Choosing the right fundraising ideas for your team, school or cause can be a daunting task. There are so many options and ideally, you want to choose one that helps raise as much money as possible, while still being fun and engaging for your team members. Fundraisers are often most successful if optimally timed for an event or time of year. But what does that mean, and what fundraiser should you choose? Here at FlipGive, we see hundreds of teams and causes raising a lot of money for things they need all year round. We’ve compiled a list of our favorites, plus some information on just how much you can raise, when you should plan your fundraiser, and how much time it will take you to plan your event. Each idea is rated on it's cost ($ meaning low cost and $$$ meaning high cost), and difficulty (1 being easiest, 5 being hardest). Interested in a specific type of fundraising idea? Use the links below to help you navigate.
- School Fundraising Ideas
- Sports and Competition Fundraising Ideas
- Food Fundraising Ideas
- Shopping Fundraising Ideas
- Active Fundraising Ideas
- Events Fundraising Ideas
- Classic Fundraising Ideas
School Friendly Fundraising Ideas
Every school, class, and club can always use some extra funds to reach and exceed their goals. Below are fundraising ideas that often see good results in the classroom.
1.Back To School Fundraiser
- How it raises money: general sales
- Cost: $$
- Difficulty level: 4
- Bonus cash back: Earn up to 10% cash back when you create your back to school packages through a FlipGive campaign.
Check your schools supply requirements for back to school, and put together packages that you sell to parents.
Read more about Back to School fundraisers >
2. Indigo Fundraiser
- How it raises money: general sales
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: 15% cash back on eGift cards and 3% cash back on direct purchases.
Communities and schools have had amazing success raising money with Indigo. School supplies and books are always in demand, and this fundraiser is always popular during back to school season. When you create a FlipGive campaign, any Indigo gift card you purchase instantly gets you 15% cash back (regional restrictions apply). Supporters can choose from hundreds of notebooks, novels, supplies, and home decor that all help your fundraiser get to its goal.
Read more about fundraising with Indigo>
3. Dress Up Days
- How it raises money: donations
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: Earn up to 25% cash back on prizes for the best costume.
Dress up fundraisers work best for schools, where participants can fundraise by wearing crazy outfits and asking for donations from classmates. FlipGive helps make this even easier with an easy to manage donations page in the team dashboard.
Read more about Dress Up Day fundraisers>
4. Duct Tape Fundraiser
- How it raises money: donations
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: Earn up to 10% cash back from Amazon if you purchase your duct tape through a FlipGive campaign page.
A duct tape fundraiser enlists the help of one very willing participant. This can be done in conjunction with a thermometer fundraiser. Once a certain amount is raised, a volunteer will be duct taped to a wall for a certain period of time. This kind of fundraiser works great for schools. Imagine seeing the Principal taped to a goal post?!?!
Read more about duct tape fundraisers >
5. Gift-o-Gram Fundraiser
- How it raises money: general sales
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: Purchase the necessary items for your gift-o-gram from Walmart or Jet.com for up to 3% cash back.
Gift-o-grams are an adorable alternative to candy-grams during the holiday season. Have little gift that supporters can choose from, and have cards they can attach to their gifts. This fundraiser works best at schools, where students can purchase gifts for their friends. It’s also much easier to facilitate delivery.
Read more about Gift-o-Gram fundraisers >
6. Thermometer Fundraiser
- How it raises money: donations
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: None
A thermometer fundraiser is a no-plans-necessary kind of fundraiser. Simply set a goal and fill up the thermometer as supporters donate. Keep the thermometer somewhere that is easily seen by your team, school, or community to keep them motivated.
Read more about Thermometer fundraisers >
7. Talent Show Fundraiser
- How it raises money: ticket sales
- Cost: $$
- Difficulty level: 4
- Bonus cash back: Earn cash back on supplies you need for your talent show, like refreshments or electronics.
Talent shows are a great fundraising idea because they are often pretty low cost. Hold auditions for students at your school or community members, and sell tickets to the show. Make sure you allot for flyers and other advertising in your fundraising budget.
Read more about talent show fundraisers >
8. Used Book Sale
- How it raises money: general sales, donations
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 2
- Bonus cash back: No cash back for this fundraiser, but it's a great way to get the school year started.
Used book sales are a quick and easy fundraiser to host. Have members of your team or community bring books to donate, with proceeds going to your team or cause. This kind of fundraiser works really well at the beginning of the school year, when parents and students are looking to buy used books for classes.
Read more about used book fundraisers >
9. Prom Dress Drive
- How it raises money: entry fee, general sales
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 3
- Bonus cash back: Because this is a donation drive, there is no available cash back, but it's an amazing way to raise money for your team or cause!
Have members of your community or school donate their old formal wear for your prom dress drive. Charge participants an entry fee, or a fee to purchase a dress, with proceeds going to your team or cause.
Read more about prom dress drives>
10. Babysitting Fundraiser
- How it raises money: donations, general sales
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 3
- Bonus cash back: None
Get kids in your community to donate babysitting time to help raise money for your cause or team.
Read more about babysitting fundraisers>
11. Jellybean Jar Fundraiser
- How it raises money: general sales
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: Earn cash back on jellybeans and the jar when you shop through a FlipGive campaign.
Perfect for elementary school fundraising, this is also a great opportunity to be a learning experience for kids, involving the power of math. Encourage people to pay a ticket per guess, and then afterwards explain ways that you can get close the right right answer using some secret strategies. A Jellybean Jar Fundraiser is a perfect complement to other bigger events. Read more about jellybean jar fundraisers >
12. Chores Auction
- How it raises money: donations, general sales
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: None
A chores auction is a fun fundraiser to host with your team. This kind of fundraiser works best with smaller organizations or teams. Supporters bid on chores team members promise to fulfill. It’s a great and simple way to raise money.
Read more about chores auctions >
Sports and Competition Fundraising Ideas
Few things can help raise funds better than something that gets the competitive juices flowing. Add sports into the mix and you get an even wider audience to get involved and have fun. The following are ideas that are either affiliated with specific sport fundraising or have a competitive element.
13. Baseball Tournament Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee, donations
- Cost: $$
- Difficulty level: 4
- Bonus cash back: Earn 10% cash back when you make your tournament shirts at Allied shirts, up to 2% cash back from Walmart, and up to 10% cash back from Amazon.ca.
Baseball tournaments are one of the best ways to fundraise. This kind of fundraiser is best in the summer, so that good weather is guaranteed, and friends and family can come watch teams play. Baseball tournaments are also a great place to hold supporting fundraising events, like a bbq or a raffle. Each team that partakes has to raise a minimum amount to participate, and this usually includes food and a team t-shirt of some kind, so make sure you factor that in to your budget!
Read more about baseball tournament fundraisers >
14. Basketball Tournament Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee, donations
- Cost: $$
- Difficulty level: 4
- Bonus cash back: Earn 10% cash back when you make your tournament shirts at Allied shirts.
Basketball tournaments are a great way to fundraise for your team or community. It doesn’t even have to include players on your school team. Encourage participants to sign up with their friends. Each team has to raise a certain amount to qualify for the tournament, with proceeds going to the cause of your choice.
Read more about basketball tournament fundraisers >
15. Social Media Challenge Fundraiser
- How it raises money: donations
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 1
- Bonus cash back: To make it easy for your supporters to donate to your team or cause, direct them to a FlipGive campaign so that they can easily donate online.
A social media fundraising challenge is both an extremely simple and very difficult endeavour. To start a viral challenge fundraiser, come up with something that supporters can participate in and share. One of the most popular ones that everyone will remember is the “Ice Bucket” challenge for ALS. From here, it’s crucial to make it clear within the post where to potentially donate. It can be difficult to get this kind of fundraiser off the ground but the more clever your challenge is - don’t forget humor! - the better the chance at success, and when that comes, the funds raised can be wild. Make sure to spread the word across your networks, and prompt friends and family to participate.
Read more about social media fundraisers >
16. Soccer Tournament Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee, donations
- Cost: $$
- Difficulty level: 4
- Bonus cash back: Earn 10% cash back when you make your tournament shirts at Allied shirts, up to 2% cash back from Walmart, and up to 10% cash back from Amazon.ca.
Soccer tournaments are a great event for kids. You can hold a soccer tournament during soccer season, or anytime during the summer to raise money for your team or cause. You can also hold secondary fundraisers during the soccer tournament, like a refreshment stand or 50/50 raffle.
Read more about soccer tournament fundraisers>
17. Bowling Tournament Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee, donations
- Cost: $$$
- Difficulty level: 5
- Bonus cash back: If you plan on ordering food for your fundraiser, you could earn up to 10% cash back using egift cards.
Bowling tournaments are a great way to fundraise, especially because teams can involve the entire family! Participants form teams are required to raise a minimum amount to participate. It’s great if you can supply prizes for the winning teams, but for this kind of fundraiser, it’s not absolutely necessary.
Read more about bowling tournament fundraisers>
18. Golf Tournament Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee, donations
- Cost: $$$
- Difficulty level: 5
- Bonus cash back: Use your FlipGive campaign page to make it easier for supporters to make online donations, and earn up to 25% cash back when you purchase items for your fundraiser through a FlipGive campaign page.
As far as fundraisers go, golf tournaments are on the higher end when it comes to effort, cost, and time. The good thing about golf tournament fundraisers is that they usually raise more money than other athletic tournaments, however, you should be ready to take on some initial costs. Make sure that you have a network of volunteers who can help with the tournament planning, and setup/take down the day of. For this kind of fundraiser, it’s key to be extremely organized.
Read more about golf tournament fundraisers >
19. Trivia Night Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee
- Cost: $
- Difficulty level: 2
- Bonus cash back: If you're hosting your trivia night at a school or a home, you can earn up to 10% cash back on refreshments for your event.
Trivia nights are a great way to raise money. Charge an entry fee to participate, and have a trophy for the winning team. This kind of fundraiser can be on absolutely any topic, but it’s more fun if it’s in line with the kind of organization you are trying to raise money for.
Read more about trivia night fundraisers>
20. Olympic Games Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee
- Cost: $$
- Difficulty level: 4
- Bonus cash back: Purchase prizes for the winning teams and earn cash back.
Teams who participate in this fundraiser need to raise a minimum amount of money to participate. Games can be anything from track races to baseball games, and winning teams compete in a final game for a grand prize.
Read more about olympic games fundraisers>
21. Color War Fundraiser
- How it raises money: entry fee
- Cost: $$$
- Difficulty level: 4
- Bonus cash back: Earn cash back on team shirts, food, and prizes.
Color wars are super fun fundraisers, but require a lot of planning, and don’t really work without a substantial amount of participants. Color war works best for schools. Divide the school into four teams and plan competitive activities throughout the day.
Read more about color war fundraisers>
22. Moms vs. Dads Tournament
- How it
