1. Board Game-a-Thon

This would be a fun, easy to set up fundraising idea that appeals to people’s competitive spirit, and is an activity most people can actively participate it.

Choose between 2 or 3 quick games like SpotIt, Catchphrase, Scattegories, or cards (you can have more, but perhaps stay away from games that take longer than 15-20 minutes like Monopoly or Scrabble). Make some teams of four, or give players the option of playing for themselves. Charge a variety of entry fees per hour. If you have a lot of attendees, you can create a sign up sheet to keep things organized. Make sure everyone that participates in the games is aware of the rules.

If you know of a local band,  ask them to donate their time. Even offer free food or wave the entry fee. Many local bands bring their own followers, and this may help increase attendance. 

Ask a local business or donor for funding for a small prizes, including coupons and gift cards. This not only encourages more attendees, but also connects you with local businesses for potential partnerships. Remember to post your event on social media, and ask your friends to share the message. Ask local businesses if you can advertise in their windows.

2.  Movie Night

This is another easy and fun idea you can modify for the Summer and Winter seasons.

Select two or three feauture films. Remember to think about your audience when choosing movies (for example: do you want kids there? Just adults? Maybe you want a horror movie night or maybe you want to play an entire season of a beloved favorite TV show?). You can even make it thematic, and show black-and-white movies, and ask everyone to dress in black or white. Or you can show a horror movie and welcome a costume party movie night!

Then find a venue. In the summer, you can ask the local park for permission or use a backyard to show your film. During the winter, you can try to rent a community venue like a VFW or church hall.

Charge an entry free for viewing the movie, and make sure you have a concession stand to bring in a little more money for your cause. If you like the idea of a themed movie night, you can also be thematic when it comes to the food and drinks. Or you can offer coffee, hot cocoa, and tea in the winter months, and smoothies, ice cream, and cold drinks in the summer. You can have a lot of choices, and have fun planning this event. It’s also helpful in creating partnerships and growing your community. Make sure you take pictures and tweet live from your event so that you can share with your followers.

3. Karaoke Night

Find a church reception hall or a community building that can host your event. One idea is to ask local bars and partner with them in order to lower your cost. You charge a cover for attendance, and they get cmpensation from alcohol purchases. If you prefer no alcohol, then stick to a local cafeteria if you can’t find a community building.

You can put out a call on social media to see if anyone has a karaoke machine, or you can look into renting one. 

Ask for an entrance fee, but consider offering a discount for people who intend to sing. This assures you get some participation. You should also consider using a volunteer mc to keep up momentum, and encourage people to sing in groups as well as solo acts.

Lastly, see if you can find volunteers to bake, cook, and provide drinks to sell at the event. This can help your organization collect extra funds and will help participants stay at the event longer.

4. Costume Contest

You can use this idea for so many themed events! A Halloween party, an ugly sweater party, a hero-themed party (maybe a hero-themed movie night and a costume contest?!) It costs you almost nothing to set up. Simply put out announcements on social media and flyers to announce the event, and ask for a donation to participate.

For voting, you can have the usual panel of judges or you can ask your party to host with dollars. You can ask that they contribute $1-$5 dollars for their vote for best costume.

As a prize, you can offer services like house cleaned, car washed, a cooking class or a baking class, or yoga class, or you can put aside a small portion of the contribution fees to purchase prizes.

5. Pool Party

During the summer, it often gets very hot out. One of the best ways to take advantage of the heat is to throw a benefit pool party. If you or anyone you know has a pool, this is a very easy, low prep idea that can generate funding for your organization.

Ask for an entrance fee (how much is really up to you), and maybe have a movie showing. Try to have volunteers from within your organization bring baked goods, ice creams, and barbecue so that you can sell foods and bring in a bit more for your organization.

Try having some music playing in the background, or see if you can find a volunteer mc or DJ to help with music. You can have a raffle available, or you can offer games and prizes. If you want it to be child friendly, you can ask a volunteer to help with face painting, and charge a small fee. 

6. Arts and Crafts Sale

Remember that hobby you had that you wished you could pursue? Maybe it was painting or knitting. It could have been paper mache or working with woods. Regardless, participating in or hosting a craft show is an excellent, creative way to help raise money for your organization.

Set up a booth at a local fair or market, or set up a yard sale in your front yard! Handmade crafts sell pretty well anytime of the year, but you’ll see a higher profit particularly around the holidays. Make sure you include information that it’s for charity. You’ll see that even if someone doesn’t necessarily want to purchase a craft, they may donate a few dollars because of the cause.

If you want to set up your own craft event, invite friends, relatives, and neighboring towns to attend. A good idea is to ask local bands to volunteer to play a few songs. You can offer them free food as a thank-you for their time. Additionally, be prepared (as usual) to sell food, drinks, and snacks to help bring in more dollars.

7. Yoga Class

Yoga attendance is not only increasing, but the yogi community is one of the most engaging on social media. If you know anyone who has been doing yoga for some time, ask them to donate their time and teach a yoga class. You can hold it at a park, or in your home, and charge an attendance fee. Since there is really no prep time for this fundraiser, it’s really easy to do, and can be done in most seasons.

Additionally, yoga is not just a one-time event. If you have a good attendance, and if your yoga instructor agrees, you can continue to offer weekly or monthly yoga sessions and continue to charge. A good practice is to find out what local gyms and yoga studies are charging, and charging less.

Make sure you mention that it’s for charity, and don’t forget to post it to social media!