10 Fresh and Fun Fundraising Ideas. Hosting a fundraising event is a great way to build awareness and raise money for your organization.

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1 10 Fresh and Fun Fundraising Ideas Hosting a fundraising event is a great way to build awareness and raise money for your organization. So, how do you go beyond the typical gala or golf-outing to create an experience that will both make money and memories? Here are 10 event ideas that can put some fun back into your fundraising and give your donors a night to remember. These suggestions are scalable and can easily incorporate all modes of fundraising, including live, silent and online auctions, and raffles. And to make things easier, consider using a fundraising and donor management system like 24Fundraiser, to streamline your planning and help your organization raise more money. 1 BREAK A WORLD RECORD Make history by attempting to break a Guinness World Record. The City of Wheaton, Illinois hosted an event where they invited the community to join in their attempt to break the Guinness record for having the most kites in the air at one time. While they didn t break the record, the event was so popular it has now become a highly anticipated annual affair. Visit, to see which records your organization can try to beat.

2 2 HOST A MINI-GOLF OUTING Full-scale golf outings take a lot of preparation. While they offer a lovely day of long-drives and donations, they leave out potential donors who want to participate but aren t comfortable playing 18-holes. So, how can you find a happy medium? Host a Putt Putt Golf Outing. Take the same planning principles of a traditional golf outing foursomes, a shotgun start, lunch or dinner and open up your invitation list to, well, everyone. The beauty of this event is that it can be family-friendly or adult only. 3 EATING CONTEST Pie, ice-cream, hotdogs everyone loves to celebrate with food. Either create teams to tackle an ice cream trough like the brave groups participating in Illinois famous Brown Cow annual ice cream eating contest. Or highlight single hopefuls yearning to go down in hotdog history. Either way, food and fundraising is always a win-win.

3 4 CYBER MONDAY SHOPPING SPREE Cyber monday is the biggest online shopping day of they year. So why not capture your crowd s urge to splurge by offering your own fundraising/ shopping event the Monday after Thanksgiving? Using a fundraising software like 24Fundraiser will allow you to set-up an online store and either sell or auction items. Supporters will make headway on their holiday shopping and support their favorite organization. This event is so good, you ll wish every Monday were Cyber Monday. 5 TABLE GAME TOURNAMENT Generate some friendly-rivalry within your organization or team up with a partner organization to host a day of tournaments. Rent table top games like air hockey and ping pong and host your competition either on-site or at a local activity center. Establish teams or pit individuals against each other for some heated competition. Then create a bracket system or round-robin style schedule to encourage friendly wagers.

4 6 ART OPENING AND SHOW Does your organization and/or community have a group of great local artists, or are your employees and clients handy with paint brushes? Then an art show and auction could be the perfect event for your group. Start by selecting a theme and have artists create a piece of art that captures their interpretation. Then, partner with a community hub to display the artwork and plan a stylish gallery event. The Junior League of Chicago hosted a similar event with great results. They put out a call to artists to turn a pair of white gloves into beautiful creations. For a few weeks they displayed the gloves at a community center and on the last day, they hosted an event to auction off the pieces. 7 CARDBOARD BOAT REGATTA If your organization has access to a lake or pool host an event where participants build life-size cardboard boats and compete in different heats throughout the day. Consider creating categories based on age and creativity to encourage participation from both kids and adults. Audiences can also vote on their favorite boats. The Village of Glen Ellyn, Ill. has mastered the art of the paper boat and every year their annual regatta brings in thousands of spectators and dollars.

5 8 SPELLING BEE Invite local celebrities to act as judges and encourage teams to participate in an evening of whimsical wordsmithing. Plan for 10 to 20 rounds of scintillating spelling and as the bee progresses, the words should get harder. There are a lot of good spellers out there, so If you don t increase the word difficulty, the event could go on longer than expected. Also, include an intermission to serve food and give the spellers a chance to take a break. 9 BEER AND WINE TASTINGS Host an event brewing with local libations. Arrange for local breweries and wine makers to not only share samples from their cellars but to give demonstrations. If possible, get local restaurants involved by setting-up appetizer stations with food that pairs well with the drinks. DuPage PADS hosts a similar style event. Each year it grows in popularity and tickets are usually sold out months in advance.

6 10 COMPANY TALENT SHOW Hey everyone, let s put on a show! Assign a director, pick a theme and encourage all types of entertainment. The wackier the better. This one will take a few months of planning and rehearsals. It is not only a great team builder but has the potential to be a magical night of entertainment. The Victory Gardens theatre in Chicago has a similar take on the talent show. They pick a play, auction off the parts and the actors rehearse to give a performance of a lifetime. So who says a fundraising event has to be stuffy and boring? Dazzle your donors with an exciting night out to show them they re appreciated. And when you incorporate a fundraising and donor management system into your planning, you ll not only increase your bottom line, but seamlessly plan and manage your event. It is so easy, you will wish you used it sooner. If you have questions about the above events and want to learn more about incorporating these idea into your fundraising schedule. We d love to help. Call us at or at info@24fundraiser.com. ( box- Want more tips? Share your and we will send you 10 MORE Fresh and Fun Fundraising Ideas)