12 Seriously Fun Fundraising Ideas
Looking for fun-raising ideas to raise money to help seriously ill kids? Look no further!
Fundraising is challenging but rewarding work, so we want to make it easy for you to get started. Whether you’re a small group or looking for something creative, these easy ideas will help take your fundraising to the next level!
Easy Fundraising Ideas
Play Ball! Turn your favorite sport into a fundraiser. Whether it’s touch football, soccer, ultimate frisbee, golf, or even ping pong, set a time and location and have friends sign up to play with a donation. Sell water and snacks to raise a few more bucks.
Sell Sweets Everyone loves homemade desserts – host a community bake sale! Get a few coworkers or friends together to commit to baking a variety of goods. Post a flier for your bake sale in your break room, community center, or at local businesses – you can even include a QR code on the flyer to encourage additional donations. You can even coordinate with your child’s school to host a bake sale with other students!
Dress Down for Donations Talk to your HR team or school administration to find out if they’re open to the idea of a casual Friday (dress like movie characters, in pajamas or ugly Christmas sweaters- or maybe jeans!). Colleagues simply donate $10 or $25 to participate.
Have a Mega Garage Sale Encourage the neighborhood to collect all their gently used clothes, home goods and collectibles and host a large yard sale at your house or community space. To generate buzz around the event, promote it on social media or on sites like Nextdoor. Have the kids help out and set up a lemonade stand with a donation jar and a QR code to donate online.
Dine Out for Donations Make dinner out with friends into a fundraiser. Sign up with a restaurant that allows fundraisers for nonprofits, like California Pizza Kitchen, Sharky’s, Which Wich, and other popular restaurant chains. Ask your local franchise if they are interested in supporting! Many of these locations will donate a portion of food and drink proceeds during your fundraising night. All you have to do is promote it so people show up!
Host a Trivia Night Ask your favorite restaurant or bar to host a trivia night for a cause and enlist participants to form teams in advance and raise a minimum amount for their registration fees. If you can guarantee a crowd, the venue may agree to donate a portion of the food and drink proceeds for the night. If permitted by the business, create a fun and eye-catching donation jar to leave at the bar so other patrons can make donations, too!
Fundraising Ideas for Groups, Big or Small!
Run for charity Walk or run with friends or family to raise money for a charity you’re passionate about. Train together and document your journey to encourage others to support your efforts.
Team Starlight, founded in 2022, is Starlight’s official team of charity runners who have raised over $200,000 for seriously ill kids Starlight has been honored to be the official celebrated charity for the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend, a partnership that began that same year.
Turn your passion into purpose Are you a part of a passionate fandom group? Activate members to host events such as trivia nights or telethons to raise money, or include Starlight in your engagement efforts at a local fan convention.
Starlight’s Fandom with Purpose initiative activates fan groups to fundraise with their communities and bring awareness to the healing power of play. International organizations like the 501st Legion and cosplay groups like the Los Angeles Ghostbusters have helped raise over $100K through these efforts.
Creative Ways to Raise Money
Create Custom Goods Use your artistic skills to raise money from selling custom-designed, one-of-a-kind apparel and accessories to your friends and co-workers. Consider tie-dye, Sharpies scribbles, or designs with stencils for a homemade touch, or utilize popular on-demand printing platforms like Printify or Printful to sell items at a bigger scale. You could even open an Etsy shop if you want to take things even further!
Donate DIY Sales Enlist friends, co-workers or kids in your life to make friendship bracelets, paintings, framed photos, clay sculptures, flower vases made from cans -- or whatever else you can make with a little creativity! Post pics of your creations on social media and plan a pop-up sale or auction!
Dollars for Dares Come up with a fun challenge or dare, like wearing a silly costume to school, singing karaoke to your donors’ song picks, or taking a cold plunge at the beach or lake. Invite colleagues, friends, and family to support your challenge through donations. Consider incentives that could make things really interesting - for a big donation, your top donor could choose your next hair color! Remember: share lots of pics on social media to keep up the momentum.
Compete with Foodie Friends Round up your Master Chef-wannabe friends for a culinary competition. Have people sign up as a chef or a judge and set a date for the showdown. Chefs create their best dish with a theme (favorite childhood dish, dishes made with one select ingredient, etc.), then the judges donate to taste each dish and cast their votes for a winner.
It’s always a good time to fundraise – get started today! Create your personal fundraising page and visit our Fundraising FAQs for additional support and guidance.
Still not sure where to start? Let us help you fundraise to success!
