Easy Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofit Fundraising Success

Fundraising is a huge investment; it's not just an event of raising money for a cause, but in fact, continuous hard work—part of this hard work includes planning the fundraiser and having a budget to run it.

Whether you're a seasoned pro or just getting started in the world of fundraising, these easy ideas can be a real lifesaver when planning your nonprofit's charity event. In that regard, Paybee can help you make your fundraising efforts easier and smoother by simplifying payment collection and handling of donations for your cause.

Whether you're short on time and resources or looking for a little something extra to tack onto another event to supplement your peer-to-peer fundraising, these ideas are going to give you an easy way to raise some revenue for your nonprofit fundraising event. We've got you covered, whether you want to plan a virtual auction or in-person charity event!

Below are some easy and effective fundraising ideas that verge on magic in skyrocketing your fundraiser with maximum returns and minimum planning and investment.

Why is Fundraising Important and Relevant for Nonprofits?

Fundraising is the lifeblood of nonprofits, they need financial support to maintain their operations. In addition to raising funds, fundraising also helps nonprofits build community support by sharing their mission and expanding their reach. Nonprofit organizations can raise awareness about their cause, creating meaningful connections and fostering a sense of shared purpose in their communities.

Methods Nonprofits Use to Fundraise

The potential for giving in modern times is endless, as proven by improvements in technology and the ability to reach donors worldwide. Not long ago, nonprofits could only solicit donations by calling donors, sending out donation forms and envelopes, and holding in-person events. 

The world, however, has changed drastically. The following are some of the most popular types of fundraising used by nonprofits in this new day and age: 

Event Fundraising

First of all, when using event fundraising, you decide on the type of event that you're planning on hosting- be it a bake sale, picnic, concert, rummage sale, dinner, or entertainment evening— you name it. Your guests usually respond to your invitation to the event and then pay a ticket fee for reservations. Once there, you can further solicit additional funds with games, ticket drawings, and silent auctions—just some ideas to get you started.

Auction Fundraising

Auction fundraising is one of the best ways to seek donations while returning something of value to your donor. Often, businesses donate a service that will add value and exposure to your auction. This could be a massage, a free night's stay at a resort, or even costly items like jewelry or fine wines.

Virtual Fundraising

Virtual fundraising simply means that your fundraiser is in a virtual space, which can be over a Zoom call or through Facebook Live, among other things. A virtual event concerning fundraising can be as complicated as hosting a virtual gala or even just a benefit concert; at the same time, it can be as easy as a trivia night.

Online Fundraising

Online fundraising isn't more complicated than publishing a fundraising campaign on the nonprofit website, advertising and watching and watching donations flow in. This kind of fundraising is less complicated for active donors because, at times, they may only remember to bequest their money from the comfort of living room couches or when in transit.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Thanks to social media, there are now invaluable opportunities for unique fundraising. One such is peer-to-peer fundraising, which involves raising peers' money and giving it to a not-for-profit organization.

Fundraising Through Recurring Donations

Recurring donations are donations that are made regularly. These can assist your organization in planning and forecasting for budgetary purposes.

Fundraising Through Merchandise Sales

One of the most widespread forms of fundraising is selling special merchandise. Money raised by selling goods goes towards funding an organization's mission. If you can't establish a physical store, an online shop can also be set up through your website, where people can purchase merchandise.

Major Gift Fundraising

A significant gift is usually a contribution of over $1,000 at one time- this type of gift often represents a substantial portion of a year's contributions to a charity. Major gifts may be part of bequest gifts, corporate gifts, and individual contributions.

How to Implement Fundraising Ideas Using an Effective Fundraising Strategy

An extremely effective fundraising strategy can't be implemented without a little planning and great determination. It doesn't happen simply because one assumes or hopes people will give to a good cause. You can't succeed in raising funds for a cause if you cannot understand your needs, limitations, and aspirations at a deeper level.

There are so many aspects to consider—from why you want to raise funds in the first place to who it is you're looking for financial support from. Here's how, in a few easy steps, you can create an effective fundraising strategy:

Step 1: Define Your Goal

Developing your goal is, without a doubt, the most important element of your fundraising strategy. Your goal should represent the quantity of money you want to raise by the end of the campaign or, in other words, be related to the number of donors you intend to secure. Whatever figure you choose, these shall work like an undeviating motivation so that the success goes along with the general strategy.

You can determine your fundraising goal by:

• Conducting a feasibility study where you have conversations with important stakeholders, key donors, and prospects to get an estimate of how realistic your goal is
• Historically analyzing past fundraising efforts by looking at how much money you have raised will also help to indicate just how realistic your goals are

Step 2: Perform Strategic Analysis

The next step is determining your current position, the resources at your disposal, your destination, and how to get there. In other words, you must ask yourself a series of questions.

Where are you now?

This one will relate to your current donors, how you attracted them, and past fundraising efforts that have proven successful. You will virtually have to analyze what has worked and what hasn't. Doing so can help you chart what to try and what to steer clear of.

Where do you want to be?

What do you want your fundraising to get you? Most importantly, a nonprofit will want to maximize awareness and donations. What fundraiser ideas will get people interested so they can achieve good feelings regarding their nonprofit and boost funds? This SWOT analysis also helps the learning process and understanding the wide environment expected to impact future fundraised outputs. It involves a research instrument considering strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities.

How much can you afford to spend?

What can you afford to put into and spend on your fundraising activity? This has to be both in terms of time and money. Don't get too disheartened: fundraising doesn't have to be expensive. Again, ask your team or a professional consultant to determine the highest and lowest spend and what is feasibly possible within these realms.

How long have you had to raise funds?

Do you have a projected deadline for the campaign? Remember, this would have to consider the time you need to spend building relationships with donors, which is often a long-term tactic. For instance, if you are raising $50,000 over six months, you will be hard-pressed to reach donors with whom you do not currently have a relationship. Doing so will aid in correctly strategizing a well-informed strategic plan moving toward success.

Step 3: Plan Your Fundraising Campaign

Having defined your goals and current and future situations, you can sketch your plan of action. When preparing this plan, consider promotion alongside execution because social media is a free tool available to organizations. With a big budget, you can consider celebrity endorsement or outdoor advertising. But before anything can be promoted, you must first establish what your activities, fundraising-wise, will be. Budget permitting, the various fundraising activities are:

• Social fundraising, including peer-to-peer campaigns and crowdfunding
• Community fundraising events, such as walk-a-thons and auctions
• Major donor cultivation events
• Corporate and academic partnerships

All the activities you wish to undertake should be marked on the calendar to avoid undesirable overlaps. Moreover, this will help organize donor interaction better and keep you on track and in check.

Your action plan should clearly state:

• The roles of employees and volunteers participating
• Estimation of the cost for each activity
• An objective that defines the success of an activity

From here, you can contact donors to inform them of your intentions and be persuasive enough for them to support your fundraising plans.

Step 4: Outreach to Donors

A good fundraising plan will identify specific funding sources to pursue. These are called donor prospects and might include:

• Individual donors
• Foundations
• Corporations

Know very early on which leads are worth pursuing. Next, decide what tactics you will use to entice each prospect. Research alone on possible donors can help you identify where a lead has the capacity for giving. A professional consultancy can help you research wealth indicators, demographic data, and donor history so that you're as best prepared as possible before initiating contact.

Step 5: Execute the Fundraising Plan

With your goals set, strategies analyzed, plans prepared, and donors identified, it's time to execute your fundraising plan. Follow these steps:

1. Create a Timeline and Checklist: Establish clear timelines for each campaign phase and create a detailed checklist of tasks to ensure nothing is overlooked.

2. Gather Resources and Volunteers: Mobilize your team and allocate tasks. Ensure you have all necessary resources, such as promotional materials, event spaces, and digital platforms.

3. Launch the Campaign: Roll out your campaign through the planned channels. Use social media, email campaigns, and events to reach your audience.

4. Monitor Progress: Regularly check the progress of your campaign. Adjust strategies as needed to stay on track with your goals.

5. Post-Event Follow-Up and Thank Yous: Follow up with donors to thank them for their contributions after the campaign. Provide updates on how their donations will be used and maintain communication to build long-term relationships.

Following these steps, you can effectively plan, organize, and execute your fundraising ideas, ensuring a successful campaign that meets your goals and supports your cause.

Promoting Your Fundraising Event on Social Media

Social media is the pinnacle of effectively promoting your fundraising event, especially in the current digital age. The more you promote your fundraising event on social media, the more supporters will attend, and the more money you will raise for your cause. Here are eight practices to follow to take full advantage of social media promotion:

Create a Facebook Event

A great way to share your fundraising event online is through social media platforms like Facebook. Facebook Events allows you to set up an event publicly or privately to tailor it to your organization's needs. Remember to link to a separate signup page in your Facebook Event to ensure accurate RSVPs. 

Send Out a Save the Date Email and Follow Up

Far from really ever becoming obsolete, as many would think, email has been study-proven to continue its growth. Start this communication with a "save the date" email some months before giving your supporters advance notice of an upcoming fundraising event, then follow up with an invitation email when registration opens. A third email, a week before the event, would serve as a reminder to those who have registered and an incentive to those who have not.

Finally, on the day before the event, send an email with details such as timings for the event or location since sometimes people may forget these. Although it may seem redundant, these friendly reminders ensure your supporters remember the event and come out to support. 

Give Away Free Tickets on Social Media

Now, if your fundraiser has a ticket element, especially selling high-priced tickets for a gala, some tickets will be free. You might want to do a social media contest where a randomly chosen commenter on the post will get free tickets to the event. It's a fun way to engage people in create excitement about your fundraiser.

Get Your Board Members to Share with Their Networks

Probably one of your most valuable resources when it comes to potential donors is the social network of board members. Put it to work by asking board members to send the same email marketing strategy to their personal and professional contacts. Ask them also to help publicize information about the event on their social media accounts. Don't be afraid to request things like this from board members—they're there—to help you raise money! 

Create a Hashtag for Your Event

Develop a hashtag for your event that will raise its online profile. Begin to use it in your promotional efforts weeks before the event. Encourage attendees, staff, or board members to use the hashtag when discussing your event on social media before, during, or after the event. 

When They're Signing up, Add an Option to "Share" 

If using an online form for event registration, add a share option at the end. That way, those who are registering can easily share their participation with their followers across social media, advocating your event.

Diversify Your Posts

If all of your followers see the same updates, they will start to pay less attention to what you are posting on social media. Try mixing it up with different kinds of content like stories about ways your organization makes an impact or prep videos with your staff as they get everything ready for the event. At the end, engaging and interactive content will attract clicks and create more attendance.

Share Your Event Media Content-Post-Event

Many organizations don't share the photos and videos taken during such events. Publish this to share with everyone what they've missed out on and to let them know why they should participate next time. Share how much was raised in order to highlight its success and the potential for inspiring future support. 

Top Easy Fundraising Ideas by Category

We've put together a detailed list of great fundraising ideas tailored to various causes and charity types- all of which are designed to boost your fundraising efforts! Whether you're looking for lighthearted or more serious approaches, you'll find a wide range of ideas to support the cause or charity you're most passionate about.

Easy Virtual and Digital Fundraisers

COVID-19 had a significant impact on charities, affecting everything from national organizations to local groups. With large gatherings canceled and vital fundraising opportunities cut off to curb the spread of the virus, many charities struggled. Now, living well into the fast-changing digital age, 2024 offers so much more for people looking to continue donating for these worthy causes online. Here are some easy virtual and digital ways one can keep giving back to charities: 

Virtual Wine and Cheese Tasting

Host an online wine and cheese tasting. People purchase tickets in advance to receive tasting kits delivered to their homes, they can log in to the live stream, taste along, and discuss from home. The trick is all in the delivery coordination and event management.

Virtual Disco

Organize a virtual disco where people will pay just to attend an online dancing party. It is doable through Twitch or Zoom, allowing live music and interaction. The challenge would be setting up the technical aspects of how it will come off and having an exciting event.

Online Fitness Class Exercises

Sell from home with online fitness classes or yoga sessions that people pay to participate in. The streaming services available on platforms like Zoom can accommodate this. The only difficult part will be ensuring class quality and attracting participants. 

Virtual Trivia Night

Organize a virtual trivia night where competing teams will go against each other in history, science, movies, and sports. This could be driven by either an entry fee to engage or prizes for the top three places. The greatest challenge would weigh on organizing trivia questions and then executing them on an online platform.

Sponsored Game-A-Thon

Organize a fundraiser gaming marathon where gamers play their favorite games and stream it to raise donations from viewers. This will increase the popularity of gaming and streaming platforms. The challenge will be attracting viewers and managing the event's logistical details.

Virtual 5K Challenge

Organize a virtual 5K run where participants will cover the distance at their chosen place and pace. Apps that track the participants' runs log that online and share with everyone with a little help from the organizers. The challenge lies in encouraging participation and handling the registrations.

Online Auction

Run an online auction featuring items, experiences, and services donated by supporters. This event allows bidders to place their bids from a remote location, thereby increasing reach and participation. Items will be needed to source and the auction promoted. 

Crowdfunding Campaign

Create a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe or Kickstarter for a cause. Then, share the link to the campaign through various media, such as social media and email. In this case, the challenge will be developing a nice campaign to raise the money goal.

Charity Webinars

Organize a set of topic-themed charitable webinars, and offer access or in-event donations for a fee. It requires difficulty in securing knowledgeable speakers and promoting the webinars effectively

Online Workshops

Organize online webinars or lectures on topics one excels in, like cooking, art, or fitness. Charge for attendance to raise money while giving people some useful skills. The challenge is promoting attendance at these workshops and guaranteeing a smooth execution.

Easy Individual Fundraising Challenges

There are so many opportunities to fundraise for challenges, big or small. Whether you choose to travel long distances for your challenge or select a local event, you can ask friends, family, and work colleagues to donate and support your chosen cause.

Charity Walk

This can be less intensive than running. You can choose to walk wherever you want, and some apps will help you track your progress. The challenge would be persuading yourself to keep going and getting sponsorship.

Running Events

Running events, such as 5ks or marathons, are very good sponsorship opportunities. In this case, the challenge is twofold: training for the event and managing the fundraising effort, but the benefit could be extreme sums raised for charity.

Cycling Events

Join a cycling event or put one on with mates and cycle through some great scenic routes while fundraising. The main challenge would, therefore, be in training and making sure that you have all the equipment, yet this works out physically and towards fundraising.

Shave Your Head

Shaving your head for charity is quite a colorful and dramatic way to attract the attention of myriads of donors. To increase the number of visitors, capture the act on film and share it with everyone on social media. However, the personal commitment to this act and possible reactions from others present a challenge. 

Sponsored Skydive

Skydiving for charity has to be one of the ultimate ways to raise funds. Many charities will cover your jump cost if you reach your fundraising targets. Getting sponsored and ready for the jump is the challenge.

Bungee Jump For Charity

A bungee jump is a good way to get the old adrenaline pumping while raising money quickly. You'd only need to ensure everything is safe, then create a really good fundraising campaign. The biggest challenge would be preparing physically and emotionally for this event.

Abseiling

Whether down a building or rock face, this challenge has enormous fundraising potential. Many costs can be minimized by joining an existing event or organizing a group effort. The challenge lies in the physical demands and ensuring that participants are safe.

Quit Smoking

A smoking cessation challenge could bring forward generous donations, and it's easy to track progress, updating people on how things are going. The challenge lies in staying motivated and dealing with withdrawal symptoms.

Dry January (or any month!)

Doing Dry January or any other month-long challenge of not drinking alcohol can be a fundraiser for your chosen charity while promoting good health. The challenge is sticking to the commitment and encouraging others to join in.

Create a Fundraising Page

An online fundraising page certainly speeds up the donation process and encourages more people to donate. Stories and photos can add a personal touch, which really enhances the overall appeal. The challenge is promoting the page itself and engaging possible donors.

Bean Bath

Filling a bath with beans for charity will certainly capture local interest and media coverage, although sourcing enough beans and conquering the logistically problematic areas of this task could be a slight challenge. On the plus side, it's fun and attention-grabbing.

Charity Dinner Party

Throw a dinner party with a charge to your guests, showcasing your great hospitality and culinary skills. Engaging a competitive element by having multiple hosts raises the stakes and interest among people. Organizing the event itself and ensuring quality food might just be the challenge.

Shaving Your Beard

Shaving one's beard for charity is an interesting and light-hearted way of attracting donations. Turning it into an event increases participation and funds raised. The challenge lies in personal commitment and organizing the event.

Movember

Develop a Movember mustache to raise awareness and assist in fundraising for men's health. Get friends and workmates involved for a bigger impact. The Challenge: Keep it growing all month and get others on board.

Sponsored Swim

Organize a sponsored swim in your pool locally or outdoors if the weather permits. This event gives dual benefits of raising funds and fitness to people. The challenge is to organize the swim and secure sponsorships.

Santa Run

More interesting and entertaining ways to raise money could be participating in the Santa Run during the festive season. The hardship/draining factor in that would be the physical effort one has to put forth and having to find/coordinate family/friends who can join in.

Boxing Day Swim

A Boxing Day swim offers one of the unique and most daring fundraising ideas. Indeed, the challenge of keeping warm in cold water is there, but it will be a genuinely spectacular event worth attracting a lot of publicity and donations.

Best Easy Fundraising Ideas for Sports Clubs

No matter what your sport is, it's always important to continue raising money for your club or organization. Be it fund-raising for your football, judo, rugby, hockey, cricket, karate, or swimming club, there is simply so much more you can do with lots of fundraiser ideas helping in their own ways. Other clubs have other expenses that run from general running costs to new equipment; many would not have been able to continue properly without regular fundraising efforts.

Signed Giveaways

Items such as signed shirts, judogis, karategis, balls, and photos can prove very successful at either a raffle or auction. It really does appear that everything from the local teams to some of the bigger-named athletes creates interest and ensures bids. One method of sealed bidding works well with high-ticket items to ensure the highest possible sale price for the item in question. While getting these items may be hard work, it's not impossible, and your local sports clubs and businesses might just make a donation.

Collection Tins

Placing collection tins in noticeable locations such as clubhouses or bars puts strangers in a position to donate whatever is in their pockets or pouches. This works even better while there is an event or half-time break in progress; the more possibility that someone will contribute then. The simplicity of it is the real advantage of the technique; however, this may involve periodical checks to avoid stealing and breaking the tins or emptying them when full.

Pay-Per-View

This can prove worthwhile by partnering with a local pub or clubhouse and charging a small fee to watch games. It not only generates funds but also supports your local establishments. The problem is getting a good turnout, and terms agreed upon with any venue. An offer of taking a share in the pub's takings may help encourage this location.

Sell Your Old Kit

Sell used sports equipment online or via social media to garner quick funds while ridding yourself of unused gear. The challenge will be to ensure safe transactions and set down clear protocols for collection and delivery, but the benefit will be a fast route to elevate money from items you no longer need.

Raffles

Raffles are perhaps the classic fundraiser that still works well today. Gathering prize donations from local businesses and club members can result in some very nice raffle offerings. The real benefit of this is how simple it is to execute while selling tickets during peak times—like half-time—to really ring up sales.

Quiz Nights

Organize quiz nights in person or online; it's fun, interactive with people, and raises some money. The entry fee can be per team or person, with other incentives thrown in to get more entries—like a prize for the best team name. An associated challenge is creating an engaging quiz and managing the actual event.

Beat the Keeper

Organize an event in which people can come and try their skills against the club's best goalkeeper. If there can be a prize for success and something colorful about the celebrations after scoring, all the more exciting. The only challenge lies in managing it all and maintaining safety.

5-a-Side Competition

Organize a 5-a-side football competition—this will ensure that it draws a lot of people. There could be a premium per team involved and refreshments sold to raise some money. The biggest challenge would be organizing the logistics of the event and finding where it can take place.

Attend a Local Event

Raise some of the sponsorship money by getting group members to participate in local running or cycling events. Group challenges are good for creating a sense of camaraderie and thus raising more sponsorship money. The biggest challenge facing all these ideas is getting enough participation and organizing the sponsorships.

Tip Donation

Another effective fundraising method is to glean tips from a local pub or restaurant. The challenge lies in persuading these businesses to give up some tips. Handling the promotional effort could help attract more customers by publicizing their generosity.

Zumbathon

For instance, a Zumbathon-a party where a group works out doing the popular dance-based exercise routine- can be a fun fundraiser. Asking people to wear club colors and teaming up with a local Zumba instructor add to the event. The hard part is planning the event and paying for the instructor.

Silent Disco

Another unique way of raising funds is by hosting a silent disco event. Because there will be no noise complaints, it is a very neighborly thing to do; also, since one only rents the equipment, one can host an enjoyable event without breaching the peace. The problem is that one will need to cover the costs of renting the equipment and a host of other logistics in hosting such an event.

Have a Games Night

The appeal will be great, so organizing a games night with a set of activities may draw in many. And for the winners, some prizes may be offered, and by gaining entry fees funds may be generated along with entertainment. Challenge: Organize the event and gain prizes.

Ladies or Lads Night In

Hold a casual social event at your home, perhaps a film marathon or dinner party, where guests can bring along their own food and drink. You can then ask for donations rather than people spending cash on going out. The challenge is getting guests to want to participate and donate.

Battle of the Bands

Even a battle of the bands event can showcase local musical talent and raise money through entry fees and refreshments sales. The challenge is organizing it and getting good participants and an audience.

Easy Fundraising Ideas in the Workplace

One great way to get everyone involved in your work community in doing good is through raising money as a business or department. Here are some easy and creative fundraising ideas for the workplace:

Dress Down Days

For instance, you could offer casual or fancy dress days for a small fee. In no time, a series of dress-down days could prove to be quite a significant amount. The problem is keeping it fresh and maintaining the number of participants.

Donate Your Coffee Revenues

Encouraging employees to donate their coffee money to charity can result in substantial fund amounts. The challenge is to motivate people to forgo their daily coffee and effectively manage the collection process.

Cycle to Work

Establishing a promotional campaign framing cycling to work as a charity challenge brings human benefits to light concerning both health and the environment. Now, participation, along with running calculations over fuel savings, is evolving as a charity challenge.

Office Games

Hosting office games or competitions—for instance, a trivia or ping-pong tournament requiring an entry fee to enter—or a virtual escape room. The tricky part in this case is arranging the games and making them enamored to a large audience.

Office Challenges

Design some interesting challenges around the office, such as fitness goals or creative competitions, that require an entry fee and have prizes for the winners. The challenge is keeping interest and making sure the challenges are engaging to all who should be involved.

Bake Sales

One possible fundraising method is holding a bake sale in an office. Employees could each donate homemade cakes or sweet buns, and customers could purchase the goodies. The battle is managing the logistics of the sale and maintaining the safe preparation of all the items.

Lunchtime Quizzes

Arranging lunchtime quizzes to raise money is a fun idea. Charging entrance fees and making the quiz virtual on various online platforms really boosts participation. The challenges are getting the quiz organized and handling the event.

Gather Plastic Milk Bottle Caps

Collecting plastic milk bottle tops, recycling, and raising funds can help to save the environment while doing simple fundraising. The problem lies in collecting a sufficient amount of recyclable material through a practical method during the recycling process. 

Matching Donations 

Using an organization's matched donation scheme will allow you to double your fundraising efforts. The workforce raises money, and the company matches it, making their contribution double. It's just a matter of people taking the scheme up and ensuring that companies' terms are clearly stated.

Pick an Annual Charity

Employees are allowed to become involved in an annual charity by selecting it, but organizing a voting event will engage more participation. The trick is to keep interest and energy high for the full year.

Easy Fundraising Ideas for Animal Charities 

There are hundreds of animal shelters, wildlife sanctuaries, and cat and dog charities nationwide. Most of these rely on charitable giving to continue their valuable work. Here are some easy fundraising ideas for animal charities:

Sponsor an Animal 

It's a great way to help animal charities, especially if a person is not in a position to adopt any pets. Sponsors could be updated with photos of the animal they sponsored and feel part of the cause. When the animal finds a new home, that sponsor can be invited to support another resident.

This idea provides ongoing support and fosters a personal connection between donors and the animals. The challenge here is maintaining regular communication and ensuring updates are engaging and informative.

Guess-the-Animal Name Game

Hold a fun public contest where everyone in the community tries to guess the name of an animal that has been at your shelter the longest. Prizes can be awarded for the correct entry, with an entrance fee charged to the contest to name one of your new animals. You will be raising funds, and the public will be more engaged with your animals. Promote the contest and make sure it is well organized, and your animal shelter will be a success.

Guess the Breed of the Dog

Arrange a contest whereby people can guess the breed of different dogs in your care. This simple idea for an interactive event can draw some attention to and stimulate interest in better understanding the dogs at your shelter. The only challenge is setting up this competition so that it is easy to participate in by people and well publicized.

Reach Out to the Local Business Community

Reach out to local businesses for non-financial donations. Maybe they can just give time, skill, or talent for a one-time event or be involved in ongoing support. Businesses can also offer professional advice—something which could prove invaluable. This is where going to the heart of what you will ask them for: laying out what you need and showing how their involvement benefits the community and the animals. 

Open Days

Host open days at your shelter to showcase the work you're doing. This may appeal to families and animal lovers because it allows them to meet your animals and learn about your services. Charge visitors at the entrance and make provisions for stalls with information on adopting and volunteering. The challenge is organizing ties of interest that catch visitors and effectively managing people.

Food for Animals Donation

Encourage people to give you pet food in kind rather than in cash. You can also organize with local shops and supermarkets to have a donation bin in their business premises to encourage other people to contribute. This is less intimidating to donors who do not want to make any financial donations, and it can satisfy the animal's physical needs; the headache is in trying to coordinate all the items.

Birthday and Christmas Cards

Design cards featuring your animals and sell them with a branded name. These cards could be sold online or at your premises, and all the money made will go to your charity. Add touching stories or pictures of your animals to these cards. The most relevant issue will be designing interesting cards and administering the sales by collecting the email addresses for further brand promotion.

Services for Dog Groom

If your shelter has any grooming expertise, offer it to the public for a fee. Advertise this in the community and mobilize volunteers to assist. The problem will be in managing it to maximize bookings while maintaining good service and not compromising the welfare of the animals at the shelter.

Host Doggy Spa Days

Invite dog owners to your shelter for a spa day. Offer grooming, nail trimming, and other pampering services. This can draw in owners who would never listen to your charity. The challenge will be organizing the event well and ensuring it is popular with dog owners.

Sell Branded Merchandise

Design and sale of merchandise: Branded merchandise such as wristbands, keyrings, mugs, and T-shirts can be created and sold. Selling branded merchandise is one of the unique fundraising ideas on this list, creating visibility and a regular source of income. You can also ask local businesses to sell the merchandise for you. You just need to make sure you get the right items and do inventory.

Pub Quiz

Organize a quiz at a local dog-friendly pub as a fundraiser and a chance to promote your animal charity. Could you then have a dog regular quiz night at the local pub, which the fundraisers could run for their pub quiz of the month? The only challenges with this easy fundraising idea are organizing and ensuring good participation through effective promotion. 

After-School Group Fundraising Ideas

After-school groups offer amazing opportunities for kids to develop new skills. Support these children's groups by raising money with these easy fundraising ideas:

Summer BBQ

Organize a summer barbecue with a limited menu including live local entertainment. Solicit food supplies from local businesses at a reduced price. The task is to organize the event and to secure the logistics arrangements for food and entertainment.

Teddy Bear's Picnic

Organize a teddy bear's picnic with yummy treats and fun activities for little ones. It will be a nice fundraiser and family outing all in one. The challenge lies in planning the activities and managing the event.

Bonfire Night

Organize and host a bonfire night with fireworks accompanied by refreshments at an entry fee. Seek local authorities' permission and keep health and safety rulings in mind. The challenge is organizing the event and ensuring that all safety rules are followed.

Selling Used Uniforms

Organize a sale of outgrown and unwanted uniforms with the students. Get maximum coverage through websites like eBay or social media. Allow safe pickup and drop-off measures. This will challenge the logistics of keeping everything smooth.

Sponsored Walks

Organize a sponsored walk along a well-marked route with volunteer marshals to keep everyone on the right track. Add a barbecue at the end of the walk to generate even more money from your fundraising event. The challenge here is planning a route and ensuring volunteers will be available.

Car washing

Offer car washes to the community, with different service levels at different prices. This might be among the oldest and most popular fundraisers for many reasons. The challenge lies in workflow management and the quality of the delivered services.

Lawn Mowing

Advertise lawn mowing services to residents. Use online platforms or distribute flyers to promote the service. The challenge is scheduling and ensuring a high standard of work.

Garden Clearance

Provide garden clearance if required, with supervision from adults for heavy lifting. Offer block bookings at discounts or refer to price lists. The challenge is how to recruit sufficient volunteers and manage the workload.

Packing Supermarket Shopping

Organize a bag-packing event at a local supermarket. Volunteers pack customers' grocery bags for donations. Be sure to have a collection tin visible, and consider having an adult volunteer overseeing the event to keep everyone on task. The challenge lies in coordinating shifts while maintaining good customer service.

Movie Nights

Include a popular movie, indoors or outdoors, offering entry to people with a little fee and refreshments on sale to raise more money. The challenge lies in the logistics of managing it and getting good attendance.

Dog Walking

Offer dog-walking services in your community. Advertise in a local newspaper for after-school hours or weekends. The challenge is juggling schedules and ensuring adequate coverage. 

Fashion Show in Used Clothes and Sale

Organize a used-clothing fashion show for which a ticket price is charged; sell the clothes afterward. The challenge would be collecting the donations and coordinating the event. 

Garage and Street Sales

Organize a garage or street sale with community members. Advertise on local classifieds and other sources, and be sure to pass details to the participants. The problem is how to coordinate the sale and get large numbers of people to come and buy.

Spare Change Collection

Collect loose change from households by providing a collection box at work for any stray coins lying around. Encourage parents to advertise this in their workplaces. The trouble is ensuring the collection box is safe and publicized well.

World Record Attempt

Organize a zany world record attempt and publicize the event through local media. This will generate interest and foster participation. The challenge is planning and ensuring the record attempt meets official criteria. 

Easy School and PTA Fundraising Ideas

Effective fundraising becomes key in funding special program activities with shrinking school budgets. Whether for sports equipment, an educational school trip, or new classroom supplies that are determinedly needed, there are many creative yet, relatively simple fundraising ideas that may be of major help in making a difference.

Non-Uniform Day

This is a classic and very popular choice: a non-uniform day. Students are asked to pay a small fee to wear casual clothes to school.

It's easy to manage and can be made even more enjoyable with a theme. To add some extra excitement, encourage teachers to join in by dressing up in costumes. Just make sure to provide clear instructions about the purpose of the event and set out a simple plan that everyone can follow and enjoy.

Summer Fête

A summer fête can be a big event incorporating many fundraising activities. There are stalls, games, and entertainment which can justify at least a small entrance fee. This does require some good planning and hopefully community involvement. Either include a raffle or sell tickets on entry to maximize funds raised.

Sports Day

The school could further develop the theme of sports day by charging a small entry fee for parent/guardian races and selling refreshments. Other activities could be incorporated, like egg and spoon races or sack races. The biggest challenge is managing event logistics in enough numbers to staff activities and sales.

School Disco

A school disco would be a long-awaited event where students will dance and have snacks. Having a suggested minimum price of tickets is an invitation for generosity. To maximize gains on the bottom line, set up a tuck shop with refreshments such as sodas, biscuits, and chips. The downside to the event is the logistical nightmare involved in keeping the students safe and ensuring everyone has fun.

Talent Show

Organize a talent show, where students, teachers, and even parents can be invited to participate. Have an entrance fee for performers and then have tickets for the audience. That actually does bring in great community spirit, and many people get to show off their talents. The difficulty would lie in organizing auditions and rehearsals and running the event.

Hook-a-Duck

Set up a very simple, fun game with a big appeal to families—hook-a-duck. Fill something like a paddling pool with floating ducks with a hook and a number on their back, and then let the players fish out a duck using a hook on a stick to instantly win a prize. But the great benefit of this idea is that it is always popular and simple to set up; the problem arises in making it work without safety concerns.

Tombola

A tombola is simply raffling tickets for a prize donation. It's very easy to run and only needs a bowl for putting the tickets in, plus a number of prizes to be donated, such as sweets or small toys. The only challenges there are getting prizes donated and selling the tickets.

Guess How Many Candies are in a Jar

Fill a jar full of candy and let the participants pay for their guess of how much it contains. It's an all-time classic game that never gets boring. Of course, there is the challenge of ensuring the accuracy of the guess and prize distribution control. 

Face Painting

Arrange the face painting using hypoallergenic face paints by a talented artist, and you can imagine it will be sensational for the younger kids during school events. The trick will be in identifying talented face painters and providing them with suitable, safe, clean materials.

Spelling Bee

Set up a spelling bee competition, with students competing to spell some words correctly. This can be a fun educational event and a means of raising funds. The challenge is developing a comprehensive list of words and managing the competition.

Alum Fundraising

Make appeals to find out past students for contributions or support. Alums may be willing to contribute money or pay through professional services. The difficulty lies in keeping an updated and engaged database of alums.

Create an Anthology

Organize a collection of creative stories and poems written by students into an anthology. That can be sold to families and their friends, or hold a showcase. The tricky part will be getting the submissions in order and managing the anthology's production.

Skills Auction

Organize an auction where parents and guardians showcase their skills—such as gardening, cooking, or tutoring—and offer these talents to the highest bidder. This not only engages the community and raises funds but also highlights the diverse skills of your supporters. The energy of the event comes from the auction format and the promotion of the services being offered, making it a dynamic and appealing way to raise funds.

Church Fundraising Ideas

Churches and places of worship generally depend on Sunday collections and direct donations to fund their activities. However, there are many easy church fundraising ideas that can effectively boost church finances:

Tea and Coffee Mornings

Hosting tea and coffee mornings is an excellent way of engaging the community and, of course, fundraising. Whether you host it in your church or encourage someone to hold it in their home, the addition of flavored syrups for coffee or marshmallows for hot chocolate adds a little extra touch.

Bake Sales

People love a good bake-off, so bake sales are perfect for raising funds. Let participants showcase their baking skills and introduce a little friendly competition by offering a prize for the best bake. Focus on cakes, biscuits, and sweet treats that can be sold individually. This approach appeals to people who live alone and young children who don't want to buy a whole cake.

World Food Days

Celebrate international cuisine by holding a World Food Day at your church. You can offer a variety of foods from different cultures, either on a take-home basis or buffet-style. This raises funds and really spices up the community's culinary experiences.

Donating Books

Set up a book sale outside your church hall and turn unwanted books into cash. Accept any kind of donation, from reference books to popular novels, and price them reasonably to sell.

Targeted Appeals

Focus your fundraising activities on one specific goal, like getting the roof of the church fixed or funding a mission trip. Communicate the explicit reason to your congregation and keep them thoroughly informed to maintain their enthusiasm.

Furniture Sales

Partner with a company that buys second-hand furniture sells it, takes their commission, and passes the rest back to you. It's hassle-free, safe, and won't burden you with offloading space-hogging items.

Easter Egg Hunt

Organize an Easter egg hunt in your hall or around the church grounds. You can get local shops to donate eggs, minimizing actual upfront costs. Generate more income by including face painting, a raffle, and village fête-style games.

Bingo Night

Bingo nights are enjoyed by people of all ages. Bingo cards and markers are very affordable, so you only need one person with a loud voice and some basic knowledge of bingo lingo to make it a fun event.

Dance Night

Hold a dance evening where everyone can let their hair down and show off their inner dancer. A salsa or jive evening in the church hall will allow beginners to have a go while letting others show off their moves. If you have a professional dancer available, consider holding beginner classes.

Additional Collections

Share with your congregation the various causes and charities your church supports and explain how their donations will be used. This transparency fosters more generous giving.

Venue Hire

If your church has a hall, consider letting it out for various events, offering different hire packages based on need. This can be very profitable, especially if you add decorating and cleaning service charges.

Walking Tours

If your church is historic or architecturally significant, create walking tours. Offer the tours for a small fee to groups regularly or as a one-time event. This appeals to tourists and locals who enjoy history.

Horticulture Competition

Encourage members to grow their best produce and enter a horticulture show. From vegetables to flowers, this summer event can be both amusing and profitable. Add a bit of fun by giving out rewards for the most unusual or funniest-shaped items.

Easy Fundraising with Paybee

You don't need a huge budget to fundraise. Actually, most of these fundraising ideas are really low cost and take very little planning- the secret is simply to choose fundraising methods that suit you and your situation.

Enhance your fundraising with online platforms like Paybee, which empower you to facilitate the donation process by making payment and contribution management easier. Proper organizational tools like Paybee will help systematize everyday operations and create a better experience for donors to contribute more easily.

With Paybee you can focus on what matters—engaging with your community, raising awareness for your cause, and ensuring meaningful participation. Pair these easy fundraising ideas with the features of Paybee to drive great results while keeping your fundraising smooth and efficient with less administrative hassle.

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