Guide

Top 10 charity fundraising ideas

Whether you’re on a solo mission or setting up a project with some friends, organising a charity fundraiser is often an easy and fun activity. If you’re struggling for ideas on how to raise money for your good cause, we’ve come up with 10 of the most popular charity fundraising ideas to help you. Using an online donation page [insert link] to help spread the word and manage donations, anyone can host their own fundraising event.

Bake sale

There are few better ways to encourage donations than offering up your homemade goodies for your friends to try! If you love cooking, then hosting a bake sale isn’t difficult at all. It’s a simple but powerful way to generate donations. To make yours stand out from the crowd, why not tailor it specifically to your chosen charity? You could come up with recipes using products that benefit your cause or invent themed names for cakes and biscuits. We have a more comprehensive bake sale fundraiser guide for you to read!

Concert/variety show

Showing off the talent of your friends or neighbours can be a very effective way to enlist supporters for your fundraising events. As well as taking money from ticket sales, you could ask the performers to contribute a small amount themselves in order to take part, and combine the concert with other fundraising activities like a tombola or raffle. An event like this will go down very well in smaller communities, with local residents loving the chance to see people they know up on stage.

Coffee morning

As a social event, a coffee morning can be not only an effective fundraising option, but a chance to talk to others about your chosen charity and its mission. Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning has proven to be a very popular fundraising event over the years and for good reason: it’s a chance to come together, support each other and sample delicious hot drinks, cakes and snacks with your friends. You could even use up some of the leftovers from that bake sale (if there are any) and double your money that way!

Charity ball

Events which offer the chance to get dressed up and dance the night away are always a hit. It takes a bit of organisation, but putting on a ball for charity can be the perfect way to get people together to raise money, have fun and create some really great memories. If you do it right, you might generate enough interest to think about turning it into a regular event.

5-a-side football

Doing a physical activity as a fundraiser will really help you to feel the impact of your actions! You can raise funds both by getting the players to contribute before the match and through ticket sales, and you could even look to bring in more money by drawing a raffle during half-time or inviting the spectators up for a penalty shootout after the match. A spectator event like this can really draw the crowds in, so be sure to promote your match on notice boards around town, on social media and even through the local press.

Marathon

If you fancy pushing yourself even further in order to reach your target, you might want to take on more of a challenge! You could either plan your own or apply to take part in well-established events like the London Marathon. If the full 26 miles seem a bit much, then a half-marathon for charity will still be just as effective at bringing the cash in. You can even get your friends to sponsor you per mile: this way, you can really push yourself to exceed their expectations and feel extra smug when you go around chasing them up for their money!

Karaoke night

The neighbours might not like you for it, but it’s a tried and tested way of raising money and having a good time with your friends while you do. Karaoke nights are not just a chance to give your vocal cords a workout, but a great way to socialise and even meet new people. You don’t even need to invest in a proper karaoke machine: a laptop and a speaker will do the job just as well. You can get people to queue up their party pieces on the playlist, or make things more exciting by randomly assigning the songs.

Quiz night

Quizzes can be held practically anywhere and when it comes to the questions and rounds, the possibilities are unlimited. You could have a more traditional style with various different rounds, or a broad overarching theme related to your chosen good cause with specific rounds linked to that topic. You can make the questions as easy or difficult as you like. Get enough people along and you can easily raise a very tidy sum for charity. This can also be a great fundraising option for kids [insert link] too!

Sponsored silence

A very effective but often overlooked way to raise funds! If you’re known to chat a bit too much among your family and friends then you’re sure to find dozens of sponsors ready and willing to help you out. It’s incredibly simple to organise: all you need is yourself and someone to keep their eye on you! It’s a very flexible idea too: you can decide how long to make your sponsored silence, and even whether to split it up into shorter chunks of an hour or two rather than staying quiet for an extended period. Just make sure you don’t stay silent when it comes to publicising the event!

Sponsored skydive

You certainly can’t be accused of being uncommitted to your charity if you choose this option! You are sure to find sponsors less brave than yourself ready to cheer you on. There are several agencies who already work with many charities to help people skydive to raise money, and you might find that it is possible to jump for free if you manage to raise a certain amount.

These are some of the most popular fundraising ideas, but it’s certainly not an exhaustive list. Try and think outside the box: the more interesting and appealing your event, the more donations you will raise! Be sure to check out some of our more detailed fundraising ideas.

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