25 Easy Fundraising Ideas That Work

2. Tip collection

Approach some local bars or restaurants and ask them to consider donating a night's worth of tips to your charity. If you can get a few businesses on board with this idea, it could add up to a lot of money!

3. Organise a night ‘in’

Going on a night out isn’t always cheap - food, alcohol, taxi home, and a new outfit could set you back a lot of money. As an alternative, invite a group of friends around your place and encourage them to donate some of the money they would usually spend on a night out to your charity.

4. Dog walking

If you know people in your local area with dogs, offer to take them for a walk in exchange for a donation to your chosen cause. This could be a one-off event or a weekly occurrence that could quickly increase your donations.

5. Gift Aid

If you’ve set up an online fundraising page , make sure you give people the option to choose Gift Aid when they donate to your cause. Gift Aid allows UK charities to claim 25% back in tax on all eligible donations. Other countries run similar initiatives, so it’s worth investigating these options if you’re fundraising outside of the UK. 

6. Matched Giving

Get your company to agree to matched giving and you’ll instantly get double the amount of money you’ve raised. Enquire about your company's procedure on matched giving to find out more.

7. Car pool

If you can get a lot of people involved, this can be a really effective sponsorship idea. Group together people who live close to one another and ask them to organise sharing transport to work. Once the petrol cost has been split for whoever is driving, donate the rest of the money that the group would have spent on petrol, parking or public transport costs to your charity. Increase your donations and help the environment at the same time - win, win!

8. Taxi service

Instead of calling a local company for a taxi, get people you know to ring you when they want a lift anywhere. Create a fare calculator and work out how far your passenger's journey is using maps on your phone, then charge them an amount just like any other taxi, but the money goes to your fundraising total. Obviously, you’ll have to take out some petrol money to keep your vehicle going, but you’ll still raise a significant amount of money using this idea.

9. Used book sale

How many books have you got collecting dust at home? Put them to good use and hold a book sale with all of the profits going towards your fundraising total. If your friends and family have any books they’ve finished with, include these too.

10. ‘Penny drive’

This is a really easy fundraising idea, especially if you work in a company with different departments . Each department is given the same size container to collect the most change in. The team who fills their container at the end of the challenge wins a prize and the total amount of money in each container goes to your charity.

11. Sell t-shirts

There are loads of websites out there that allow you to design and print your own t-shirts online - some even deal with the delivery of your orders. Creating a t-shirt with a unique design can generate awareness for your cause and gives your supporters a tangible item for their money.

12. Reverse raffle

This is a twist on a normal raffle. Instead of picking out a winner, all of the numbers you pull of the hat automatically lose the raffle. So, therefore, the last number to be picked is crowned the winner. You could spread the draw out throughout the day to keep people interested until the end.

13. 50/50 raffle

Rather than organising prizes, you could just split the total you raise for the raffle in half. Then, give half of the money to your charity and the other half to the name of the person who you pick out of the hat.

14. Buy an envelope

Encourage local businesses to donate a number of prizes, write them on pieces of paper and seal each one in an envelope, along with some blank envelopes (with no prizes in.) Then put them all in a bucket and encourage people to come and ‘buy an envelope.’ For a set donation, people then choose the envelope they want and could either win a prize or walk away empty handed.

15. Coffee donation

Do a lot of your colleagues buy an expensive coffee on their way to work in the morning? Try to convince them to go without for one day and donate the money they would spend on their caffeine hit to your charity instead.

16. Give up a habit

Give up your smoking or drinking habit and donate the money you would have spent to charity. We’re not asking you to give up your vices forever, but even just committing to this idea for a week or even a month would add a significant amount towards your fundraising total. Try to get your friends or colleagues involved to raise even more money.

17. Gift wrapping service

This idea could be a fundraising goldmine around the Christmas period. How many people do you know who hate wrapping presents? Take their pain away and raise money for your charity by setting up a gift wrapping service. You can buy wrapping paper in bulk for a small cost, and then charge your ‘customers’ a set amount per item they want you to wrap.

18. Bake sale

This is a classic fundraising idea that always delivers - especially if you work with people who have a sweet tooth! Encourage people to volunteer to bake (or buy) their favourite treats and then sell them with the money going to your chosen charity. Make sure you advertise the bake sale well in the lead up to the event so that people know when and where it’s happening.

19. Cinema night

Has a recent blockbuster been released on DVD or on Netflix? Invite your friends and family round for a cinema experience. Charge them an entry fee for their ticket and then sell snacks and drinks just like at the cinema, with all of the profits going towards your fundraising total.

20. Sponsored silence

Are you someone who never stops talking? This challenge could be an easy way to raise money for your charity. See if you can go without speaking for a whole day and get people to sponsor your efforts.

21. Online fundraising page

Online fundraising pages are quick and easy to set up and can really help you build up your donations. With so many different ways to fundraise, it’s useful to collect all of your donations on one page, where you can keep track of your total and keep your donors updated on your progress.

22. Dress down day

Clear this one with your boss first, but if your office usually follows a smart dress code, you could organise a ‘dress down Friday’ and encourage your colleagues to pay money to wear their own clothes for the day.

23. Sweepstake

This idea is always popular around the time of sporting events. Assign teams to each person and then split the money you get for your sweepstake, with half of the pot going to the winner and the other half going to charity.

24. Lottery

Gather a group of friends, family or workmates together and decide on a fee to join your syndicate. Some of the money should be set aside for your charity and then buy some lucky dips with the rest. And who knows, if you do win then you could end up with even more money for charity!

25. Odd jobs

Painting fences, changing light bulbs, gardening… whatever odd jobs you can turn your hand to. Make some posters and get in touch with all of your friends, family and neighbours to ask if they need any help with jobs. Charge them a fee for your hard work and add it to your fundraising total.