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One Hundred Fundraising Ideas

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One Hundred Ways to Raise Funds for International Disaster Relief
In addition see these tips for making a fundraiser successful.


1. Organize a fundraising walk.  Register walkers who have received monetary pledges from donors per mile.  Walk, collect, donate.
2. Sponsor an educational discussion/lecture. Charge admission, donate proceeds.
3. Hold a rummage sale.  Hold a street-wide rummage sale. Hold a neighborhood rummage sale.
4. Sell 15 minute nap vouchers at work or school.
5. Create a symbol of hope, such as a ribbon or necklace, to sell in honor of disaster victims and survivors.
6. Create a wishing tree. Hang pictures or cards describing donated goods and their cost or value; leave or hold a container to collect the value instead of the goods, and donate the cash.
7. Ask a local theater to host a screening.  Invite a critic to discuss it.  Charge admission and donate the proceeds.
8. Organize a disaster relief sports tournament. Charge to play and to watch, and donate admission receipts.
9. Host a karaoke/music night.  Participants and audience pay admission.
10. Hold a bake sale. You know how to do this!
11. Hold a poetry reading; charge admission.
12. Create cards for and hold a catastrophe trivia contest.  Factoids available on www.usaid.gov and www.reliefweb.int
13. Organize an artwork auction.  Children’s art works, too.
14. Charge admission to a read-a-thon; short stories, novels, jokes, whatever. Everyone loves a good story!
15. Organize a Disaster Decathlon.  Register athletes for a fee, award prizes.
16. Organize a Disaster Awareness Fair or event, selling booth space to local businesses and groups.
17. Sell disaster relief vouchers; cards that explain what $1 buys, what $5 buys, etc. Donate proceeds.
18. Create T-shirts emblazoned with Disaster in Itself indicating that sending clothes overseas creates a disaster within a disaster.  Sell the T-shirts, donate the money, educate those who ask about your T-shirt.
19. Hold a humanitarian assistance voucher raffle; ask local businesses to donate a service or commodities to raffle off to the public.
20. Hold a murder mystery dinner.  Charge, collect and donate admission.  How-to tips: www.wikihow.com/Host-a-Murder-Mystery-Party
21. Organize an international food festival. Sell admission and food, donate proceeds.
22. Crisis Carwash!
23. Hold a Clothes Closet Bazaar or a Household Goods Bazaar. Places of worship and schools are good locations for this.  (Get permission first.)
24. Also good for places of worship and schools, host a Silent Auction.
25. Stage a Variety Show at a school or place of worship.
26. Host a Cake Walk using donated cakes.  www.fundraising-ideas.org/DIY/cakewalk.htm
27. Host and sell tickets to participate in and watch a Talent Show.
28. Sponsor a concert or other event featuring live entertainment; sell tickets, give out door prizes, sell donated refreshments.
29. Organize a benefit song within a concert; listeners can donate via text message during the song.  See how much can be collected.
30. Hold a Bridge, Poker or other card game tournament, selling spots in the tournament and asking businesses to sponsor prizes.
31. Dance Concert for Relief, inviting local musicians to volunteer and selling tickets to raise money.
32. Jail-and-Bail for Relief.  Volunteers are kept jailed in a highly public area so that donors can raise enough money to bail them out.
33. Organize local artists to auction paintings.
34. Sell tickets to and host a themed fashion show.
35. Host a Stargazing Bonfire, selling s’mores and hot chocolate.  www.ehow.com/how_2192257_prepare-bonfire.html
36. Organize a Matching Donations Program, where individuals or businesses agree to match whatever donations are collected within a fixed time period.
37. Hold a Cardboard Boat Race. Charge fees to boaters. Winner has donations given in her/his name.
38. Sell humanitarian assistance themed wrist bands.
39. Sell solidarity ribbons and designate a day to wear them to raise money and awareness for the disaster.
40. Design, print and sell Humanitarian Assistance Postcards. www.postcrossing.com/blog/2009/12/14/unicef-postcards
41. Host a recyclable bottle and can drive in your community, sell collection to a recycling plant and donate the money.
42. Create and sell calendars.  www.familycrafts.about.com/cs/calendars/a/122900a.htm
43. Sell goods through online auctions.  Describe these as specifically targeted to benefit disaster-affected people.  A sample of sites: www.auctions.nettop20.com
44. Hold a Basketball Shoot Out; charge admission.  Winner gets to pick the charitable organization to which the proceeds will go.
45. Check out internet funding appeals/campaigns, pick some and encourage others to donate via text messages, FaceBook or Twitter connections.
46. Hold a Cookies, Milk and Movie Night. Sell cookies and milk for donations.
47. Ditto for a Wine and Wisdom Night.
48. Sell Shout-outs and song dedications on radio stations.
49. Pizza Party!
50. Organize and record a benefit music CD of your music group, pep band or garage band.  Sell CD's and donate proceeds.
51. Host a board game tournament or marathon.  Players pay a fee to participate.
52. Depending on your location, hold a Snow or Sand Sculpture Contest.  Charge admission, give prizes.
53. Same thing can be done through a sidewalk chalk art contest. (Be sure to secure permission from whoever owns the sidewalk).
54. Sell donated flowers or flowers you grow and donate the proceeds.
55. Host a Pancake Breakfast, collecting donations for batter and from admissions.
56. Host a Restaurant Night or Happy Hour For Good, partnering with a local restaurant so that a percentage of one night’s proceeds will be donated to disaster relief.
57. Ask local businesses to donate goods and services, and auction them off to raise money for disaster relief.
58. Ask a local radio or TV station to sponsor a telethon where people are informed about the disaster and can call a hotline to donate.
59. Henna Hand Art or Temporary Tattoos. Henna and Tattoo artists demonstrate their talents and donate fees.
60. Host a Screen on the Green, projecting a movie outdoors. Sell tickets and invite people to bring food to eat and for sale.
61. Sitting Pretty sale; auction off hand-painted stools or pillows made by local artists or kids.
62. Organize a flashmob or street performance, raising awareness and collecting donations before and after the performance. www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Start-A-Flash-Mob
63. A Penny for Your Thoughts. Give cards of info about the disaster (or another topic of interest) in exchange for donations.
64. "La-Z-Boy Day," sell turns to have a recliner in your office/classroom. Charge sitting fees.
65. Reach out to local dance studios and instructors to plan a Dance-a-thon or Zumba night where a percentage of proceeds will go to disaster relief.
66. Organize a Charity Golf Tournament.
67. Collect spare change and donate.
68. Organize a Dash for Disaster bicycle race.
69. Get gift cards donated by businesses and sell them for donations.
70. Plan a parade and festival or join with a planned parade and festival, selling floats and table or booth space to local business and groups.
71. Cook-off or Bake-Off.
72. Pay to Take Your Dog to Work.
73. Picture You with a (local) Celebrity event.  Charge admission, donate proceeds.
74. Sponsor breakfast with a local celebrity.  Charge admission, donate proceeds.
75. Display or volunteer to wear local businesses’ advertisements in exchange for donations.
76. Wildest Tie or Most Outlandish Earring Contest.  Entrants pay a fee, donate the fees.
77. Organize a group and offer to repaint street numbers in your neighborhood for a fee. www.howtoadvice.com/PaintingCurbs
78. Put together a cookbook of culturally appropriate recipes and sell for donations.
79. Offer cooking classes of culturally appropriate foods for a donation.
80. Host a photo contest; display entries in a photo gallery or other public venue for a fee.
81. Do yard work for charity.
Clean houses for charity.
Babysit for charity.
82. Host a Computer Game Tournament at a facility that has a computer lab.  Charge fees to participate, donate the fees.
83. Twenty Four Hour Fast for Charity.  Pledge to give up an indulgence for a day and donate what it would have cost you (coffee, candy, etc.).
84. Goblin Insurance; around Halloween, sell this insurance to those who want to avoid a Goblin attack.
85. Around the holidays, go caroling for relief. Collect donations door-to-door.
86. Use a public space customarily reserved for promotional sales and set up a stand for the disaster.
87. Sweets Lottery. Ask for donations of candy and sell raffle tickets to win it.
88. Make Me Laugh - tell jokes for donations.
89. Collect the old-fashioned way; door-to-door.
90. Pay to Wear Jeans Day at work or at school.
91. Pay to Wear a Hat Day.
92. Get volunteers to offer gift wrapping services for donations.
93. Collect printer ink cartridges, recycle, and donate the proceeds.
94. Hold a church, school, or workplace raffle of donated items and donate the cash proceeds.
95. Design, print and sell holiday greetings cards.
96. Organize a Bike-for-the-Disaster event, participants are sponsored, proceeds go to charity.
97. Organize a picnic; sell food and treats for donations.
98. Host a story-telling hour or more for kids for a fee.
99. Host a disaster preparedness class for a fee, taught by an expert from a local police or fire department.
100. Host a Penny Challenge.  Rules: www.pennies.org/index.php?Itemid=35&id=22&option=com_content&task=view