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All fundraising ideas
Food fundraising ideas
In fundraising, as in life, one thing is certain: food is the way to the heart. If you’re looking to raise money for your school, nonprofit, sports team, or another worthy cause, we’ve got some of the best food fundraiser ideas that are sure to delight your donors.
From food truck festivals and chili-cookoffs to potluck dinners and bake sales that are perfect for school fundraisers, check out these easy food fundraising ideas to inspire every inner chef.
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Hot chocolate stall
Set up a cozy drink stand to warm up your community! Offer coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and an array of syrups and toppings for an added fee. Don’t forget the marshmallows!
Make it easy for supporters to pay as they order with scan-to-donate, Venmo, and other seamless options.
Cost:
1
Effort:
1
Impact:
1
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/hot-chocolate-stall
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Themed auction
Partner with local businesses to source items for a themed auction with a variety of attractive packages, exciting products, and alluring getaways.
Asking for items to sell at your auction can feel daunting at first, so use this silent auction donation request guide to help you build relationships and attract amazing donations.
Asking for items to sell at your auction can feel daunting at first, so use this silent auction donation request guide to help you build relationships and attract amazing donations.
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/themed-auction
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Auctions
Membership drive
Incentivize supporters to invite friends and family to sign up for a membership during a specific period of time. Offer discounted rates or additional perks, and accept recurring donations on a monthly or annual basis.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
3
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/membership-drive
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March Madness
Raise money while cheering on your favorite NCAA players with a bracket competition culminating in a ticketed March Madness watch party.
To take this fundraising idea online, take advantage of livestreaming tools, too!
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/march-madness
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Peer-to-peer
Holiday market
Ring in the festive season with your own holiday market. Invite stallholders to participate for a small fee and raise funds through selling refreshments, merch, and game tickets.
Use engaging fundraising event features to make it an enjoyable experience for all—with easy online ticket sales, on-the-spot donations, and more.
Use engaging fundraising event features to make it an enjoyable experience for all—with easy online ticket sales, on-the-spot donations, and more.
Cost:
2
Effort:
3
Impact:
2
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/holiday-market
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Multicultural fair
Showcase dishes and traditions from around the globe and celebrate the diversity of your community with a multicultural fair fundraiser. Sell tickets and set up food, drinks, and gift booths for attendees to enjoy.
Cost:
2
Effort:
3
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/multicultural-fair
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Dinner dance
Sell tickets for guests to join you for a sophisticated dinner and dance. This is an ideal fundraising idea for dance groups and studios that want to show off their skills and attract major donors and sponsors.
Cost:
3
Effort:
3
Impact:
3
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/dinner-dance
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Crawl for a cause
Build community and explore your city with a themed art, food, or experience crawl. Collect registrations on your fundraising event page, and partner with the featured venues to benefit from a percentage of ticket or food sales at each stop.
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/crawl-for-a-cause
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Count the jellybeans
Fill a jar with jellybeans (or another candy) and have guessers write down their number estimation alongside their name.
Use scan-to-donate or other mobile payment options to accept donations for each guess and award a prize to the person whose comes closest!
Cost:
1
Effort:
1
Impact:
1
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/count-the-jellybeans
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Street food stand
Bring in donations with the sizzling smells and sweet treats from a street food stand.
Partner with a local restaurant or food truck, or set up your own stall for the day. Want to strike up a relationship with a local restaurant? Use our sponsorship proposal guide to get started!
Partner with a local restaurant or food truck, or set up your own stall for the day. Want to strike up a relationship with a local restaurant? Use our sponsorship proposal guide to get started!
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/street-food-stand
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Food truck Friday
Choose one Friday every month to be Food Truck Friday, in which you partner up with a local food truck to visit the area and promote their arrival.
In exchange for driving more business their way, use a sponsorship proposal to negotiate a percentage of profits for your good cause.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/food-truck-friday
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Grab bags
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.
To attract more partnerships from businesses, create a sponsorship proposal that emphasizes the benefits for them, like free publicity and marketing opportunities.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/grab-bags
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Cooking competition
Take inspiration from the TV show “Chopped” and challenge teams to a culinary showdown!
You can get even more spectators in on the fun by livestreaming the event and asking for donations throughout the program.
Cost:
2
Effort:
3
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/cooking-competition
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Online bake sale
Sell homemade or donated treats through a donation form, event page, or buy-now auction, and organize volunteers to make deliveries after purchase! For some additional funds, allow recipients to make a donation alongside their purchase.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
1
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/online-bake-sale
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Spaghetti dinner
Host a pasta party where you serve spaghetti, salad, breadsticks, and dessert to attendees for a ticket price. Make your event even better by partnering with a local restaurant to sponsor the meal.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/spaghetti-dinner
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Restaurant takeover
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.
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/restaurant-takeover
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Easter egg hunt
Host an epic Easter egg hunt and set up a fundraising event page so families can register with a sliding-scale donation.
Add an Easter Bunny photo booth or bake sale and accept donations with scan-to-donate or Venmo on the day of the hunt.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/easter-egg-hunt
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Gala night
Plan a sophisticated gala night with music, food, and a silent auction.
Get your supporters excited about your upcoming event with an eye-catching gala invitation template. Include details on how to buy tickets, or add a scan-to-donate QR code.
Cost:
3
Effort:
3
Impact:
3
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/gala-night
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Auctions
Cupcake wars
Have kids prepare their favorite cupcake recipe to sell at a cupcake-only bake sale. To add some friendly competition, invite attendees to vote on their favorite by making a donation to the tastiest cupcake’s team fundraising page. Use a leaderboard to show real-time votes and award prizes for the winning bakers!
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/cupcake-wars
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Coffee morning
Host a coffee morning and invite your community members to join you for tea or coffee, cake, and a warm conversation. Ask a local coffee shop to sponsor the event or donate a percentage of the morning’s profits to your cause.
Cost:
1
Effort:
1
Impact:
1
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/coffee-morning
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Concession stand
Use an existing stand or create your own and sell items like popcorn, candy, and sunflower seeds. To boost sales, create customticketswith mouth-watering pictures of available treats!
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/concession-stand
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Community potluck dinner
Invite each person to contribute a dish and invite at least two people to join your dinner. To keep everything organized, customize your fundraising page or donation form so participants can note what dish they’re bringing when they RSVP—and make a contribution to your campaign.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
1
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/community-potluck-dinner
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Grown-up bake sale
Sell donated or homemade gourmet goodies like croissants and macarons for the ultimate grownups-with-a-sweet-tooth fundraiser.
Collect in-person payments with scan-to-donate, which gives donors a wide range of payment options.
Collect in-person payments with scan-to-donate, which gives donors a wide range of payment options.
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
1
Examples
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https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/grown-up-bake-sale
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Events
Text-to-donate
With text-to-donate, raising funds is as easy as sending a text. Display your shortcode at fundraising events, share it on social media, or add it to signs so your supporters give 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.
Cost:
1
Effort:
1
Impact:
3
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/text-to-donate
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Fall festival
Host your own fall-themed festival with carnival games, food and drink, local vendors, and live music.
Ask local businesses to donate supplies or prizes, and raise funds through refreshments, games, and stallholder fees.
Cost:
2
Effort:
3
Impact:
3
Examples
https://givebutter.com/fundraising-idea/fall-festival
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We're always cooking up new ideas, so check back soon for fresh picks!
Dive into our list of best fundraising ideas in the meantime
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Frequently asked questions
What is the best food to sell for fundraising?
The best culinary delights to include when hosting a food fundraiser will depend your target audience, location, and season. You can really never go wrong with crowd-pleasers like pizza, hot dogs, tacos, and baked goods, but the best food ideas for fundraising will ultimately depend on the taste buds of your community. Be sure to also consider cost, preparation time, and potential profit margins as you make your decision!
How do food fundraisers work?
Food fundraisers involve selling delicious treats or hosting culinary events to raise funds for a cause. Usually, organizations promote the event through channels like email and social media and charge an admission fee to attend.
Another option is to team up with local restaurants and chefs. Often called a “restaurant takeover,” organizations invite community members to dine for a cause, and a percentage of the profits from the night go directly to your mission!
How do I set up a food fundraiser?
Setting up a food fundraiser consists of a few key steps. First, decide on the type of food you want to sell or the food-related event you wish to host. Next, plan the details, such as the menu, venue, pricing, and target fundraising goal. Then, promote the fundraiser food idea through various channels to attract attendees or customers. Finally, handle sales, collect funds, and thank your hungry supporters!
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