Fundraising doesn’t have to be a chore, it can be adventure, or something you slot into your everyday life. Here are some fundraising ideas to get you started, but we want you to enjoy fundraising, so feel free to use your creativity!

Experienced Samaritan’s Purse fundraisers tell us that the more ‘gimmicky’ the event the more likely it is to be well attended – this is why so many strange things happen in the name of charity fundraising. We are not, however, expecting you to sit in a bath of beans or go bog snorkelling, but you may get a very good response if you choose something that has not been done before in your area.

We have heard about Open Days or OCC Launch events held not in a church hall but in the local Guides/Brownies HQ. As this requires catering it also allows the Brownies to get their hospitality badge and the parents will also attend.

Sponsored Events

Whether you’re athletic or you’d like to get fit, a sponsored event is a great way of raising awareness for our work and increasing your fitness level. Rather than having the traditional ‘sponsorship’ format why not just ask folk to donate some money to take part. Try adding the ‘athon’ to any activity doing it for 2, 8 or even 24 hours in a prominent place to attract attention and donations.

• The TCS London Marathon, Sunday 23 April 2023. Samaritan’s Purse have a number of places available: Find out more. To get in touch with us about the possibility of running with one of our places contact us.
• Football or Cricket Matches A five-a-side football match or cricket match is a great way of fundraising and having fun. Ensure all participants are sponsored and the crowd give a donation (at their own discretion) to watch.

• Walks – for example, sponsored dog walks. Find more ideas on the Turn on the Tap Fundraising Ideas webpage
• Swims – Why not get a group of friends together and set a challenge? How about collectively attempting to swim the length of the English Channel?
• Mannequin for the day – be a model in the window of a local shop
• Parachute / bungee jumping for the brave or teddy parachute jumps for the not-so-brave
• Silence – How long do you think you can go without speaking? 24 hours? A week? Do a sponsored silence in solidarity with the people we raise money for, who often have no one to speak up for them. A symbolic way of fundraising and raising awareness!
• Fast – many of the people we help through our work go days without meals. A sponsored 24-hour fast is a great way of empathising with them and alerting people to their plight.

Social Events

• Coffee morning, barbecue, Strawberry tea, wine tasting, Pudding Evening or a ‘Poems and Puddings’ – successfully combing culture and food. Home made cakes are always popular!
• Charity Come Dine with Me – if you hold dinner parties to entertain friends and family members, here’s how you can do it with a twist. Invite your friends around, cook lots of food and “charge” per head. Simply ask your friends to donate what they would spend in a restaurant.
• Dinner4Good – a new and easy way to raise money for your favourite charity by having friends over for a meal. Check out www.dinner4good.com
• Murder Mystery Nights
• Other events – Skittle evening, Fashion shows, Quiz nights, Concerts, Karaoke nights, quizzes & Beetle Drives
• Competitions – e.g. Design a Christmas Card
• Face painting
• Dress down day at the office

Sales

• Produce items, such as greetings cards, to sell at fairs and social events
• Craft items – knitted hats, scarves etc which are surplus to the requirements at the OCC warehouse (with donor’s permission of course)
• Cakes and biscuits
• Bring and buy – books, plants, etc
• Quiz Sheets – e.g. OCC WordSearch
• Covered shoeboxes ready for OCC
• Sales & Auctions – e.g. promises Auction or a Car Boot

Fun activities

Here are some good substitutes for raffles and games of chance:

• Guess the name of the doll
• Guess the number of sweets in a jar
• Guess the numbers of balloons in a car
• Guess the weight of a specially baked cake

 Personal

• Collecting small change in a bottle or jar – leave a jar in your house or even in your office, encouraging those you know to fill it up with their loose change, explaining what the cause is. It’s a great way of raising money for our work and telling people about what we do*
• Collecting one type of coin e.g. 5p coins
• Clearing out your unwanted items and selling them on E-bay or at a Car Boot sale
• If you shop online, you can raise funds for Samaritan’s Purse every time you shop by registering with Give As You Live 

* Raising Families and Turn on the Tap have special labels which you can use to wrap around an empty food tin or mineral water bottle if you are fundraising for either of these projects

Useful websites

http://www.better-fundraising-ideas.com/fundraising-auction.html

http://www.doitforcharity.com/

http://www.100fundraisingideas.co.uk/

http://www.justgiving.com/

http://www.giveasyoulive.com/

For more information, contact: Samaritan’s Purse Head Office – 0208 559 2044