21 Ridiculously Easy Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits

Make your fundraising efforts count for your nonprofit organization’s upcoming fundraising event (and make it look effortless while you do so).

Great Non Profit Fundraising Ideas

Exceed your fundraising goals with some of the great fundraising ideas below.

1. Golf Tournament

This low-impact sporting event is sure to attract participants of all skill levels and age groups. Generate donation from entry fees and split the earnings with winners (you may find that the winners are even willing to donate their winnings back to your good cause!).

2. Costume Contest

Have a fashion show-inspired event when you host a holiday costume contest. Halloween, for example, is a great time to attract enthusiastic participants to your event while still meeting your fundraising goals. Just set a time, date, and place and have participants (or audience members) pay a small entry fee.

3. 50/50 Raffle

Selling 50/50 raffle tickets (where you and a winner split the proceeds) is an easy fundraising opportunity that requires almost no effort on your part. Best of all, you can sell tickets both in person and online to maximize ticket sales!

4. Brick Fundraising Event

Get your donor base excited with a brick fundraiser. These special events let your donors give a gift to their community that lasts a lifetime—or even longer! Our custom laser-engraved bricks and tiles come with a lifetime warranty, meaning that people can experience a physical reminder of your donors’ generosity for decades to come.

5. Online Fundraising Page

In-person fundraising campaigns are great, but you can maximize your donations by also appealing to donors virtually. Setting up an online donation page that operates 24/7 will allow people to donate to you at any time from anywhere. Even if your average donations are small, they will add up over time—meaning your organization can stay up and running for years to come.

6. Walk-a-Thon

Walk-a-Thons can garner support from your entire community and beyond. When you host (and advertise) for these events correctly, you can attract massive sponsorships from organizations and individuals alike and drum up support for your enthusiastic participants.

7. Obstacle Course

Creating your own obstacle course is a great opportunity to get people active, engaged with the community, and more—all while your charitable foundation rakes in the donations! Just make sure you dedicate enough time and resources to ensure that the event is safe for everyone involved (and don’t forget the waivers!).

8. Talent Show

Tap into your potential donors’ talent pool by hosting a talent show! Invite members of your community to participate and have guests pay a small entry fee to watch participants showcase their talents. It will be a fun way to get your community engaged with each other while also feeling proud that they donated to a good cause at the same time.

You can reach even more people if you decide to sell tickets virtually and livestream the event on social media platforms or your charity’s website, so that anyone can watch from the comfort of home on their laptops or smartphones.

9. Car Wash

Soap, water, towels, volunteers, and an empty lot are all you will need to host this event. You can establish a set suggested donation amount for each wash while allowing donors to donate more, or you can set a firm price. Either way, you’ll be sure to get plenty of donations for a fraction of the cost of hosting other events.

10. Scavenger Hunt

Families will love to participate in a local scavenger hunt and will gladly pay a small fee to participate. Spice up the event by making it themed! Pirate treasure hunts, holiday-themed hunts, or something related to your charity’s mission are all great ways to add a fun spin to a standard scavenger hunt.

11. Silent Auction

Get community members outside of your organization involved when you host a silent auction. Many local businesses are more than happy to donate auction items to these types of fundraisers. For example, you could ask local restaurants to donate gift cards to your auction.

If COVID-19 is a concern, you can convert your auction into a solely virtual event.

12. Trivia Night

Friendly competition never hurts anyone. Get pop culture experts and history buffs alike involved in your nonprofit’s good cause by hosting a trivia night! You can host a general trivia night or make it themed, depending on what your organization feels is best.

13. Board Game Night

If you’re not ready to pull up all the facts for a trivia night, a board game night is a similar event that will attract participants, who pay a small registration fee to help cover overhead costs and proceeds for your nonprofit.

14. Video Game Tournament

A video game tournament is a fun way to get the young and young at heart involved in your organization! The best part about modern games is that many matches can be held online—meaning people from all over can attend your event.*

15. Karaoke Night

There’s nothing that livens up a room quite like the power of music. Host a karaoke night that anyone can enter or simply watch for a small cover charge, and let attendees vote on their favorite vocalists!*

16. Bake Sale

Delicious treats and supporting a worthy cause? Talk about a win-win!

17. Cook-off

If you don’t have enough bakers to host a bake sale but still want to host a low-cost and low-effort event, try a cook-off instead. The premise is similar, as participants provide the food, although cook-offs add a competitive edge that may attract some friendly competition within the community.

18. Yard Sale

Have local businesses and individuals donate items to a garage sale where proceeds go toward your fundraiser’s donation goals.

19. Movie Night

Movies can be a magical way to garner donations for your charitable nonprofit. What’s great about movie nights is that they are easy to host while generating sizable donations through entrance fees, snacks, and refreshments.*

20. Ice Cream Social

This type of event is quick and easy to host. For a small entry fee, participants get full access to an ice cream bar where they can socialize with others. It’s a cool, laid-back event that you can host as often as you like.

21. Community Clean-up

Beautify your community and keep your organization running for a long time when you host a community clean-up. You’ll need trash bags, gloves, volunteers, and sponsors to get this event running. Have volunteers clean up a community space and sponsors pledge a certain donation amount to your organization for every bag or pound of trash collected.