10 Fall Fundraising Ideas To Give Back

Fall is a busy time of year with back to school, new sports starting up and the fast approaching holidays. With so much on our schedules it’s easy to forget that this is the start of the season for giving back. 
Instead of waiting until Thanksgiving or Christmas to do your one day of volunteering/giving back, consider starting sooner. Not only will you feel good about doing something important for your community or favorite charity but you can involve your family and friends which develops a deeper relationship in the process. 

In a world that seems a little out of whack right now, one thing that can keep us all grounded is to do something (small or big) to give back and teach empathy to our kids. 

Here are a couple ideas to start your own fundraiser this fall to support your favorite charity:
Host a Chili cookoff

1. “Boo” someone’s yard- you can find cute lawn decorations and then you simply choose a person to "BOO!"- what this means is that you get some treats like candy or anything festive, secretly place a fun Halloween-themed bag on their door knob and place a Yard Sign on their yard to let them know they have been BOO’ED! Make sure to leave a note that says they can either Boo someone else OR donate to your selected charity (or both)!
2. Bake sale- ask your neighbors and friends to contribute a baked good to sell for a fundraiser bake sale! 
3. Host a pumpkin carving contest
4. Donation based exercise class: if you own a fitness business or teach a group fitness class- consider offering an exclusive class in exchange for a donation to your charity of choice. I’ve attended a neon dance party hosted at my local gym where all of their dance fitness instructors came on stage for 15 minutes each and taught a portion of their classes to a large group or participants dressed in their favorite neon outfits. The entry to participate was a donation to a breast cancer foundation.
5. Host a happy hour or pub crawl: If you love beer and you love an organization, why not combine the two? Work with your local breweries to host a fun gathering for a single happy hour or make a whole pub crawl out of it. The entry fee can be donated to a specific charity or organization.
6. Host a fun run/walk for Halloween or Thanksgiving: Partner with local schools to make your event even more successful. Look into hosting the event at a local school’s track or football venue. Consider partnering with a school’s cross country team to help raise awareness and potentially volunteer at the race to encourage attendees—after all, they know a few things about running.
7. Have to dress up for work or wear a uniform to school? Host a Dress Down Day where you get to wear casual clothes in exchange for a donation.
8. Birthdays, graduations or anniversaries are all great excuses to fundraise. Instead of birthday gifts, ask your friends to donate to your fundraiser. Celebrating a 10 year anniversary? Ask your loved ones to donate $10 in honor (or for a fun twist, ask them to donate a dollar for every year longer they think you’ll stay married).
9. Set up a Rivalry competition: if your school has a rival, consider challenging them with a fun competition to see who can raise the most money for your favorite charity. Get creative with how you want to raise funds so you can win! Talk with your charity of choice about setting up an incentive for the winning school (free pizza lunch, etc.) Duke and North Carolina’s school newspapers organized a similar fundraiser to tap into their heated rivalry on the basketball court, but channeled this competitiveness for good.

Remember to get as creative as you want and recruit your friends, family and social network to help you so you don’t get so overwhelmed. Also, it’s a good idea to check in with the organization you plan to fundraise for to see if they can help you plan and if they have logos, marketing materials and fundraising software for you to use. 

Happy Giving Back season!

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Allison Harker, Community Relations Manager

Allison has a background in non-profit work, which has always held a special place in her heart. Having a deeper meaning to the work she does is really important to her. She looks forward to supporting OCF and growing with the organization to make a difference in the lives of families here in Wyoming.