From Bake Sales to Charity Runs: Fun and Effective Fundraising Ideas

Fundraising isn’t easy. In fact, it takes some business owners years and years to perfect it. However, just because it takes some business owners a while to get fundraising nailed down, that’s not to say that it must take long at all. Guides like this one can increase your chances of success in fundraising. The best way to increase your company’s chances of generating money through fundraising is to host events, i.e., bake sales and charity runs. This post will explore this topic in more detail, offering information about some fun and effective fundraising ideas that you can use.

Read-A-Thon

A read-a-thon is a challenge typically posed to young people, where they are asked to read as many books as they can during a fixed period. You can turn a read-a-thon event into a fundraiser by allowing friends and family members of those participating to pledge money. Make sure that you verify participants are reading as many books as they say they are, otherwise, the people donating money are being taken advantage of. A lot of read-a-thons are held in schools or classrooms. However, you can also hold them online if you want to. Ultimately, the most important thing is that people donate.

Auction

Holding an auction can be another effective way for you to fundraise. You can either sell items you already own or other people’s for them. If you plan on selling other people’s items, you’ll make money from tickets and auction fees. Make sure that the fees you charge aren’t too high. You should also encourage participants to donate. Many businesses or charities use auctions to explain what they do, how people can help, and what the best way to give is. You can take the podium and explain to those in attendance how donating to your cause helps.

Book Sale

A book sale can be another great way to raise money. Educational fundraising is always a lot more fun than other types since young people typically benefit. If you plan on holding a book sale, there are two different types you could hold. You could either ask people to donate books, then sell them to people for a slight profit or you could buy rare books and sell them to people on the internet. Book auctions are also possible. If you plan on holding book auctions in person, consider holding them at a school or college.

Gaming Tournament

A gaming tournament can be a good way for you to raise a little bit of money. Video gaming has never been more popular than it is today. More people are playing games than ever before. You can either host online video game tournaments or more traditional ones in person. If you choose to host the later kind, make sure that you have good-quality consoles available so that everybody has an equal shot at winning. If you are going to host online tournaments, make sure you put processes in place to stop people from hacking.

Bake Sale

A bake sale can be a good way to make a little bit of money as well. However, bake sales are not as profitable as some of the other types of fundraisers mentioned here. If you plan on holding bake sales, consider introducing other fundraising types, i.e., book auctions. Holding bake sales and book auctions at the same time can be an extremely effective way for you to make money. People can eat cakes, enjoy themselves, and buy books. If you are going to host bake sales, try to get everything baked in-house rather than outsourcing. Baking in-house means all the money you generate will be profitable and can be committed to your chosen cause.

Charity Run

A charity run can also help you to earn money. All participants will typically be asked to make a small donation, then their loved ones can sponsor them. Make sure that if you plan on holding a charity run you find a good course for participants to run. You also need to ensure that you have health and safety staff present. Health and safety staff will be able to monitor people’s performance and identify individuals who are pushing themselves too hard or overworking their bodies. Water stations also need to be set up along the course.

Bingo

Bingo is a very fun game. Charity bingo tournaments are a popular thing. If you plan on holding one, you need to make sure that you have desirable prizes. Nobody’s going to want to play bingo if you do not have any good prizes. You do not necessarily need a dedicated hall to play bingo in, though it helps to have somewhere you can host your fundraiser. Alternatively, you can do it all online. Zoom is the best platform for this. Make sure that you advertise whatever fundraiser you choose widely so that people get the best shot at learning about it.

Coffee Morning

If you own a brick-and-mortar business, you can hold coffee mornings. Coffee mornings give people in the local community an opportunity to come in and meet with you. If you plan on holding coffee mornings, make sure that you advertise them and make them a routine thing. If you buy coffee in bulk, you can then sell coffee and commit the profits that you make toward your fundraising. There are lots of vendors and wholesalers that you can work with online to get discounted coffee.

Donation Pages

Finally, make sure that you set up a donation page. A donation page is the perfect place for you to ask for money. Make sure that you clearly state why you are asking for donations. If you are unclear about what you need money for, nobody is going to want to donate to your cause. Make sure that your donation pages have robust online security. This is so that people do not hack you or steal money from your site. Also, ensure each device used to access donation accounts has cybersecurity software activated.

From bake sales to charity runs, fundraising can be fun but needs to be effective. If you are interested in holding fundraisers, consider the suggestions made here. The different ideas on this page can be used to launch an effective fundraising program.