Fundraising ideas

Encourage supporters to make a planned gift to your organization (e.g., bequests, charitable trusts, or beneficiary designations) to leave a lasting legacy. Wealth screening software can help you identify the best donors to reach out to right in your CRM.

Invite family, friends, and fans to this ultimate sports fundraising event. Participants join in a series of challenges, such as football tosses, 50-yard dashes, and obstacle courses.

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.

Use an existing stand or create your own and sell items like popcorn, candy, and sunflower seeds. To boost sales, create custom tickets with mouth-watering pictures of available treats!

Host a magical fundraising event with traditional carnival games, rides, and booths. Charge an all-inclusive fee or make each activity pay-as-you-go using QR codes for a smoother donation experience.

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.

Invite dance, cheer, or pom squads to pay a small entry fee and battle it out for top spots like “Most Spirited” and “Best Routine.” Take this event to the next level by asking attendees to consider adding a donation to their ticket purchase, offering concessions, or even livestreaming the event.

Charge a registration fee and provide materials for attendees to create their own home decor. Selecting seasonal DIY projects—such as holiday wreaths or pumpkin painting—is a great way to draw a larger crowd. Take this event to the next level by turning it into a competition! Once all projects are completed, attendees can donate to vote for who should be crowned winner.

Challenge contestants to (safely) stuff their faces in a race to the finish. Sell tickets to watch and offer prizes for the winner! To gamify the experience even more, encourage contestants to create personal peer-to-peer fundraising pages where friends and family can show their support.

Raise funds and give your supporters a memorable experience at the same time with an excursion to an exciting attraction, museum, or other destination.

Use a fundraising event page to make registration and payment easy, and add custom fields to capture important information from each participant, such as t-shirt size or dietary restrictions.

Swap a traditional walk-a-thon for a wintry ski-a-thon. Invite supporters to raise funds from friends and family members leading up to the big day through peer-to-peer fundraising, and watch your leaderboard update in real time to reflect who’s raised the most!

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.

Ask your local junkyard to donate totaled cars and invite supporters to make a donation to take a sledgehammer to them.

Sell different kinds of tickets online for smashers and audience members and offer food and drinks to raise even more during the fun. Don’t forget the safety goggles!

Sell tickets to a dining experience where guests purchase tickets to a "secret" location revealed only hours before the event. Use free texting software to send updates to attendees and inform them of the location.

Host a fashion show featuring only second-hand clothes, which will then be on sale after the show! Charge an entrance fee, sell food and drinks, and remember to send a big thank you to everyone when your fundraising event is all over.

Host a sports clinic or skills camp for participants to learn from top coaches, pro players, or other notable experts. Depending on the scale of your clinic, you can sell several tickets to the public or offer just a few spots as a big-ticket silent auction item at a fundraising event.

Charge a small entrance fee for a dropoff pancake breakfast just for kids, allowing parents to take some much-needed time to rest and relax.

Make the whole process even more convenient for parents with easy online ticketing and scan-to-donate options at the door.

Let donors "purchase" 2-5 hours of extra help from students or volunteers (think raking leaves or mowing the lawn).

In order to streamline the process and keep track of contributions, create custom labels for different donation amounts on a special fundraising page or donation form (e.g. $50 = 2 volunteer hours).

Host a car wash where team members do the washing in their uniforms! Schedule players in shifts and offer premium wash packages for higher donations.

Rally volunteers to act as festive little helpers to put up holiday decorations for others in your community in exchange for donations.

Set up a donation form and use custom labels to create fun options, like a $50 donation = putting up your roof lights.

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.

Invite local animal shelters to bring adoptable dogs and cats to campus during midterms or finals to reduce student stress and raise money for a good cause.

Charge an entry fee and sell inexpensive extras like dog and cat treats. Be sure to offer multiple ways to purchase treats in-person like scan-to-donate and Venmo!

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.