The Internet and social media offers lots of opportunities to pitch your fundraising ventures to a wider audience. Whether you want to promote your charity or do an entire fundraiser from the comfort of your computer chair, here’s how to get started.

Online Fundraising Ideas

So many people are online these days, you can run a fundraiser without ever leaving your desk. Online fundraisers require some creativity to get people motivated, but they are also extremely cost-effective, not to mention fun. Here are some ideas:

• Sponsored Event – Run a sponsored event online. Traditional ideas, such as a baked bean bath, benefit from an online twist like a live feed via webcam. Or, run an Internet-themed idea like getting people to pledge a certain amount for each follower on Twitter, or fan on Facebook.

• Just Giving - Start an online donation page on a site like Just Giving, which allows you to collect online donations from friends and family.

• Sell Online - Clean out your garage and fundraise at the same time by running a charity auction on eBay. Don’t forget to specify how much of the winning bid will go to charity.

Social Media Fundraising

Social media is a vital part of online fundraising. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can greatly expand your audience. You can also use social media to keep people interested in a long-term fundraising project, like a charity run or sponsored event.

Starting and promoting a blog is a great way to keep your supporters informed. You can get a free blog on WordPress, and you’ll need to commit a few hours a week to keeping it updated. But once you have your blog entries, the rest of social media gets a bit easier, as you can just retweet or link to these entries on social networking sites.

How to Fundraise on Social Networking Sites

Everyone has their favourite social networking site, and fundraisers have used them all successfully to help spread their message.

• Twitter - The advantage of Twitter is that it’s short and sweet; people who may not be your friends on Facebook will still follow your Twitter messages. It also requires less of a time commitment to send out short messages to people, letting them know how your fundraising is going.

• Facebook - The world’s largest social media site, Facebook has lots of ways to help you reach your audience. Create a page for your fundraising project, or tell your friends about it on your personal profile. You can also get people to “Like” your blog entries, run Facebook ads targeted at people interested in charities, and network with other fundraisers. There are lots of opportunities!

• Other social networks - Upload photos of your fundraising to Flickr, post viral videos on YouTube, get friends to +1 your website on Google and get your charity to spread the word via their own social networks. Use whatever platform you’re most comfortable with to educate people on your fundraising efforts.

Getting Started with Online Fundraising

The most successful online fundraisers use a combination of creative fundraising ideas with lots of social media promotion. Whether you choose to live your life in front of a webcam (for charity, of course) or simply to tweet out your offline fundraising plans, the Internet can greatly expand your fundraising reach beyond your traditional circle of friends and family.

What’s not to “Like” about that?

Let’s be brutally honest – we’re more likely to do something, and do it well, if it’s fun. Fundraising is no exception.

Bringing in money for a good cause isn’t just about raising funds; it’s about fun too. Fun fundraising ideas are engaging for fundraisers, donors and the charities they support. Put the fun back into “fundraising” with these great ideas.

Host a Fundraising Night

Hosting a one-night only fundraising event is a fantastic way to raise money for a charitable cause. Pick a theme, pick a date and pick a venue; it’s that simple. Here are some fun ideas:

• Casino Night – Get your acquaintances to roll the dice for your charity. Set up an event like a poker tournament, or rent a variety of casino games like slots and roulette.
• Movie Night – host an exclusive screening party for your friends and family
• Skating Party or Bowling Party – Rent out a local venue and put on a fabulous, fun party right in your community.

Your charity can benefit from a fundraising night in several ways. First of all, it’s a good idea to charge admission and collect RSVPs before the date. This way, you’re assured of a set amount to cover the costs of your event. Then, you can also raise additional funds by selling food and drink, or by holding contests.

Fun Sponsored Events

Few things can bring in laughs like a crazy sponsored event. We’re not talking about your usual marathon or bike race here. These sponsored events are fun because they’re silly.

• Baked bean boots, jelly bath or custard underpants
• Sponsored wax or sponsored head shave
• Pie-throwing or dunk tank – all the better if it’s aimed at your boss, manager or head teacher
• Dress up in a costume – collect pledges for how long you remain in costume

The idea is to collect money to “dare” participants to do certain things. For example, tell your co-workers that you’ll shave your head for £100 worth of donations. Trust us, if it’s something hilarious or uncomfortable, people will pay to see it done!

Fundraising Contests

Another great way to have fun with your fundraising is to hold a contest. Charge an entry fee and offer up a prize in any number of categories. The funnier, the better!

• TV or movie quote contest
• Costume contest (great for humans and pets)
• Eating contest
• Test of strength

Split the proceeds 50/50 with the winner, or ask someone to donate a cool prize worthy of everyone’s time.

No matter what you decide to do, making your fundraising activity fun will help to bring in the laughs and the donations.

People hear fundraising requests a lot in their daily life, from phone solicitations to school and work fundraisers. If you’ve ever sold wrapping paper, candy or pizza kits and seen donors sigh before they reach for their wallet, you know it’s time for some creativity.

Here are some creative fundraising ideas that will help your donation request stand out from the crowd:

Silly Fundraising Sponsorship

Collect donations to do something silly or embarrassing. How much would your friends, family and colleagues pay to see you run through the town centre in a funny outfit, or walk around all day in disgusting boots filled with baked beans, custard or Jell-O?

Don’t forget to charge extra if anyone wants photographic proof of your exploits!

Dunk Tank or Food Fight

If you’re a teacher or a manager, chances are there are a lot of people in your school or workplace who would love to throw a pie at you. It’s sad, but true!

Collect donations in exchange for shots at a dunk tank (you can rent them) or charge per piece of pie, fruit or shaving cream thrown in your direction. It’s messy but worth it.

“Slave Day”

This is a great one for kids. Spend a day doing chores and odd jobs – for a price. Ask neighbours, friends, family and co-workers to pay for your services and get creative with what you’re willing to do. Here are some ideas:

• Foot massages
• Dish washing
• House cleaning
• Hair cuts
• Dog walking

Whatever you can do, make some money from it.

“Going without” Sponsorship

For friends and family with an evil sense of humour, ask for sponsorships for a “going without” day.

Set the stakes – for example, £0.10 for every hour you don’t watch TV, or £1 for every minute you stay silent – and watch the donations come pouring in. You can also go without:

• Texting
• Junk food
• Talking on the phone
• Smoking/drinking
• Swearing
• Eating chocolate
• Showering
• Spending money
• Ordering takeaways

You’ll need to skip something you truly love but it’ll be worth it in the end (for both your friends and your charitable cause).

Make the Most of Your Creative Fundraising

Creative fundraising ideas aren’t just fun; they also bring attention to your fundraising cause by standing out from what people expect from fundraising. You want people to not only donate to your cause but also take away some great memories of the event too, so they’ll surely remember your charity the next time fundraising season rolls around.

There are plenty of ways you can make money for your charity without spending a single penny. Find out how with our free fundraising ideas.

Free Fundraising in Your Free Time

Fundraising for free means you’ll have to rely on your creativity alone to raise money for your charitable cause. No matter what you’re good at, find a way to make it work for your charity.

Here are free fundraising ideas for common hobbies:

• Art – Sell arts and crafts
• Sport – Do a sponsored run, bike or sporting event. Hold a charity game at a local athletic field.
• Video games – Solicit donations for a sponsored game party like Halo or Call of Duty, or take hourly bids for how long you can play a particular game without stopping
• Reading – Ask people to sponsor you for how many pages you can read in a week
• Shopping – Offer personal shopping services to city centre shoppers in exchange for a donation. You’d be surprised how many people need help finding the perfect item for themselves or a loved one!
• Performing – Play a musical instrument, do magic tricks, dance, sing, stand on your head… do whatever it takes to collect donations for your charity.

Raise Money by “Going Without”

A popular and easy free fundraising idea is to ask your friends and family to sponsor you “going without”. This means you will give up something you like to do in exchange for donations. Not only is it free fundraising, but you might even save yourself money in the process!

Consider going “cold turkey” with these free fundraising activities:

• Talking on the phone / texting
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Swearing
• Ordering takeaways
• Shopping
• Watching TV
• Eating chocolate

How to be Successful with Free Fundraising Ideas

No matter what free fundraising idea you decide to do, always remember why you’re doing it. Whether you’re doing something you love for a long period of time or “going without” in exchange for donations, you’re turning your free time into a great benefit for your charitable cause. (That’s free advice for you!)