86 Fundraising Ideas That Can Really Work

It’s a small change to how you shop online, that can have a massive impact for causes around the UK.

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Get 4 groups of 4 to compete, with everyone putting in £25. The winner from each group of 4 then plays in a grand final with the winner receiving £100 and the rest going to charity.

Participants can create a blog and give weekly updates on the competition, including photos and any kitchen disasters or triumphs!

Thanks to Laura & Gillian from the Isabel Hospice for contributing this idea

There is quite a lot of choice – although this may come down to what you can do near you. Have a look online and start fundraising!

Thanks go to Marc from The Fundraising Coach for contributing this idea!

Get some friends to join, and all fundraise for your favourite cause. It would be a great way to bond while making a big difference to causes you care about.

Bonus: Have a look at Marc Pitman’s ideas on how to fundraise for a Walkathon on his website The Fundraising Coach

Just convince people to stay one extra hour, or to come in early and teach one special skill like cooking, baking, knitting, playing guitar, dancing, or whatever talent you can find at work.

Colleagues who wish to learn can pay a nominal fee each week, and that is the amount that goes for charity.

Since this is not something that people do every day, sponsorships will be easy to get.

But make sure that you are adequately insured, and above all, safe.

Abseiling is quite common as an adventure sport, and can be used as a fundraising idea simply by adding some level of difficulty to it. Get your friends to sponsor you.

Sponsorship from an adventure sports store or company is not a bad deal either.

It is even part of some annual fetes. Worm charming is particularly enjoyed by teenagers and young adults. A grassy area is divided into parts, on which each participant must bring out worms and collect them.

The person with the maximum number of worms wins.

Charge an entry fee. You can also create funds by selling jars and instruments for the game. The prize can even be sponsored.

Every time someone does something that is not eco-friendly (leaving the lights/computer on, leaving the taps running, printing unnecessary emails, using fresh papers for rough drafts) you could give them a small fine, which you can donate at the end of the month.

If you own a company, a store, or any business that involves employees, you can float a program that lets them donate via payroll.

As soon as their salaries are credited, the donations will be legally transferred for charity. The best part is that they do not have to pay taxes on it.

Fundraise via entry donations and selling movie snacks; popcorn, sweets and drinks, will go down well too.

It’s a great fundraising idea as it encourages less swearing and raises money for your cause.

Ask for a donation every time someone swears, and place it in a publically viewable box for extra encouragement. Try it at work, or at home, any place where people regularly congregate.

You may find these at a local pub, and they might be willing to sponsor it, as its likely to help with drink sales too.

Or, if you find your own place you could raise further funds by charging for drinks.

As well as fundraising for your cause you would be helping your neighbours, and is a great chance to foster community relations, catch up or meet new people.

You only need to find a well populated area, make a sign, and start fundraising!

Look around and may certainly come across some people who are willing to discard those.

You will be astonished to see the amount of funds you can raise for cancer research by just curbing the morning tea/coffee.

It is not only a motivating way to get back in shape, but also a noble gesture for the cause of cancer research.

Wait! What’s the best thing about this one?

Since so many groups of people are involved, it is easy to get more sponsorship. All you need to do is make arrangements for venue and logistics. And you are good to go. The tickets, along with donations will fetch you enough funds.

Just devote a donation box, and keep making donations every now and then when you come across an unspent pence or a pound in your pocket.

Encourage your family to do the same.

Get a head-shave sponsored. A rather brilliant idea is to convince people of some reputation to do it for a cause. It really works.

And, gentlemen, if you dare to go further till your threshold of pain, go for waxing a leg or an arm. Funds will definitely be higher.

And, it can be a great fundraiser for your cause in the case you can put up a good cast and crew together for a pantomime.

Also, if you can get a sponsor, you can bear the expenses of the costumes and the stage easily.

Make sure that you send out the news and also put a ticket. Providing refreshments for a charge will add to your funds raised.

The best part is that these also create awareness about your religious cause.

You can buy those at local stores for a pretty reasonable price when you buy wholesale.

So, every Sunday, you can have people buy these with their names on it.

Contact one of your local supermarkets prior to Christmas.

They see a lot of business at this time of the year, so an extra helping hand is always welcome.

You cannot only donate the money thus earned but can also ask the customers for donations for your charity, with the employer’s permission of course.

On the day of the event, you just need a few tables and a few people who can manage the money.

People are usually generous at doing this, so you can turn this fundraising idea into a regular feature.

As an annual fundraising idea, it really works. You can either get the cards online for very cheap, or let your creativity loose, and go for making them on your own.

But, there is one thing for sure – these will sell.

And it can work for your favourite charity too. And you can make it hi-tech this time.

Instead of taking donations from door-to-door in cash, you can just ask them to do it online there and then at you charity’s website. It certainly sounds more authentic than cash donations and, thus is likely to get you more funds.

Make sure that you have with you collection buckets that publicise the cause that you support.

Locals, as well the passers-by, are likely to donate for such a noble gesture.

People love buying those.

You could even get sponsored from a local bakery or a restaurant.

All you need is the raw material and a creative idea.

Along with many more volunteers like you, choose a community place, a parking lot, or a door to door option, offer to wash cars for a reasonable charge, and you will see people flocking to get it done.

Not a very novel idea, but a lucrative one indeed.

It doesn’t take much more effort than painting, but does fetch more donations.

You will also find people in your religious group who like to put their boogie shoes on. Rope them in for instructing, sell some tickets and let the learners mingle with the dancers that you chose.

Charge a registration or a lesson free from the learners, and voila! You will be fundraising in no time.

And, you can do it with the help of the charity that you support.

Organise a show that brings the public, especially children closer to these animals, and teaches them about the challenges they face. Just make sure that the animals don’t get distressed.

The tickets will help you fundraise with ease.

Not only do the children love it, the adults might find it amusing too (just don’t overdo it).

You could get sponsorships easily; the registration fee will also add to the funds.

If it is a success once, make it an annual feature.

Chances are, if you try approaching a local pet shop for sponsorship, the results would be positive.

Just do some brainstorming for finding unique ideas for titles – like the laziest dog, or the heftiest cat, and the show is sure to get popular as an annual fundraiser.

If you support a cause that cares for dogs, you can organise a dog wash.

Do it for a small charge, and dog owners will rush to you. If you could get sponsored by a pet shop, you can also add dog grooming to your service.

Tickets, raffles and auctions can be a part of this dinner where you exhibit the awards and accolades that the team has won during the season.

It is one of those good ideas that everyone appreciates.

So, get some sports buffs who support different teams.

Charge them for competing with one another.

If so many like you can do this, the funds thus raised can be remarkable.

And it gets even better when the support increases this way.

Get each covered mile sponsored from different sponsors. That makes getting sponsorships easy.

Doing this by convincing a gym, or shoe store is a unique fundraising idea.

If sack race and egg race are too old for you, try wheelchair races, or stiletto races, or slow races or any ingenious race that comes to your mind.

The point is that they are amusing, easy to do, take very few resources, and attract a lot of people.

Charge a registration fee, get prizes sponsored, and you are good to go.

So, you can give them both, and raise some funds at the same time. You can rope in professional/amateur players, or coaches, or trainers from the club that you support, and get them to train those who are willing to be trained.

You will get ample funds as registration fee as well as tuition fee, while the public will get a chance to learn from the pros.

And, do not forget to market your endeavour well before you start with the workshop.

Marathons for football, tennis, table tennis, badminton, or any sport that interests a lot of people can work for you.

Get sponsorships from sports related sponsors, hire a place, and get ready for raising some massive funds.

Now put up a raffle for this best seat in the house. This is prize that students will never want to lose.

This can be a regular fundraising idea each season.

It is different than a regular match; the duration is much longer; precisely the reason why it fetches more sponsorships than usual.

You can keep a match on for hours. Apart from the sponsorship, the tickets and snacks for sale will also add to your funds raised.

Charge a little fee from the audience to raise funds. But we’re not through yet.

Arrange for some snacks, and sell them to those who want to enjoy the match more.

Also, as far as the psychological reaction of the public is concerned, it is more so the case that the more special the task, the higher the willingness for participation.

Not only can you charge a registration fee, but also bag sponsorship. Tickets for those who wish to see the match will raise a lot of revenue. A bonus? The refreshments that you can sell during the event.

This will add some more spice.

You could also get a pub to sponsor you, and the venue could be the pub itself.

Gather some like-minded people to volunteer and you are sure to get a sponsor or two as this one makes a visible difference.

Just make some fliers to let people know that you can mow their lawn for a tiny charge which goes for the environmental cause.

People are likely to pay generously.

Encourage your mates too; it only gets better with more people.

What you can do instead is collect old books for sale– literature, science, magazines, comics – and sell them. Repair the ones that have turned shabby; recycle the ones that cannot be used.

This will help you raise some good funds for your cause!

Charge a nominal amount from people who wish to go for treks or nature watch.

Surely a good way to support your cause.

Most recycling units pay for the cans; just pick up the cans littered around in your area, and turn them in for recycling.

One more thing, it will help make your surroundings cleaner.

For that, you will have to sow a variety of seeds in advance, and prepare the saplings in time.

Not only will it help you fundraise, but it will also help the environment in the long run.

Make yourself useful in the holidays; click those who would like an instant photo; and raise your funds.

By joining in and spending a night out you can fundraise and help to beat youth homelessness. Building your own cardboard shelters, trying to stay warm and secure will provide a glimpse into the very real hardships and challenges faced by vulnerable, homeless, young men and women. Are you ready for the challenge – can you find sponsorship and create greater awareness?

Thanks to Robert Purcell from the East Herts YMCA for contributing this idea

You can gather more enthusiasts like you, and get the show on for a ticket and paid refreshments.

The fact that it appeals to a very wide range of audience makes it an absolute hit.

So, a sponsored community run could be the fundraising idea that you need to bring the community closer together.

Sell tickets for people to enter the contest, and see how you can have hearty fun while fundraising.

You can organize a swap event, in the community hall may be, where people come and swap things that they no longer use – clothes, books, appliances – whatever you can think of.

And in return people donate an amount for the cause.

How does it go?

You get everyone to donate a pound a month. You take out a draw every month and the winner takes home half the value of the total donated amount.

Great news – you do not need a license for it.

You surely will get some stunning pieces for which you can hold a car trunk auction.

But wait, don’t just sell the jewellery as you get it. Package it well, and make it look like new before you auction it.

You could have one sponsor each day for giving it up for a certain period.

Get them around to organise a display of their bikes, and maybe some tricks.

Make it a fundraising event; market it; put a ticket for people to see it; and see decent funds coming in.

Just a little creative effort in marketing the competition, and participants will be swarming around you.

You can easily convince a local art and crafts store to sponsor you. You can also levy an entry fee, add in some snacks and beverages to the event, and funds are what you are going to raise.

It may be a lot to do, but when you see the amount of donations that pour in, it is certainly worth it.

Parents can bring in refreshments – and a good party is on the cards.

Make sure you fulfil the legal requirements for selling tickets to general public. Click here to read more about raffle licenses and procedures.

You can also go for free prize draws; here you won’t need licenses since people don’t have to pay. Asking for donations is a good prospect here.

Urge your friends and neighbours to make generous donations, and market your raffle with children’s creative efforts.

With just a pinch of decoration, and some delicious homemade cakes, some good cash is flowing your way.

Choose a festive time of the year, for people are likely to buy more at such times.

If not that, candies, crafts, etc., also make for great sales.

The reason? Most older people tend to like the game of bingo.

How can you beat that? It is a super hit idea for making people have fun, and raise funds at the same time.

If you could, try roping in a few local entrepreneurs for sponsorships.

The pro is that you can be imaginative.

Getting sponsorship for a walkathon, a flash mob, or a silence march, whatever you think best conveys your message can work well.

One point to watch out for, you will have to be really good with selling skills so that you can get a sponsor.

The fact that most of the senior citizens have a rather good experience and the best kept secret recipes for cakes and bakes makes it a marvellous way to involve them, and raise funds with both sponsorship and sales.

It usually goes something like this – churches, schools, and other non-profit organisations buy vouchers from certain retailers at a discount. These are then passed on to supporters at a little higher price for buying services or goods from those very retailers.

As the charity bought it for a comparatively lesser price than the one it is sold for to the supporters, this can be quite a great source of funds for charities, and is almost an offline version of TheGivingMachine!

You can buy these wholesale for a cheaper price, and then sell them for a reasonable price to students.

Not only are these attractive but also eco friendly.

As an idea for charity for education, this is a quite favourite one.

It may be a rather good idea to walk your kid to school, and encourage others to do the same. Turn it into a kind of drive.

What’s the bottom line?

All the money that is saved in this process, which would have otherwise been spent on fuel, can be donated for education.

All you have to do is organise one, and decide a small registration fee.

Sponsorships can also come in easy from local entrepreneurs.

And, it gets even better than that when you choose a theme that has something to do with what children study.

Want to know the best part?

It not only raises funds, but also fosters the habit of reading.

You can put up stalls, with the school’s permission of course, sell homemade items, and garner some good cash.

Better still, getting donations here can be easier than elsewhere.

If you usually make a lot of noise, it could make others happy 🙂 and you will do your bit for your cause.

There’s a range of options and you can actually let your imagination come up with some great fundraising ideas.

You could have the local school engaged in this; you could choose from Easter egg painting or bonnet making.

Simply make a budget that will go into the making, levy an entry fee, and arrange a donated prize for the winner.

If you have the knack, you may as well go for a raffle, to keep the expenses low and profits high.

If you have lots of alumni you are in good terms with, send out invitations for a happy hour. Make sure that the word is spread as far and wide as possible. Since the pub that you choose as the venue is going to see tremendous sales for the chosen evening, ask them for a sponsorship.

If the gathering is small, it is a good idea to ask for donations. But, if it is a large one, tickets and raffle is going to be lucrative as a quick fundraising idea for schools.

Networking is absolutely good among the newer workforce.

An alumni networking luncheon or dinner is conducive enough for alumni who work in the same or related fields. A rather engaging idea is to invite a speaker that interests the guests.

You can ask for donations or voluntary involvement of any kind for the cause.