- Auctions: Hold a live or silent auction for various items.
- Babysitter Service: Give parents a rest and baby-sit their children for a donation.
- Backyard Movie Night: Host a backyard movie night, charge for snacks and admission.
- Bake Sale: Bake lots of homemade goodies and sell them at work or at a busy place.
- Birthday Gifts: Ask for donations instead of gifts.
- Carwashes: host a carwash for a cause.
- Coin Drive: (Great for students) Place a large jar in the cafeteria and ask students and staff to contribute their left over change from lunch.
- Dance Off: Students hold a school dance, or adults organize a dance at a local club. Ask a DJ or band to donate services. Sell refreshments.
- Dog Walkers: Walk the neighbors’ dogs for a donation or dog sit while pet owners are out of town.
- Donut Days: Get donuts donated from a local bakery and sell at work or school.
- Dress-Down Days: Have employees pay to dress down at work. This can also work with schools that require uniforms (with permission).
- Errand Service: For a donation, run errands for those who don’t have time to do their own.
- Flower Sales: Work with local florist or wholesaler to sell bouquets, potted flowers, or individual stems at your school or place of work. Try this around Valentine’s Day or other special holidays.
- Game Night: Invite friends to your house to play board games, charades, etc.; charge your friends an entry fee.
- Garage Sales: clean around the house and host a garage sale for a cause.
- Ice Cream Socials: Plan one at your place of work or with friends or children and sell ice cream.
- Lawn Service: Mow your neighbors or your family’s lawns for donations.
- Money Jars: Place jars where you work, on your desk, or on store counters with info about Assistance to the Elderly.
- Odd Jobs: Ask neighbors or family if you can do their odd jobs for a donation.
- Pizza Sales: Work with a local pizza parlor to give you a percentage of the pies that you sell.
- Raffles: Just like auctions, raffles can accommodate many items. You can raffle off homemade items or items donated from local businesses.
- Raffle a Day Off: Ask your boss or the owner of the company to donate a paid day off to the winner of the drawing.
- Restaurant programs: Many restaurant chains have programs where they’ll give a cause 10-25% of the night’s profits when customers bring in a flyer.
- Social Networking: Use Facebook and Twitter to reach out to friends you may not see every day, or whose email addresses you may not have.
- Swear Jar: Ever let those teensy four-letter words slip? Place jars at home and work. Make sure you stay on Curse Patrol!
- VIP Parking Spot: Have a fundraising competition amongst your co-workers and the winner gets one week or one month of parking in the coveted spots closest to the front door!