Everyone belongs to a community. Your community involvement might include your neighborhood, school, religious affiliation or profession — or even a virtual community. As a member of a community, you might have been involved in community fundraisers. Maybe you were an organizer, a volunteer or a donor. Community fundraisers can be fun and a great way to build engagement and support while helping to strengthen and grow community spirit.
If you are tired of the same old fundraisers, how about looking at some creative community fundraising ideas? Sure, the annual chili supper can continue, but let’s explore some fun additions to support your community both in person and virtually!
Community fundraising events are very popular and can garner awareness for your community group. Your event can be as creative as your team chooses. Events build camaraderie and can be in person and virtual! You can also ask local businesses to help sponsor to cover the overhead costs.
Love them or hate them, yard sales are popular. We all have too much stuff. Here’s a great opportunity to purge your excess stuff for a great cause. The sale could take place in a school parking lot or cafeteria. Consider offering pick-up service for people donating items. Offering free drop off and delivery service is an idea that can increase sales. With the added inventory you can raise more money with big ticket items like furniture. Involve students to create an online version of your sale.
You’ve seen walk-a-thons and dance-a-thons — how about allowing each participant to do their own thing? Get it? It’s a Thing-A-Thon!
One person might do a yo-yo-a-thon, or a bake-a-thon making goodies to sell. How about a bike-a-thon (stationary or outdoor). A game-a-thon could include cards, or board games or bean-bag toss-a-thons. If you’ve got a tired teenager they could earn money while they sleep with their own sleep-a-thon. Bowling, swimming, eating, meditating. Or, in the age of video streaming, how about a binge-watch-a-thon!
Everybody eats. The classic bake sale doesn’t sound too sexy, but done over-the-top it can be a big hit. For this community group fundraising ideas consider highlighting in season produce, like…
Gardening can support your mental health making you feel more peaceful and content. According to WebMD just spending time around plants eases stress for many people. Community gardens serve many purposes from education to food bank support, community collaboration and providing green-spaces in urban areas.
While community gardens are terrific projects, they cost money! From fertilizer to irrigation, the resources needed are plentiful. That said, here are some terrific fundraising ideas for community gardens.
By planning ahead and starting plants from seeds, your group can sell seedling plants to your friends and neighbors. A basil, dill or parsley plant is a favorite for a kitchen window herb garden. What a treat to have a tomato or cucumber plant to grow on your patio or balcony. You might involve a local school to help you. Kids can plant and get to watch their efforts bloom with the miracle of nature!
Who doesn’t love a natural bouquet of fresh cut flowers? For this community fundraising idea use a few of your garden plots to plant Cosmos, Zinnias or Sunflowers. They will be beautiful in your garden and you can make bouquets to sell at a farmer’s market or corner stand. You can also purchase bulbs wholesale and sell in the fall/early winter.
Fresh herbs are popular and can be expensive to buy in stores. Consider growing herbs and then drying and making lovely herb bouquets. A sprig of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme with a pretty ribbon makes a thoughtful gift.
Gardeners everywhere can be potential donors to your community garden. There are many online crowdfunding platforms and mobile apps that make it easy to raise money. Most have special fundraising categories created specifically for community projects. This makes it easier for potential donors to find your community garden campaign.
Popular crowdfunding platforms include: AngeLink, GoFundMe and SpotFund.
Whatever community fundraising project you choose, be sure to promote it via social media. According to QGiv 74% of American internet users are on Facebook. There’s a good chance your community has a Facebook page, so be sure to post your fundraiser there! Don’t forget, AngeLink automatically generates a customized flier for each campaign that you can print and post around town!
Share your creative community fundraising ideas with others and have a fun and profitable venture!
