Virtual fundraising ideas

Host a 24-hour livestream fundraiser for a high-energy day of fun and fundraising.

Great livestream activity ideas include a poetry slam, gaming tournament, or virtual concert.

Whether you’re offering branded merch, boxed lunches, or other appealing products, incentivize even more donations for your cause by pledging to give away one “reward” item for each one purchased. (For example, for every pair of cozy socks sold, you’ll donate a pair to a local shelter.)

Showcase this cycle of generosity on your donation forms using custom labels and donation amounts to make it clear you’ll be making an in-kind donation for every monetary donation received.

Rally volunteers to act as festive little helpers to put up holiday decorations for others in your community in exchange for donations.

Set up a donation form and use custom labels to create fun options, like a $50 donation = putting up your roof lights.

Give your supporters the opportunity to “buy” a brick for your new construction project that will have their name or dedication engraved on it for all to see.

Use custom fields on your donation form to capture essential details for donors’ bricks—make sure to provide a word count so they don’t go over!

Recruit local experts, professors, speakers, and community leaders to donate their time and expertise for a series of talks on a certain theme.

Sell tickets to in-person attendees and offer a livestreaming option to increase donations and reach interested supporters from anywhere.

Build relationships with local businesses and major donors that can offer matching donations to feature during your next campaign.

Matching gifts create an enormous incentive for supporters who understand that they can automatically double (or even triple or quadruple!) their impact for your cause.

Supporters cast their vote with donations to name a bench, tree, garden, sculpture, or pathway.

Create custom labels on your donation form for various donation amounts (for example: $100 = named brick in a sidewalk).

With text-to-donate, raising funds is as easy as sending a text message. Post your shortcode on signs at fundraising events, share it on social media, and offer it as a payment option so your supporters can contribute using their mobile devices right on the spot, no matter where they are.

See for yourself how easy it is — text “DEMO” to 53-555.

Plan exciting entertainment, such as talent showcases and cooking lessons that you can share with your audience entirely online.

Plan a day or evening program, then livestream it to your community right from your event page, so members can make a donation without clicking away from the show.

Host a webinar or TED-style talk with an interesting topic and a captivating guest speaker sourced from your network.

Raise funds for your livestream by selling tickets and include upgrades like signed copies of books to bring in even more donations.

Showcase live or pre-recorded presentations and guest speakers, host an auction, and solicit donations—all livestreamed from your event registration page.

Livestream an engaging program from your fundraising page with information, entertainment, and impact stories to inspire viewers to donate. Task volunteers with accepting gifts over the phone and replying to comments and gifts on your supporter feed. Don’t forget to display a live thermometer so everyone can watch donations come in in real time!

Sell homemade or donated treats through a donation form or event page and organize volunteers to make deliveries after purchase! For some additional funds, allow recipients to make a donation alongside their purchase. 

For this totally remote fundraising event, charge a registration fee and ask participants to use their computer or mobile device to complete various challenges. Share instructions and updates and announce winners from a livestream hosted right on your event page.

Ask local musicians or bands to perform for a livestreaming audience and invite viewers to make donations or purchase tickets to attend virtually right on your event page.

Make sure to feature a donation thermometer on your page to encourage viewers to make extra donations and get you closer to your goal as they enjoy the music.

Take the bidding online by allowing participants to browse your silent auction catalog, place bids, and win from anywhere!

Use auction software that makes the bidding process smooth and simple for you and your donors.

Craft a festive holiday card to mail directly or send digitally to your supporters. Extend season’s greetings, express gratitude for their support, and invite them to contribute toward your year-end fundraising goals.

Use Givebutter’s built-in Canva integration to add a little extra cheer to your letters or emails in just a few clicks.

For National Pet Week, plan a pet competition. Ask people to send in photos of their pets to be judged in various categories like Funniest Pet or Most Adorable. Charge an entry fee, and work with local companies to sponsor a prize.

Invite people to submit their pets via your supporter feed for an engaging way to send in photos alongside their donations.

In honor of Pi Day, invite your community to donate to your cause on March 14th. Set the suggested donation amount at $3.14, $31.40, or $314.00, but let supporters know that any amount is welcome.

Encourage donors to "sponsor" a piece of lumber your team will use in your construction projects. Create custom labels for different donation amounts on your donation form that align with the cost of materials (e.g., $50 donation equals 3 pieces of lumber). Don’t forget to invite all sponsors to the ribbon-cutting ceremony when construction is complete!

For successful referrals to your program, offer your current members discounted membership fees, merchandise, or entry into a raffle. Create custom fields (like “Who referred you?”) on your donation forms to keep track of eligible members.

Incentivize supporters to invite friends and family to sign up for a membership during a specific period of time. Offer discounted rates or additional perks, and accept recurring donations with ease on a user-friendly platform.

Ask your supporters to donate $5 to your cause. Then, each donor has to tag at least five people via social media. The goal is that each person who gets tagged matches that $5 gift to your campaign—and then tags five others.

This is a great social media fundraising idea that can spread quickly within your community, helping you raise funds fast.

Participants commit to completing a certain number of workouts and collect pledges for each milestone achieved using personal peer-to-peer fundraising pages.

Watch as donations come in through the leaderboard in real time and friends and family share words of encouragement on the supporter feed.