Community nonprofits, PTA fundraising groups, and thousands of other small fundraising teams struggle with the same issue: finding easy yet effective fundraisers to power their mission without breaking the bank. 

After all, many of the most popular fundraising ideas seem like they take hundreds of volunteers and thousands of dollars in initial investments to pull off. However, just because you don’t have the bandwidth to host a grand fundraising event yet, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have options.

From simplified multichannel fundraising campaigns to tried-and-true community fundraisers, plenty of fundraising opportunities still exist that your team can hold at little-to-no cost, with just a few trained volunteers. 

To help you carry out impactful campaigns, we'll explore the following top choices for  unique (and easy!) fundraising ideas perfectly suited for any size organization:

• Shoe Drive Fundraisers
• Crowdfunding
• Matching Gifts
• Merchandise Sales
• Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers

As we explore these different fundraising opportunities, be sure to consider the resources they take to host, their main strengths and weaknesses, and how you can adjust each idea to suit the needs and goals of your organization. 

Shoe Drive Fundraisers

Shoe drive fundraisers are a fan favorite school fundraiser. They present the perfect opportunity for young students to participate in charitable giving while doing something as simple as giving away shoes they’ve outgrown. That said, shoe drive fundraisers are a fun, simple fundraising idea for any organization that wants to engage its community in a unique way! Plus, they don’t require a ton of hands-on assistance.

So, how does it work? First, you’ll want to partner with a shoe drive fundraising coordinator to streamline the entire process for your team. They’ll provide you with collection and marketing materials to power your campaign. Then, you’ll set up donation boxes around your community for supporters to drop off their gently worn, new and used shoes. Also, some shoe drive fundraising services offer a contactless pick-up for donations.

Any donated shoes collected then get sold to a third-party retailer, with your team getting revenue for every pound of shoes collected. That’s it! Your organization can raise money quickly and easily while also providing a service for your supporters by finding a better home for their unwanted shoes.

Crowdfunding

If you haven’t heard of crowdfunding, then consider this your wake-up call! Crowdfunding is an incredibly popular online fundraising idea that large organizations, small fundraising teams, and even individuals use to raise money for their cause.

Crowdfunding campaigns are time-sensitive fundraisers where your nonprofit will drum up support from across the Internet, relying on many small donations to work your way toward your goal.

To get started, find a trusted crowdfunding platform to host your campaign. Then, create and customize your fundraising page. Be sure to brand it to your organization, and include engaging information like your campaign goal, a captivating photo, a description of your cause, and a fundraising thermometer. Finally, promote your page across various marketing channels, encourage donors to spread the word, and maintain your campaign’s momentum as you launch toward fundraising success.

Matching Gifts

Corporate matching gifts are a type of corporate philanthropy—the programs that businesses undertake to support charitable causes. Essentially, if a company’s employee donates to your mission, you may be eligible to receive a match from their employer. 

The wonderful (and convenient) thing about this engaging online fundraiser is that there’s already a pipeline in place to facilitate donations. There are already matching gift programs, policies, and submission forms that thousands of businesses have up and running. Your job is to make sure that your donors are aware of these programs and remember to submit a request if they’re eligible.

Digital marketing is key to the success of your matching gifts drive. Include regular reminders about matching gifts across your website, email newsletters, and other communication channels. 

Additionally, you can nudge donors in the right direction directly on your donation page with a matching gift database, which can help them to find their employers’ forms and conveniently submit a request in a matter of seconds.

Merchandise Sales

Merchandise sales involve your organization making custom merchandise, such as t-shirts or water bottles, and selling them online.

These fundraisers are not only a popular and simple strategy to bring in donations for your mission, but they also double as a clever marketing tool. After all, if you’ve done a good job creating beautiful, comfortable, and useful merchandise that donors genuinely care about, then they’ll sport your merch for years to come and expose new audiences to your brand.

To ensure that your merchandise fundraiser goes off without a hitch and donors proudly show off their purchases, take a look at these steps from Bonfire’s guide to making and selling custom merchandise: 

1. Identify your audience, determining what products they’re interested in, and the appropriate marketing channels.
2. Design stylish, eye-catching merchandise that tastefully shows off your brand.
3. Find the right custom t-shirt platform to create, sell, and ship your merchandise.
4. Launch your merchandise marketing campaign.
5. Encourage supporters to like and share your promotion—and make their own posts posing with their new merchandise!

While you also have the option to break out a table and host a classic in-person sale, these tech-savvy virtual fundraising tips will guarantee that the online leg of your merchandise fundraiser is a hit for current and prospective donors.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers

Peer-to-peer fundraising is an umbrella term for dozens of different events and campaigns that involve donors making and sharing donation pages on behalf of your organization. For example, a lot of viral social media challenges are peer-to-peer campaigns. Donors will post wacky stunts or ongoing, inspirational activities, asking their friends and family to donate and even join in on the challenge.

“A-thon” events are another extremely popular kind of peer-to-peer campaign that could work for many small organizations. Perhaps you’d like to organize a small in-person event and get your donors’ legs moving with a sporty walk-a-thon. Maybe you want to rent out a small space for a fun, competitive dance-a-thon. You might even host an online read-a-thon, another popular school fundraising idea. 

Whatever kind of campaign or event you choose to host, just be sure to follow the cornerstones of successful peer-to-peer fundraising, including that you:

• 
  Encourage fundraising participants to customize their personal donation pages.
• Ask your participants to send and share fundraising emails.
• Highlight the importance of posting on social media.
• Motivate your participants and donors to work towards fundraising milestones.

Because peer-to-peer campaigns rely so much on participants’ work, it’s critical that you lend a helping hand to facilitate more donations and keep their passion for the campaign alive.

If you’re curious to learn about even more amazing fundraisers and how to launch them, this Funds2Orgs list of fundraising ideas for nonprofits includes more than 45 standout campaigns for your team.

With these easy and effective fundraising ideas, your small organization should be in the perfect position to engage more donors, organize more powerful campaigns, and raise more money than ever.

About the Author

Wayne Elsey

Wayne Elsey is the founder and CEO of Elsey Enterprises (EE) and a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. Among his various independent brands, he is also the founder and CEO of Funds2Orgs, which is a social enterprise that helps schools, churches, nonprofits, individuals and other organizations raise funds while helping to support micro-enterprise (small business) opportunities in developing nations.