All fundraising ideas

Spring fundraising ideas

Spring brings a sense of fresh beginnings and new opportunities—even for fundraising! Take advantage of the cheerful seasonal vibe to introduce exciting new spring fundraiser ideas to your community. We’ve brought together a master list of the best spring fundraising ideas for schools, nonprofits, and community groups that embrace the season and several holidays that fall within it.

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Fashion show

Host a fashion show that showcases talented local designers, fashion students, or both! Make it inclusive and invite people of all sizes and abilities to be your models.

At this fundraising event, you can bring in donations by charging entrance fees, selling food and drinks, and adding a silent auction. 
Cost:
2
Effort:
3
Impact:
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Fitness class

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.
Cost:
1
Effort:
1
Impact:
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Town hall event

Host a town hall event to give community members an opportunity to learn about your organization, program, or new project. Display your text-to-give code prominently around the space to raise funds from inspired audience members. 
Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Donation forms

Comedy roast

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. 
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
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Best seat in the house

Auction off tickets to the best seat(s) in the house for an upcoming performance, sports game, gala night, live concert, or other experience your group is hosting.

With Givebutter you can also create unlimited kinds of event tickets—perfect for creating VIP packages.
Cost:
1
Effort:
1
Impact:
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Inspiration
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Auctions

Open mic night

Invite community members to perform music, poetry, or comedy for a good cause. Ask audience members to make a small donation and offer snacks to raise more funds using easy in-person mobile payments like Tap to Pay and scan-to-donate
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
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You name it

Come up with a creative fundraiser with a cathy name like “Pancakes for Parents” brunch or a “Chicken Wings for Cheerleaders.” To get supporters excited, create a custom fundraising page full of on-theme photos, videos, ands more! 
Cost:
2
Effort:
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Impact:
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Sell swag or merch

Raise some extra funds for your organization or club and spread the word about your cause by selling branded swag like totes, stickers, and t-shirts.

With advanced ticketing features, you can offer each item on a mobile-friendly platform and add an image and available amount so supporters can easily purchase and share their sizing info, too!
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Inspiration
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Fundraising page
Events
Donation forms
Auctions

Penny wars

Grades or classes compete to collect the most pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Grab a few jars and encourage students to find some loose change to get started! To ensure that no one forgets their cents at home, send reminders to parents with free texting software.
Cost:
1
Effort:
1
Impact:
2
Inspiration
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Fundraising page
Donation forms

Pet spa day

Recruit volunteers to perform various pet grooming services like bathing and nail trimming. Charge a fee for every “treatment” at this fundraising event by offering tiered ticket types for various services and combinations. 
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Inspiration
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High heels walk

Instead of a 5k, organize a high heels walk down a “runway” of your choice. Challenge supporters to see who can raise the most funds leading up to the event through peer-to-peer fundraising—and who can rock the best look. Encourage your supporters to personalize their pages to attract more donations!
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
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Inspiration
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Peer-to-peer

Mother’s Day brunch

Reserve a community space or partner with a local restaurant or café to host a Mother's Day brunch, with proceeds going toward your cause. 

Charge a small ticket fee for this fundraising event and offer a selection of refreshments, sandwiches, and sweet treats. 
Cost:
2
Effort:
1
Impact:
1
Inspiration
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Events

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
Inspiration
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Rent your space

Rent your field, venue, office, or community space to other groups and organizations to make the most of any time it isn't in use.

Spread the word that your space is available for rent with your email marketing software. Don’t forget to include photos of the space to encourage interest! 
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
3
Inspiration
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Donation forms

Online garage sale

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! 
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
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Inspiration
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Donation forms
Auctions

Fall carnival

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. 
Cost:
2
Effort:
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Impact:
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Inspiration
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Donation forms
Fundraising page

Superhero training camp

Sell tickets to a “training” camp where participants undergo exercises to become superheroes (think obstacle courses and agility tests). 

After your event, use email marketing software to share your gratitude with participants and volunteers along with pictures you captured of the day!
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Inspiration
All
Events

Literary pub crawl

Each stop on this bar-hopping adventure features readings or performances inspired by famous works of literature related to a given theme—poems, books, plays, you name it! 

To take this fundraising event further, arrange to have each watering hole feature a special cocktail or brew (with some non-alcoholic beverages in the mix!) to match your theme. 
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Inspiration
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Holiday-grams

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.
Cost:
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Effort:
2
Impact:
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Inspiration
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Donation forms
Fundraising page

Virtual auction

Take the bidding online by allowing participants to browse your silent auction catalog, place bids, and win from anywhere! 

Use auction software that makes the bidding process smooth and simple for you and your donors.
Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Inspiration
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Auctions
Fundraising page

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! 
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Inspiration
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Donation forms

No-talent show

Sell tickets to an all-but-traditional talent show where people make a fool of themselves for a good cause. Offer seamless event ticketing, sell food and drinks, and let the laughs begin!
Cost:
1
Effort:
2
Impact:
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Inspiration
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Escape Room Challenge

Charge a participation fee and challenge teams to solve puzzles and clues to "escape” from various spaces in this exciting, community-building fundraising event.
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
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Inspiration
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PTA mimosa breakfast

Invite parents to a fun twist on the pancake breakfast by selling tickets to an adult-only meal at your next fundraising event. Offer extra goodies—like espresso martinis!—at an additional cost.
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
2
Inspiration
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Harvest dinner party

Host a grand harvest or Thanksgiving dinner party for special guests. Raise money through exclusive ticket sales, and use corporate sponsorship best practices to secure a partnership with a local restaurant or catering company.
Cost:
2
Effort:
2
Impact:
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Inspiration
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Events
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Frequently asked questions

The most popular springtime fundraiser ideas are the ones that your local community members are excited to take part in. If you’re looking for family-friendly school or PTA spring fundraiser ideas, a bake sale or Easter egg hunt in the local park is a fun way to raise money. For community groups and nonprofits, car washes, pet competitions, and walk-a-thons are popular choices.

If you’re looking to bring in higher donation amounts to reach your fundraising goal, try a spring fundraising event idea that is larger in scale. Golf tournaments, fashion shows, silent auctions, and galas are great ways to raise more funds—especially if you partner with a local sponsor and sell tickets and refreshments.

Planning your spring fundraiser is a lot like organizing any other event. Once you have an idea, use our event planning checklist to guide you from start to finish and avoid any roadblocks along the way. It even includes tips on staffing, supplies, marketing, and on-the-day prep. Be sure to enlist friends and family to help and utilize social media to spread the word!

This season is full of celebrations and awareness days that can inspire exciting fundraising ideas for spring. Earth Day, Pi Day, International Women’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day are just some of the many moments you can plan an event or campaign around.

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