Fundraising shouldn’t be a chore. Not only is it a fantastic opportunity to raise money for charity, but it is also a chance to express your creativity and have a bit of fun.

But it can be challenging to think of fresh ideas to grab attention and publicise the charity you wish you support.

So we’ve put together some novel ideas to put the fun back into fundraising, which will encourage people to take part in and donate to your cause. And you’ll have such a good time organising your fundraising that it will seem like a breeze!

Colour runs

If you’re looking for fundraising ideas for kids, then why not organise a colour run? It’s basically a fun run but with a twist – participants have brightly coloured powder thrown at them as they pass by special stations.

It’s the perfect event for a school fundraiser, as kids just love getting messy and will need no persuasion to join in! It’s also a great spectacle for anyone attending. You’ll get some amazingly colourful publicity shots, too!

Need to know:

  • You can buy pre-prepared coloured powder or make your own using cornflour and food colouring.
  • Ask participants to dress in all-white clothing so the colours stand out.
  • It’s worth hiring a professional photographer to get some outstanding pictures of the event.

Fancy dress events

Fancy dress is a tried-and-tested format that everyone loves, bringing back happy memories from childhood.

A fancy dress competition works equally well for children and adults. Kids will love the opportunity to dress up as their favourite Disney character, superhero or animal. And adults will grasp the chance to have fun and dress to impress!

Need to know:

  • Offer participants a theme – for example, characters from history or literature, Hollywood, black and white clothing or pirates and princesses.
  • To raise funds, ask participants to pay a small fee to enter.
  • You can offer prizes for best- and worst-dressed character and best homemade costume.

Guess the baby

Fundraising ideas at work don’t have to be serious. A guess-the-baby competition is sure to raise a laugh as well as money for your chosen charity.

You’ll need to have one person coordinating the competition who won’t be taking part. They can collect baby pictures from participants and arrange them on a board with a number allocated to each one and a list of names displayed separately.

The person who matches the most correct pictures to names is the winner.

Need to know:

  • Colleagues pay a small fee to take part in the competition and guess who each picture relates to.
  • For extra fun, get each person who has contributed a picture to add a funny or memorable anecdote about their childhood.
  • You can also get participants to vote for the cutest baby for an extra prize.

Sell colourful wristbands

Wrist bands for fundraising are a simple way to publicise and raise money for your chosen charity.

You can customise blank wristbands with the name of your cause or the date of your event and choose colours that match your charity’s branding.

You can also offer other popular accessories such as slap bands for sale at your event.

Need to know:

  • A wrist band or wristbands made of rubber or silicone will be comfortable and long-lasting, reminding the wearer of your message long after the event
  • If you’re fundraising with bracelets at an event, you might also want to consider fabric bracelets for a festival vibe.

More top tips on organising a fundraising event

If you’re using our fundraising ideas at events, don’t get so caught up in the fun that you overlook some of the practical steps:

  • Fix a fundraising goal to work towards.
  • Set a budget for everything you will need to make your event a success, from printing services through to security.
  • Publicise it far and wide in plenty of time, whether that’s by word of mouth, within your community or on social media.
  • Ensure that all staff and volunteers have received basic health and safety training.
  • Make sure that there are adequate first aid supplies to hand at your event site and that staff know how to contact the emergency services if necessary.
  • Carry out a “dress rehearsal” at least a week before the event to identify any issues and give you time to resolve them.
  • Thank staff, volunteers, participants, fundraisers and donors once the event is over.
  • Let people know how much you raised and what the funds will be used for.

Shop wristbands for fundraising

We hope our article has inspired you to put the fun back into fundraising. While organising any fundraising event can be tough, the reward of seeing participants enjoying themselves and reaching your targets will make it well worth it.

We can help take the hard work out of fundraising by supplying colourful, customisable wristbands for delivery throughout Australia and internationally.

Talk to our team for more promotional and fundraising ideas using wristbands. We are only too happy to help when it comes to raising money for a good cause!