events crammed with leisure and occasions. An public sale can simply be included into this fundraising occasion concept and can typically be catered to barely older and wealthier crowds.
Although extra expensive, securing a venue to your gala and stay public sale might be price it in the event you procure distinctive and enticing objects that may safe increased bids.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Occasions
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a way that allows you to incorporate all types of efficient fundraising occasion concepts that won’t solely show you how to increase cash but additionally construct your donor base. Present supporters will increase cash in your nonprofit’s behalf, asking their family and friends members to contribute.
Right here’s how peer-to-peer fundraising works on Bonfire:
All of the work doesn’t simply relaxation in your fundraisers’ shoulders. You’ll want to supply instruments to your fundraisers to assist them ask for donations. Plus, you’ll have to welcome all of your new donors to your nonprofit household.
Finish your peer-to-peer fundraiser with an occasion, like a walkathon or marathon, to carry all of your fundraisers collectively to have a good time their success.
Golf Event
Whereas extra time-consuming and dear than a number of the different fundraising occasion concepts talked about, internet hosting a golf occasion has a excessive fundraising potential for organizations. It additionally provides nonprofits the right alternative to work together with main donors.
One of the simplest ways to plan for a charity golf match is to create a committee that may safe a location, ship out invites, and work out different important elements of the occasion.
Elevate cash to your trigger by having members gather pledges from their family and friends to enter the competitors.
Museum Dinner Social gathering
Convey all of your supporters collectively in a single place for meals and leisure with a museum banquet. Just like a gala, this nonprofit fundraising occasion will take lots of planning, however you possibly can increase cash via admission tickets and different fundraising alternatives, like internet hosting a raffle or charity public sale.
A very powerful side of planning a museum dinner is, clearly, the meals and venue. Join with a museum in your space, and organize for visitor audio system to come back talk about your trigger.
Typically, these occasions do effectively on the finish of the 12 months as a strategy to enhance your year-end fundraising and present main donors that you just’ve appreciated their assist.
“Gardening for Inexperienced” Sponsored Trash Pickup
What higher strategy to beautify your group and lift cash on the similar time than with a sponsored trash pickup? By “gardening for inexperienced,” you possibly can have people pledge a specific amount primarily based on how a lot trash your volunteers choose up, in addition to the quantity of gardening and planting that they do.
It is a nice fundraising occasion concept that may carry the group collectively and make your neighborhood much more lovely within the course of.
There are various methods to lift cash for quite a lot of causes, so doing all your analysis and figuring out which of them finest suit your wants is essential. Check out these strategies for your self and witness how far more income you possibly can usher in!
For extra fundraising concepts and steering, discover these assets:
Need to add t-shirt gross sales to your occasion?
Launch your fundraising marketing campaign on Bonfire at the moment!
