Ah, fundraising. Nobody likes it, yet every club has to do it. But fundraising can be easy. And it can even be fun. No, seriously! You just need a little help—Someone to do some of the heavy lifting.
That’s where we come in. You’ve got a heavy fundraising load to carry and we’re the dolly that can help you move it across the finish line (Hence our name—MoneyDolly. Clever, right?)
We’re like your friendly neighborhood furniture movers, only more fun. And we have a cool app.
We can help you reach all of your fundraising goals and even surpass them. We’ll simplify the fundraising process while providing expert guidance and options so your leaders, participants, and supporters stay involved and interested. All you have to do is plan and throw a next-level fundraising event that will impress everyone you know and have people talking about it for years to come. Easy peasy, right? Ha!
All kidding aside, we can help with that, too.We’ve put together a list of 70 creative fundraising ideas for clubs and leagues to help you get started.
70 Spectacularly Creative Fundraiser Ideas for Clubs
We know that when you’re planning a fundraiser, you need options. Not just one or two options, but maybe…70? MoneyDolly values your situation and the opinions of both you and your supporters. We want you to choose what will work best for you, then we’ll be there to help make your fundraiser a success.
In all of our brainstorming excitement, we may have gone a little overboard in coming up with this list. To make it easier for you to skim and scan, we’ve broken down the 70 club fundraising ideas into four categories:
Host an Event
Events are an effective way to raise a large amount of funds in a single day. Whatever type of event you choose to host, remember to always charge an entry fee and plan opportunities to raise some extra cash during the fundraiser.
1. Theme Party
Host a party around a specific theme! Use fun and familiar themes like Valentine’s Day or 90s Night. It’s a great excuse to pull out that old 90s prom dress out of storage. Make sure to decorate, pick the right playlist, and sell specialty snacks.
2. Cooking Class
Find local chefs willing to volunteer their time to teach a simple cooking class. Make it even more fun by providing appetizers for participants to snack on while they cook. The perk of being the facilitator? You can perform a quality control check on all the food beforehand. Those cupcakes aren’t going to taste-test themselves, right?
3. Family Carnival
Host a family carnival at a local park, with games, crafts, water sports, and character performers. Make sure you have activities all different ages will enjoy, so moms and dads can get a well-deserved break.
4. Yard Sale
Collect donations from supporters and set up in a prominent location where lots of people will see the sale. Market the event beforehand with call-outs on social media and plenty of signage. Get the kids involved as sign wavers in order to grab passerbys’ attention.
5. Haunted House
If your fundraiser is happening in October, host a haunted house and scare people into giving you all their money. Just kidding. But the scarier you can make your haunted house, the better. Recruit your club members to be scarers and instruct them to channel their best Freddy Krueger.
6. Banquet and Silent Auction
Host a fancy schmancy dinner and encourage guests to dress up. Set up a silent auction with donated items you’ve collected from people around town. Attendees can browse and bid for items until the end of the night when you announce the winners.
7. Photo Shoot
Find a location with a picture-perfect setting, like a botanical garden or park, and host a photo shoot. You can charge by the hour or by the number of pictures printed. If you don’t have a photographer in your club, don’t worry. You can lean into your poor picture-taking skills by making the photos crooked or awkward-looking on purpose (just be sure your subjects know about this tactic ahead of time).
8. Master Classes
Have an evening where experts in their field (artists, psychiatrists, or life coaches) teach a class to share their advice and skills with the audience. For a fun twist, have children or teenagers teach the master classes. Teens can host classes on TikTok or pop culture and kids can lead adults in workshops on how to play popular recess games like Capture the Flag or Four Square.
9. Movie Night
Host an indoor movie night or even arrange for a projector and show an outdoor movie, picnic-style. Make sure you pick a classic or new release everyone will love. Encourage people to dress comfortably and bring blankets and snacks. Sell concessions on the side like popcorn, soda, and boxes of candy to raise extra money.
10. Talent Show
There are many people in your community who have talents they want to share. You never know, your straightlaced businessman neighbor may secretly play the bagpipes or love to breakdance. Host a talent show and charge for admission and snacks.
11. Ice Cream Social
Create an event where people can enjoy a special ice cream treat. You can price it so that ice cream free, but then charge for special toppings like hot fudge or marshmallows. The more extravagant the toppings, the better (think: gold flakes or chocolate-covered grasshoppers).
12. Karaoke Night
Host a karaoke night at a local bar or restaurant complete with appetizers, drinks, and crowd-pleasing song titles. Make the night fun by challenging groups to get out of their comfort zones and sing silly songs. Crowds will get a kick out of seeing a group of football players perform Barbie Girl in their best falsetto voices.
13. Battle of the Bands
Host an event where local bands can perform. Attendees can vote and decide which band gave the best performance. Not only is this a great way to give newer bands a chance to perform, but you can also have them help promote your event on their social media platforms.
14. Silent Disco
At a silent disco, people dance together while the music is piped in through their headphones. To an outside observer, it can look a little odd to see people dancing in silence, but that’s part of the fun. Include an admission price and charge for extras, like drinks, glow sticks, or fancy headphones.
15. Chili Cook-off
Host a chili cook-off and charge people for each bowl of chili—Make the bowls small, so people are encouraged to purchase more than one. Have everyone vote for a winner at the end. For a creative and silly twist, host an Olympic-style award ceremony and present the winners with medals or plaques.
16. Car Show
Reach out to the community and ask car collectors to meet up to show off their vehicles. Everyone loves looking at unique or old-fashioned cars, and no car-enthusiast is gonna turn down the opportunity to answer questions about their souped-up rides. Pair this with a farmer’s market or food truck festival, and your fundraising efforts will be off to the races in no time.
17. Yoga Class
Find a yoga teacher willing to donate their time or teach a class for a small fee. To make it even more interesting, look into hosting a goat or bunny yoga class. Trust us, almost any event will become an instant crowd-pleaser if you add baby animals to the mix.
18. Princess or Superhero Tea Party
Host a tea party for kids where members of your club dress up as fairies, princesses, or superheroes and mingle with the children. Include a story reading and craft, and serve tea sandwiches and lemonade. Moana and Maui will be fundraising magic.
19. Farmers Market
Recruit local vendors and organize the market in a large parking lot or park. You can arrange it so your club has a few booths throughout the market selling merchandise or food to raise money.
20. Speed Dating
Set up small tables where two people can sit at a time. Instruct participants to sit at tables for mini-introductions. Keep a timer and have people rotate tables when the timer buzzes. Charge for a participation fee as well as for food or drinks.
21. Bingo Night
Bingo night is a simple way to fundraise, and something everyone will enjoy. Get some cards and blotters, and set up tables. To raise even more money, charge people for extra cards or fancy blotters.
22. Amateur Comedy Night
With an amateur comedy night, aspiring comics can try their hand at standup and let the audience pick the winner. Consider serving non-alcoholic drinks at your event, because a few mocktails can go a long way to making sure the jokes hit their mark.
23. Pictures with Santa
Near Christmastime, set up a “Santa’s Workshop” with a photographic set and background. Find volunteers to dress as Santa Claus and have your club members take turns dressing as elves. Sell photos with Santa and holiday snacks like hot cocoa or Christmas cookies.
24. Art Class
Host a casual art class. A teacher can lead the instruction and participants can create their masterpieces while they socialize and have snacks.
25. Fashion Show
Host a community fashion show with some catchy music and a walkable stage. People can sign up to participate and show off or sell clothing items they’ve made. Recruit community members to strut their stuff down the runway.
26. Fashion or Book Swap
Encourage participants to bring their old books or clothes they no longer want and trade them for other people’s unwanted items. This event is simple to host and will be a hit with bargain hunters. Don’t be surprised if a fight or two breaks out—Thrift shoppers can be a fierce bunch, especially when designer distressed jeans are involved.
27. Pie-throwing
The concept for this event is as simple as it sounds: Attendees pay to throw pies at volunteers. Recruit good-humored local celebrities like that car accident attorney with the annoying commercial jingle or that funny radio personality, or even the mayor. Basically, anyone you think people might enjoy throwing whipped cream at.
Host a Competition
Never underestimate the power of gold-medal bragging rights—the more obscure the competition, the better. Charge people for entries into the competitions and make sure you have small prizes like ribbons, trophies, or medals ready for the winners.
28. Obstacle Course
Set up an obstacle course with walls to climb, barrels to vault, and ropes to swing on. Let contestants compete to see who can have the fastest finishing time. If you want to have even more fun, turn on the hose and make the whole competition take place in a mud pit.
29. Singing Competition
Host a singing competition and use local musical experts or even members of your club as judges. Make the event more entertaining by recruiting a comedian to MC the event or act as a “Heidi Klum-like” judge.
30. Spelling Bee
Host a spelling bee and encourage all ages to enter for an “Are You Smarter than 5th-Grader?” creative twist. See who can make it the farthest in the competition. You can even allow audience members to pay a small fee to submit a word for the judges to use in the competition (like “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”).
31. Sports Competition
Organize a sports tournament. You can go with traditional sports like basketball or baseball, or choose a sport that’s a little, well, out of left field, like ping-pong, dodgeball, or underwater hockey (yep, that’s a thing!). Sell branded water bottles or sports drinks or charge viewers a small fee to attend.
32. Walk- or Swim-a-thon
There’s a reason Walk-a-thons are such popular fundraising events—they’re big earners. Have the members of your club reach out to friends and family to get pledges. Raise the stakes by awarding a special prize to the club members who walk or swim the most laps—like a free hotel stay or tickets to a sports game.
33. Trivia Night
Host a fun yet challenging trivia night where teams can pay a fee to enter. Prepare different questions in a variety of categories or around a specific theme. Go niche with a “2010s Trivia Night” or “Movie Trivia Night” and have people come dressed in costumes. Sell theme-appropriate appetizers and drinks.
34. 5K Run
Decorate the route of the 5K and set up stops along the way where your club members can hand out water to competitors. Make sure the winners have a beautiful finish line and a fancy trophy for their efforts. You can make this event more creative by adding a unique theme. Host a “Zombie Run” where participants dress like the undead, for example, or hand out red hats for a summer “Santa Run.”
35. Cooking Competition
Let competitors bring their favorite dishes to this competition. For a fun twist, have a volunteer play Gordon Ramsey for the evening and tell everyone their chicken is too dry. Attendees can sample and then vote to see who should earn the title of “Best Chef.”
36. Dodgeball Competition
Always a crowd pleaser, a dodgeball tournament is sure to not only draw a big audience, but also a big participant list as well. Whether people are fans of the sport, the 2004 Ben Stiller movie, or just relish the idea of exacting revenge on some schoolyard bullies, a dodgeball competition is sure to hit a nostalgic sweet spot and earn big.
37. Puzzle Race
Granny might not be able to compete in physical sports, but she’s sure to appreciate a good puzzle! Set identical puzzles on tables and allow teams of one or two to compete to see who can finish their puzzle first.
38. Photo Scavenger Hunt
Arrange a scavenger hunt around your community with notable landmarks or statues. Set a time frame for paying contestants to race and try to collect photos with all the objects. Whoever finishes first gets the prize and, of course, bragging rights.
39. Board Game Night
Set up comfy chairs and tables with a different board game at each one. Allow attendees to try out new board games with their friends. Sell concessions on the side, like popcorn and soda.
40. Pumpkin Carving Contest
A fundraiser near Halloween is the perfect opportunity to have a pumpkin carving competition. Plus, you can charge a small fee for people to come and see the entries. You’ll most likely get everything from professional masterpieces to the teeny little face with two circles and a line. Anyone who attends can cast a vote to decide the winning Jack-o’-Lantern.
41. Eating Contests
Paying contestants can race to eat hotdogs, pies, or even donuts on a string. The prize for the winner? A medal, and a free meal. Eating contests often have a funny way of ruining a person’s appetite (watch someone scarf 20 hot dogs in 10 minutes and you’ll see what we mean), so make sure the guest concession stands are a comfortable distance away from the main stage.
42. Rubber Duck Race
Participants can buy rubber ducks and then write their names on the bottom. Toss the rubber ducks into a river or pool and encourage spectators to cheer on their favorite Donald or Daisy. Hand out prizes to whoever’s cute little ducks cross the finish line first.
43. Gingerbread House Decorating Contest
If you’re fundraising near Christmas, have people create elaborate gingerbread houses for your competition. If you’re lucky, you’ll have entries like the Home Alone House or Santa’s Workshop (complete with reindeer made of pretzels). Paying attendees can then cast votes for the winner.
44. Color Run
Host a run and sell bags of colored corn starch to people watching from the sidelines. The spectators can throw the colored powder at the runners (and at each other!) making for a festive and colorful run. It may get in your eyes and mouth, and you will probably taste it for a few hours, but the pictures will look amazing.
Provide a Service
The members of your club can also sell services, but make sure they are prepared for some hard work, sweat, and tears! Okay, maybe not that last part.
45. Service Auction
Set up an auction where you can sell the personal services of your club members, like babysitting, dog walking, or music lessons. Club members might get stuck cleaning toilets for an afternoon, but hey, it’ll be for a good cause.
46. Guided Hike
Let people pay for you to guide them on hikes near your community. Do your research beforehand so you can act as an informed guide and share information about the local flora and fauna.
47. Car Wash
Is a car wash the most creative fundraising idea? Probably not. But it’s too much of a money-earner not to include it on this list. Plus, car washes are easy to set up—all you need is a parking lot, some soap, water, and rags, and some volunteers willing to get a little (okay, a lot) wet. For extra cash, sell drinks and food for the customers to snack on while they wait for their cars to be cleaned.
48. Dog Wash
Set up a dog washing station so people can pay to have you rinse, lather, and dry their pampered pooches. Just make sure you have enough volunteers around to help. Getting a dog to hold still when there’s shampoo around is no easy task.
49. Holiday Gift Wrapping
Offer holiday gift-wrapping services for a small fee. Set up a booth or room with all the supplies you’ll need, like wrapping paper, bows, tape, and ribbons. To add a little extra Christmas cheer, have your club members dress up like elves.
50. Lawn Care
Sell your lawn care services to members of the community. Be ready to cut lawns, trim hedges, and weed flower beds or gardens. It may not be a fun fundraiser, but it will count as your workout for the day.
51. Wash Trash Bins
Offer to wash and scrub both the inside and outside of community members’ trash bins for a fee. Bring lots of soap and heavy-duty scrubbing materials. You may even want to bring nose plugs, because cleaning garbage cans, well, stinks.
52. Face Painting
Practice your painting skills and set up a face painting station at a local event. Paint anyone’s face who wants one and charge extra for more elaborate designs. You can go simple with cat or dalmatian dog face painting or more intricate with Day of the Dead or Zombie full-face makeup.
Sell Something
This is often the go-to idea for fundraising, but that’s because it works!
53. Custom Items
Create customized items like sweatshirts, t-shirts, stickers, water bottles, or flip-flops. Sell items with your club logo or funny sayings you think people will like (a cat with wings perhaps).
54. Club Cookbook
Collect recipes from the members of your club and their families and organize them into a cookbook you can sell. You’ll be able to find out who in your club is a good chef and who is absolutely horrible all at once.
55. Art Sale
Collect donated artwork from local artists or scour thrift stores for unique pieces. Have a fancy art auction, and you’re sure to hear lots of oohing and ahhing and cash register-cha-ching-ing.
56. Sell Bulk Products
You can usually get items like flower bulbs, cookies, and wrapping paper at a low cost when you buy in bulk. Then all you need to do is repackage and resell the items for a profit.
57. Bake Sale
Host a bake sale and have members of your club or volunteers donate delicious home-baked goods. Go beyond typical bake sale fare by offering homemade churros or pineapple upside down cakes. You can also get creative with your bake sale theme by offering a “Coffee-Lovers Bake Sale” and offering baked goods that pair well with coffee, like biscotti or donuts. You can also sell merch, like coffee mugs or cute serving dishes.
58. Wreaths
Have a craft night with your club and work together to create wreaths for upcoming holidays. This is the perfect opportunity to take full advantage of your club members with crafting skills. Then sell them (the crafts! Not your club members) at a community event or door-to-door.
59. Pancake Breakfast
Pancake mix is relatively inexpensive and an easy way to raise money, so host a pancake breakfast and charge people per plate of pancakes. Make sure you include sides like fruit, eggs, and sausages.
60. Pledge to Do Crazy Things
You would be surprised how many people will pay money to see your club members do crazy things. Challenge your members to shave their heads, eat something disgusting, or wear a hot pink suit to the prom. This will not only draw big donations, but it’ll draw some big laughs as well.
61. Sell Concessions
Food and sports go well together. There’s something about watching athletes run and jump that makes people want to eat their weight in junk food…go figure! Set up a booth outside of a popular sporting event and charge for sodas, pizza, hot dogs, popcorn.
62. Make a Calendar
Design and have calendars printed to sell. Whether you design the calendars with gorgeous landscapes or gorgeous photos of your club members (hey, if it works for the fire department…) you’ll want to make sure you list all your important club events inside as well.
63. Donor Recognition Items
Install a new fence or walkway in the community and let people pay to have their names embossed onto the bricks or fence posts. People love seeing their name in print—even if it’s just on a brick.
64. Raffles
Raffles are an easy way to raise a few extra dollars. People can buy multiple raffle tickets and you just need to provide a few gift baskets. Simply draw and read a raffle number to see who wins.
Miscellaneous Ideas
Not all great club fundraiser ideas fit nicely into a clear category. Here are a few more unique fundraisers to try.
65. Dunk Tank
Any activity that ends with someone thrown into the water is sure to earn a few laughs (and dollars). Charge people for each ball thrown and see if participants can dunk all the members of your club.
66. Donation Jars
Setting donation jars at various businesses around town is a simple yet effective way to raise money. Best of all, it requires little or no effort on the part of club members.
67. Flamingo Flocking
Start a “Pink War” and watch it spread all over town. Buy a bunch of plastic flamingos and place them on someone’s lawn with a note explaining they have been “flocked” and must pay to have them removed. The best part is that when they pay to have them removed, they get to choose who gets “flocked” next.
68. Bottle or Can Drive
Collect cans and bottles from the community and turn them in at recycling centers for cash. Hundreds of cans may only earn you a few dollars, but hey, every little bit helps. Plus, you’re helping to save the planet, which has to be worth something, right?.
69. Work with a Local Restaurant
Find a local restaurant open to letting your club work as the servers for a meal shift. The restaurant can keep the money from the bill, but all tips can go to your club. You may want to practice your plate-carrying skills ahead of time, however, because you won’t earn as many tips if more of the food ends up on the customers’ laps than their plates.
70. Text-to-give
Start a text campaign where people can respond to a texted link and donate money through an online platform (We know of a great fundraising app if you’re strapped for ideas…Wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
Let MoneyDolly Do the Hard Work for You
Fundraising can feel overwhelming when you do it alone. But with the team at MoneyDolly in your back pocket (both figuratively and literally, thanks to our app), you can rest easy knowing you have someone on your side to do all the heavy lifting.
We’ll give you all the options and ideas you need so you can have the best fundraiser your club has ever had. Not only will your group be excited to fundraise, but your supporters will stay interested. MoneyDolly will be there every step of the way while the app makes your life easier as we guide you through the process.
Learn how it works and start a fundraiser to reach your club’s fundraising goals!
