Cheer fundraising ideas

Reach out to local businesses and ask them to donate a small number of products that you can bundle together and offer donors online.

To attract more partnerships from businesses, create a sponsorship proposal that emphasizes the benefits for them, like free publicity and marketing opportunities.

Create and sell a custom cookbook featuring favorite recipes from your community members and families. To drum up excitement and spread the word, share sneak peek photos on your custom fundraising page.

Organize an afternoon of relay races, obstacle courses, and brain teasers at your school and challenge teachers to partake. Be sure to create a fun and engaging event page where attendees can easily purchase tickets!

Invite participants to roast their teachers or coaches—in a light-hearted way. Sell tickets online and check-in attendees as they arrive, in addition to offering in-person donations for entry (and snacks!) with Venmo and scan-to-donate.

Set up a donation drive to collect valuable in-kind donations or financial gifts for your cause. This can be done by setting up a drop-off zone in person or collecting donations online through a fundraising page. No matter the format—make sure to share your fundraising goal far and wide to keep the momentum going!

Invite food trucks to a big game or event and ask them in return to donate a portion of all food sales to your team. To really sweeten the sponsorship opportunity, offer benefits for these small businesses, like free marketing and publicity.

Ask local businesses to sponsor your team in exchange for logo placement on jerseys, in programs, or on stadium banners. Be sure to follow sponsorship proposal best practices to make the most of this partnership!

Find a local restaurant that will host your fundraising event and donate at least 10-20% of the profits from the evening to your campaign. To really sweeten the sponsorship, offer lots of benefits for participating restaurants like free marketing and publicity.

Ask local instructors to donate a virtual or in-person class for your cause. Sell tickets and bring in some extra funds on the day of by selling snacks and branded merch.

For this fundraising event, charge a small fee per soggy sponge and let students throw them at each other outside during a pep rally or other event. For easy participation, offer scan-to-donate and accept multiple payment methods like Apple Pay, Venmo, and more.

Charge an entry fee for access to a fun day in the sun—think pool floats, squirt guns, and water balloons!

To make this fundraising event even more of a hit, sell summery snacks and drinks, too. Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Sell custom event ticket types and group tickets that offer unlimited access to games. Or, charge a certain amount of tickets per game.

Sell wholesale flowers or request donations from nurseries and landscaping stores to sell to supporters. To gamify your efforts, use peer-to-peer fundraising to encourage individual supporters to compete to see who can sell the most!

Brighten up someone’s day and raise money for a good cause. Set up a booth where passers-by or event attendees can make a donation of their choice and receive a high-five from you or your volunteers.

Make the donation process as quick and easy as the high-five itself—send people straight to your donation form with scan-to-donate.

At this crowd-favorite activity, you can come up with fun questions, charge entry fees for teams, and raise extra money by providing sweet and salty snacks.

Make the evening go even smoother with seamless attendee check-ins and easy payment options like Tap to pay, Venmo donations, and scan-to-donate.

Find a suitable indoor or outdoor space and host a ticketed screening of a fan-favorite movie (bonus if it’s related to your cause!). Sell popcorn, treats, and drinks, too.

Use Givebutter’s fundraising event tools like online ticket sales, mobile app check-ins, and in-person payments to make it easier for you and your supporters.

Set up a booth and invite people to pay to throw a pie at willing participants like teachers, bosses, or coaches—the more authority, the more satisfying!

With scan-to-donate, pie throwers use your QR code to land on your donation page instantly—no waiting around.

Pledge to do something wild, exciting, or newsworthy if your fundraising campaign hits or exceeds its target.

Share regular campaign updates and add a goal bar to your fundraising page to keep the momentum going and encourage more donations.

Collect online donations from friends, family, and community members by creating a fundraising page that lays out your needs and the impact that you will make with the money you raise. Use photos and videos to make your story more engaging, and use a goal bar to showcase your progress.

Be sure to follow crowdfunding best practices in order to make your campaign an even bigger success!

Invite students to bring t-shirts, tote bags, socks, and other light-colored items of clothing for a tie-dye party. Charge a small fee for entry and supplies, and have some extra clothing items on hand to sell, too.

If you produce a large volume lot of tie-dyed items, create a donation form or buy-now auction to sell them to your community!

Take part in Giving Tuesday or create your own giving day in which you mobilize your community to reach your fundraising goal in one day.

Keep your supporters invested in your progress with a goal bar and campaign updates that highlight milestones, matching gifts, and special shout-outs throughout the day.

Put together bundles of holiday cards and small gifts and charge extra for distribution at your club, school, college, or workplace.

Customize your donation form with custom fields to collect all the details you need—such as the recipient’s name, a personalized, heartfelt holiday message, and where the gram should be delivered.

Set up a booth where passers-by can have their face painted by volunteers in your group in exchange for a small donation.

Make it easy for people to take part with scan-to-donate. All they need to do is scan the QR code and they’ll land on your donation page in seconds.

Collect new and used goods from your community and sell items on a first-come, first-served basis—virtually. To introduce some fun competition and bring in more funds, turn the sale into an auction with buy-now pricing options!

Invite participants to register for a day of fun outdoor games and competitions, like relay races, a water balloon toss, and a good old-fashioned tug-of-war.

Make your fundraising event a success with sponsorships from local businesses to offset costs and bring in more participants.

Sell lemonade (and maybe some tasty treats, too!) to raise funds for your cause. Make purchases smooth as butter with scan-to-donate and donation forms that accept every payment method, including Venmo!

Create and sell discount card coupon books full of deals to local restaurants and businesses. Sell the coupon books on a custom donation form and share it far and wide!

Charge a participation fee and challenge teams to solve puzzles and clues to "escape” from various spaces in this exciting, community-building fundraising event.

Buy wholesale cookie dough for volunteers to sell during peak cookie-baking season. To gamify your efforts, use peer-to-peer fundraising so participants can compete to see who sold the most!

Invite each person to contribute a dish and invite at least two people to join your dinner. To keep everything organized, customize your donation form so participants can note what dish they’re bringing when they RSVP—and make a contribution to your campaign.

Partner with local eateries and provide tasting kits for participants to enjoy at home for a small fee. Then, host a livestream tasting experience.

Source donated paper, set up a gift wrapping station in a popular location, and charge for holiday gift-wrapping! Use scan-to-donate or Venmo to accept payments on the spot.

Set a distance and have your bikers pay a registration fee to join in. Then, foster some friendly competition by encouraging supporters to start or join a team, raise funds, and set off wherever they are.

Host a BBQ cookout featuring grilled meats, sides, and desserts. Charge entrance fees and ask for donations at this fundraising event, too. Make this fundraising event even tastier by sharing sponsorship proposals and inviting local restaurants to sponsor your event (or even compete!).

Design your own spring break t-shirts and sell them in person and online to raise funds for your group or cause.

Use custom fields on your donation form to collect the details you need from buyers, such as their t-shirt size and color choice.

Host your very own fall-themed festival with live music, food and drink, local vendors, and carnival games.

Ask local businesses for supplies and prize donations and raise funds through refreshments, games, and stallholder fees.

Approach a local farmer’s market with a sponsorship proposal and see if they can host a special fundraising event for your cause or dedicate a certain percentage of their Saturday morning profits to your campaign. Be sure to outline all of the perks that vendors can expect from the collaboration, like free publicity.

Challenge participants to create a dance and post their video to social media. Each person must tag someone and donate once they’ve completed the challenge.

For easy and simple sharing, create a custom donation form that’s optimized for mobile!

Multiply your reach with a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign in which individuals reach out to their own networks of family, friends, and coworkers to solicit donations for your cause.

Create teams to add some fun competition into the mix—and bring in more donations!

Invite supporters to make a donation to have lawn flamingos placed on their friends’ yards. Volunteers will sneak them onto recipients’ lawns so they awake to a pink surprise!

To make pulling off this silly fundraiser a breeze, create custom fields on your donation form, like the address of the Flamingo recipient.

With text-to-donate, raising funds is as easy as sending a text message. Post your shortcode on signs at fundraising events, share it on social media, and offer it as a payment option so your supporters can contribute using their mobile devices right on the spot, no matter where they are.

See for yourself how easy it is — text “DEMO” to 53-555.

Plan exciting entertainment, such as talent showcases and cooking lessons that you can share with your audience entirely online.

Plan a day or evening program, then livestream it to your community right from your event page, so members can make a donation without clicking away from the show.

Reserve a space and have your community donate their used books for the cause. Set a price for each book and use scan-to-donate or Venmo to easily accept payments on the spot.

Sprinkle some extra magic into the classic car wash fundraiser by giving it a theme! Get everyone in your group to dress up in costumes representing the ‘80s, classic Disney characters, superheroes, you name it.

Create a smooth experience for all with fundraising pages that include easy in-person payments and a range of giving options.

Sell homemade or donated treats through a donation form or event page and organize volunteers to make deliveries after purchase! For some additional funds, allow recipients to make a donation alongside their purchase. 

Choose a theme and get permission to secure a paved area where your supporters can register to paint their own parking space or designated square.

Ask a local business to donate painting supplies, and then invite the community to vote for the best-painted square by making a donation ($1 = 1 vote) with an easy scan-to-donate QR code.

For this totally remote fundraising event, charge a registration fee and ask participants to use their computer or mobile device to complete various challenges. Share instructions and updates and announce winners from a livestream hosted right on your event page.

Ask local musicians or bands to perform for a livestreaming audience and invite viewers to make donations or purchase tickets to attend virtually right on your event page.

Make sure to feature a donation thermometer on your page to encourage viewers to make extra donations and get you closer to your goal as they enjoy the music.

Create the ultimate relay race for rival schools in your district and charge an entrance fee for spectators. Encourage each school to create a team fundraising page where friends and family can show their support with donations and progress toward their goal in real time.