When it comes to the holidays, it’s better to give than to receive– and that’s what all of us at CauseVox love about this time of the year! That’s why we’ve put together this list of exciting holiday fundraising ideas for your nonprofit.
Not only are we excited about giving gifts to our favorite family members, friends, and organizations, we also know that supporters of some of our closest nonprofit partners are likely to be extra charitable with donations around the holidays.
And while we know that sometimes all it takes is a good ask to get your donors on board for another fundraiser, other times it’s better to spice it up and give those willing and eager to support your organization something fun to look forward to.
If you’re looking for a creative fundraiser that your supporters will love, check out these 30 holiday fundraising ideas.
1. Run a Holiday-Themed Peer-To-Peer Fundraiser
We know that your nonprofit or charity is always looking for ways to both engage your current donors and bring new supporters to your organization, which is why you should try a peer-to-peer fundraiser this holiday season.
Ask your board, volunteers, and current donors to become personal fundraisers or join a fundraising team for your holiday-themed peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Encourage them to set goals, share a story about why they’re connected to your organization, and distribute information about their campaign across social media, email, and in-person.
Don’t forget to create a fun holiday theme. For example, you can ask fundraisers to ask for donations instead of gifts, or have them raise money to help families in need this holiday season. Tailor the theme and goal to your organization’s needs.
Plus, when you use CauseVox’s user-friendly peer-to-peer fundraising software to run your online peer-to-peer fundraiser, you can customize the site and provide your fundraisers with the resources they need to be successful.
CauseVox makes Peer-to-Peer fundraising easy with personal pages for all your fundraisers.
2. Sponsor A Family
Many of us see the holiday season as a time to give to those we’re closest to– our families. But what about those families served by your organization that aren’t able to afford even a simple Hanukkah or Christmas gift?
Try raising money and collecting gifts to help families served by your nonprofit or charity. Holiday fundraising ideas that connect directly to those you serve will be more popular for your donors. You’re not only engaging and educating those supporters, you’re helping those who need it most.
There are a couple ways that you can go about this initiative. You can ask donors to support an entire family, an age group, or even just a single person. No matter what, the effort will make the holidays easier for someone close to your cause.
3. Christmas Tree Sales
A whopping 79% of American families put at least one Christmas tree in their house during the month of December. So, incorporate a Christmas tree sale into your holiday fundraising ideas.
If you live in a community that has pick-your-own Christmas tree farms, talk with these local companies to see if they’d be willing to donate some proceeds to your organization in exchange for volunteer work.
Or, work with a tree supplier to purchase Christmas trees in bulk and then sell them for a slight profit from your office, at a farmer’s market, etc.
4. A Visit From Santa
Kids are usually quite eager for a chance to visit the Jolly Man before he’s scheduled to arrive on Christmas Eve. Add that to the fact that most parents love a great photo op, and you’ve got a recipe for a fun, heartwarming fundraiser.
After making sure that he’s able to part from overseeing the toy-making operations, get Santa on the books and start advertising early. Ask parents to consider a donation in exchange for a chance for their kids to enjoy breakfast with Santa or a chance to sit on his lap.
5. Babysitting Services
Speaking of parents, they definitely need time to finish up all that last-minute shopping– and your nonprofit or charity can help them!
Gather your most responsible volunteers to babysit during the evening once or twice in the weeks before the holidays.
6. Holiday Wrapping Party
After all that shopping, someone needs to wrap those presents. To raise funds (and sharpen your wrapping skills) your organization can host a holiday wrapping party.
Talk to stores in your community (try Walmart and Target) or a local business about donating supplies like the paper, ribbon, tape, and scissors. Then, gather your supporters to volunteer for the evening. Ask attendees for a donation per gift wrapped.
7. Cold Water Plunge
Organizations around the country host Polar Plunges to raise funds during the holiday season!
For some reason, most of us are willing to take a dip into freezing water for a good cause, which is why polar/cold water plunges are so popular.
If you think your supporters will be eager participants in this fundraising event, start planning your plunge right away. Find a body of water, get the necessary permits, and start advertising. Ask participants to raise funds to join in on the fun, either online using peer-to-peer fundraising or in-person.
Chances are, this fundraiser will be a blast for everyone involved and you may even want to make it an annual affair!
8. Holiday Soiree
Sometimes, all it takes is a good party to bring people together to make a difference. Plus, some donors will enjoy an inviting, intimate party over the craziness of a 5k or cold water plunge any day.
Host a dinner party and invite all your closest supporters, including your board, volunteers, donors, local businesses, etc. Work with a local restaurant or gallery to secure the space, food, and entertainment. Ideally, it’s best to charge per person/plate to keep costs on your end manageable, while also raising money.
You can also use this event as a chance to thank those that mean the most to your organization
In the middle of a busy season such as the holidays, people love to let loose and have a good time. Give them this opportunity (and raise money for your organization at the same time) with a well-planned holiday soiree.
9. 31 Days Of Giving Event
Mobilize donors throughout the month of December with a 31 Days of Giving campaign.
This holiday fundraising campaign is a great way to encourage generosity leading up to the end of the year. Keep your supporters in the loop by sharing relevant stories, status updates, and highlighting supporters going above and beyond to help you meet your goal on social media, email, and your website.
Also, try creating a hashtag for your particular campaign to encourage photo sharing.
If you’re using CauseVox to power your 31 Days of Giving event, use our impact meter to track your progress.
Casa of San Mateo County used CauseVox to track their progress across multiple metrics.
10. Holiday Raffle
This holiday season, raise money by hosting a raffle. Raffles can be a great addition to a larger fundraiser or event, but they can also work independently. With CauseVox integrated ticketing, you can sell raffle tickets and accept donations in the same place.
When putting together a holiday raffle, think about what items your community would be excited to win. Then, if possible, enlist local businesses to donate goods and services for your fundraiser. By saving money on procuring raffle items, you’ll maximize your fundraising impact.
Raffles can be a great way to excite your donor base.
11. Ugly Sweater Party
Chances are, your donors will have an ugly holiday sweater or two gathering dust in their closets. With an ugly sweater party, you can give them the chance to laugh, enjoy each others’ company, and raise money for your organization.
There are so many different ways you can raise money with this holiday fundraising idea. Consider hosting a raffle or auction at the event. You can sell tickets, food and beverages, or other items to help you fundraise. Lastly, you can ask donors to make a contribution directly during this event or in the days and weeks leading up to it with an all-in-one CauseVox campaign page.
12. Yoga Or Exercise Class
The holiday season is usually not a great time to exercise outdoors. Throughout the winter, individuals look for any excuse to attend an indoor physical activity like yoga. By hosting a yoga or exercise class, you will be offering your community the chance to do something good for themselves and your organization.
If your organization has a wide base of support with donors across the country or across the world, you can easily make this into a virtual event. Zoom yoga and exercise classes rose to popularity during the pandemic, but there’s no reason why you can’t host one now. In fact, your community is more likely to participate since they have seen this type of virtual fundraiser in the past.
Another way that you can expand a yoga or exercise class to maximize your fundraising efforts is to turn the one class into a series of classes. Offer your donors the opportunity to buy tickets to just one class or the whole series for different ticket price tiers. The benefit of a holiday yoga class series is that you can consistently reiterate your mission and values to your community over the course of the event, which will generate excitement and bring in more donations.
Postpartum Support International hosts an annual virtual event, asking their community to get outside and exercise for a good cause.
13. Holiday/Christmas Gala
Gala fundraisers are a great way to engage your community if you have the resources and the manpower to put on a large event. These events are particularly helpful at year-end, when your donors are likely to be feeling the effects of the season of giving.
Not only can you sell tickets to raise revenue at a gala, but they are also a fantastic opportunity to host live and silent auctions and raffles.
Mentor of the Year Awards New York hosts a successful annual virtual gala with CauseVox.
If you’re not sure that you have the resources to host a large-scale gala this holiday season, consider hosting an “ungala” instead. This involves skipping the gala event and asking your top donors to fundraise on your behalf during a week-long drive. For more information, check out this article about hosting a successful ungala.
14. Volunteer In The Community
Did you know that enlisting volunteers can also bring in revenue for your nonprofit? It’s true! With a serve-a-thon or volunteer drive, you can encourage your community to solicit donations by pledging to complete a certain number of volunteer hours.
Competitive fundraisers like runs and tournaments are hugely popular and volunteer drives are no different. You can implement a competitive fundraising element to see who can complete the most volunteer hours and reward them for both their service to the community as well as the money they brought in for your nonprofit.
Volunteer drives can be particularly successful if your community skews young. Young people are enthused by competition and often have large networks of friends and family that will donate to their campaign.
With CauseVox’s simple peer-to-peer platform, you can get started with your holiday volunteer drive today!
Faith Gives encourages students to volunteer in the community while raising funds for Grapevine Faith Christian School.
15. Gingerbread House Decorating Contest
Everyone loves a gingerbread house. As mentioned above, competitive fundraisers tend to be more successful. Capitalize on your community’s love of sweets and their desire to win by hosting a gingerbread house decorating contest.
This fundraising event involves bringing contestants together with all the materials they need to make a stunning gingerbread house. You can charge an entry fee to add an initial revenue source. Consider reaching out to local businesses to see if they might donate candy or gingerbread for the event.
Your panel of volunteer judges will select the best gingerbread house and the winner will earn themselves a prize. Then, to add to the fun and bring in a few more dollars, you can auction off the best gingerbread house to the highest bidder.
16. Host A Morning Meal Fundraiser
Brunch fundraisers are usually associated with the summer, but they need not be. Bring your community together this holiday season around a delicious meal in the morning with coffee and mimosas for the adults and hot chocolate for the kids. The best part of this event is that it is family friendly.
Your community may not be familiar with the concept of a brunch fundraiser, but that can actually be a good thing. The freshness will entice them to purchase tickets and attend, just to see what it’s all about. Once donors are gathered for the brunch fundraiser, you can share with them your fundraising goals for the year-end and how they can help you reach those goals.
17. Caroling
Caroling is a tried and true fundraising campaign that can help you engage new donors during the holidays. With this fundraising idea, enlist the best singers in your community to go door to door spreading cheer with classic holiday songs. They can collect donations on your behalf and also share the story of how they became involved with your nonprofit.
To bring in even more revenue for your nonprofit, consider making this into a broader event with groups of carolers in different areas. This will spread the word about your nonprofit through different social circles and bring in more donations.
18. Holiday Concert
Holiday concerts are common for school groups, but any nonprofit organization can host one. Decide whether you want the tunes to be holiday-themed and invite your community to celebrate for a night of live music, drinks, food, and of course, fundraising!
Holiday concerts give donors the chance to gather and have fun during the cold winter months. They offer real value to your donors while giving them the opportunity to support your cause.
Keep in mind that concerts can be a steep up-front investment between hiring a band and booking a venue. For a low-cost alternative, host a virtual concert over Zoom or YouTube Live.
19. Host A Winter Carnival
Carnivals can come with a high up-front price tag, but the good news is that you can scale them down to fit your organization’s budget. No matter the size, a carnival is a great way to get your community engaged.
This holiday fundraising idea is great for school groups and churches since these types of organizations usually have access to a venue already. Encourage your supporters to volunteer their talents to help you set up fun booths for guests. Some classic booths include face painting, balloon art, and ring toss.
The majority of revenue from this event will likely come from ticket sales. You can also sell raffle tickets, host an auction or a pie sale, or incorporate any other creative fundraising possibility.
20. Seder Celebration For A Good Cause
If your supporters celebrate Passover, bring them together for the occasion with a winter gathering and fundraiser. You can host the event at an external venue or partner with a local synagogue.
Gatherings like this are a great opportunity to raise awareness for your mission since they usually feature speeches as part of the program.
21. Ice-Skating Fundraiser
Ice-skating is a classic winter activity that you can easily turn into a fundraiser for your organization. Your local ice skating rink probably already offers groups the chance to rent their space for fundraising events. With a private rink, you can invite your community for a free or reduced rate and recoup the cost with donations.
This is another great family-friendly fundraising event for your community. Children and their parents alike love ice skating. Bring your whole community together with a skating fundraiser this winter!
22. Neighborhood Lights Tour
Winter means holiday lights and decorations for many households. If your local community celebrates with displays of lights on the facades of their homes, you can host a colorful tour to view these impressive displays.
Gather your supporters together to view each home. Along the way, you can share information about your nonprofit to raise awareness and solicit donations. Finally, to add a competitive element to the fundraising, ask your community to vote for their favorite display.
23. Holiday Bazaar
Similar to the winter carnival fundraising idea, a holiday bazaar brings your supporters together to set up booths and help you raise money for your cause. The difference is that with the bazaar, the booths will be reserved for local artisans selling their crafts. You can either charge per booth or collect a portion of the proceeds from each sale. Either way, the artisans have the chance to get some buzz about their products. It’s a win win!
Winter is the season of giving and your supporters will be on the lookout for gifts for their loved ones. Host a holiday bazaar in early December and your supporters will have the chance to finish all their Christmas and Hanukkah shopping at your event.
24. Year-End Pledge Campaign
CauseVox’s pledge feature lets you accept donations in installments from your supporters. At the end of the year, ask them to make a pledge for the following year. With pledges, donors can commit to a large amount, paid in regular installments.
This kind of campaign will help you bring in donations at year-end and beyond. It’s also a great way to keep your donors engaged as they fulfill their pledge. By initiating this campaign at the end of the year, you are likely to receive bigger pledges since donors are likely to feel especially generous around the holidays.
25. Give It Up Challenge
Challenge fundraisers are a great way to make your donors personally invested in your fundraising effort. Ask your supporters to give up an indulgence like alcohol, chocolate, or meat for a month. With CauseVox’s peer-to-peer feature, these supporters can set up personal fundraising pages to ask their family and friends to support their abstinence with a donation to your nonprofit.
One famous example of this type of fundraiser is the Movember challenge raising money for testicular cancer research. For Movember, men give up shaving for the month of November to raise funds and awareness for testicular cancer.
Supporters around the country raise money for testicular cancer by giving up shaving for the month of November.
26. Holiday Trivia
Team trivia competitions can be a popular fundraising event for nonprofits.
Bar trivia has become increasingly popular in recent years. You can capitalize on this interest with a fun event for your community. Charge an entry fee for teams to compete in a trivia tournament at a local restaurant, brewery, or bar. You can make the questions holiday-themed or keep them general.
Trivia events are a great way to take advantage of the well-known benefit of competitive activities for your holiday fundraising ideas. If you extend this campaign into a longer bracket-type tournament, you can encourage your teams to set up peer-to-peer pages and raise money on your behalf.
27. Fundraising Store
The holidays are a great time to unveil new merchandise for your nonprofit. By selling merchandise on an online fundraising store, you can maximize your end-of-year fundraising. The best part? If you encourage your supporters to buy and wear merchandise advertising your nonprofit, they become potential advertisers for your brand.
Fundraising stores let you raise money and awareness simultaneously. As far as holiday fundraising ideas go, this one is relatively easy. All you need is a way to sell items online and an account with a print-on-demand service like Printify.
Nonprofit organizations will often set up online stores for their fundraising events to sell merchandise.
28. Cookie Bake-Off
Lots of people enjoy baking cookies around the holidays. Allow your donors to make the most of their baking skills with a holiday cookie bake-off. This can be a competition to see who can bake the best cookies or a fun and noncompetitive event where your community comes together to share recipes, delicious baked goods and their enthusiasm for your organization.
29. Testimonials and Stories
Donors love hearing about the impact of their gift from beneficiaries.
There is no stronger way to convey the importance of your organization than with testimonials and stories from your community. This holiday season, enlist staff, board, volunteers, and especially beneficiaries to create testimonials to help you drive donations. Holiday fundraising ideas should connect your audience to your mission and there’s no better way than with a story.
There are a couple different ways that you can present these testimonials to your audience. You can post quotes on your social media channels, compile a highlight video, or send out an email with a powerful story. The possibilities are endless!
30. Donate Your Holiday
Donors around the world donate their birthday for causes they love. So why not ask your supporters to donate their Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other giving holiday? With this event, your community will advocate on your behalf to their families and friends, bringing potential new donors to your organization.
In order to set your donors up for success, make sure that you send them a promotional packet with all the graphics, information, and details they will need to encourage donations.
Many nonprofit supporters donate their birthdays in support of causes.
Choosing Your Holiday Fundraising Ideas
On average, over 30% of a nonprofit’s donations come in during the month of December, which is why holiday fundraising is so important for nonprofits and charities. This year, try new holiday fundraising ideas like one or more of the options listed above to engage your supporters and bring in those dollars!
If you found this article of use, you may want to check out these additional resources:
- To learn more about creating a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, check out this eBook: Ultimate Guide To Peer-To-Peer Fundraising.
- For information on ramping up your year-end campaigns, take a look at: The Comprehensive Guide To Year-End Giving.
