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Fundraising event ideas

Looking to host virtual, in-person, or hybrid fundraising experiences this year? Whether you’re planning your first event or seeking fresh tactics to re-engage your community, we’ve got plenty of easy, fun, and budget-friendly event fundraising ideas to consider. 

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Raffle

Ask your sponsors and community members to donate items or experiences, then raffle them off! The sky’s the limit when it comes to raffle ticket prizes: gift baskets, movie tickets, artwork—anything your community members will love.

Just be sure to check your state laws regarding raffles before you start planning!

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Sports clinic

Host a sports clinic or skills camp for participants to learn from top coaches, pro players, or other notable experts. Depending on the scale of your clinic, you can sell several tickets to the public or offer just a few spots as a big-ticket silent auction item at a fundraising event.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Auctions

Obstacle course

Challenge supporters to navigate walls, mud pits, and rope climbs. To amplify your impact and spark some friendly competition, encourage team fundraising—all supporters can join an existing team or create their own to compete!

Cost:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Color run

Spray participants with brightly colored powder along the course of your charity fun run. By the end, runners will be rainbow-ed! Set up a photo booth at the finish line for selfies, and encourage donations on social media via a scan-to-donate code.

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Effort:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

5k walk/run

Map out your fundraising run route and have supporters donate to participate. Then, use peer-to-peer and team fundraising tools that let supporters create their own donation pages, set goals, and ask friends and family to contribute!

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Impact:
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Halloween costume run

Ask supporters to wear their silliest or spookiest Halloween costumes during this fun run. Use team or peer-to-peer fundraising to help participants set a donation goal and spread the word.

At the end, award special prizes to the race winners, the teams or individuals who raised the most, and the best costumes!

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Cheer off

Invite dance, cheer, or pom squads to pay a small entry fee and battle it out for top spots like “Most Spirited” and “Best Routine.” Take this event to the next level by asking attendees to consider adding a donation to their ticket purchase, offering concessions, or even livestreaming the event.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Fan Combine

Invite family, friends, and fans to this ultimate sports fundraising event. Participants join in a series of challenges, such as football tosses, 50-yard dashes, and obstacle courses.

Cost:
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Effort:
3
Impact:
2
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Players vs. parents game

It’s kids vs. grownups in this ultimate showdown. Ask for a small donation per participant or family or charge a small fee for supporters to come watch it all go down.
Cost:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Dance-a-thon

Using individual peer-to-peer fundraising pages connected to your main event page, participants gather donations and pledges based on how long they aim to dance—without taking a break!

Supporters can donate, leave encouraging messages for the dancers, and purchase tickets to join in the fun—all in one place.

Cost:
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Effort:
3
Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Mascot showdown

Join forces with your rival team for a good cause. Organize a race or other competition between your mascots during halftime at a big game, and ask supporters to vote for their mascot by donating on a team fundraising page. Use text-to-donate or a QR code to bring in even more funds from the stands during the event.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Concession stand

Use an existing stand or create your own and sell items like popcorn, candy, and sunflower seeds. To boost sales, create custom tickets with mouth-watering pictures of available treats!

Cost:
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Impact:
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Shoe-decorating

Source an array of paints and art supplies and invite community members to make a donation and bring a pair of sneakers to paint together for your good cause. 

To create a seamless event experience, set up custom ticket types, like an upsell ticket that provides a pair of shoes. Make sure to add a custom question to get the right shoe size!
Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Mini-golf tournament

Assemble teams, charge entry fees, and cheer everyone on as they compete for the best score. Encourage participants to make personal team fundraising pages and ask friends and family to support them and the cause.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Staff vs. students

Organize an afternoon of relay races, obstacle courses, and brain teasers at your school and challenge teachers to partake. Be sure to create a fun and engaging event page where attendees can easily purchase tickets!

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Food truck smorgasbord

Invite food trucks to a big game or event and ask them in return to donate a portion of all food sales to your team. To really sweeten the sponsorship opportunity, offer benefits for these small businesses, like free marketing and publicity.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Shave for the cause

Create a peer to peer fundraising campaign and invite participants to create their own pages and compete to raise the most funds. Watch the leaderboard for live updates on who’s in the lead. The person with the highest amount raised or the most individual donations will shave their head—or nominate someone else to shave their own!

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Restaurant takeover

Find a local restaurant that will host your fundraising event and donate at least 10-20% of the profits from the evening to your campaign. To really sweeten the sponsorship, offer lots of benefits for participating restaurants like free marketing and publicity.

Cost:
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Effort:
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Impact:
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Fitness class

Ask local instructors to donate a virtual or in-person class for your cause. Sell tickets and bring in some extra funds on the day of by selling snacks and branded merch.

Cost:
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Impact:
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Sponge toss

For this fundraising event, charge a small fee per water balloon or sponge, and let students throw them at each other during a pep rally or outdoor event. For easy participation, offer scan-to-donate and accept multiple payment methods like Apple Pay, Venmo, and more.

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Impact:
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Pool party

Charge an entry fee for a fun day in the sun—think pool floats, squirt guns, and water balloons!

To make this fundraising event even more of a hit, sell summery snacks and drinks, too. Don’t forget the sunscreen!

Cost:
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Impact:
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Family and friends game night

Sell custom event ticket types and group tickets that offer unlimited access to games—or charge a certain number of tickets per game.

Cost:
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Impact:
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March Madness

Raise money while cheering on your favorite NCAA players with a bracket competition culminating in a ticketed March Madness watch party.

To take this fundraising idea online, take advantage of livestreaming tools, too!

Cost:
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Impact:
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Peer-to-peer

Flower bulb sale

Sell wholesale flowers or request donations from nurseries and landscaping stores to sell to supporters. To gamify your efforts, use peer-to-peer fundraising to encourage individual supporters to compete to see who can sell the most!

Cost:
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Effort:
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Fundraising page

Face painting

Set up a booth where passersby can get their face painted by volunteers from your group in exchange for a small donation.

Make it easy for people to give with scan-to-donate. All they need to do is scan the QR code and they’ll land on your donation page in seconds.

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Dive into our list of best fundraising ideas in the meantime 

Frequently asked questions

A fundraising event is a planned gathering to raise money for a nonprofit organization or other charitable project. These events create opportunities for supporters to contribute financially while engaging with the organization's cause in a meaningful, enjoyable way.

A charity run or walk is a classic type of fundraiser where participants gain sponsors and raise funds to support an organization's work. Participants typically collect pledges based on the distance they complete, bringing together community support and financial contributions.

The most profitable fundraising event ideas include:

  • Selling tickets and charging entry fees for large events like galas
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns that engage friends and family with personal fundraising pages
  • Virtual and in-person charity golf tournaments
  • Annual giving days with donation matching opportunities, livestreams, and more

To ensure that your fundraising event is a success, use Givebutter’s free event planning checklist!

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