Do your own fundraising

A-Z of fundraising ideas

Abstinence

If you're giving up something such as alcohol, coffee, chocolate or cigarettes, whether to give up completely or to simply exercise some self-control, why not get your family and friends to sponsor you per day or week of abstention?

Art exhibition and sale

If you're a budding van Gogh, or even have a more contemporary edge such as a Banksy, you could arrange an art exhibition while donating a percentage of sales to us.

Auction

Charity auctions are a great way to raise money and you can choose whether to do this online or at a venue of your choice. Contact local companies, shops and friends and family to see if they can donate a prize or offer their services such as cooking or gardening for an auction of promises.

Baby/toddler picnic

This is a great way of meeting other parents and is a fun day out for all - organise a picnic and when you're collecting the money for the provisions from those involved, just donate a percentage to us.

Bake a cake

Who can't resist a good homemade cake? If you have the skill to make tasty cakes, then you can enter them in fetes and raffles where they can be given as a prize or have a cake sale - they are always popular!

Ball

If you enjoy organising activities, why not organise an evening with dinner, music and even a raffle for family, friends and colleagues. Be sure that you prepare a detailed budget so you know how much your tickets should cost. You could always make it themed with fancy dress such as Star Trek, Game of Thrones, schooldays or an era such as the 80s! Or even hold it on a particular occasion such as Burn's Night, Easter, Halloween, or Christmas.

Barbeque

For those balmy summer evenings (yes, even in the UK!) what could be better than a barbeque? You can hire a private or pub garden and sell tickets in advance, or even host it in your own garden and ask friends to make a donation.

Beard/hair shaving

Tired of the way you look? Why not get your family and friends to sponsor you to get your beard and moustache shaved off. If you're really bored of your look, you could even get rid of your hair!

Book fair

For those who love reading and books, why not ask people to bring along any unwanted books and sell them either amongst your fellow bookworms or arrange a sale?

Bowling

Bowling is great fun for a whole range of ages so why not organise a bowling tournament where teams pay an entry fee and the overall winners get a prize?

Car boot sale

Sunday mornings just wouldn't be the same without the good old car boot sale! It's a great way of clearing out all your unwanted items and you could even ask other people to donate to your stall - don't forget to let people know that you're doing it for charity.

Car washing

If you're not afraid to get your hands dirty, you could offer to wash your family and friends' cars and charge them per car. If you advertise that it's for charity, other people may also ask you to do theirs.

Charity lunch or dinner

For those of you who enjoy their food! Book a venue of your choice, organise the catering and get your family, friends and colleagues to buy tickets to cover your costs and donate a percentage to us.

Cheese and wine party

You could host this at home or at a venue or your choice and invite people to buy tickets in advance, then find local suppliers or pubs/restaurants to donate the food and wine.

Choir

If you can sing like an angel and have a group of fellow enthusiasts, you can arrange for a singing group to meet in a shopping centre or other public place and have a collection. Don't forget to get permission from the relevant authorities before you start singing!

Coffee morning

Why not ask your friends around to yours for a coffee morning where you can sell cakes, jams, craft items and anything else you might have for sale?

Concert

If you like all things musical and are a born organiser, why not ask bands, musicians and/or singers to a venue to play for free? You can advertise in the local area with posters and let the local press know about the event.

Craft fair

Whether you make craft items yourself or simply like organising, you can get involved with a craft fair. If you make the items, you can arrange to sell them at your local fair or, if you prefer to be involved in the retailing side of things, you can find a venue and ask local craft makers to donate items for you to sell.

Darts tournament

You can arrange this at your local pub by asking teams to enter a knock-out tournament over an evening, or even several days or weeks. Simply charge the teams an entry fee and arrange a grand prize or trophy for the winning team.

Desk sale

If you work in an office, why not have a change one lunchtime and turn your desk into a stall? You can sell smaller items such as jewellery and cosmetics etc to your colleagues.

Dog walking

If you like dogs and walking/running, why not combine the two and help raise funds for charity while you’re doing it? All you need to do is set a price for your dog walking service and advertising, taking into account that you will be proposing this as a charity initiative.

Drawing competition

One for all the budding artists out there. Parents and/or teachers can ask children to draw or paint a picture then the parents pay an entry fee for each drawing submitted. The pictures are then judged and the winning entries could be displayed in a local public place such as the library. A toyshop could be approached to provide the prizes.

Dress down day

Popular with children and adults alike and a great way of raising money. Simply pick a school or work day to dress down on and donate a fee to charity.

Easter egg hunt

Kids really enjoy this one - and so do many of the parents too! For an entry fee, kids can hunt around a garden, field or any other suitable place for carefully concealed eggs. Even better if you can manage to get local shops or supermakets to donate the eggs.

Facepainting

If you have the ability to do effective face painting, why not charge parents for painting childrens' faces?

Fashion show

If your local college has fashion and/or art on its curriculum, why not find out when they are putting on a show and see if they are willing to host it in aid of the charity?

Fete/fun day

If you enjoy organising activities, you could find other volunteers to help you set up a fete or fun day. Your day could include a raffle or tombola, competitions to guess the name or weight of things plus stalls selling plants, cakes or anything else you can think of!

Golf/fishing day

Organise a tournament with teams and charge the participants to take part.

Green fingers

If you're lucky enough to be a naturally skilled gardener who can successfully grow plants without killing them, why not make the most of your ability and sell your plant cuttings in aid of our charity?

Horse racing night

These can provide you and your friends with great entertainment as you place your bets in a venue of your choice. There are many companies offering horse racing night or other themed night packages - Race Night Services also offer advice on how to organise an evening.

Jewellery

If you like making jewellery why not sell some for us at your local craft fair or online? If you have a collection of items you can also use them as prizes in a raffle.

In lieu of gifts

This idea couldn’t be simpler, just ask for donations in lieu of birthdays, Christmas, weddings or anniversaries.

Karaoke/Curryoke night

Always good fun, particularly after a few drinks! If you find a local pub willing to host the karaoke, you can simply charge people per song they sing.

Keeping silent

Easy for some - a nightmare for others - how long do you think you can remain silent for? Get people to sponsor you for a length of time and see if you can really do it.

Knitting

Are you a whiz at knitting? Why not knit some scarves or even more ambitious items for sale at a local fair or fete?

Lecture or talk

Lectures or talks by experts or even celebrities can be very interesting and informative. If you can find someone prepared to donate their time to give a talk or performance, you can organise a venue and charge admission.

Manicure

Have you trained as a manicurist? If so, perhaps you would be willing to give manicures to your family and friends in return for sponsorship money?

Murder Mystery evening

Charge your friends to come round and encourage them to dress up in character and watch the mystery unfold. Murder Mystery kits can be bought from shops or, if you are feeling creative, you could plan it yourself.

Pantomime or play

If you're a budding actor, why not organise a pantomime or play either with your own family and friends, or with your local amateur dramatics society? A percentage of the ticket sales could be donated to the charity.

Party

This could be a birthday, anniversary, engagement or wedding party - simply ask your guests to make a charity donation instead of giving a gift.

Pet competition

For all you animal lovers out there, holding your own version of "Crufts" is a fun way of raising money. Entrants can pay to enter their pet and, after judging, prizes can be awarded; you could always approach your local pet shop to see if they would donate suitable prizes.

Pop quiz

You could organise this at your own home, your local pub or any other suitable venue. Simply charge people an entry fee for taking part and ask questions on pop music taken from sources such as iTunes, online streams, vinyl and CDs.

Quiz night

These are great fun in the pub - you can charge an entry fee for people to take part either individually or as a team. You can ask general knowledge questions or keep to a theme such as the 1990s - if you're stuck Free Quizzes will compile questions for you for as little as £1. The pub may supply the prizes or trophy due to increased custom.

Raffle

A raffle is a great way to raise funds. Getting the prizes to put in the raffle can be a challenge, but if you approach local businesses and shops you will find that many are happy to donate something. Don't forget to ask your friends and family or even put a notice up at work. Once you have collected your prizes, you can sell the raffle tickets to your family, friends and colleagues.

Record/CD sale

Do you love your music? Why not ask people to bring along any unwanted old records and/or CDs and sell them either amongst your friends or arrange a sale?

Sewing

Do you own a sewing machine and enjoy doing clothing alterations and repairs? Why not offer your services to your family, friends and colleagues and charge a small fee for our charity?

Snooker or pool tournament

A tournament always add an bit of excitement to an evening in the pub and these can be arranged for an evening or over several days or weeks. Charge teams an entry fee for entering a knock-out tournament and end with a grand final and prize giving to the winning team.

Swear box

Often a lucrative way to raise funds. Putting a swear box in your workplace and fine sinners when they swear - it's amazing how much money you can make!

Treasure hunt

This can be organised on foot or by car and can keep people busy all day! Clues or objects are placed or hidden around a selected route, and participants can either pay a fee to play or be sponsored per clue/object they find. The first team/individual back to the start with all the answers is the winner.

Travel to work

Get sponsored to find different ways of getting to work for a week. Depending on how far you live away from work this can include anything from bicycling to walking backwards!

Weight watch

Sadly something most of us need to do at some time in our life. Why not get your family, friends and colleagues to sponsor you for every pound you lose over a certain period? If you're in a slimming club you could encourage the whole group to join in.

Wine tasting

If you enjoy your wine and want to know your Chablis from your Chardonnay why not invite an 'expert' or local wine dealer to bring some wine along to a venue of your choice? You and your friends can try out the different samples and donate some of the proceeds of the sales to the charity.