There are many reasons individuals may be looking to fundraise. Whether you’re fundraising for yourself, a loved one, personal project, or raising for a charity you are passionate about, there are so many great fundraising ideas for individuals to choose from.
Choosing the right fundraiser activity can be a challenge regardless if you are organizing an event with a group or as an individual. If you have limited time, resources, and manpower, it can be especially difficult to know what sort of fundraiser to choose that you can put together by yourself.
The good news is that nowadays there is a huge range of incredible resources available to support you in your fundraising efforts. With online donation sites, auction platforms and raffle sites, plus endless resources for tips, tricks, and ideas, fundraising couldn’t be easier!
We’ve put together the best fundraising ideas for individuals that combine ease, practicality, profitability, and fun, alongside some basic tips on how to raise money for a cause and make the most out of the resources available to you.
With this guide, you’ll be hosting a successful fundraiser and raising for the causes you care about in no time!
There are a few key fundamentals to consider when it comes to fundraising. Whether you are fundraising as an individual or as part of a group or organization, you’ll need a way to collect donations, organize your event, and ultimately host a successful fundraiser.
There are so many great resources available online that make creating events, selling tickets and taking donations incredibly easy. Make sure to check out sites such as GoFundMe or Just Giving where you can easily set up a donation page to send to friends and family.
You could also find out how to ask for donations on Facebook or do Instagram fundraising to take advantage of social media platforms where many of your followers and friends will be able to see what you’re up to.
Find more tips on how to raise money for a cause in this GroupRaise blog ‘How to host a successful fundraiser’.
Similarly, there are also online raffle sites for hosting a raffle fundraiser, or auction sites if you’d decide to go with a garage sale or auction.
Most importantly a fundraiser needs to be enjoyable – even if it’s just you doing it! Ideas such as a restaurant fundraiser, fun fundraising challenges, and raffle fundraisers are all great examples of enjoyable events everyone will want to take part in. The most exciting and enjoyable fundraising ideas attract the biggest audiences, meaning your fundraiser will be more successful.
Raffles are great fundraising ideas for individuals because they are easy to set up and always go down a treat with a big crowd. There are lots of different types of raffle ideas you could choose from for your fundraiser.
Offer a single prize, which would normally be a luxury product or service, for your raffle and sell tickets online or in person. Good raffle prizes include a night away, a spa trip, or a voucher for a meal out.
If you don’t have the resources to buy a luxury product, you could offer a unique experience such as a cooking class, yoga workshop, or creative prize if you have a skill to offer or a connection willing to donate the prize.
A ‘Guess the amount’ raffle is a more creative raffle idea and great for younger audiences. Fill a large jar with some sweets, marbles, or other fun gifts and take guesses on how many there are. The closest answer wins the jar!
Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash
Ask for donations from friends or family – wine, chocolate, beauty products, games – and set up an online raffle page where people can view the prizes and buy tickets. If you have good connections, you can also ask bigger businesses to make donations for your cause and get some bigger prizes!
Organizing a challenge fundraiser either for yourself or others is a great fundraising idea for individuals. You can challenge yourself and ask for donations, or encourage others to take part in a challenge as a fun event to raise for your cause. Here are some of the best fun challenges and challenge ideas for fundraising.
Sports challenges are always popular and are great for individuals or teams! Challenge yourself to run a 10k or marathon (depending on your ability) and set up a donation page. For group events, you could hold a group hike or create a fun obstacle course for a more family-friendly fundraiser. Charge participants a small fee for joining in and get creative with your challenge!
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Encourage friends and family to tap into their creative side with a photo competition or craft sale. Some great creative challenge ideas include Easter hat competitions or Pumpkin carving in fall. Charge an entry fee and the winner gets a prize!
Photo by Joshua on Unsplash
An environmental challenge is a great challenge idea if you’re raising for an environmental charity. Fun challenges with an eco twist include going plastic-free for a week, or organizing a community litter pick or beach clean. Those who take part can ask for sponsors from friends and family, and everything goes to your cause at the end.
A calendar fundraiser is a very easy and versatile fundraising idea. There are a few different ways to do a calendar fundraiser, all of which can be hugely successful fundraising ideas for individuals.
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
One option is to create the calendar completely by yourself. Select your theme and think about who you are aiming the calendar at. For more traditional themes you could choose animals, nature or seasons. If you are part of a club or team you could focus on that and create a sports-themed calendar, or take photos of your local town for a community calendar.
There are many online sites, such as Shutterfly, where you can easily create and design a calendar and have it printed for a small price. Gather your photos, design your calendar, and start selling!
Another option is to turn the calendar fundraiser into a competition and ask friends, colleagues, or club members to submit a photo for the calendar. Everyone who submits a photo pays a small donation as well as raising funds from calendar sales. There will be 12 winners, one for each month, and some of the hard work is done for you!
One of the easiest and most enjoyable fundraising ideas for individuals is a restaurant fundraiser. A restaurant fundraiser combines good food, good company, and social impact all in one delicious activity – what more could you need?
With GroupRaise, restaurant fundraising couldn’t be easier. There are thousands of restaurants near you where you can host a restaurant fundraiser for your cause. Search for a restaurant with your favourite cuisine and choose a day to hold your event. A percentage of all orders made on that day through your event will be donated back to your cause!
From Mexican food to pizza and pancakes, there is something for everyone. GroupRaise partners include Applebees, Blaze Pizza, and IHOP, plus so many more local favorites.
Most restaurants also offer take-out, drive-thru, or curbside pick-up if you would prefer those options to dine in, making restaurant fundraising a great covid-friendly fundraising idea too.
Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash
The key to hosting a successful restaurant fundraiser is to encourage as many people to order from your event as possible, even if it’s just a drink. Make sure to publicise your fundraiser as much as possible across your community, social media, and local friends and family. Everyone can enjoy a delicious treat while supporting your cause.
Restaurant fundraisers are great fundraising ideas for individuals because they offer so much flexibility and are so easy to organize. Invite your friends and family out to dinner, or turn it into a club social and take the whole club out for some great food!
Read this article for tips on How to supersize your restaurant fundraiser!
It has truly never been easier to fundraise as it is nowadays with so many online sites and social media platforms where you can publicise your fundraising campaign and take donations.
Organizing a social media fundraiser is a straightforward fundraising idea for individuals and requires minimal effort. If you know how to ask for donations on Facebook then you’re sorted!
Facebook encourages members to set up Birthday donation pages, which is a really easy social media fundraiser. You can also set up a page or event and include information about your chosen cause and link to a GoFundMe or Just Giving page.
Other ideas for social media fundraisers include creating a tag trail where you complete a challenge and donate to a cause and tag 3 to 5 people to do the same. They donate and tag also, and the trail continues to circulate. Tag trails are a particularly effective way of Instagram fundraising.
Social media is a really useful resource for gathering fundraising support and also tracking your progress. You can regularly update your friends and followers as you approach your goal and encourage more people to donate!
A reliable classic, a second-hand or yard sale is a tried and tested fundraising idea for individuals. Take advantage of a fundraising opportunity to have a clear out, find possessions a new home, and raise for your cause too!
Some suitable things to sell for fundraising include old books, DVDs, CDs and records, children’s toys, board games, furniture, or clothes. Make sure anything you sell is in good condition. People don’t expect items to be brand new, but they also shouldn’t be falling apart!
Photo by Artificial Photography on Unsplash
If you’re part of a PTO, club or team then you could organise a yard sale with other parents too, with all proceeds going towards your cause.
One other way to raise funds via selling old items is on Facebook marketplace. Facebook marketplace is a popular sales platform for furniture and second-hand clothing, and you can often fetch a good price for larger items.
If you had any concerns about fundraising by yourself we hope you now feel confident to start your fundraising campaign.
As you can see, there are so many fundraising ideas for individuals to choose from that you won’t have any trouble raising for your chosen cause. All of these ideas are easy and affordable, so even if you don’t have many resources available you will be able to support the causes you’re passionate about.
While you’re here, don’t forget to check out local restaurants near you where you can host your restaurant fundraiser and raise in the most delicious way possible!
You can also explore the GroupRaise blog for helpful tips and tricks on how to raise for a cause, success stories, and fundraising ideas. Check out this article for 30 Fundraising Ideas Compared for more inspiration!
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