Favorite Fundraising Ideas

Here are some of my favorite fundraising ideas, most of them found on: http://www.gapyear.com/articles/90420/a-to-z-of-fundraising-ideas

- Auction of Promises

Visit local businesses and ask them to donate their services for you to auction off. Or rope in your friends, who could promise to wash cars, mow lawns or do housework for the highest bidder.

- Beard Shaving

Grab a few hairy marys and shave them. Not just for fun - fundraise by getting people to sponsor them to go through with it. You can shave heads, beards, backs or legs... the possibilities are great.

- Back to Front Day

Get sponsored to wear your clothes the wrong way round for a whole day.

- Concert

Get some talented friends to perform in front of those less talented. Or, vice versa for a laugh. Charge an admission fee and organise a collection during the matinee.

- Car Washing

Grab some willing friends and get knocking on your neighbour's doors. Tell them why you are offering to wash their car and chances are, they'll gladly stump up a bit of cash.

- Chocolate Ban

Get sponsored for every three days you can go without chocolate - or for every day without, if you're a serious chocoholic!

- Fairs, fetes, bazaars, etc

Get yourself a big space (a hall, a field or even a car park) and let your imagination go crazy. Set up a coconut shy, apple bobbing stand, races and white elephant stalls.

- Film show/premiere

There are two main ways to do this. Speak nicely to your local cinema manager and ask if you can rent out a screen - or even if they will donate one to your worthy cause. Charge your friends and family an admission to watch the newest blockbuster. Alternatively stage a screening in your own home - maybe you could theme the type of films you show with your gap route? Ask people to bring their own snacks and to pay a small amount for the screening.

- Fashion Shows make for Fashionable Fundraising

Depending on how ambitious you are, this could raise a significant amount towards your charity of choice. Either grab a couple of mates and stage a show in your house. They could model clothes that you no longer want or need, which could then be auctioned off at the end of the day. Alternatively, let local clothes shops know about your fundraiser and ask them to donate clothes for the show. This is also great publicity for them. Get hold of a hall and advertise the event well in advance - give out flyers in your town centre and post them through letter boxes.

- Fill Smartie tubes with coins

Pass smartie tubes out to your friends and family and ask them to fill them with spare change - preferrably £1 coins! Then collect them back in - you'll be amazed at how much you will raise this way and there is very little effort involved. Also, you could empy the smarties from their tubes into a jar and run a 'Guess the number' contest.

- It’s a Knockout competition

Get some teams together and arrange assualt courses, games and quizzes galore. Each team member pays a few pounds to take part - with the winning team being awarded a prize donated by a local company.

- Ice-cream Eating

Either get sponsored to make lifelong friends with Ben and Jerry or buy huge tubs of ice cream and sell them by the scoop as cornets on a hot day.

- Joke-a-thon

Go up to people on the street and asking them to pay you fifty pence if you can make them laugh. Best to be armed with a ready supply to hilarious jokes for this one.

- Karaoke competition/display

Rent a karaoke machine and hold an event in your local pub, college bar, or bedroom. Sell tickets, or make it a competition and charge people to enter. Get a local company to donate a prize.

- Leap Frog

Get sponsored per leap, or per quarter-hour. More fun if you're leaping over strangers, in the local park or on the beach. Tell them what you're doing; they'll either laugh and agree or walk very quickly in the opposite direction. Take photos to prove you did it!

- Obstacle Course

Set up a hard-core obstacle course and charge people to race.

- Pram push

Dress up, push your mate in a pram through the streets of your town, shake a bucket and be prepared to tell a lot of curious bystanders why they should give you money for your fundraising shenanigans.

- Scavenger Hunt

People pay to enter. They each recieve a list of items they need to scavenge (a beer-mat, a yellow flower, an item of underwear that's not their own...) Give a prize to the person who brings all the items to you first.

- Throwing wet sponges at a person in stocks

Great at a summer fair!

- Tuck shop

Buy cheap multi-packs of chocolate bars and crisps and sell them at extortionately inflated prices. This works well at offices and factories, as well as schools and youth clubs. Sell home-made cakes and cookies too if you've got time to bake them.

- Twister-a-thon

Get sponsored to play an all-day game of Twister with your mates. People will donate more if you're doing it in a public place - your embarrassment is always worth a few quid.

- Video-a-thon

Rent a bunch of classic movies and play them back-to-back for 24 hours. Print schedules and hand them out to your friends and acquaintances, who'll hopefully turn up and pay to watch their favourites. Offer a discount for those who last the whole 24 hours. Don't skimp on the popcorn.

- Costume Sponsor 
Make a crazy costume and then get sponsors to wear it for the whole day, wherever you go.

-Personal Shopper Service
We all know someone who doesn’t like to go shopping, doesn’t have the time or energy or is unable to get out to the shops.
Earn money for your cause by setting up your own personal shopper service. Do someone’s grocery shopping, run their errands or just accompany them around town… all for a small donation of course!

A Slave Auction

Not as bad as it sounds. Get volunteers to agree to be a 'slave' for an hour, an afternoon, a day etc. Once you have a sufficient quantity of slaves, you can organise the auction and invite loads of people along to it, preferably including a few successful local businessmen and women. The slaves that are 'won' in the auction may end up performing a number of tasks for the winning bidder, usually based upon their skills, e.g. a carpenter might put up some shelves, a chef might cook a nice meal, a gardener might do some digging etc.

Dinner Auction 

This can be a very fun event that has the added benefit of being delicious. Ask a group of volunteers to make one dinner dish each. The dish could be an appetizer, main meal or a yummy dessert. Package the meals in take-home containers. Everyone brings their meals to the fundraiser night. Arrange all of the meals on a table so everyone can see what they're bidding on. The auctioneer should start the bidding around $5 each and watch as people bid against each other, raising the pot. Imagine what you would pay for a chocolate hot fudge cake. Everyone goes home with at least one meal for that night or the next day.

Children's Clothing Sale

Babies and children outgrow clothing and toys so quickly, often before they are worn out. Host a baby and kids’ resale as your next fundraiser. You will need a large building with a cafeteria or gymnasium, such as a school or a church. You will need access to long tables. Clothing racks would be helpful, but not necessary. Set a day to have the sale, preferably a Saturday or Sunday to maximize shoppers. Rent the tables to parents looking to sell their children’s clothing, toys, and accessories they are no longer using. You could rent the tables for ten to twenty dollars a piece. Charge an entry fee to shoppers. A dollar would be appropriate. Have a monitored room that the table renters can place their large items in for sale, such as high chairs and strollers. Mark each item so you know who gets the money when it sells. Have a concession stand with drinks and food for your hungry shoppers and moms. People will look forward to this sale every year.
More information on holding a clothing consignment fundrasier here.

Bidding for Blue Plate Specials
This is a fun and sometimes hilarious twist on the dinner fundraiser. Tell people to bring an individual serving, cooked meal or dessert, their checkbook, and their sense of adventure. They will be bidding for their dinner. Meals can be simple such as hard boiled egg or scrambled eggs, or elaborate such as lobster thermidor. It is up to each person to decide what to bring. Put a cover over each meal to keep it a secret and let the biding begin. Keep hot meals in a warmer to keep them hot. Either start the bidding the same for each meal, or start with a high or low bid to keep people guessing as to whether it is a fancy meal or not. You may want to reveal what the meal is during bidding if you think it will drive the price up. It will be funny to see a peanut butter and jelly sandwich go for $25 when prime rib only sells for $5. Just be careful to announce any potential food allergies before bidding starts.

Board Game Tournament

Create a fun twist on a card tournament and do something that everyone can participate in. Have a Board Game Tournament. Pick a favorite, such as Sorry, Trouble, or Monopoly. Assemble 4 person teams that will work together to accumulate points or you can allow individuals to participate. Charge an entry fee for each team, in order to earn money for your charity. Give a portion of the proceeds as the winning prize or get prizes donated from local businesses. Decide if you are going to play with a time limit for each game so that everyone has the same chance and to keep things running on a schedule. Decide on any “House” rules beforehand. Set up bleachers for the audience and consider having a 50/50 raffle or raffle for door prizes. Definitely have a concession stand with coffee, soda pop, popcorn, chips, hot dogs, and bottled water to earn extra money.

Carnation Day

 Everyone loves to receive flowers and it can be very uplifting to know that someone is thinking of you. Have a carnation day on Valentine’s Day or Sweetest Day as your group’s next fundraiser. This is a great fundraiser for a school. Carnations are a relatively inexpensive flower and you should be able to get a great deal buying them in bulk. Contact a local nursery, greenhouse or florist and see if they can help you out. Have pre-sales of the carnations before school and during lunchtime for a week before the day. Make up cards that have a line for student’s full name, homeroom, and spot for a personal message. Set up a table to sell the cards and pens for the students to fill them out. Have collection boxes to place the cards in. You may want to have the boxes labeled with homerooms or alphabetically (A-D, E-G, etc.) to make sorting easier. Have a cash box with small bills and coins so that you can make change. On the morning of Carnation Day, have some people grouping flowers and cards and others delivering them to homerooms. The recipients will love hearing their names read off and receiving the flowers. Consider ordering extra to give each teacher and principal one as well.

Christmas Cookie Baking

 Most people have already been rushing around for more than a month, first getting ready for Thanksgiving, and now preparing for Christmas. There's shopping to do, decorating, possibly travel to plan, or preparing their homes for guests, and they have to do it all while still keeping up with the day-to-day tasks and activities. It's a miracle if anyone has any time left over to bake anything from scratch. That's where your group comes in. Offer baked holiday cookies that members of the community can buy by the dozen. Decide on a few varieties to make, and they don't have to be complicated. Simple sugar cookies, or gingerbread will do. You can get fancier if you like, and offer premium cookies at a slightly higher price. If your volunteers have the time, inclination, and skill, you can also offer larger baked goods like cakes and pies. Ask people to place their orders a week or two in advance so there's plenty of time for preparation and and baking. And for that inevitable emergency request, add on a small last-minute fee. This way, families still get homemade treats rather than store-bought, and your organization raises money for its cause. Everyone has a happy holiday!

Death By Chocolate

Chocolate lovers are everywhere. Give them what they want with a Death by Chocolate Fundraiser. Contact local restaurants and pastry chefs to see if they would be interested in participating. They would receive free advertising in return. Find a banquet hall that is willing to let you host the event for free or a reduced price. Let them set up a cash bar to recoup some of the cost and maybe you can split the proceeds. Sell tickets as a Chocolate Tasting Event. Tickets sold in advance can be reduced price from tickets sold at the door to encourage pre-sales. Have each chef prepare sample sized portions of their favorite chocolate desserts. It would be great if they could attend the event to answer questions (and get praised) about their desserts. Make sure you have variety of milk, dark and white chocolate desserts. Something for everyone! You may also want to have a wine tasting. Find a sommelier willing to help suggest wines that will pair well with chocolate. This fundraiser is sure to be popular and a great moneymaker.

Giving Tree
This is a great fundraiser to stock a food bank or other church pantry, or collect gifts for people in need during the Holiday season. Instead of decorating a tree with regular ornaments, decorate it with hand crafted paper ornaments that have items that are needed written on them. Have ornaments that hit all price points. Items in the $1.00 to $25.00 range are best, so that everyone can participate. If you are collecting items for a food bank, request non-perishable items. Have bins set up around the tree for people to deposit their gifts in. Or have a collection date and time to gather everything at once. If you are collecting items for those in need, try to have as much information available on the ornament. It is easier to shop for someone knowing that they are a size medium woman who likes the color blue and needs some long sleeve shirts, or a little boy who needs a pair of snow boots and is a size 7.

Holiday Shopping in One Night
Holiday gift shopping can be time consuming and hectic. Host a “holiday shopping in one night” event for your next fundraiser. Find vendors willing to set up a booth, either for a set fee or a percentage of their sales for the evening. Contact representatives from popular companies such as Avon, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and Watkins. Most companies have online directories to find representatives in your area, or ask around to find them. Send home flyers, advertise with posters, and contact your local newspapers. Offer a free grab bag or raffle ticket to the first fifty shoppers. See if the vendors will donate gift baskets or product samples to give away. Have a bake sale and concession stand to feed your hungry shoppers and make extra money. Consider having craft vendors as well, but do not make the show bigger than one shopper can get through in one evening. Your shoppers will appreciate being able to get all their shopping done in one place.

Love from Home Packages
Being away at college is a huge adjustment and can leave you homesick. The perfect remedy is a care package from home. This fundraiser would be perfect for a high school or church. Mail flyers to the parents of recently graduated seniors (within the last four years) and explain your group and what you are raising money for. Have a list of care packages for sale and their contents. For example, you can have a chocolate lover’s package, a coffee lover’s package, an assortment package, etc. You will want to put things in the care package that are convenience foods that can be easily prepared in a microwave and are shelf stable. Let the parents place a personal message in the care package. Shop at discount food stores to get the best price on items. Find businesses willing to donate cardboard boxes so that you can ship the packages. Parents will appreciate the convenience and students will appreciate the love from home.

 No Dirty Dishes for a Week

 No one likes to wash dirty dishes. With our busy lives, it is sometimes hard to find the time to make a home cooked meal. This fundraiser will probably be very popular and appeal to a large group of people. This fundraiser is appropriate for all groups. You will want to find several local restaurants that are willing to donate a dinner for two, or even four if the restaurant is really generous. Approach local restaurants over the phone or in person and explain who your group is and what you are raising money for. Tell them you are looking to raffle off a whole week of dining out at local restaurants. Ask if they are willing to participate. Let them know that they will receive free advertising at your event. Try to find a wide range of restaurants from simple to elaborate and different cuisines. You can either work with the restaurants to schedule a set week with a night at each restaurant, or they could just offer a certificate redeemable for a dinner for two. Selling raffle tickets for this should be easy.

Pampering in Prison

 Create a new twist on the lock up for charity. Instead of just locking up your prisoners and having them make phone calls to family and friends to raise bail money, pamper them too. People will request to be locked up for the day. For a small donation take down the names of people to arrest. Create a list of offenses for which they are being arrested for. Instead of picking them up, you may want to have them turn themselves in. You may want to forewarn them with a note, so they can prepare and have their phonebook with them. Tell them what amount they need to raise and let them know they can begin ahead of time. You will want to arrange to have people that pamper there, such as massage therapists, manicurists, estheticians for facials, hair stylists and makeup artist. Have pampering stations set up that appeal to both men and women. You will also want to have phones available to them.