Fundraising ideas

Host a 24-hour livestream fundraiser for a high-energy day of fun and fundraising. 

Great livestream activity ideas include a poetry slam, gaming tournament, or virtual concert. 

Work with popular local musicians and performers to host a benefit concert with a percentage of the proceeds going towards your cause.

Want to make sure everyone can listen in and donate, no matter where they are? Livestream your concert to the masses and enable people to contribute to your campaign without leaving the stream.

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! 

Invite participants to prepare their best chili for attendees—and offer prizes for the winner! Create team fundraising pages for each chili recipe/culinary team. There, supporters can cast their vote with a donation and watch the live leaderboard to see which chef is in the lead!

Charge an entrance fee and check-in attendees as they arrive for an evening of creativity and fun. Ask volunteers to bring various supplies, or ask for donations from local art stores. 

Arrange a classic "whodunnit" event in which your guests roleplay to find out who the criminal within the group is. 

Use easy event ticketing features to register guests online and check them in quickly with your mobile app to get the festivities started sooner! 

Sell bingo cards and offer exciting prizes to keep everyone engaged all night long, either virtually or in person! 

In the lead-up to your fundraising event, entice attendees with campaign updates featuring teasers of some of the prizes at stake. 

Host a battle of the bands with local musicians. Change the audience a small ticket fee, or raise funds by selling drinks and snacks.

Raise even more money by livestreaming the show. Encourage your supporters to tune in, support the event, and donate what they can towards your goal.

Invite supporters to have a tangible impact on their communities by raising funds and committing to volunteer their time to help build homes for those in need. 

Participants create personal peer-to-peer fundraising pages where they can share their commitment to this cause with their friends and family, encouraging them to donate and support the initiative.

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.

Until recently, students had to cut out labels found on participating grocery items and submit them for cash grants for their school, but now it’s even easier with the Box Tops for Education App. Just make sure to send reminders to parents using free email marketing software.

Encourage friends and family members to make a donation to your nonprofit cause instead of giving you a birthday gift. 

Givebutter’s fundraising pages make it easy to get creative and express your personality. Add photos and videos, share your story, and leave comments and drawings for your supporters as they give.

Transform your office space into a mini-golf course for a day! Employees create teams and pay a small fee to participate—or, to raise even more money, encourage coworkers to set up their own fundraising pages and accept donations from friends and family.

Build relationships with local businesses and major donors that can offer matching donations to feature during your next campaign. 

Matching gifts create an enormous incentive for supporters who understand that they can automatically double (or even triple or quadruple!) their impact for your cause.

Invite a photographer to host a tour around the local area, taking in the sights of the season. Sell tickets in advance and use an easy mobile app to check in guests and take any last-minute payments on the day of. 

Choose a theme and invite all of your coworkers to pay a small entry fee to participate in beautifying their workspace. To determine the best “dressed” desk, ask colleagues to submit a $5 donation per vote on each decorator’s peer-to-peer fundraising page. Watch the leaderboard to see who’s in the lead in real time!

Plan a good old-fashioned lock-in for your younger community members. Charge a registration fee and have chaperones on hand to supervise activities like trivia, movie screenings, and video game tournaments.

Set up an online fundraising event page where participants can register and supporters can make donations. 

Partner with coding organizations and offer students discounted class fees and programs. Be sure to include some appealing benefits for participating companies in your corporate sponsorship proposal, like free marketing and publicity.

Students make donations to buy sections of toilet paper. At the end of the fundraising period, they get to wrap their teacher with it! For a smoother process, set custom donation amounts and labels on your fundraising page or donation form.

Celebrate the end of the year with a big annual fundraiser. Host an event and attract donations and support with a silent auction, peer-to-peer campaign, and more.

Use the year-end giving checklist to make sure you’ve covered every angle! 

In this basketball fundraiser, each contestant pays a small entry fee to see how many baskets they can make in a short amount of time. 

Invite owners to enter their pets in costume categories such as "cutest" or "most creative." Charge an entry fee and ask attendees to vote on their stylish furry favorite by donating to the pet’s individual fundraising page. 

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.

Have kids prepare their favorite cupcake recipe to sell at a cupcake-only bake sale. To add some friendly competition in the mix, invite supporters to vote on their favorite treats by making a donation to the tastiest cupcake’s team fundraising page. Watch the results roll in on the live leaderboard and offer prizes for the winners!