October has arrived, and with it a truly autumnal mood. The temperature has dropped and people are settling in for cosy season with spiced coffees and log fires.
But don’t get too comfortable – There’s fundraising to be done! This is a great time of year to get people of all ages involved with lots of fun fundraising ideas for all the family. And with Halloween in sight, there’s still time to put some of these spooky fundraising ideas into place ready to raise some money for your worthy causes.
1. A Pumpkin Sale
Is it even Autumn if you don’t have pumpkins? Holding a pumpkin sale is bound to be a success. See if you can purchase a supply of pumpkins in bulk, perhaps from a local farmer, and then sell them at a slightly higher price to raise money for your cause. You could also ask if any local shops, farms or organisations would be willing to donate pumpkins to your cause.
If you’re lucky enough to have some outdoor space you could use, you could even create your pwn pumpkin patch for people to come and choose their pumpkins. Pumpkin picking is getting more and more popular everywhere! Make it a fun family day out with food and drink stalls to help raise even more money. Think popcorn, candy apples, mulled drinks and hot chocolate to get everyone in the mood for Autumn!
2. Pumpkin Carving Contest
Pumpkin carving is great fun for the whole family – And we all love a bit of friendly competition! This would be a great online fundraiser if you’re looking for ways to fundraise without holding in-person events just yet.
Set a date to have entries in by, and ask for everyone taking part to donate a small entry fee to be part of the competition. Make sure your social media pages are well publicised, and share all of the entries to encourage more people to take part.
Speak with local organisations that might like to sponsor your event in terms of prizes for the winners!
3. Decorate Your Front Garden Contest
This is a great fundraiser for local communities to do like schools and community centres. Make sure your event is well publicised so that everyone knows the rules and the date, as well as how to enter and pay their entry fee online.
Create a strong social media campaign to share the entries and raise awareness of your cause. Encourage the village to all take part – Creating a bit of friendly rivalry between neighbours for the spookiest front garden or porchway! This would work really well in the week of Halloween itself, ready for all those trick-or-treaters visiting!
This event is very low-cost for your organisation, but has the potential to bring in lots of donations. It also enables people to feel part of something, without necessarily having to attend a gathering in person which some may still feel wary of doing. Remember to partner with a local shop or business so you can secure some great prizes to reward all that hard work!
4. Spooky Halloween Trail
This one is great to link to the one above! Showcase the talents of your community by hosting a Halloween trail around the village. Participants pay a small fee to purchase a map (which can be sent to them online). They then follow the clues around the local community, taking in all the haunted houses and solving the riddle. They can then enter their answer for a chance to win a prize!
5. Zombie Fun Run
Fun Runs (or walks) are an extremely popular fundraiser and can be tailored to almost any theme! They take a bit of logistical planning, but can be a really successful way of raising vital funds and boosting awareness of your organisation.
Ask all your participants for an entry fee to take part, and encourage them to ask friends and family to sponsor them to. Make it as easy as possible for people to make their donation by using an online donation page. And don’t forget to tell all the runners to come dressed as zombies!
6. Dress Up Day
When we think of dressing up, we tend to think of children getting in their costumes excited for some trick-or-treating. But adults can find it fun too! Whether you’re a school or business, hold a fancy dress day and ask for a small donation for the privilege of being out of school uniform or work-wear for the day!
7. Halloween Bake Sale
Bake Sales and Coffee Mornings have seen a huge rise in popularity in recent years. They’re an easy way of raising some funds, as well as giving the budding bakers amongst your community to show off their skills! With the return of the Great British Bake Off, now is a great time to ask your employees or supporters to donate their bakes and host a coffee morning to raise funds for your cause. An online donation page, QR sticker or NFC tag are all great ways of making online donations quick and easy. People can choose their cake, scan the code or tap the tag with their smartphone, and make their donation via Google Pay or Apple Pay. Super simple and easy for the donor, and you’re more likely to get higher donations than cash alone. It’s also contactless, so more Covid-safe if that is still a worry.
How Can Donater Help You to Fundraise Online?
Here at Donater we have a suite of fundraising tools specifically designed to make giving easier. Easier for the donor to make a donation, and easier for charitable organisations to receive that all-important fundraising.
Our suite of online fundraising tools include:
- A dedicated online fundraising page, personalised to your charity or good cause. Supporters will immediately recognise your branding and thus, trust that they are in the right place to make a donation. Online fundraising pages are easy to share online via a handy link, and can be easily linked to your website with a ‘Donate Now’ button.
- QR codes. We’ve all become more accustomed to QR codes with the NHS Covid app, so you’ll know how quick and easy it is to scan one with your smartphone. QR codes can be just as handy for taking donations. All your supporter has to do is scan the QR code with their smartphone, and it will take them to an online donation page. Once there, they can choose to donate with a tap via Google Pay or Apple Pay, or pay with their bank details. QR codes are a great addition to any physical marketing about your event, such as posters or newsletters.
- NFC Tags. Our NFC tags take the above QR code concept a step further, and enable any supporter of yours with an NFC enabled smartphone to merely tap the tag or sticker. They will then be taken to an online donation page where they can make their donation quickly and simply. These work better with in-person events, but could easily be placed at the entrance to your charity or on collection boxes so visitors can donate to your cause if they wish.
You might also be interested in our previous blog – How To Make Donater Work For you. There are so many opportunities to raise money over Halloween – Both with in-person events and online fundraising. Get in touch if you think Donater could help boost your donations digitally this spooky season.