When the temperature rises, so do the spirits and summer time is the perfect time to hold a fundraising event (or nine) – there’s so much more room outside! Have a look at the ideas below and see if sum-erve them could give your fundraising a major boost.
1. Barbecue Bash
Take advantage of the warm weather and organise a summer barbecue. Who doesn’t love a barbie? Don’t forget to make a summer punch, too, but aside from this, you may want to make it a BYOB (bring your own booze) event to save some money.
Invite family, friends and neighbours to join you in raising funds for your challenge. If you can invite 30 people and charge them £10 each you have already made £300 before the evening starts. Make sure you have lots of info about the charity and your challenge displayed and a bucket, tin or jar for people to make donations at the end of the night. You could even hold a raffle, tombola or auction during the event for extra funds. Source the prizes beforehand by asking your guests when you invite them, to bring any unwanted gifts/ bric a brac they’d be happy to donate.
2. Garden Open Day
If you have a nice garden, why not open it to the public? It doesn’t have to be Kew Gardens and even if you have a communal garden with your neighbours, they might like to get involved and help set it up! Loads of people like having a nose round other people’s gardens, especially if you throw in a cream tea with the entrance fee. Set up an event on Facebook, try and get a free advert in your local paper and print off some posters to put around key places in your local community. To make extra cash, you could easily hold a bake sale in your garden, too. As it’s your own property, there’s no need to get license or anything – just rustle up some tasty treats and sell them to your guests. If baking isn’t your slice of cake, sell raffle tickets all afternoon instead, with the winner to be revealed by phone/ email later.
If you charge £6 a head (including the cream tea) and you have 30 people you should make at least £150 after costs. Why not try and sell plants and other garden items you may have to raise extra cash? The raffle, bake sale and donations should make you another £150. After expenses you should clear £300.
3. Summer garage sale
Summer is the ideal time to have a good clear out – cupboards, the loft and of course, your garage and shed. Make a board to advertise your sale and have it displayed at least one week before the day. Sunday is probably the best day as people tend to be out shopping and doing other jobs on Saturday. Price the larger items but take offers for smaller ones. Put up some bunting to draw potential punters to the sale. Have a bucket on your table for people to make donations. For very little work and depending on what you have for your sale, you could make about £200 – not bad for a day’s work!
4. Three-legged pub crawl
See if you can find three or four pubs in close proximity. Ask each pub if they will provide beer and cider for the challenge. If they can’t donate it, they should be happy to offer a discount for participants, considering it’ll bring them loads of business. You then need to recruit as many pairs/ couples as possible to take part in the race. Try to recruit 20 pairs and charge them £10 entry fee per pair, this will make you £200. The aim of the challenge is for the participants to race three-legged to each pub and drink a pint of beer/cider and then to race onto the next pub. The winning couple will be the ones that drink all three pints and finish in the quickest time. Ask the last pub if they will let you hold a raffle, which should make you another £100.
5. Summer shine up
Try and find a busy car park at one of the large supermarkets and ask them if they will allow you to wash cars while people are shopping. Make up a board advertising the challenge you are doing and have plenty of charity leaflets. Charge £5 per car and have a bucket for donations. Try to recruit a group of people to help you. If you have a fine day with lots of people and you wash 40 cars between you this should make you £200.
6. Anyone for tennis and strawberries?
Hold this event is at the start or end of Wimbledon. Try and get your local tennis club (or leisure centre or school) to let you have the use of their courts for free. Then invite friends/contacts/family to a “Tennis Fun Day”. See if the venue will advertise the day to their members. Organise mini-tournaments throughout the afternoon. The highlight of the day will be the delicious strawberries/cream served with ice-cold sparkling wine. Try to get everything donated from local stores so your outlay is small. If you charge £10 per head and you have 30 guests you should make £300 – if all your food is donated. Berry nice indeed!
7. Family fun bike ride
Advertise this through your local paper/ local schools churches and sports centres. Decide on a route of around 20 miles and make sign-posts with arrows throughout, directing them clearly through the route. Each family is asked to bring a picnic which they will all eat together mid-way through the ride. Each family is asked to pay an entry fee to the ride of £10 per family. If just 20 families turn up you will make £200 with hardly any outlay. You may however want to provide a little treat for the participants to reward them for conquering their cycle. Boxes of chocolates would go down nicely, along with a bottle of wine for the fastest family.
8. Teddy bears’ picnic
This is one for the kids! Find a nice circular walk – hopefully in a wooded area and invite the public to a teddy bears’ picnic. Again, posters in local shops and snippets in your local newsletter will help you get people (and bears!) to come along. All the kids and adults will of course need to bring their favourite cuddly toy. Everyone brings either their own picnic or a contribution to a larger picnic for everyone to enjoy together. Perhaps organise some kind of entertainment, like a rounders match and some games of hide and seek, to make it worth their entry fee (beside the amazing cause)! Charge each family £10 for the day, hopefully you will get 20 families – this should make you £200 minimum.
9. Treasure hunt
This can be loads of fun for all ages and entire families and teams will be happy to donate so they can get in on the action. Work out your start and finish points and then plan cryptic clues and questions to lead people around the route to the treasure hidden at the finish point. Make it as short or as long as you want and why not end up at a local pub, where people can round the day off with a drink?
We hope these ideas have fuelled your summer spirit and whichever events you decide to throw, have a great time! Never forget, you’re working towards an invaluable cause and we’re forever in awe of your incredible efforts and commitment to the charities you’ve chosen to support!