All fundraising ideas

Fundraising ideas for work

Whether you’re looking to rally your employees or coworkers around a cause close to your heart or your nonprofit is eager to engage more supporters with workplace fundraising, you’ll find inspiration in this list of exciting ideas for fundraisers at work. 

Get everyone in the office involved in the action, from coffee cart donations to CEO challenges, and help bring in donations and bring your staff together at the same time.

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Neighborhood tailgate party

Swap the stadium for your local streets and host a neighborhood tailgate party. Clear a block or two and set up food stalls, carnival games, and plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy. 

You can make the event free and charge for activities or create a ticketed event—whichever you choose, our fundraising event features can help.
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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 with ease on a user-friendly platform.
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Snowman contest

If you've been lucky to have enough snow, host a pop-up snowman contest for your local area. Invite everyone to take part, tour the entries, and then award the winner with a prize donated by a local business. Use team fundraising pages and encourage people to donate to vote—they’ll be able to see who’s winning on the live leaderboard!
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Oktoberfest

Take inspiration from the popular German event and host your own Oktoberfest with carnival games, a haunted house, and plenty of beer and non-alcoholic drinks.

This fall festival idea is a great way to raise funds for your cause and give your supporters an exciting day out.
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Annual holiday party

Throw a big annual holiday party to finish the year in style. Make this a VIP event and raise funds through ticket sales or partner up with sponsors to help offset costs and reach more supporters.

With Givebutter you can create unlimited custom event ticket types—allowing you to create fun VIP packages to offer to your partygoers.
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Lip sync competition

Invite community members to sign up and submit their songs for an unforgettable lip-sync battle. Recruit a volunteer panel of judges to select the winners—and don’t forget prizes for the winners!

Sell tickets for this fundraising event online, streamline check-in, and accept extra donations with the same easy platform.
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Adopt-a-mile fundraiser

Raise funds for a mission trip by asking congregation members to “adopt a mile.” This is a fun way to tie your fundraising activity into the experience and drive donations closer to your goal.

Highlight how close you are to reaching your target by displaying a live goal bar on your fundraising page, where the fundraising goal total equals the number of miles.
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Reverse raffle

Unlike a traditional raffle, the last ticket holder gets the grand prize in a reverse raffle. Offer custom ticket types to feature various raffle items so participants have lots of options. 

Before you start planning, be sure to check for any state regulations on raffles where you live! 
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Virtual bike-a-thon

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.
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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! 
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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!
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Flower bulb sale

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! 
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Teen film festival

Invite teens to showcase their own short films and charge admission to audience members. In order to cast a vote for their favorite films, supporters must give a donation to the film’s/filmmaker’s team fundraising page. Watch the results roll in on the live leaderboard and offer awards for the best film winners in various categories.
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LGBTQ+ trivia night

Charge a registration fee for a fun night of testing your LGBTQ+ knowledge. To raise additional funds at this fundraising event, sell pride-themed merch, drinks, and snacks, too!
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Scratch card fundraiser

Buy a bulk batch of scratch cards from a wholesaler. Each circle hides a dollar amount, usually ranging from 50 cents to several dollars. Participants scratch off as many sections as they’d like, and the total amount is how much they’ll donate!

Collect cash or accept virtual payments on the spot with Tap-to-Pay, Venmo, and more convenient options.
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Pizza party

Each class or grade creates a team fundraising page for easy donations and campaign sharing. The team that raises the most or brings in the most donations is rewarded with a bottomless pizza day, either made by volunteers or donated from a local pizzeria. 
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Pet picture day

Ask a photographer in your area to volunteer to take pictures of pets and their owners at a local park. Customize your fundraising event page with time-slotted tickets to make the day go smoothly. 
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Date auction

Brave individuals offer themselves up for your auction to go on a date with the highest bidders. This idea is a little bit dated, but with the right planning, you can have a lot of fun with it. 

Ask sponsoring restaurants to donate gift certificates to bring in more bids for these “items” and make for an easy, in-public location for each date. 
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Auctions

“Celebrity” breakfast

Charge an entrance fee for a special family breakfast with a beloved children’s character like Elmo! Check-in attendees and accept in-person donations with Tap to Pay as guests arrive, ask volunteers to whip up scrambled eggs and pancakes, and arrange a corner of the room for family photos and selfies. 
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Kids vs. grownups field day

Organize an afternoon of hilarious games and exciting dual-team events, such as tug-of-war, that are sure to get the competitive spirit going. 

Charge entrance fees for this fundraising event, offer for-sale hydration and snacks, and don’t forget prizes for the winners! 
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Valet parking

Create and sell custom VIP event tickets that offer parking perks to donors who'd appreciate the convenience of getting dropped off right at the game entrance.
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More money, no problems

Instead of hosting an event, ask your supporters to donate a specific amount for the entire year. Create a fundraising page with photos, videos, and a compelling story in order to encourage gifts. Be sure to customize your donation amounts and add descriptions that are specific to your needs and impact.
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Virtual telethon

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.
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Street painting competition

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.
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Guest speaker event

Host a webinar or TED-style talk with an interesting topic and a captivating guest speaker sourced from your network. 

Raise funds for your livestream by selling tickets and include upgrades like signed copies of books to bring in even more donations.
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Frequently asked questions

Your workplace is one of the best places to raise money for charity, especially if your fundraising efforts are work-related or promote employee involvement. Hosting bake sales in your building lobby, planning desk decorating contests, and organizing trivia nights are just a few fun office fundraising ideas your team will be eager to participate in. Plus, they offer a great opportunity for networking and building camaraderie, all while helping you reach your goal.

Don't forget to include donation jars around the office and online fundraising pages that employees can use to spread the word and raise more from friends and family. 

Launching these easy workplace fundraising ideas is pretty simple. Buy-in is key. Gather a small group of coworkers to pick a charitable cause that will resonate with your colleagues. Together, choose the best kind of activity or event for raising money. Be sure to check in with the nonprofit you’re supporting about your plans or even to collaborate on ideas!

You can also check out the different types of workplace giving programs that can further incentivize your coworkers to participate in raising funds.

Corporate fundraising, also known as corporate philanthropy, is the practice of a company or business raising money to support a cause or charity. 

Corporate fundraising ideas can range from larger-scale happenings like wine tastings and golf tournaments to smaller-scale activities like a car wash. At more formal events, organizers often charge an entry fee and invite the local community and other small businesses to attend and participate. 

Some companies also donate a portion of their profits to a specific charity or encourage staff to volunteer. Others match donations, meaning employees can give to their organization of choice, and their employer will contribute the same amount or more!

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