Creative, Arty Fundraising Ideas for Galleries, Museums, Schools and Communities 

Throughout this month, people are embracing an international event called The Big Draw, an initiative that aims to celebrate the act of drawing and encourage people of all ages to explore their creativity through the medium of art. 

What Is The Big Draw? 

This October, people are celebrating all things drawing and creativity – Bringing people together from all over the world to engage in various drawing activities, workshops, events and opportunities.

Whether you’re an expert or a beginner, there is much joy to be found in drawing and expressing yourself through art. The Big Draw is for all ages, young and older – Aiming to promote drawing as a powerful tool for communication, expression and learning. 

Artistic events and opportunities offer the chance to promote self-expression and artistic development, so this month is as good a time as any to go for it and give it a try. 

Embrace drawing and creativity during October to help you fundraise 

Artistic opportunities, like fundraising, are a lovely way to bring communities of people together, fostering a sense of connection and creative exploration and expression. 

The Big Draw is the perfect platform for communities to come together through art – And also works as a wonderful fundraising opportunity. Not-for-profit organisations like galleries and museums are the first that spring to mind when it comes to creative, arty fundraisers. 

School PTA’s could also use The Big Draw platform as a means to raise money for their school community as it lends itself so well to getting the children involved. 

Art Themed Fundraising Ideas for The Big Draw and Beyond

Perfect for art galleries, museums and school PTA’s – Here are some arty fundraising ideas for The Big Draw month. Don’t panic – Supporters don’t have to be experienced artists to get involved – Just open to unleashing their inner artiste for the pure joy of it (and maybe to raise a few pennies as well!). 

Host a Drawing Workshop

Reach out to your network of supporters and see if any artists would be willing to donate their time to run a drawing or painting workshop. 

If you are an art gallery or museum, you could aim this at adults – Perhaps accompanied with some cheese and sparkling drinks over the course of one evening.

For a school, you could do the same thing, as well as a child-friendly workshop so pupils can get involved too. 

This sort of workshop is great in-person but could also be run online.

Charge a fee for a ticket, and make sure it’s enough to cover all the necessary materials like paper, pencils etc. 

Drawing Competition

Run a competition for your supporters. It could be to draw a self-portrait, or a local landscape – The possibilities are endless!

Make sure you have a prize that people would want to win. You could reach out to local businesses to donate some prizes or maybe they would agree to sponsor your event so you can purchase a suitable prize for your winning entry or entries. 

Charge a small entry fee for those wanting to submit their artistic pieces for consideration. 

If you are a school PTA, this could be split into categories per year group so that children are in groups with their peers. Don’t forget a ‘parents’ category too!

Host a Collaborative Project

Think how excited people would be to join in with a collaborative project that was to go on display somewhere! It’s an excellent opportunity for teamwork and shared creativity.  

Perhaps it could be a mural on a wall in your gallery, museum or school. Or maybe a huge piece of collaborative art that could be hung somewhere prominent when it’s finished. We’re thinking ‘The City’s Biggest Doodle’ or ‘A School Community of Kindness and Kind Words.’

For a small donation, people of any and all ages could come and contribute a small drawing as part of this larger piece. 

An Evening With…. Meet The Artist

Do you have an artist in your midst? Reach out to your community and network of supporters and see if you have any artistic celebrities or local well-known creators. 

An Evening With a person like this is bound to sell tickets – People love the opportunity to meet with someone they admire and are bound to jump at the chance to ask them questions and maybe even secure an autograph. 

Remember, a huge part of The Big Draw is to inspire people to give drawing a go – And it doesn’t get much more inspiring than meeting an artist you’re a fan of and hearing their expert tips.

Inspire Young Artists

The Big Draw month would be a great excuse for schools to go and visit local art galleries in their area. 

If you are an art gallery or museum, then why not reach out to the schools local to you and see if they would like to arrange a school trip for their pupils? 

Or if you are a school, why not combine your arty fundraisers above with a trip to a local art gallery so that pupils can garner inspiration for their creative masterpieces. 

A huge part of The Big Draw is to promote art education and make sure art and creativity is accessible to all. 

Utilise Social Media

Don’t forget to encourage your supporters and entrants to share their masterpieces on social media, with a relevant hashtag for your fundraiser. 

Not only does this mean that individuals can share their work and feel proud, but it also helps you to reach a wider audience and perhaps even attract new supporters and people wanting to enter and engage with your fundraiser. 

Digital Fundraising is easy to Integrate with Donater

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 as well as transforming a traditional donation box into a mobile way of taking digital donations.

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.

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss how Donater could help your charitable cause to raise money digitally, contact us today.How will you be getting people to ‘move more’ whilst they fundraise? We’d love to hear your ideas too! You can tag us on Instagram or Facebook.