24 Online Fundraising Ideas for 2024

Make giving to your cause fun by enticing donors with one of these twenty-four fundraising campaign ideas for online donations. One of the challenges that nonprofits face when fundraising is finding unique ways to connect to donors and inspire giving. While simply asking can accomplish much, making donating fun does a lot more. Coming up with fundraising ideas isn’t always easy.

So here are some fun ideas to consider to help grow your donations and donor base. Remember, balancing how often you set up fundraising campaigns is crucial. Putting your hand out too many times in the wrong way can cause donor fatigue.

While we love these fundraising ideas, don’t try to do them all too close together. Find the ones that resonate with your donors and best match your organization’s mission and goals. Then, set them up at the appropriate times.

1) Teach a Course for a Donation

Many people have turned to the Internet to learn new skills and discover new passions. Why not capitalize on that by giving your donors a way to stay home and safe and learn something new?

Set up an online course using Zoom or another video delivery system. Then, have your donors register by donating on your form. You can also choose to pre-record your courses to send them as a digital download after someone gives instead of hosting a live event. Or, choose a combination of both: Record your course as it happens and provide it for donors who were late to find out about it.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Recruit a teacher to teach a class your donors might like, such as yoga, painting, woodworking, cooking, etc. Your organization might already have the expertise on hand through someone on your board or a volunteer.
• Set up a date and time for the class. Establish how you will deliver the class (Zoom, YouTube, or other online delivery). Or, set up an asynchronous recording for donors to view independently.
• Determine the cost of the event for the organization and how much each registration must raise to cover the cost and contribute to your cause. (I.e., costs for the online delivery, the teacher, and any advertising.)
• Create a GiveWP form with a set donation for the registration or ticket fee. You can also enable a custom amount (with a minimum donation equal to the fee) to allow registrants to donate more than the required registration fee.
• Add a featured image that showcases the course well.
• Add the event information to the donation receipt email for the form. This is how your students will find the class.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the registration period.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors showing screenshots and videos from your course.

2) Launch a Digital Scavenger Hunt

People are getting bored with traditional online events. This new fundraising idea allows your donors to actively participate in something fun. Send your donors on a scavenger hunt with prizes as incentives.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Choose a date and time for your scavenger hunt. We recommend using 24 hours.
• Purchase prizes or partner with a business to have prizes donated. If you purchase prizes, make sure your donation amounts will cover the cost while still helping you raise money.
• Create a digital scavenger hunt list. You can choose existing pieces of content on different websites across the internet or partner with businesses to hide clues specifically for the event.
• Choose a prize structure. Giving prizes for first through third places is a good place to start. If you have a lot of participants, consider adding more prizes.
• Create a GiveWP form with a set donation for the registration or ticket fee. You can also enable the custom amount (with a minimum donation equal to the fee) to allow registrants to donate more than the required amount.
• Add a featured image that highlights the scavenger hunt event.
• Add the event information to the donation receipt email for the form so that your donors know when and how to participate.
• Use the PDF Receipt Attachments add-on to include the scavenger hunt list in your Thank You email.
• Create and schedule an email campaign to get the word out.
• Schedule social media posts leading up to the event, and make sure you have plans to be active on social media during the event.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors, letting everyone know who won the scavenger hunt.

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3) Host an Evening with an Expert (Online)

Like teaching a class (idea number one above), setting up an online evening with an expert using Zoom or another video delivery system, and having your donors register by donating on your form.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Recruit your expert to talk about an exciting topic: maybe a sommelier to share wine tips, an author to discuss their book, or a documentarian to talk about their movie.
• Set up a date and time for the event. Establish how you will deliver the class (Zoom, YouTube, or other online delivery).
• Determine the cost of the event for the organization and how much each registration must raise to cover the cost and contribute to your cause. (I.e., costs for the online delivery, the expert’s time, and any advertising.)
• Create a Give form with a set donation for the registration or ticket fee (ensure it covers the costs and raises funds). You can also enable the custom amount (with a minimum donation equal to the fee) to allow registrants to donate more than the required amount. Use a featured image that showcases the event well.
• Add the event information to the donation receipt email for the form. This is how your attendees will find the class at the appointed time.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the registration period.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors showing screenshots and videos from your event.

4) Raffle Off Prizes (or Host a Virtual Auction)

Virtual auctions or raffles haven’t always been easy to do online, but here’s a way that online fundraisers have adapted to raise money while still providing a return to the highest donor. (Note: Some areas have legislatures governing raffles, so please abide by local laws.)

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Solicit items to raffle. (Gift certificates or shippable items work best unless you specify local pickup for bigger items.)
• Create a donation form for each item. Include a great image of the item. Set a minimum donation and then the custom donation minimum to that amount.
• Create a Form Grid to include all item forms.
• Ensure each form (and the page on which the form grid is on) provides the following information: Each prize/item will be awarded to the highest donation. Donating for any item is processed at the time of the donation and does not guarantee the donor will qualify for the prize. Each prize is awarded to the highest donation (or a random donation). In the event of a tie for the highest donation, a random donor from the highest level donation will be selected.
• Set a date/time by which all donations must be received to be eligible for a prize. (Use the Form Countdown for this.)
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• After the auction/raffle is complete, notify your winners and distribute your prizes.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to both prize and monetary donors.

5) Ask for a Year of Giving in Exchange for a Digital Gift

A popular fundraising idea is to entice new donations with a free e-gift. An e-gift requires little or no cost and is a great way to incentivize new donors. It’s essential to prepare a gift that people will want to receive and set it up correctly on your website. Then, after a new donation, the donor will receive an email receipt with a link to download their gift from your site.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Prepare your digital gift in advance. This can be a downloadable PDF (think: ebook, white paper, report, printable poster, etc.), audio file, image, etc.
• Prepare a thumbnail image to use for the gift link. Images are far more appealing than a simple text link.
• Upload both the digital gift and the thumbnail image to your media library as you would an image. (Note: If your file is too big to upload through WordPress, you may need to add it via FTP.)
• Create a New Page in WordPress. This is where your donors will download the digital file. On this page:
  • Write a great gratitude statement thanking your donor for their generosity.
  • Give instructions on downloading the file (i.e., “Click the image below to download your e-book.”).
  • Insert the thumbnail image.
  • Add the digital download hyperlink from your WordPress media files to the thumbnail image.
  • Style the page however you’d like it to look.
  • Turn off search engine indexing for this page. You do not want this page to be optimized for SEO, as this page should only be accessible to those who have donated through your Give form.
  • You can password-protect the page if you want to use WordPress’s visibility setting (found in the Publish section of the classic editor and Document section of the new editor).
• Style the receipt and add the download link.
  • Open the donation form to which you want to attach the gift. Then click the “Email Notifications” tab on the left-hand side, followed by “Donation Receipt.”
  • Add a statement of gratitude to the receipt and click “add media” to add the thumbnail image.
  • If you password-protected the gift page, make sure to include that password here as well.
  • Link the thumbnail image to the new gift page you created in step 3.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

6) Crowdsource a Creative Project

Many times, donors wish they could volunteer but lack the time to do so. Allow your donors to contribute to your organization with more than just their monetary donation. Allowing them to contribute to a recipe book, calendar, or other similar project allows them to give twice with the same donation!

Have your donors submit a recipe or photo with their donation. In return, they’ll get a copy of the finished version. You can even use the completed cookbook as a digital gift for donation later. (See #5 above.)

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Decide what kind of recipe book you will source. (Any/all recipes? Desserts only?)
• Set a deadline.
• Create a Give form using the Form Field Manager add-on.
• Add fields for the recipe information using the Form Field Manager area of the form. Include:
  • Name of Recipe
  • Name of Submitter (as they want it to appear)
  • How many servings will the recipe create?
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • File upload (if they have a photo of the finished recipe)
  • Anything else you want to include
• Edit your donation receipt for this form to include information on when you will publish the cookbook and how to deliver it.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Design the cookbook and create a PDF.
• Send it out to all of your contributors!
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

7) Pass on Kindness with eCards

Why not set up Tributes for your donors to send eCards like Valentines or encouragement cards? You can also use this same concept for any other holiday. This allows donors to donate to your cause while sending a holiday greeting to family, friends, and other loved ones.

For this fundraiser, set a donation amount so that anyone who wants to send a Valentine will spend the same amount on each donation. Then, encourage donors to send multiple eCards with the form content or your donation receipt.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Create a Give form using the Tributes add-on.
• Customize the Tributes function for this form:
  • Tribute Title: “Send a Valentine”
  • Fieldset Title: “Send a Valentine with Your Donation”
  • Tribute Prepended Label: “Who is Your Valentine?”
• Set up your e-card:
  • Enable eCards in the Tribute settings of the form.
  • Change your eCard Email Subject to: “{donor_name} has sent you a Valentine and made a {amount} donation because they love you!”
  • Edit the text of the Card:

Dear {notify_name},A Valentine donation of {amount} has been made to our organization by {donor_fullname}, in your honor! Would you like to send a Valentine, too? Click here to make a donation and honor your Valentine: (add your form link here). {donor_message} Happy Valentine’s Day, {sitename}

• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

8) Add a Donation to Your Swag Store

If you have merchandise for your organization, you can also use WooCommerce to sell your products and GiveWP to add a donation option to the cart or checkout.

If you don’t have merchandise, consider creating some T-shirts for your cause. T-shirts for your organization serve multiple purposes. They make some money on markup, and they spread the word about your organization every time someone wears one.

Adding a donation component to your WooCommerce checkout allows you to gather even more online donations when someone makes a purchase.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Decide on the T-shirt design and create a cost breakdown per shirt.
• Determine shipping costs and logistics or create a pickup location (if your donor base is local).
• Decide how much you will sell each T-shirt for and exactly how much will go toward your cause.
• Install and set up WooCommerce.
• Install and set up Donation Upsells for WooCommerce.
• Add your T-shirt options as WooCommerce products. Include photos, a description, and a breakdown of how much will go toward the cause versus what is needed for the cost of the item.
• Use the generic WooCommerce Shop pages or set up a landing page for your T-shirts.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Post videos and photos of your team preparing orders.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

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9) Ask for “Why I Give” Videos from Donors

Asking for donor videos is similar to the “unselfie” campaigns and other social media challenge fundraising ideas.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Set up a Give form using Form Field Manager to add extra fields and capture the necessary information. Add required fields for First/Last Name, Phone Number (and address if you want to collect it).
• Add any Terms and Conditions necessary for the contest.
• Set a deadline for donations to enter.
• Once you’ve reached your deadline, export the donation information, randomize the donation records, and select a winner.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Announce the winner and make sure to document the winner receiving their prize.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

10) Hold a Sailboat Race on Your Website

There’s nothing like a little healthy competition to move donations along. For this fundraiser, come up with 4 (or more) things you’d like to see funded at about the same cost. Then, let your donors help you choose with their dollars.

The race takes place through progress goal bars displayed through a form grid. The competition adds a sense of urgency, giving donors even more reason to give.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Create a form for each of the 4 (or more) projects you would like to fund.
  • Use a different sailboat image for the featured image for each form.
  • Set a donation goal for each form (set the color to blue for the “water”).
  • Explain that any money raised through the non-winning projects will go toward the general fund (or wherever you intend to use it).
• Create a form grid for your forms on a fundraising page dedicated to this campaign.
• Once one of the forms has reached its goal, announce the winner and get started on the project.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors showing the completed project.

11) Organize a Community-Wide (Virtual) Dance Party

It’s been hard to do walk-a-thons, dance-a-thons (or any a-thons) since the pandemic started, since it’s hard to do social distancing at an event like that, so why not host a virtual one?

Your registrants can walk, dance, rocking-chair, or hula hoop in the privacy of their own home while still getting involved with your organization and raising money at the same time. Whatever event you use as a fundraiser, you can use a GiveWP form for registration.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Decide which event you will host.
• Determine the cost of the event for the organization and how much each registration must raise to cover the cost and contribute to your cause.
• Create a Give form with a set donation for the registration or ticket fee (ensure it covers the costs and raises funds). You can also enable the custom amount (with a minimum donation equal to the fee) to allow entrants to donate more than the required amount. Use a featured image that showcases the event well.
• Add the event information to the donation receipt email for the form.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the registration period.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors showing images and videos from your event.

12) Build the Future (Online)

We think that some brilliant fundraising ideas center around projects. If your organization is looking to purchase or construct a new building, add on to an existing space, or update your digital tools (like your website, online community tools, and software), then this is the fundraiser for you. With a “Build the Future” campaign, donors see how much a building costs item by item and are invited to contribute to the total in ways that make sense to them.

The main idea is to create a form with all the items and work needed to complete your project and their associated costs. Each donation level is associated with one of these items, so donors can choose what they purchase for you.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Create a form for the fundraiser.
• Set a goal equal to the total amount of the project.
• Upload an image of a sketch or blueprint of your finished building as the featured image.
• Set up multi-level donations equal to parts of a project. For example:
  • $10 for a box of nails or part of a Zoom license
  • $25 for a can of paint or a social media ad
  • $50 for lumber or part of your annual email subscription
  • $100 for a 10’ x 10’ square of carpeting or an hour of developer time
  • $500 for lighting or part of your Slack subscription
  • $1000 for electrical work or 1/5 of your new website
• Create and schedule an email campaign. Include photos of the building project in progress if possible.
• If your project is in a physical location where you can hang street signage, consider adding text-to-give so that donors passing by can easily give on the go (when they stop driving).
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.
• Make sure to thank your donors when the project is complete.

13) Fast for a Cause (Give a Pizza)

The main concept behind this fundraiser idea is to ask donors to give the amount it would cost them to do something “extra” for themselves, like order a pizza or get a cup of designer coffee. Asking your donors to fast for your cause is basically asking for the cost of a meal. Challenge your donors to forego that meal or cook at home instead of ordering out. This will encourage them to think about your organization during that period and not only when they are on your website.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Create a form for the fundraiser.
• Enable Recurring Donations for them to give a meal every month.
• Set up multi-level donations equal to meals or beverages. For example:
  • $5 for a cup of “coffee shop coffee.”
  • $10 for a fast food meal
  • $25 for a pizza dinner
  • $50 for a restaurant dinner
• You can even set up your donation receipt to include a printable or shareable icon that says something like, “I fasted for ‘your organization!’”
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Implement text-to-give so that you can include phone numbers for SMS giving on signs and flyers.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

14) Have a (Virtual) Snowball or Balloon Fight

There’s nothing like a winter snowball fight or summer balloon war to inspire seasonal fun! Here’s your chance to throw a virtual snowball or water balloon at a friend or family member, all for a good cause, without the mess and cleanup.

This fundraiser will use the Tributes add-on of GiveWP to send an e-card to “hit” your target with a virtual snowball/water balloon, challenging them to send one to someone else. The more people engage in the “fight,” the more money you’ll make.

Steps to Set Up this Fundraiser

• Create a form for your virtual snowball or balloon war.
• Explain in your Form Content Area how it works. “Send a virtual snowball/water balloon to someone, and challenge them to send one, too!”
• Use a single-level donation for your sales. (Enable custom amounts in case your “throwers” feel generous.)
• Enable the Tributes function for the form. Change the Tribute Text to “Your snowball/balloon target.” Make sure you’ve enabled e-cards.
• Add a great image to your e-card, and change the text to reflect the competitive nature of the fight. “The {amount} donation that {donor_name} made to the “{form_title}” fund in your name will help our cause and be put to good use making a difference – and, of course, they had fun targeting you!”
• Create and schedule an email campaign. Include fun images and sayings like “Get competitive. Throw a virtual snowball/virtual balloon. Help us raise some funds in the process.”
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser. Make it fun.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts showing donors how much you raised.

15) Host a (Virtual) Food Festival

Who says you have to meet in person to experience different foods? Why not host an online food festival? Send out ingredient lists in advance so people can cook along with the dishes that intrigue them or make them shortly thereafter. Imagine the aromas that can build in your kitchen when you’re not only tasting the food…but making it, too!

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Find volunteers to host cooking classes and cultural food lessons throughout the day. People can share the history of their dish, the recipe, or both.
• Set up a Zoom webinar schedule with one person per hour.
• Set up a Give WP form for each class and put them in a Form Grid to collect a donation per cuisine.
• Or set up one form with the Form Field Manager installed to let donors select which cuisines they will use.
• Or set up one form and let them attend on and off all day!
• Use one of GiveWP’s Email marketing integrations (like MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, or Constant Contact) to automate event reminders, send ingredient lists, etc.
• Create and schedule an email campaign. Include fun facts about different cultures and cuisines, cooking facts, and great food images.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts showing donors how much you raised. (Include a few screenshots, too!)

16) Create an Online Lemonade Stand

This fundraiser brings the fun of a lemonade stand to your website. Why not set up a lemonade stand without the stickiness, bees, and potential weather issues?

Kids’ lemonade stands have been a fundraising archetype for decades (or maybe longer). A lemonade stand in the front yard can only raise money from those who walk or drive by, but an online fundraiser can reach anyone who clicks the link you send them. In this case, the people sending the link are your “salespeople” and those who donate “buy a cup of lemonade” from them.

Follow these steps to get your virtual lemonade stand making lemonade out of lemons!

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Form a team of people to be your lemonade salespeople. These people will actively share the fundraiser link and work to help raise as much money as possible.
• Create a form for your virtual lemonade stand.
• Use a great lemonade image for your featured image that makes your donors practically taste the sweet, citrus-y drink when they see it.
• Use multi-level donations for your “sales:”
  • $5 for one cup
  • $10 for two cups
  • $15 for three cups
  • $20 for four cups
  • $50 for a whole pitcher
• Enable the Form Field Manager with a drop-down list of your salespeople with the form field label of “Who poured your lemonade today?” Don’t forget to add something like “I poured my own” for anyone who doesn’t know one of your salespeople.
• Think about customizing your donation receipt with a great recipe for homemade lemonade to personalize the campaign. You can even include information on how the donor can become a salesperson.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser. Use fun sayings like “When life hands you lemons…” and fill in the blank with fun things your staff comes up with.
• At the end of the fundraiser, total up your salespeople’s donation attributions and award the leading person a prize.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors, showing them the completed project.

17) Compete with Another Organization

In 2019, we found this fundraising idea from a GiveWP customer who competed with a similar organization in another town to see who could reach their fundraising goal first within 24 hours. Their results were shockingly successful. This got us thinking: why don’t more nonprofits compete with each other to raise money?

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Find the right organization to partner with. This can be an organization that has the same mission as you in another town or a nonprofit complementary mission that aligns with the same goals as your own.
• Agree on a date and goal amount to raise.
• Consider adding a prize to one donor, chosen at random. The City Mission and their competing partners used NFL jerseys from their hometown teams, who happened to be rivals.
• Create a donation form on your website and set the goal to your chosen amount. Ensure you add the story about the competition and how it will help both causes raise money together.
• Don’t forget to include photos of any prizes you’ve chosen to include for donors.
• Add a countdown timer when the event begins to add to the sense of urgency.
• Schedule social media and email blasts to let everyone know about the event before it happens.
• Ensure you post live updates on the event day and email your newsletter list.
• Post a recap, thanking your donors and the partnering organization.

18) Partner with a Business for a Matching Fund Campaign

This fundraiser allows a business to support your organization and encourage individual donations simultaneously!

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Find a business (local or global) that you can recruit to do a matching fund campaign with you.
• Include images and text about how excited you are that the business matches donations, and show your gratitude with a link to their website.
• Set up your GiveWP form to accept donations.
  • Will they match up to a set donation per individual? Total? Find out so you can set up your form accordingly. Set a maximum donation on the form if this is the case.
• Set a goal bar for the total donation the business will match. Once the donations reach that level, ensure your donation form is set to turn off. If this happens, change the language on the setting to redirect donors to your main donation page so that you can still accept their (unmatched) donation.
• Set up a donor wall just for this donation form. Put the shortcode for this form’s donor wall somewhere on the form page. This way, your donors can see through the goal bar and the donor wall how successful your campaign is.
• Change your donation confirmation email to reflect that their donation has been matched by the organization, and include a link back to the organization’s website as part of your gratitude.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

19) Host a Design or Photo Contest

Another fundraiser involving giving back to your donors in a different way is to host a contest. In this case, each donation before a set deadline is entered to “win” something.

Go crazy brainstorming ideas as to what the prize could be. Partner with a local television station for the winner to do the weather on TV. Set up dinner with your CEO/Director. Create a gift basket of your organization’s swag. Get tickets to a concert or sporting event to use as the prize. Just make sure the prize is something that people would want to win.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Set up a GiveWP donation form to collect donations for this event, or choose an existing form to funnel donations into.
• Download, install, and activate the GiveWP Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Solution.
• Create a Peer-to-Peer campaign for this contest, select the form you created, and add any Terms and Conditions necessary for the contest.
• Set a deadline for the voting period.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Schedule social media posts throughout the fundraiser.
• Announce the winner and make sure to document the winner receiving their prize.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

20) Deliver Dessert

Everyone loves dessert! So why not pair up with a local restaurant or bakery to have desserts delivered to your donors? This fundraiser works best with 3-4 whole desserts (cake, pie, etc.) of different prices.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Set up a Give form using Form Field Manager to add extra fields and capture the necessary information. Add required fields for First/Last Name, Phone Number, and delivery address.
• Set your prices per item (make sure to add to the price for the fundraiser aspect!). For example, $15 for a cherry pie, $20 for a chocolate cake, and $25 for a cheesecake.
• Add any Terms and Conditions necessary.
• Set a deadline for donations so the restaurant/bakery can prepare.
• Once you’ve reached your deadline, export the donation information and share the orders with the restaurant/bakery for no-contact pickup or delivery.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Deliver the desserts!
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

21) Provide Porch-traits

This is a great way for families and individuals to get some family photos or individual headshots done and do some fundraising simultaneously. One day, your photographer will travel to each donor’s home and take socially-distanced photos of the donors in their yards or porches. Once donors have submitted their donations, your organization will schedule their sitting and provide your photographer with an itinerary.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Recruit a photographer to spend a day traveling to donor homes for portraits.
• Create a form with a set donation. (Be sure to include any costs associated with the fundraiser, including your photographer’s fees and travel expenses.)
• Set a date by which donations must be received to be scheduled. (Use the free form countdown add-on for this.)
• Use the Form Field Manager to collect phone numbers and physical addresses.
• Set a goal for your donation for a set number of donors (to accomplish all the portraits in one day). Set the goal to close the form once the number has been reached.
• Once the donations are received, and the form is closed, call each donor to schedule their portrait.
• Create and schedule an email campaign.
• Work with the photographer to deliver the digital portraits once they have been taken and edited.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors. (Be sure to get a model release (which can be included in the form with the Form Field Manager) from each donor to be able to use their portraits in social media and email.)

22) Allow Supporters to Dedicate Their Birthdays

You can host your birthday dedication campaign on your website, just like the Facebook Birthday Fundraisers! This way, you control the donor data and receive all your donations in just a few days.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Set up a GiveWP donation form to collect donations for your birthday fundraising campaigns, or choose an existing form to funnel donations into.
• Download, install, and activate the GiveWP Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Solution.
• Create a Peer-to-Peer campaign for your birthday fundraisers, selecting the form you created.
• Make sure you add your new campaign page to the menu on your website.
• Create and schedule an email campaign. (Consider using email marketing tools to email donors a week before their birthdays.)
• Schedule social media posts to go out throughout the year, reminding people they can dedicate their birthday.
• Announce the winner and make sure to document the winner receiving their prize.
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

23) Set Up a Text-to-Give Campaign 

We don’t have to tell you that more and more donors are discovering and completing their donor journeys via their smartphones. Just in case you’re skeptical, here are some interesting statistics from Nonprofits Source: 

• 90% of text message reminders are read in 3 minutes 
• $107 is the average text-to-give donation 
• 51% of people who visit a nonprofit’s site do so on a mobile device
• 25% of donors complete their donations on mobile devices

Text-to-Give has become a critical and effective part of fundraising strategies – and it’s an incredibly simple way to supplement any of your current or future fundraising campaigns.  You could be leaving dollars on the table if you’re not using it. 

Steps to set up Text-to-Give: 

• Get the GiveWP “Text-to-Give” add-on 
• Sign up for Twilio 
• Install and activate
• Configure your message in the settings 
• Connect to Twilio 
• Customize settings to suit your fundraising needs 
• Designate your donation form for text-giving 
• Publish and test 
• Fundraise!

24) Host a Golf Tournament

You can host a golf tournament and use GiveWP as the signup for your teams! Set the minimum donation as the entry fee, but use the custom donation to accept higher donations.

Steps to set up this fundraiser:

• Set up a GiveWP donation form to collect donations for your golf teams.
• Download, install, and activate the GiveWP Form Field Manager add-on.
• In Form Field Manager, create a field for the team leader to put their information and another for them to list their teammates. This will give you a complete list of attendees who can check in at the event anytime.
• Create a landing page for your golf tournament, including all the details for the event (location, date, time, food, etc.), and add your GiveWP form to this landing page as the registration form.
• Make sure you add your new landing page to the menu on your website.
• Create and schedule an email campaign. (Consider using email marketing tools to email donors a week before their birthdays.)
• Schedule social media posts announcing the tournament and how to sign up for it.
• Announce the tournament winners and document them receiving their prizes (trophies, certificates, gift cards, or whatever you decide).
• Follow up with social media posts and email blasts to donors.

What’s your favorite fundraiser idea?

Which one was your favorite? Build any one of these twelve fundraiser ideas on your website using GiveWP. Our Plus Plan gives you access to every add-on at an affordable cost. Purchase one now to create your ideal fundraiser.