Five Great Ideas For Charity Fundraising

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Five Great Ideas For Charity Fundraising

If you want to raise money for charity, there are hundreds of ways to do it. But, what with an overdue tax return, a busy social calendar or a looming coursework deadline, you don’t have the energy to sift through and pick your fundraiser. To make it easy enough to do in your lunch hour, here are five tried-and-tested ideas.

Auction of promises

So perhaps an auction doesn’t sound much fun? You probably imagine a pompous auctioneer wielding the hammer while bored bidders buy overpriced antiques. But when the items up for sale are promises, hilarity is bound to ensue.

Yes, you’ll have to put in the leg work convincing people to donate lots, but everyone has their price. Slip a cream tea to grandma and in no time she’ll be offering to be someone’s companion for a night on the town. Maybe you have younger siblings? Given a few penny sweets they’ll soon be a troupe of acrobats for hire.

Be sure to have fun with the presentation too; slip on your best charity-shop tweed suit and assume a gruff tone of voice before stepping up to the auction block. With an enthusiastic crowd and some tantalising promises you’ll have an entertaining – and profitable – time.

Wax on, wax off

Ok, so waxing is not for the faint-hearted, but for those with lower pain thresholds there are always clippers or an old-fashioned razor. Either way, you’ll be astounded how generous people can be when you’re offering to shave all your hair off.

To increase the sponsorship incentive, it’s worth eyeing up your friends and colleagues to find a suitable candidate. Are your boss’ incredibly hairy legs just crying out to be waxed? Perhaps you’d look better without that beard you’ve had for 15 years?

While sporting shiny smooth arms or half a head of hair might be a temporary embarrassment, the money will make it all worthwhile; you’ll be losing face, but gaining valuable funds for charity.

Welly-wanging

Once you’ve finished giggling at the name, you can start enjoying the sport. The idea – seeing who can throw a welly the furthest – is a simple one, but with a bit of organisation you’ll have a tournament to remember.

First, set a date, choose a wide open space and make sure you have a welly to wang. Then recruit your competitors. Try to spread word of the event in your local area – not hard when it’s called ‘welly-wanging’.

On the day, charge people for entry, then let them step up and wang their wellies until you have a winner. Increase the fundraising potential by having a cake sale; tired athletes can revive themselves with a slab of chocolate brownie or a wedge of Victoria sponge.

Dressing fancy

This fundraising classic has a comedy factor directly proportionate to the humiliation you’re willing to undergo. But it’s all in the name of charity so whether you get your whole office to dress as pandas or it’s just you with a collecting tin and an oversized clown suit, be sure to go all out.

If you don’t fancy public ridicule, less extreme options are available. Why not organise a dress code red day at your school, university or workplace? It’s a theme people can take as far as they dare – from the nominal red sock to the full-body makeover.

Whatever you do, don’t forget to maximise your takings: dangle a donation bucket, charge people to take part and levy a fine against any spoilsports who don’t participate. Lastly, be sure to take pictures; your chosen charity might have a Flickr page you can contribute to. Who knows, the photos of your event might inspire people to do some funny fundraisers of their own.

Racing the dragon

If organising your own event still sounds too daunting, see what funny fundraisers are already on offer in your area. If you live in the north-west, for instance, you and 16 friends could take to the water on the back of a mythical beast as part of the Manchester Community Charity Dragon Boat Race on 31 July.

Nothing builds team spirit like splashing your way downriver, vying against fellow dragon-riders. So why not limber up and get ready to paddle your wooden steed to victory? There’s even space on the team for the less athletically-inclined, with one member heading up the boat as a drummer.

If water sports don’t float your boat, fear not; you’ll find there are events to cater for almost every taste – from treks in the Peruvian mountains to strolls round English country gardens.