First – thank you so much for wanting to support our school.
The sections below should give you some good ideas to get you started – but if you come up with something even better (we’re sure you can) let us know about it – we are always on the look out for innovative and exciting fundraising ideas.
Fundraising amongst family and friends is the simplest way to raise money for your cause, but it may not always yield the most donations.
If you can expand your fundraising efforts to a wider audience, you’ll have an even greater chance of fundraising success.
Fundraising in your neighborhood is one easy alternative, and it’s great for several reasons. First, doing something good for charity is a fantastic way to raise community spirits and a sense of goodwill. Also, fundraising brings neighborhoods closer together.
Whether you are fundraising alone or working with your neighbors on a community fundraising cause, starting the fundraising conversations with your neighbors now will lead to positive community experiences well into the future.
Regardless of the type of neighborhood fundraising you decide to do, here are some ideas to help you get started:
In prior generations, street parties were much more common than they are today. Neighbors would get together to hold summer barbecues and celebrate holidays like the Fourth of July. It was a great way to get to know the people around you and have fun too.
You can bring the street parties back to your neighborhood. You can organize your neighborhood party alone, or try to get several of your neighbors involved in different tasks such as sending invitations, food preparation and entertainment. Community support is a key element for the success of a neighborhood party.
At your street party, you can raise funds by soliciting donations, and you can also run secondary fundraising activities:
When planning a street party, it is essential to involve all of your neighbors and local businesses in the process. You will need to ask the council or local authority for permission to close the road on the day of the street party, and you will need neighborhood support to do this. You may also need a permit if you plan on having formal entertainment, such as a live DJ or band.
Many people have unused household items that they’d like to get rid of. Why not sell these items and donate the proceeds to your fundraising efforts?
You can run a car boot sale or garage sale on your own, but you’ll have even greater success if you get your neighbors involved. Make signs advertising the sale date and ask your neighbors to come out and sell some of their stuff too. The more people who attend, the higher the fundraising donations for your cause!
If you look around your home right now, you could likely make a list of a dozen or more things that you would like to have done. Your neighbors are in a similar position.
From window washing to gardening, go around your neighborhood and ask if people would allow you to do odd jobs for them in exchange for a fundraising donation. Many people would be glad for the help, and it’s a great way to meet your neighbors too!
Fundraising in schools is an excellent opportunity to raise money for a charitable cause. With students, teachers and their families helping out, no fundraising venture is too large to consider. Teachers can even integrate aspects of charity fundraising into their lessons to enhance the learning experience.
The school fundraising suggestions outlined below focus on school-wide involvement and are applicable for a variety of different causes. You can use these ideas to raise money directly for your school, or for charity. Either way, involving schoolchildren in fundraising is a wonderful way to teach them about sharing and altruism.
Perhaps the most well-known of school fundraisers, non-uniform days are a fantastic way to raise money for a cause. Students pay a small donation and are allowed to come to school in their regular clothes or, for special occasions like Halloween, in fancy dress.
With your entire school participating, you can raise quite a lot of money from just this one fundraising activity.
Sponsored activities are another way to raise money in a school setting. Kids appreciate any break from the normal routine of lessons, so sponsored activities are a great fundraising motivator.
Ask the children to collect donations from friends and family for a particular activity and try to involve all of the schoolchildren, even the very young ones. Here are some ideas for school sponsored activities:
In addition to holding sponsored activities, schools are also fantastic venues for fundraising events like recitals and talent shows.
If the school already has a choir, ask them to prepare a special program that can be performed one evening. Invite everyone from the community and charge admission, with proceeds benefiting your fundraising cause. You can also sell refreshments and snacks to raise additional funds.
Alternatively, you can ask groups of students to put an act together into a school-wide talent show. Charge admission into the show and make sure to give out prizes for the top act, the funniest and the most creative talents. The kids will love participating and the fundraising event is sure to be a big hit in your local community too.
There are many reasons why you may choose to fundraise at a school. In some cases, the school may be raising money directly to pay for a special trip or project; in other cases, schools will help you fundraise on behalf of your charitable cause.
The first step to getting any school involved in fundraising is to discuss your plans with the headmaster. Depending on the type of fundraising event you’d like to have, you may also need support from teachers and from the community.
In most cases, schools are happy to help out with a charitable cause, especially if it can also be used as a learning experience for their students.
Work can be monotonous, and charity fundraising helps to break up the day and provide an infusion of fun and excitement into daily work tasks.
Many of the fundraising ideas you do outside of work can be incorporated into a work environment, but there are also certain tasks that are successful largely because they occur in a work environment. Here are some workplace fundraising ideas to get you started:
At most jobs, work attire is dictated by your employer, leaving little room for comfort or personal style.
Employees love work days when they can deviate from the corporate dress code. When you schedule a dress down day, workers gladly pay a small donation, usually a pound, and are allowed to wear their own clothes into work.
Fancy dress days are even more exciting in an office environment. For a small fundraising donation, workers are allowed to come to work in a costume. Don’t forget to award prizes at lunchtime for the top outfits, giving away small, inexpensive prizes like bottles of wine or boxes of sweets for the funniest, most creative and scariest costumes.
Raffles are another popular workplace fundraising idea, and they’re also one of the easier fundraising ideas to do – print matching tickets, sell each one for a pound and hold a drawing to give away prizes.
You or your co-workers can bring in items to serve as prizes, or you can work with a local business to give away a larger prize or gift voucher. You can even ask a local restaurant to provide a free dinner for the winner. It’s great exposure for the businesses involved and you’ll also raise a good bit of money for your fundraising cause!
In most workplaces, employees favour going out for a takeaway or visiting the work cafeteria at lunchtime. If all of this money was put towards your fundraising cause instead, it would make quite a difference!
Start a campaign at work where your co-workers bring in lunch at least one day a week. They can bring lunch on their own, or get a group together and have everyone agree on one item to bring. You can even bring last night’s leftovers! The money you save by bringing your lunch instead of buying it is donated to your fundraising efforts.
At Work Fundraising at work can be an extremely successful endeavor, but it requires some knowledge of your workplace to do it properly. In nearly all cases, you will need the support of your manager to conduct fundraising activities on work premises. You may also need permission from your company’s corporate office if your local manager is not authorized to make those decisions for the business.
Once you’ve received permission, pick an activity suitable for the number of co-workers in your office and get started! By doing something fun and making the work day different for your co-workers, your fundraising efforts will surely be rewarded.