Fall kicks off the charitable giving season, and there’s no better time for fundraising. With fall festivals, Halloween, and Thanksgiving bringing people together, the season offers great opportunities for hosting fundraising events for your cause. Some of the most successful crowdfunding pages on GoFundMe boost their online fundraiser with in-person events, sponsorships, and partnerships with local businesses. You can do the same with one of these tried-and-true fall fundraising ideas to raise awareness for your good cause.
Fall-themed event ideas
1. Harvest festival
Host a fall festival at a local school, community center, or local park with a mix of indoor and outdoor space (if it rains, indoor space is your saving grace). Have guests donate to your fundraiser as the price of admission or sell tickets in advance. Sell fall foods such as hot apple cider, caramel apples, pumpkin spice treats (hello pumpkin pies!), and other baked goods. For activities, you could offer face painting, hayrides, portrait drawing, bobbing for apples, and sack races. Tap into your social network and send email invitations to community members. If you don’t already have one, consider creating a Facebook page for your fundraiser, then create a Facebook event and invite people to it.
2. Corn maze
This family-friendly event works best if you partner with a local farm that already has a corn maze or pumpkin patch—pitch it to them as a win-win that helps raise money for your nonprofit while supporting a local business. As a way to raise money, ask attendees to use their entry fee as a donation. Ask the farmers to split the proceeds 50/50. Advertise the event on social networks, email, and through word of mouth. Printed promotional flyers or posters are another option—post them at the location, nearby cafés, etc.
3. Falling leaf cleanup
Everyone loves the beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds of the trees in the fall. But when they collect on the ground, somebody needs to clean them up—and that’s where your fundraiser comes in. Create a fall leaf cleanup or rake-a-thon with participants securing donations from sponsors for each pound of leaves they collect. The nice thing about this fall fundraising idea is how scalable it is—you could do it on a single street, at a back-to-school event, or in an entire community. If it’s on your street, poll your neighbors to find out who wants their yards cleaned up; while you’re at it, ask if they want to become sponsors. On the day of your event, allot participants a certain amount of time to collect leaves. Once they’re finished, weigh the leaves, celebrate those who clean up the most by weight, and collect donations from sponsors.
4. Pumpkin toss
When October ends, you can still find a good use for those pumpkins—a neighborhood pumpkin toss. Encourage people to bring their nearly expired jack-o-lanterns for this DIY fall-themed event. Find a good place to host the event, such as a two-story house with a balcony. For the cost of admission (or a donation to your fundraising page), participants get to toss their pumpkins and watch them splat on the ground. You can even award prizes for the farthest toss, biggest splat. In return for their donations, you clean up the mess.
5. Fall fruit picking
Fall season is apple season. Do you live near an apple orchard? Reach out to see if they’ll partner with you in a win-win event that promotes the orchard and supports your cause. The orchard may be experienced with hosting such events and already have a fundraising package to offer. Try to work out a deal where they donate a portion of proceeds to your fundraiser or offer a small sponsorship from a local restaurant. After you decide on a day for your event, get the word out via the usual channels: email, social media, local media, flyers, and more.
Classic Halloween fundraising ideas
6. Pumpkin carving party
Find a place that sells pumpkins in bulk. With a donation to your fundraiser, participants are given a pumpkin and access to decorating tools and materials. Fall is the perfect time of year for a pumpkin carving party (complete with a pumpkin carving contest), or eating contest, and it’s a fun school fundraising event for all ages. Turn it up a notch with an Oktoberfest twist, decked out with music, pretzels, and seasonal drinks.
7. Spooky trivia night
Half the fun of this event lies in writing the questions—think about themes and subjects that lend themselves to the occasion, like scary movies (or scary moments in movies), Edgar Allan Poe stories, and other classic scary literature. Include at least one goofy trivia subject for comic relief. Find a venue large enough for your group. Ideally, host the trivia night close to Halloween and invite people to dress up in their best Halloween costume. Add a costume contest for even more spooky fun. You could even add a small or silent auction to raise extra funds.
8. Haunted house
Many people like being scared, as long as it’s in a controlled environment, so give them what they want with a haunted house fundraiser. This idea is also flexible; you can execute it in a space as small as a garage or as large as a gymnasium. (If you go to all the trouble to make a giant haunted house, try hosting the event on multiple nights so you can raise the most money possible.) You’ll need to recruit friends to help with decorating and scaring. Use haunted house classics, and brainstorm new ways to scare people. Don’t forget to bring a mobile device on the day of the event to collect donations as the price of admission. Sell themed t-shirts at the door to boost your fundraising goals.
Simple virtual fundraising ideas for fall
9. Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday (the Tuesday after Thanksgiving) is one of the largest fundraising days of the year and a great opportunity for peer-to-peer fundraising using your GoFundMe fundraising platform.
10. Fantasy football
Fall means football, and the fantasy football season typically runs from the beginning of September to the end of December—perfect timing for a football season fundraiser. You could even host a tailgate party or chili cook-off before a big high school football game and charge a small registration fee or entry fee to join. First, make sure that daily fantasy sports (DFS) are allowed in your state. Seek out a local business willing to offer a prize, like a gift card, for the first-place winner. At the end of the season, all “winning” funds go to your fundraiser.
Kick start your fall fundraising
We hope these festive fall fundraising ideas inspire your next fall event and help you bring in the donations you need this season. Whether you’re planning a bake sale, bonfire with s’mores and marshmallows, walk-a-thon, movie night, or community trivia night, every effort helps your PTO, nonprofit, or school year fundraiser reach its goals. If you haven’t already, start your fundraiser today and share it on social media to keep supporters engaged through the holiday season.