Fundraising for nonprofit organizations is one of the most important things a nonprofit does. Your fundraisers and the money you raise are the reason why your nonprofit can carry out its mission. From peer to peer fundraisers and crowdfunding to sweepstakes and online donation widgets, it can be overwhelming to figure out what type of fundraising idea is best for your nonprofit. So we did the work for you! Here are 56 nonprofit fundraising ideas for you to use for your next campaign:
- Virtual Fitness Challenge Ask supporters to participate in a virtual fitness challenge, where they commit to running, walking, or cycling a certain number of miles over a set period of time. Have them set up a peer to peer campaign and ask family and friends to donate a certain amount of money if they make their goal.
- Bake Sale Encourage supporters to set up their own bake sales and create personal fundraising pages to share with friends and family, asking for donations to support your cause.
- Craft Sale Similar to a bake sale, supporters can sell handmade crafts and donate the proceeds to your nonprofit.
- Car Wash Organize a car wash event where volunteers wash cars for a donation. This is great if you have a lot of young volunteers!
- Host a Dinner Party Put on a dinner party where supporters can buy tickets to the dinner party, buy raffle tickets, and learn more about your nonprofit.
- Coin Drive Ask your donors, volunteers, and benefactors to collect spare change and donate it to your nonprofit.
- Dance-a-Thon Host a dance-a-thon where participants dance for a set period of time and collect pledges from their supporters. You can do this in person with a DJ, glow sticks, and more or set up a virtual party online!
- Silent Auction Have your board members or volunteers ask local businesses to donate items for the silent auction and hold the auction online or at an event.
- Community Garage Sale Encourage supporters to host a garage sale and donate a portion of the proceeds to your nonprofit.
- Matching Gift Challenge Partner with a company or individual to match donations up to a certain amount. Promote it on social media, your website, in email campaigns, and more!
- 5K Run/Walk Host a run/walk event where participants can complete their miles on their own and raise funds through a peer to peer campaign or host the 5K in person, encourage people to make teams, and raise money through UncommonGood’s peer to peer fundraising platform.
- Social Media Challenge Create a social media challenge where supporters can participate by sharing photos or videos asking their friends and family to donate on their behalf. Trendy social media challenges include online bingo cards, where each square is worth a certain amount of money (usually between $1-$20) and can be marked off only after someone donated to the individual’s fundraising page.
- Karaoke Night Host a karaoke night where participants can sing for donations OR ask all singers to buy a ticket to be able to attend the event.
- Game Night Host a game night where participants can play board games or video games for donations.
- Wine Tasting Partner with a local winery to host a wine tasting event. Ask the winery for a donation of wine or a nonprofit discount and charge attendees a donation to participate.
- Talent Show Host a talent show where participants can showcase their talents. Invite the general public via news outlets and marketing campaigns and charge an admission fee. All ticket sales will go to your org as participants agree to partake for free. Ask for a local business to donate a prize for the crowd-voted winner.
- Book Sale Encourage supporters to donate books and hold a book sale to raise funds.
- Open Mic Night Host an open mic night where participants can perform for donations.
- Trivia Night Host a trivia night and sell tickets to the event.
- Fitness Class Partner with a local fitness studio ask if all proceeds of the class can be donated to your charity.
- Raffle Host a raffle and sell tickets for a chance to win prizes donated by local businesses.
- Online Marketplace Create an online marketplace where supporters can sell items and donate a portion of the proceeds to your nonprofit.
- Plant Sale Partner with a local nursery or plant shop to hold a plant sale to raise funds.
- Product Sale Sell products such as t-shirts or other merchandise to help raise money. Make sure you buy in bulk and charge people more than what it cost you to produce the items so your org makes money in the long run. UG TIP – gague your supporters interest with a poll on what type of merhadise they’d buy, then start with a small bulk order before ordering too much.
- Dog Walk Host a dog walk event and sell tickets to the event.
- Social Media Takeover Allow a supporter to take over your nonprofit’s social media account for a day and encourage them to fundraise on your behalf.
- Scavenger Hunt Host a scavenger hunt event (online or in person) and sell tickets to the event.
- Art Show Partner with a local artist to host an art show. Charge attendees a cover fee with all door sales going to your nonprofit and any art sales going to the artist.
- Outdoor Movie Night Host a movie night and charge attendees a donation to attend.
- Talent Auction Ask supporters with unique talents (photographers, accountants, soccer coaches, etc.) to auction off their services on your behalf. All proceeds of the auction go to your nonprofit.
- Outdoor Adventures Host an outdoor adventure such as a hike or bike ride. This could be a team or individual event similar to your classic 5K where participants use P2P campaigns or you can sell tickets to the event instead.
- Neighborhood Cleanup Organize a neighborhood cleanup event and raise funds by having people vote on what neighborhood your supporters should go out to.
- Pet Photo Contest Host a pet photo contest and charge an entry fee to participate.
- Fashion Show Host a fashion show and charge attendees a donation to attend.
- Cooking Class Host a cooking class and charge participants a donation to participate.
- Garden Tour Organize a garden tour event of a local houses with magnificent gardens. Create a ticketed event using an online fundraising platform.
- Escape Room Challenge Create your own escape room challenge and charge participants to participate.
- Card Game Tournament Host a card game tournament complete with neutral dealers, food, drinks, and entertainment. Sell tickets to the event and consider combining the event with a silent auction. *Check your local state regulations on if card games are considered gambling so you don’t get in trouble.
- Craft Beer Tasting Work with a local brewery to host a craft beer tasting. Charge attendees a donation to attend and ask the brewery if a portion of the sales that night can be donated.
- Dog Wash Host a dog wash event and charge a fee for each dog washed.
- Photo Booth Set up a photo booth at an event and charge attendees a donation to take pictures.
- Haunted House Host a haunted house event and charge people a donation to go through the haunted house.
- Painting Party Put on a painting party or a “paint & sip” party. Sell tickets to the event (make sure the cost covers the paint materials and a donation fee) and ask the artist to donate their time.
- Cultural Event Host a cultural event such as a dance performance or music concert and charge attendees a donation to attend. This is even easier if your nonprofit is already related to a specific culture. If it isn’t think of your local community and what would resonate with them.
- Talent Show with a Twist Host a talent show with a unique twist such as a lip-sync battle or air guitar competition. Charge the audience a ticket fee and get the grand prize donated.
- Put on a Concert Sell tickets to the concert and even see if the venue will allow you to get a percentage of concession stand sales.
- Host a Cook-Off Encourage participants to create their own fundraising pages as a way for people to “vote” for their favorite dish.
- Holiday Gift Wrapping Set up a gift-wrapping station at a local holiday market and ask your volunteers to fill a one hour time slot. Ask for donations to support your cause.
- Throw a Carnival This one will take a lot of logistics but if you can get a lot of volunteers and donated activities, you can charge a small entry fee, ask for donations at the event, and sell raffle tickets to raise even more money.
- Fashion Swap Host a fashion swap on your property and ask for people who stop by to donate for the use of the space.
- Poetry Slam Sell tickets to the poetry slam and encourage participants to set up their own fundraising pages so people can vote for them to win.
- Online Gaming Tournament Similar to an inperson card tournament, you can charge people an entry fee into the gated, online tournament. *Check your local state regulations on if card games are considered gambling so you don’t get in trouble.
- Recipe Swap Host a recipe swap on your property, complete with taste testings, and ask for people who stop by to donate for the use of the space.
- Sweepstakes Create a sweepstakes by asking local businesses to donate a popular product or unique experience. Use UncommonGood’s sweepstakes platform to host it and promote it in your marketing efforts.
- Gala Get fancy and host a swanky gala complete with a silent auction, raffle, dinner, and entertainment. Charge for sponsorships and tickets to the event.
- Traditional Golf Tournament Find a popular golf course that will give you a nonprofit discount so you can sell individual and foursome tickets for the golf tournament. You can also make money selling mulligans, raffle tickets and sponsorships.
Want to put these ideas to work?
