Fundraising occasions are a good way in your nonprofit, faculty, enterprise, or different group to interact with its group and raise money for its trigger on the similar time. However choosing a fundraising concept that matches your price range and includes your supporters isn’t all the time the best activity. 

That’s why we’ve put collectively this checklist of our favourite fundraising occasion concepts which are confirmed to lift the cash your group wants and improve engagement along with your group:

Every concept options the fundraising potential, value, and recognition to assist information you towards a fundraising occasion that’s proper in your group. Are you prepared to start out elevating cash in your trigger? Let’s dive into our favourite fundraising occasion concepts!

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 state of affairs for everybody concerned. The marketing campaign creator will get to lift cash and promote their trigger through merchandise, and supporters achieve a memorable merchandise in return for his or her donations. If you wish to raise money 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.

If you use Bonfire in your on-line t-shirt fundraising wants, there are: 

• No month-to-month subscriptions
• No stock necessities
• No upfront bills

Our aim is to make every step of the fundraising course of as fast and simple as potential for you so you’ll be able to give attention to maximizing your donations.

5K Race

5K fundraisers will enchantment to your lively supporters, bringing them collectively to raise awareness and money in your trigger. Begin planning your occasion a number of months or perhaps a 12 months upfront so you’ve got sufficient time to safe a location, recruit volunteers, and promote the race.

Increase 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 manner, your workforce can focus its time and vitality on organizing the fundraiser.

Moreover, join with native companies to see if they are going to 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 help can promote branded merchandise at any of their occasions. From t-shirts and hats to espresso mugs and water bottles, there are many gadgets you’ll be able to promote!

Merchandise makes an ideal addition to any public fundraising occasion, like a road truthful or live performance. Plus, promoting merchandise earlier than a fundraising marketing campaign or volunteer engagement may also help you increase extra cash. For instance, you may ask volunteers to buy particular t-shirts in order that they match and stand out within the crowd.

Work with a merchandise firm that permits you to create your individual branded merchandise. Ideally, this platform also needs to provide the choice to sell branded shirts online or simply place bulk orders to promote in particular person.

Karaoke Night time

Who doesn’t love an evening crammed with buddies and karaoke? Associate with an area restaurant or venue that already provides karaoke nights to lift funds in 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 proportion 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 in your trigger—reserved for members who’re of authorized ingesting age, after all! 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 upfront and designate the beginning spot. You’ll be able to 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. Take into account partnering with an area rideshare service or taxi firm to supply free or discounted rides house on the finish of the crawl.

Carnival or Road Honest

Convey out your group with a carnival or road truthful! Although these occasions could be pricey and resource-intensive, they’re thrilling events that may herald income. For a road truthful, cost distributors a price to arrange their sales space or stand and an entry price to individuals who wish to browse. E-book the house upfront, maybe with an area park or faculty.

For a carnival, look into renting rides, video games, or skilled artists. Guarantee you’ve got the suitable insurance coverage, permits, and waivers in place to stop questions of safety. To offset a few of the prices, look into sponsorships and donations from native companies in trade for being featured in occasion advertising and marketing supplies.

You’ll additionally want loads of occasion employees to greet attendees, present them round, run the video games and actions, and handle arrange and clear up. Get occasion employees enthusiastic about their roles and make a optimistic, skilled impression on attendees with matching, personalized shirts. Take a look at our event staff shirt templates to transcend a fundamental tee with “Employees” written on it.

Enjoyable and Cheap Fundraising Occasion Concepts

Sip and Paint Night time

Sip and paint occasions work for organizations that help causes of all styles and sizes in addition to people trying to increase cash for private or charity initiatives.

For this fundraising occasion concept, you’ll must associate with an area sip and paint retailer that’s keen to donate a proportion of the night time’s proceeds to your trigger. Or, you’ll be able to create a paint and sip arrange in your individual services or a rented venue.

For those who’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 extra funds.

Sport Event

A sport match is an superior fundraising occasion concept that may increase cash for any trigger. You will have a few choices when planning this: 

• Have a match involving completely different video games that your members deliver to the occasion.
• Have everybody play the identical sport. On this case, you’ll seemingly provide many of the sport boards.

Assemble a workforce of volunteers to maintain observe of the scores, and discover a big house you’ll be able to lease with sufficient tables. Cost a price to participate within the match and award small prizes to the winners!

Trivia Night time

What higher strategy to deliver 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 a must to do is brush up in your trivia data! To fundraise, cost every attendee an entry price.

Share Partnerships

Collaborate with an area enterprise, corresponding to a clothes retailer or restaurant, for a proportion partnership. Designate a time period (a night, full day, or weekend, for instance), the place a proportion of the enterprise’s gross sales will profit your trigger.

A proportion partnership is a superb 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 reinforcing their public pictures, so many will seemingly be excited to work with you.

Penny Wars Contest

Penny struggle occasions are a straightforward strategy to fundraise. Churches and schools, specifically, can have nice success holding month-long penny wars. Through the “struggle,” two or extra teams gather cash and payments to attain factors based mostly on the quantities and denominations collected.

The worth of pennies collected in every workforce’s bucket counts towards the ultimate rating, whereas another cash and greenback payments (donated by opponents!) are subtracted from the rating. It is a nice strategy to encourage competitors and improve donation income.

Meals Fundraising Occasion Concepts

Cook dinner-Off

A cook-off fundraising occasion works nice for people as a result of you’ll be able to deliver collectively a bunch of buddies to lift funds in your trigger. Have your mates contribute their finest dish and a donation for the occasion.

Current all of the meals and have individuals 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 simple to plan.

Spaghetti Night time

Internet hosting a spaghetti dinner is a basic (and filling!) fundraising occasion concept. Past placing collectively the meals, publicize the occasion through social media, electronic mail, and different communication channels to spice up attendance.

Discover a low-cost venue, corresponding to a group middle, faculty health club, or church corridor. Promote tickets to the occasion to lift cash and embody a donation jug subsequent to the money register. To boost extra funds, incorporate a silent auction 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 high 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 could be nice publicity for the enterprise. Even when they select to not host it, they may 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 must work with a espresso store or discover a wholesale supplier the place you should buy the espresso at a reduced value.

As soon as you determine your partnership, arrange your espresso stand with just a few espresso carafes or your machines of selection. Make sure you’re in a well-trafficked space in your group and be strategic along with your timing. For instance, promote freshly brewed espresso within the mornings to individuals on their strategy to work or throughout weekend brunch hours. For an skilled contact, see if any of your volunteers have barista expertise.

Let individuals 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 trade for admission. Encourage members to deliver their favourite dish, and also you’ll be in your strategy to elevating donations very quickly!

For giant-scale group picnics and festivals, customized occasion t-shirts are all the time a wise addition!

Fundraising Occasion Concepts for Small Teams

Themed Celebration

Themed events are fundraising occasion concepts that work nice for any trigger or undertaking. When executed correctly, they are often very worthwhile. 

Step one is to, after all, choose a theme. Take into account the people who find themselves prone to attend and choose one thing that aligns with their pursuits. Some examples to get you began embody:

• Many years
• A preferred e-book, film, or TV collection
• Sports activities
• Popular culture (e.g., well-known singers or actors)

Cost admission to enter your themed celebration. You may as well miss a donation jar or encourage individuals to donate through your web site or marketing campaign web page to offer friends a number of handy methods to contribute.

Generate curiosity in your occasion effectively upfront by sharing the occasion particulars on social media and sending out customized invites via electronic mail and junk mail.

Silent Public sale

Silent auctions are a well-liked selection amongst small teams and nonprofits — and for good motive! For those who can procure attention-grabbing and distinctive gadgets, you’ll improve your probabilities of elevating extra funds. For that motive, procuring gadgets in your silent public sale ought to be a prime precedence.

Organize a committee to accumulate in-kind donations from donors and native companies, and give attention to discovering uncommon, distinctive gadgets that can inspire friends to spice up their bids.

Group Storage Sale

Internet hosting a group storage sale is a good way to offer undesirable gadgets a brand new house and lift cash in your trigger. You gained’t want quite a lot 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 gadgets round your houses that you just’re keen to half with. Arrange a central location with lengthy tables the place discount hunters can peruse the rows.

Submit indicators across the neighborhood to attract in consumers. To herald a good greater crowd, promote your group storage sale on social media or via word-of-mouth just a few weeks upfront.

Discipline Day

Host a area 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 giant 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 children simply have enjoyable!

Promote refreshments to maintain attendees energized and supply memorable occasion merchandise to lift extra funds.

Image Gross sales

Recruit a talented good friend or native photographer and supply your supporters picture classes for a price. The extra commitments you get, the extra income you’ll herald. Take motion pictures, household vacation photographs, 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 active CSR strategy that agrees to match a fundraising aim should you’re in a position to attain it.

Matching present drives are a good way to encourage native firms to help your nonprofit. Your group advantages from the added help, and so they get optimistic PR — and new clients —  from the occasion. Ensure that to prominently characteristic the businesses that help 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 simple approach for firms 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 title 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 got probably the most followers to unfold the phrase about your raffle, and announce the winner throughout an occasion the place you’ll be able to focus on your chosen trigger in additional depth.

Profit Live performance

Profit concert events are wonderful 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 could be tailored for communities of all sizes, ages, and pursuits.

Does your band want to lift cash?
Check out our top 5 band merch ideas & selling strategies

Take a look at native bands who’d be keen to donate their abilities and ask them to assist along with your fundraising main as much as the present, too. Be sure you have water and snacks available, and promote the profit live performance through social media and native retailers. That is similar to how peer-to-peer fundraising works; even when individuals aren’t acquainted with your organization or trigger, they’ll wish to help their good friend’s band!

Official Sponsorships

Firms trying to help 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. In relation to occasion sponsorships, companies may print your brand on t-shirts, present signage on the occasion, provide you with venue house, supply pro-bono companies and free merchandise, and extra.

Firms may also promote their matching present applications, and even organize a particular matching interval throughout a nonprofit’s occasion.

On line casino Night time

On line casino nights sometimes contain stay leisure, a catered dinner, auctions, sponsorships, ticket gross sales, and quite a lot of different shifting elements that require cautious planning. With cautious group and the correct quantity of manpower, on line casino nights could 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 through newsletters, emails, word-of-mouth, and even media protection. Increased ticket costs may even make the occasion extra unique and appeal to wealthier donors.

Wine Wall

Wine partitions are distinctive company fundraising occasion concepts the place donors buy the prospect 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 sometimes vary in value, so relying on their luck, donors may 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 schools is important to their capability to placed on applications and fund their courses. Nonetheless, tight communities may also make a distinction for efficient school fundraising.

Fundraising for kids doesn’t need to be a problem. Make it enjoyable and fascinating, and you might pull the entire group in behind you!

Tie-Dye Occasion

A tie-dye occasion is a good way to deliver your faculty’s group collectively and have a enjoyable time creating a singular 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 along with your faculty’s brand or use a slogan that represents your faculty.

Promoting the shirts on a t-shirt fundraising website saves your faculty precious time since you gained’t need to course of and ship the orders. The t-shirts can be shipped on to your college students and households to allow them to deliver them to the occasion.

Increase 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 herald donations from supporters of your faculty. With shrinking budgets and rising wants, event-a-thons may also 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 lively, and participate in spelling bees. Small prizes could be awarded to the scholars who efficiently full every exercise.

Shoe Drive Fundraiser

Internet hosting a shoe drive is a cheap and distinctive school fundraising event idea. College students can deliver of their gently worn, used and new sneakers to assist help the varsity. You’ll be able to even get the entire group concerned by establishing shoe donation drop-off facilities across the neighborhood.

Work with a shoe drive group that can gather your donated sneakers, and provide you with a examine in trade for the sneakers that you just present.

Mother and father’ Night time Off

A dad and mom’ night time off fundraiser can take many varieties, which makes it a superb fundraising occasion concept in your faculty. The most important ingredient to maintain on the forefront of this plan is baby care, which is the primary income.

Manage an occasion like a pub crawl or bowling night time for the dad and mom. Cost an entry price in your occasion that covers the actions and babysitting companies on the faculty. You’ll additionally deliver your group collectively and let dad and mom get to know one another within the course of!

Product Fundraisers

Product fundraisers are enjoyable and simple faculty fundraising occasion concepts. These can embody cookie dough gross sales, t-shirt and apparel sales, pizza fundraisers, and extra. 

Decide 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 Faculty

Lip Sync Battle

As a well-liked college fundraising occasion concept, school college students can kind groups to “sing” their favourite hits. Whilst you gained’t truly 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 based mostly on their applause, or ask college members on campus to be the judges!

Jail Your Pals

To kick off this fundraising occasion, have college students pay to have their buddies “jailed” on the middle of campus in a chosen spot. To get out of jail, the scholars should then match the preliminary quantity their buddies paid.

It is a nice fundraising occasion concept that will get all the campus concerned in your fundraiser, and you’ll even embody college and employees members within the enjoyable!

Beard-Rising Problem

This is a superb fundraising occasion concept that enables 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 house a prize, and also you achieve publicity in your group!

Fundraising Occasion Concepts for Nonprofits

Gala and Dwell Public sale

Galas are excellent for internet hosting stay auctions as a result of they’re already giant events crammed with leisure and occasions. An public sale can simply be included into this fundraising occasion concept and can usually be catered to barely older and wealthier crowds.

Although extra pricey, securing a venue in your gala and stay public sale could be value it should you procure distinctive and enticing gadgets that can safe greater bids.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Occasions

Peer-to-peer fundraising is a way that permits you to incorporate every kind of efficient fundraising occasion concepts that won’t solely aid you 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 must 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 deliver all of your fundraisers collectively to rejoice their success.

Golf Event

Whereas extra time-consuming and dear than a few 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 tournament is to create a committee that may safe a location, ship out invites, and work out different important points of the occasion. As a result of golf tournaments could be quite a lot of work, you’ll must safe loads of succesful occasion volunteers to deal with arrange and tear down, serve and greet attendees, and extra. To keep up a refined, skilled look, use our volunteer t-shirt templates to create customized shirts volunteers can don as a uniform. Plus, attendees can simply spot volunteers in the event that they want help.

Increase cash in your trigger by having members gather pledges from their family and friends to enter the competitors.

Museum Dinner Celebration

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 quite a lot of planning, however you’ll be able to increase cash via admission tickets and different fundraising alternatives, like internet hosting a raffle or charity public sale.

An important 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 return focus on 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 help.

“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’ll be able to have people pledge a certain quantity based mostly 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 can deliver the group collectively and make your neighborhood much more lovely within the course of. 

There are numerous 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 vital. Check out these strategies for your self and witness how far more income you’ll be able to herald!

For extra fundraising concepts and steerage, discover these sources: