Easy Fundraising Ideas

An art gala is one of the more creative fundraiser ideas. If you’re an artist or have friends or students that are artists or craftspeople (perhaps photographers, painters, or jewelry makers), ask them to donate pieces to an art sale supporting your cause. Here’s how:

• Find a space to host the event—ideally a gallery, café, or school space. Serve drinks and appetizers.
• Allow people time to walk around, chat, learn about your cause, and enjoy the art.
• Provide information about your cause by setting up a donation station with a mobile device displaying your fundraiser page. Show people how much their purchases and donations can help.
• Once everyone’s had a chance to browse, begin the sale; winners can make donations to your fundraiser.

This is one of our favorite quick fundraising ideas. If you have artistically talented friends and family, you can host an art workshop. There’s likely to be a great deal of overlap between people who support your cause and those who want to learn a related craft.

• Ask yourself: what kinds of fun art workshops can you and your fundraising team teach? Can you book an accomplished teacher to donate his or her time?
• Think about figure drawing, portrait or still life photography, landscape painting, even cake decorating or other food art.
• Host half-day or full-day workshops in exchange for donations to your fundraiser.

If you’re looking for unique fundraising ideas, then you just need to allow your community to show what makes them special. Host a talent show and invite supporters and members of your local community to perform. Some easy steps to do this are:

• Name the talent show after your fundraiser. Ask guests to make a donation to your cause as the price of admission.
• Choose a venue like a gymnasium, local theater, or other public space.
• Publicize your talent show in your community and on your crowdfunding page.
• If possible, ask a well-known member of the community to act as your emcee.
• Ask businesses for sponsorships and matching donations.
• For those who can’t attend, share pictures and videos from the show on your fundraiser page and social media to inspire them to give.

If you and your fundraising team have ideas for clothing, jewelry, or other artwork you can reproduce in large quantities, you can use sites like eBay and Etsy to help you raise money. This is just one of many virtual fundraising ideas!

• Choose crafts you can produce in quantity, don’t require too many resources, and customize easily with buyers’ names or other information.
• Upload photos of your crafts onto an e-commerce site.
• Note in the item description that profits from the sales go to fundraising for a cause, and link to your fundraiser.
• Make and deliver the items to order.
• If your first set of items are a success, consider adding new ones.
• Donate all the funds made from selling your crafts (i.e. the margin between costs of making and shipping the products and the amount you make after selling them) to your fundraiser.

This is a perfect gift for the holidays! The best fundraisers plug into existing trends and excitement. Offer your wreaths in exchange for donations to your fundraiser.

• Make them yourself, or find a wholesale supplier who’s willing to donate fresh wreaths or raw materials to your cause.
• If you assemble the wreaths yourself, add flourishes like dried berries, succulents, flowers, chili peppers, corn husks, herb, or ribbons—especially if they visually or symbolically relate to your cause.
• If one wreath is selling out, recreate it to meet to supply the demand.
• Create a delivery process and make sure to schedule out your deliveries.

Making a quilt with your fundraising team and other volunteers is a great way to bring a traditional craft into your fundraiser. Here are some tips:

• Ask people, organizations, and businesses to sponsor squares on your quilt with a donation to your fundraiser.
• You can include a message or image of their choice for them to read on the square of each sponsor.
• Once the quilt is finished, you can sell it for a reasonable price and put that towards your fundraiser goal.

Take advantage of all the holiday shopping that happens during winter by creating a gift wrapping station. Many people are either too busy to wrap their holiday gifts, or they’d rather pay someone who’s better at it. Work with a local business to make sure it’s okay to set up your gift wrapping station nearby or inside, and be sure to make it clear through a sign or poster that all funds will be used to support your cause. People will likely be happy to contribute to a good cause while getting their holiday wrapping all taken care of.

Spring is the perfect time to launch a new fundraiser or revive an old idea. People are ready to shed their winter layers, socialize more, and attend more sporting events. Tap into excitement for NCAA playoffs by starting a basketball bracket that helps your cause: supporters can exchange donations for entrance to your bracket. From there, you can encourage people to pledge more donations for specific events that happen during the season!

Combine some favorite summer activities with a single, outdoor fundraising extravaganza. Everyone loves a good potluck, and it also encourages sharing, community bonding, and plenty of opportunities to talk to others about your fundraiser.

You can sell tickets to the event beforehand, letting community members know that all proceeds will be donated to your cause. Or, you can organize yard sale items beforehand, and let everyone know that those sales will help fund your worthy cause.

Fall is a time when students are back in class and trying to work their way through reading lists for class. Tap into this academic need by asking community members and neighbors to donate books that they no longer want or need. Once you have enough books for a sale, set up your goods in your garage, or work with a local school to use their gymnasium. Be sure to let everyone know that all funds will be used to support your cause.

This is your chance to tell a unique story. Make it stand out by choosing a memorable and descriptive name; add high-quality photos, and offer a heartfelt description of your financial needs.

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• How Fundraising Goals Lead to Winning Fundraisers

Visuals are powerful. Fundraisers with compelling visuals raise more money than those without. Add high-quality photos and videos to your fundraiser page to help potential donors connect with—and share—your cause with the world.

• How Images Can Lead to Fundraising Success
• How to Make a Fundraising Video that Attracts Donors

Build a strong fundraising community to drive traffic to your fundraiser. Check out our proven ideas for building support for your cause.

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• Online Fundraising Without Social Media: 42 Ways to Share Offline

Getting your fundraiser featured in the news is a surefire way to get your story out into the world. And, it isn’t as hard as you might think. Check out these great ideas for shining a spotlight on your fundraiser.

•  How to Get Local Media to Cover Your Fundraiser

Social media is one of your most important fundraising tools. Use your social networks to spread awareness among family, friends, and even strangers— reach as many potential donors as you can.

• Facebook Fundraising 101
• How to Fundraise on Twitter