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A to Z of Fundraising Ideas

Here is your A-Z of fundraising ideas for events and activities. Hopefully you can find something in this list that will inspire you. Many of these ideas can be undertaken in the office, at home or outdoors. Good Luck!

A

Abseiling: Why not challenge yourself and get sponsored to abseil down a building? Either alone or with friends this will be a great experience. Find an abseiling organisation near you or contact the Insurance Charities office for a list of open events you can take part in.
Apple Bobbing Competition: All you need is a bowl of water with some mouth watering apples for people to bob for. Charge for each go and keep some hair bands handy.
Auction of Promises: Ask colleagues/friends to make a promise to donate their time, a skill or an item: from unwanted gifts to being a slave for the day…the possibilities are endless! Turn the auction in to an event or send out a catalogue. Visit www.auctionofpromises.com for a free way to run your auction online.
Art Exhibition: Do you have any friends with a talent for painting or sculpture? Why not see if you can persuade them to let you hold an exhibition of their work. Charge entry and provide some drinks. It will also provide great publicity for the artist.

B

Ball: Know an appropriate venue and a group of people who would love an evening of dance and glamour? If you do, get a team together and organise a ball in honour of The Insurance Charities. If it goes well it could become an annual fixture in your office’s calendar!
OR
Is there an annual ball in your company’s calendar? Why not use it as an opportunity to raise money and promote The Insurance Charities, simply adding £1 to the cost of each ticket and providing some information can make a real difference to us.
Barbecue: Check the weather report for a future sunny day and hold a barbecue in aid of the Insurance Charities. Ask for a donation from guests for their burgers, bangers and beers and make sure to remember the vegetarians!
Bath: Fill up a plastic bath with beans, custard or some other hideous substance and get sponsored to sit in it! (Or persuade your boss/president to!)
Big breakfast: Continental, Full English or a simple bacon buttie. Ask for donations and have a pre-work breakfast to help the charity and set your colleagues up for the day.
Bike Ride: Get your bike, sort out a route and iron your best cycling shorts. Don’t forget to ask all those you know for sponsorship.
Bingo: Practise calling your legs eleven, cut out some score cards and stick up a poster, that’s how easy it is to put on a charity bingo night. This will be a fun event for all attendees, remember to charge for entry and find people willing to donate prizes.
Book Sale: Dig out all those old books and have a book sale at home or at work.
Bridge night: Are you a bridge fanatic? Hold a bridge night and ask for a donation for The Insurance Charities from attendees.
Bungee Jump: Ever felt the desire to jump off an edge attached only to a long piece of elastic. If no perhaps look at the letter C but if yes do it and get sponsored for The Insurance Charities. The ukbungee.co.uk web site has opportunities to do one in the U.K.
Burns night: Hold a Burns night lunch/supper on the 25th January. A great excuse to eat haggis and wear a kilt whilst raising money for The Insurance Charities.

C

Cakes: Not only a great fundraiser but a real treat. Get your friends to make a selection of the most tempting treats and sell them to colleagues.
Car Boot Sale: Get all those unwanted items stashed in the back of cupboards or in your loft and sell them at a local car boot sale. Donate your proceeds to The Insurance Charities and see if you can grab some bargains for yourself!
Car Wash: Wash some cars to raise funds, or rope in the children!
Carol Singing: Can you hold a tune? Get some friends together and sing for The Insurance Charities this festive season. Knock on doors or ask permission to sing in a specific location.
Coffee/Tea break: Have a coffee or tea break with friends or colleagues. A chance to socialise and relax, don’t forget to provide gift aid envelopes for the donations.
Concert: If you know some talented musicians or have some friends who just love performing, organise a venue and charge for admission and refreshments in the interval.
Copper Coins: All those 1p and 2p coins can really add up. Leave out a jar in the workplace and watch it fill up. Crossword competition: Challenge your colleagues with a cryptic crossword, charge for entry and offer a prize for the person who completes it the fastest.

D

Dance-a-thon: Tap those feet and wiggle those hips for as long as possible and get sponsored for each hour. If the prospect of dancing on your own is a little daunting get a team together.
Darts night: Organise a darts competition at your local, encourage people to get in to teams and charge them for entry. Look out for the next Phil Taylor!
Donate: Give up something for a week and donate the money you save to The Insurance Charities. Why not cycle to work or stop buying chocolate?
Dress Down Day: Charge your colleagues £1 to come in to work dressed down. Ideal if you work in an office environment where your colleagues might be keen for an opportunity to wear jeans instead of a suit. Already have a dress down day? Why not spice things up a bit, challenge colleagues to come in the loudest tie they can find or choose a colour for everyone in the office to wear.
Dry Cornflakes: Set up a line of people and see who can finish first. Charge for entry and give the winner a prize.

E

Easter Egg Hunt: A tasty way to play hide and seek. Charge for entry and see if local confectionaries will donate the eggs.
Egg and Spoon: Use the good summer weather to organise an old fashioned sports day with your colleagues/friends. Egg and spoon, wheelbarrow and three legged races are all a must for this event. Don’t forget to request a donation for entry.
Eighties Night: Get out the shoulder pads, put on some Spandau ballet and throw an eighties inspired night,

F

Fancy dress: Get sponsored to come in to work in fancy dress, persuade the office to have a fancy dress competition or hold your own fancy dress party!
Film evening: Got a great DVD collection? Host a film evening and invite round as many people as you can fit in your home or another venue. Don’t forget the popcorn.
Fish and chips: Organise a fish and chips lunch at work. Get everyone to pay a pound extra for their fish and chips as a donation to The Insurance Charities.
Food marathon: Choose a food and get sponsored to eat as much of it as you can in a set period of time.
Football: Set up a tournament for all your colleagues, have a sponsored game or organise a sweep stake for the coming world cup!
Fun Run: Encourage people of all abilities to get sponsored to take part in a run without the competitive edge (some people can even wear fancy dress). Organise it yourself or call The Insurance Charities to find out about runs you can encourage people to take part in.

G

Garden Party: Cucumber sandwiches anyone? If you can find a suitable location this can be a lovely event for all those involved. Perhaps it could become a regular fixture in your company’s calendar; either ask for donations or charge for entry.
Golf: Organise a golf competition and enter a finalist into The Insurance Charities annual golf final. For more information please ring the office or email us!
Guess The Number: Fill a jar with sweets and ask for a donation to guess the number. The winner who gets closest to the number wins all the sweets!
Guest Speaker: Invite a guest to talk about their area of expertise, ask people for a donation to attend and include some of our new marketing materials at the event. To order them email Rachel@theinsurancecharities.org.uk
Guided Tour: Take a break from the office one lunch time and using your local expertise organise a guided tour around a local attraction. Ask people for donations to The Insurance Charities in return for imparting your wisdom.

H

Hair: Sponsored head shaves and waxes have the potential to raise a lot of money. If you’re not keen to part with your hair try and persuade someone else!
Halloween: Get spooky on the 31st of October and organise a party with a Halloween theme in aid of The Insurance Charities.
Hula Hoop: Hold a hula hoop competition at lunchtime. Challenge people to see who can hula for the longest and ask for a donation. There should be a prize for the winner.

I

Ice Skating: Organise an ice skating evening at your local rink with your friends or colleagues and add £1 on to the cost of the evening. Or get sponsored depending on how many laps you can do before you fall over!
Ice Cream: How much ice cream can you eat in a minute? Ask people to sponsor you and find out. Watch out for brain freeze!
Ironing: Charge friends/colleagues as you offer your services.

J

Joke Book: Get the rest of your company to contribute their favourite jokes/anecdotes and compile them into a booklet. Sell on the booklet and let the laughter ensue (hopefully).
Jumble Sale: People love a bargain, all your friends or colleagues can sell all their unwanted goods.

K

Karaoke: Find a venue with a karaoke machine, invite all your colleagues/friends, request a donation and sing your heart out.
Key Rings: We have some excellent Trolley Coin Key rings that can be used instead of £1 coins in trolleys and gyms. Contact the office for more information about how you can buy a batch along with a display box for your office.
Knitting: Get the knitting needles out and have a sponsored knithathon. Reward the most generous sponsors with your creation!
Knobbly Knees Contest: See if you can get friends or colleagues to briefly part with their dignity and show their knees to see who has the knobbliest! Tempt them with a prize and request donations from participants or the audience.

L

Lunch Money: Ask all your colleagues to bring in pack lunches and donate the money they saved to The Insurance Charities.
Lunch: Organise a lunch at work, perhaps see if your workplace can provide it and ask attendees for donations.

M

Marathon: Run a marathon for The Insurance Charities. It’s a great way to get fit and test your endurance. Ring the office for help or more information.
Masked Ball: If you’re already considering organising a ball why not add some intrigue to the event and ask everyone to wear masks. Direct them here to find some beautiful designs.
Match the pet to the owner competition: Ask your colleagues to bring in one photo of themselves and one of their pet. Charge people £1 a time to match up all the photographs.
Murder Mystery Evening: Get some friends together and solve the clues for a fictional crime. Find out more about how it works here.

N

Night in: Get some friends together, a couple of DVDS and frozen pizzas and stay in on a Friday/Saturday night and the money you save, donate to The Insurance charities.
New Year's Resolutions: Give yourself an extra incentive and ask people in the office to sponsor you for your effort.

O

Odd Sock day: Get your colleagues to wear odd socks for the day and ask for a donation for The Insurance Charities.
Open Day: If you have a colourful garden, let all those garden lovers come and admire it for a donation.
Outward Bound: Hike, Climb or Camp and get sponsored in aid of The Insurance Charities. Organise it yourself, look for an event near you or call the office for more information.

P

Pancake Race: Hold a pancake race in your home or office kitchen. See who can flip the most in a set amount of time, ask for a donation for entry and offer a prize to the winner. You can ask for a donation for the pancakes from others afterwards.
Parachute jump: Release your inner daredevil and take part in a sponsored parachute jump for the charity. Find one near to you or call the office for more information about jumps you can take part in!
Picnic: Invite your friends or colleagues to join you on a picnic in return for a donation to The Insurance Charities. It doesn’t have to be fancy, some sandwiches and juice should suffice.
President’s Challenge: Challenge your Institute’s president to any of the challenge ideas and ask them to raise sponsorship.

Q

Quiz Nights: Always a favourite whether it is at home, at work, in a club or in your local. Get together teams and ask for donations to take part. Good quiz questions can be found at http://paulsquiz.com
Question of Sport: A fundraising idea for all you sports fanatics, make up your own questions and test your friends' knowledge. If you’re stuck for ideas try the address above for sport themed questions.

R

Raffle: Ask people/organisations to donate prizes, buy or print out your own raffle tickets (www.raffleprinter.com) and then persuade friends and colleagues to part with a £1 ticket.
Read-a-thon: Get sponsored for reading a long list of books in one sitting, perhaps use it as an opportunity to work through a series of books you’ve never had an opportunity to read.

Recipe Book: Persuade friends/colleagues and local restaurants (who could sponsor recipes) to contribute recipes to a book or booklet. Sell the book at the office and perhaps inspire colleagues to buy it by bringing in examples of some of the tasty treats inside.

S

Shoe Cleaning: Why not help your colleagues to have a nice pair of shiny shoes for a small donation.
Silence: Get sponsored for not uttering a word all day. A notepad and pen will prove essential.
Sweepstake: Organise a sweepstake in the office perhaps using a national sports event or talent competition (X factor, Strictly Come Dancing…). Add a donation on to each stake.
Swear Box: Always a good fundraiser!
Swimming: Get sponsored to swim a number of lengths at your local pool or take part in a larger swimming challenge like the Great North Swim. Try the internet for events near you.

T

Treasure Hunt: This can be done in the office or across a whole city! Get teams or individuals to pay to take part as they race around finding clues leading them to a final prize.
Theme event/nights: Why not use some of the event ideas in this A-Z but using your own theme, pirates, the wild west, the seventies…….the choices are endless.
Tombola: Like a raffle but with instant prizes and a revolving drum. People pay to take a number out of the Drum, which then corresponds to a prize on the table. There’s less expectation on the standard of prizes than in a raffle, a losing prize could be a tin of baked beans.
Triathlon: Why not test your physical ability and take part in a triathlon – swimming, cycling and running. If you don’t think you could manage all three find two colleagues and split up the duties. Check the internet for local opportunities near you or ring the office.

U

Unwanted Gift Sale: Get your friend or colleagues to sell unwanted gifts, liven up a dull January by selling unwanted Christmas Presents.
Urban Rat Race: This Crystal maze challenge takes parts in cities across the U.K and Ireland. Get a team together and have a go. Contact the office or visit the website for more details.

V

Variety Show: Round up your talented friends and hold an informal variety performance – remember to ask for a donation for admission.
Valentines Day: Ask for donations to secretly deliver Valentine’s Day messages or roses in the office. Know a handful of good singers? Why not organise a barbershop quartet to serenade people.

W

Weight of the Cake: Bake a delicious cake and charge people for a guess at its actual weight. The winner gets to take the cake home.
Wine Tasting Event: Invite an 'expert' or local wine dealer to bring along a few cases of wine and donate some of the proceeds to charity.
White Elephant Stall: Set up a table at work, outside your house or at an event to sell old objects from your home or that have been donated at work.

X

Xmas cards: Make and sell them for The Insurance Charities.

Y

Yard of ale: Get sponsored to do this drinking challenge or set up a competition where participants and audience are asked to donate. A local pub should be able to provide the receptacle to from which the yard of ale is drunk…it can also be done with a soft drink.
Yoga: Do you go to yoga classes? Arrange for your teacher to come to your office to teach your colleagues at lunchtime or after work one evening. Remember to ask for donation from all those who attend.
Yo-Yo Contest: Hold a yo-yo contest with friends and colleagues, ask for a donation from participants and think of a worthy prize.

Z

Zoo trip: Organise a trip to the zoo with friends and colleagues and for your troubles ask for a donation added on to the price of the ticket.
Zodiac star sign readings: Invite an astrologer round to your home or external venue for an evening and invite friends in return for a small donation. Prepare to see the unforeseeable.