Our Fundraising Ideas

Create your community’s biggest and best garage sale or have your own! You get to decide how big or small it is. Here are two possible revenue-generating models if you want to go big:

1) Create a garage sale venue in a high traffic area and charge vendors for the booth. You can raise additional funds by selling goods such as refreshments and baked goods.

2) Have members and friends donate quality goods they don’t want any more. Volunteers at the garage sale will then donate 100% of the profits from sales.

This is another classic fundraising event idea. The raffle requires you to collect prizes of interest and sell tickets. Decide how much you want to raise overall, estimate how many volunteers can help you to sell tickets, and then determine how many tickets each person should sell in order to hit your goal. Keep one or two larger-value prizes to drive up your totals.

Split the proceeds of the raffle between our organization and the winner of the raffle. One easy way of making a raffle attractive is to pledge 50% of the raffle ticket sales as the grand prize. The more people buy tickets, the higher the prize – and 50% of the proceeds go to a great cause. Please see Traditional Raffle “Learn More” for additional information.

Many people value experiences over possessions, so they would rather spend their money turning moments into memories. For example, you could get a hotel and local spa to sponsor the raffle. They would get a lot of fabulous advertising to an audience that they appeal to for a nominal cost to them. Then, your Grand Prize would be a two night stay in a spa suite and a full day of services at the spa. The second place could be a half-day of services and third could be a $100 gift card for the spa. You could sell tickets for $20 each or six for $100. Encourage ticket sales by promoting the experience. The possibilities are limitless: a relaxing massage, adventure weekend away with a loved one, pedicure…. Experiences appeal to the millennial market and will boost ticket sales. Pick a great experience and promote it everywhere. Please see Traditional Raffle “Learn More” for additional information.

Bring Vegas to Texas! Host a casino night complete with roulette, blackjack, and poker. Invite guests to dress up and donate to participate. They can also donate certain amounts for specific numbers of casino chips, and the player with the most chips at the end of the night receives a prize. Casino nights are a great way to raise money for your favorite charity while spending an evening with family, friends, and co-workers. If you live near a casino, you can talk with the management about a percentage of the profits for an evening. Otherwise, the Knights of Columbus have the market pretty monopolized. Choosing a slow night lowers labor. Contact a local equipment rental place. They’ll have access to a wide variety of gaming options making your casino night an exciting opportunity for the local community.

Host an online, silent auction from the comfort of your own home! 32 Auctions has plans that are free and you can list one to 1,000 items. You provide auction details, choose a custom link, personalize it by applying your branding, displaying a goal meter, highlighting sponsors, and more. Enter 1 to 1000 items with descriptions and images. Tell them how much each item is worth and they'll help set the starting bid amounts. Participants pay for their items online while, you track and manage your auction.

All you have to do is take pre-orders using a custom-branded online web store that is provided by their company. Then, they distribute the products you sold, charging a low wholesale price while our organization retains the profits for our mission. They have a myriad of products including: popcorn, cookie dough, travel mugs, snacks, flower bulbs, gourmet coffee, candles, chocolate, pretzels, and more!

Easily raise money by selling custom shirts. No inventory needed - they do all the work! Make it easy for users to browse all of the custom shirts and apparel you’ve designed by creating an online store. They’re free to make and simple to tailor to your brand. They can appeal to a cause or broad market. When the campaign ends, they ship products directly to our buyers and send us the profits. We also have a vendor we work with for large orders that are pre-sales. Please contact us, for information.

All you have to do is take pre-orders using a custom-branded online web store that is provided by their company. Then, they distribute the products you sold, charging a low wholesale price while our organization retains the profits for our mission. For the holidays, you have to start early to guarantee delivery by Thanksgiving of their wreaths and tabletop trees.

A walk-a-thon or marathon is a type of community fundraiser in which participants raise money by collecting donations or pledges for walking a predetermined distance or course. Funds are raised from walkathons through registration to participate in the event. They provide donors with a healthy option to support a cause and involve local businesses and supporters. Walkathons raise money when walkers in the event recruit sponsors to pledge or donate money for each mile they walk and the more walkers you have the more money you will raise.

Gather book lovers together on a virtual platform for a book club experience. The book club video call is one of those virtual fundraising ideas that never goes out of date. Book lovers can take part in discussions about their favorite books, chat, and meet regularly. You can request a one-time fee, a per class donation, or combination. Your book can be related to our cause, something that is on the best seller’s list, a literary classic, or anything else that interests your group. This is a flexible, low risk, easy option that can be done no matter the weather on a variety of topics and appeal to different people which will bring attention to our organization as well.

A skills clinic is a great way to raise money while educating children and/or adults about a hobby or skill that you or your kids have. All you’ll need to do is get the word out about your skills clinic on social media and via email and have a registration process. You can charge a certain amount for kids and a slightly higher fee for adults. You can also set up a general donation table or booth at the clinic and explain what you are raising money for. Popular ideas could include: Couples’ Cooking Classes, Paint Your Pet, How To Make Hot Chocolate Bombs, What First Time Homeowners Need To Know, Financial Literacy For Tweens To Twenties, Improve Your Credit Yourself, College Survival, What They Forget To Tell You About Junior College. The possibilities are endless as long as it is timely and relevant.

I look forward to this every year! It is one of the best and easiest fundraising ideas I’ve come across. The Discount Card allows the buyer to save money over and over for 1 full year at local shops in their area. Discount card fundraisers are excellent ways for merchants, restaurants, and stores in your community to support your group and in turn for the community members to support those businesses that support US. Each member of the group sells the discount cards for a nominal fee. ABC Fundraising® has discount cards that sell for $10 or $20 and with our Profit Booster Program we can earn up to 93% profit. We make money and the buyers SAVE money.

This event involves bringing dating hopefuls together and honoring a cause at the same time. I used to plan single’s events for a professional and it is good to give them an incentive to show up on time. I used to give free drinks to the first fifty people. I would have 100 drinks donated. I kept the remainder of the tickets for prizes. Adding structure reduces nerves and is more likely to bring more people out. I have participated in everything in planning and/or attending the following: ice skating, roller skating, karaoke contests (I won), murder mystery night, costume party with prizes, game night, speed dating, or a format similar to Let’s Do Dinner. They take everyone that has signed up and match them in groups of twelve with six men and women with similar demographics. You could have the restaurant donate a portion of the sales and charge the singles a fee to participate. You are only limited by your imagination!

The Cinnabon & Pretzel fundraiser is so successful because it offers the perfect mix of popular gourmet snacks. Everyone loves cinnamon rolls and pretzels of all types especially when it's from a reputable brand like Cinnabon's and Ben's Soft Pretzels. It features Cinnabon sticky bread, Cinnabon snickerdoodle cookie dough, soft pretzels, soft pretzel nuggets and 2 baking kits to make soft pretzels and cinnamon rolls at home with the family! It's perfect for groups that have 25 or more sellers. Free shipping for the Auntie Anne’s program starts at 400 items, so it’s important to have a motivated group that you feel can help you reach that target and beyond for this particular option.

This is one way to get people to eat for a good cause. It is also a great way to raise awareness and everyone to get together in a fun, relaxed environment. Different restaurants have their policies for donations: offer a flat percentage of all sales, percentage of sales that give a special code word, flat amount per adult. You cannot receive donations off of alcohol sales in Texas. Sometimes the waitstaff will even donate a portion of their tips for the night. If it is advertised, patrons are more generous. The is a great option because it not only brings awareness, people don’t feel like they are spending additional money, and it potentially introduces them to a new restaurant. The key is promoting the event! Many local TV and radio stations will even do a spot to promote it; all you have to do is ask.

A pet party can be as elegant or laid-back as you want. It could be a fancy gala-type event where pets and humans alike get all dressed up, or it could be an informal gathering at a local park on a Saturday. Either way, you should set up a donation table so that pet owners can donate. Make sure that you have plenty of treats and water set up for the dogs and other pets. You can even buy or make pet-themed snacks for the pet owners to munch on while their pets play and receive services. There are a number of mobile groomers that will come to you and offer a list of services. They will likely offer up to half of their sales for services for the day in exchange for the positive marketing, cross-promotion, and introduction to new customers.

This is likely the event that involves the most pre-planning; however, I have done it twice and made an average of 50k both times. Charge each person an entrance fee and get sponsors to cover all expenses and prizes. Double shotgun starts are most profitable with two teams of four staring on each hole, so you will have 4 in each team x at 2 teams at every hole x 18 holes which allows for 144 people. The sponsors will cover any fees the course requires. If you are an active member of the golf club, you may be able to arrange a discount for the day’s events, increasing profit potential. Contact local merchants to donate prizes to accumulate sizable awards. The bigger the jackpot, the more interest your tournament will get. To add buzz, get hole-in-one insurance and park a new car on the green where everyone can see it. Sell mulligans at a premium and get permission to operate the beer carts. Get two competitive people and get the group to make one a “winner” by giving them the most tips which go to the charity as well. You will need roughly 20-30 volunteers the day of the event. It is worth the hard work!!!

A Pub or Restaurant Crawl is a great way to have friends and the local community support our non-profit organization and bring awareness. We will raise funds by charging a fee to participate in the Crawl. In return, our supporters will receive tickets which they’ll redeem for 1 serving each, at a list of carefully chosen quality local pubs and restaurants. We get the pubs, bars, and restaurants to provide the servings of drinks and appetizers for free or at a highly discounted price, in return for getting new customers into their establishment, to try their goods and services. We keep all of the money raised from tickets sales, minus anything the vendors charge per serving (ticket). You also need to make sure that it also appeals to people that do not consume alcohol and honors designated drivers, so there should be alternatives - no one should ever feel like their ticket is wasted or they are pressured to drink. For example, if you are going to a pub for a drink, there should be an alternative like a high end coffee or smoothie. You also need to keep walkability in mind. All of the establishments should ideally be within five minute walks of one another. Timing and communication with restaurant management is key. You should not overstay your welcome at one establishment and then miss your opportunity to visit the next. It is a balance.

This fundraising event idea is perfect for families and children. Ask your community and local businesses to donate supplies for ice cream, get the word out, and charge per scoop. Consider adding an ice cream eating contest into the mix. This type of event would be ideal on a weekend or in the summer, when families have more free time on their hands. It is perfect to have sundaes on Sunday.

The popularity of quality sweets makes this an excellent choice. Offer supporters seven scrumptious choices. Cheesecakes may be frozen up to 6 months. Our group makes 40% profit on all sales. Aim for 400 units to get free shipping or there is $1 s/h per item. When we sell 400 items, we profit $3,200 based on an average selling price of $20. Items are $16-$25 each.

Another great idea is to host a game night where your friends, family, community members, and/or coworkers can enjoy a few board games. In fact, you can make it a regular weekly or monthly event and sell food and refreshments to raise additional funds. You could also have a food truck coordinated to come by if they donate 10% of the sales back and promise not to sell anything you do. You can have a variety of board games to host your fun night including games like Monopoly, LIFE, chess, checkers, dominoes or select a favorite like Bridge. To make your game night a reality, you’ll need a space where you can host your event as well as volunteers to help set up and handle admissions.

Organize a group of volunteers to wrap gifts for shoppers at a local small business or town square for a small fee (don’t forget the tip for a cause jar). The money is then donated to the charity. This is a lifesaver during the holidays and many shopping centers will be happy for you to set up your event in their store, but you have to ensure that the stores you choose don’t already have a gift- wrapping service. You will also need to have plenty of gift-wrapper paper, tape, labels, bows, and sticky notes (so you can identify the package’s owner) donated. You can also do it over a period of time in a home for people in your neighborhood that drop-off and pick-up. Be creative, have fun, and make it yours!

Everyone loves a good old-fashioned barbecue. Whether you’re making ribs, chicken, or veggie burgers, a barbecue is a great way to bring your community together for a common cause. You can use your summer barbecue as a way to raise money for our organization. All you have to do is advertise! You can either charge a fee for your barbecue or simply set up a donation table with a jar for tips. You can even add a competition element and have people vote with money. Make sure you explain the cause you are raising money for so that people are more willing to give. You can do different variations where everyone brings a side or their own meat. There aren’t any real rules except good food and fun! Oh, don’t forget the sweet tea! It’s Texas!

This is a modern twist on your parent’s chili cookoff that is a bit more inclusive and diverse. A cultural cuisine night is perfect for the adventurous foodie and you can also learn about cultural diversity. All you will need are some competitive cooks and hungry supporters. Invite people to submit their unique and exotic dishes with a small donation attached. You can keep the meal specific to a country or region or let them be creative. Then people vote on their favorite dishes with their dollars. Whoever has the most “votes” at the end of the night can walk away with bragging rights!