Six "Fun" Fundraising Event Ideas

Coming up with new ideas for fundraising events is the difference between meeting your goals or falling short. People have grown tired of buying wrapping paper, cards, candy, cookies, candles, and popcorn. As such, organizations running the same fundraising events year after year frequently notice donations start to decline at a steady pace. Rather than continue to do the same thing every single year, try out new and fun ideas to give people a reason to give more, such as:

1. Cooking Competitions: Cook offs and cooking competitions are popular with people of all ages. Host a competition between local community celebrities, like news and television anchors, radio hosts, or sports teams. Encourage people to make a donation in order to vote for their favorite dishes and/or celebrities.
2. Happiness from the Misfortune of Others: Solicit volunteers from your organization or local celebrity pool to be willing to undergo misfortunes, like dying/cutting hair, dressing in an embarrassing costume, or trading jobs for a day, voted upon by donors. For every $1 donated, the donor gets one vote.
3. Online and Silent Auctions: Many local businesses are willing to donate goods and services to fundraising events if you take the time to solicit them. The donations do not have to be large ticket items, either. For instance, ask restaurants to donate $10 or $20 gift cards, movie theaters for free movie tickets, oil change shops for free oil change certificates, and so on. People get caught up in the hype of auctions and end up bidding far more than the retail costs of the donated items.
4. Sell Employee Perks: Businesses looking to raise money for a nonprofit or charity they support can encourage employees to give more by selling employee perks. For every $1 donation, give employees a free casual day pass to use during the week, or, for larger donations, allow them to purchase time off with pay.
5. 50/50 and Reverse Raffles: Sell raffle tickets where half of the ticket price goes to the fundraising event and the other half to the winner. Another popular raffle is a reverse raffle event where all potential donors receive tickets for free, but must do something embarrassing, unless they pay the organization a predetermined amount. To keep things fun, allow donors the option to give the ticket to another person, who must also pay to give it away and get out of the embarrassing task.
6. Online Murder/Mystery: Donors donate money to examine clues, evidence, and details surrounding a murder/mystery to attempt to solve the case. “Winners” could be awarded with a small item, like a T-shirt or coffee mug.

Do not overlook the power of social media and online donations, no matter what type of fundraising events your organization uses. Setting up online fundraising requires registering with a reputable service, creating your online fundraising page, advertising the event, and receiving donations. Donations can be accepted through your organization’s Facebook page, too, by posting a donation badge on the page.

To learn more about online fundraising processes, or to register your organization for an upcoming event, contact us now at 800-684-0550.