Wacky & Creative Fundraising Ideas

Feb 11, 2010 by admin

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.