A
Afternoon Tea
Whether at home or the office, everyone loves tea and tiny sandwiches. Brew some tea, bake some cakes and debate how to properly pronounce ‘scone’
Art Attack
Get together and get creative! Whether painting, drawing or even sculpting, have a go and exhibit the results
B
Bingo
Get your mates together for a bingo night! Charge for individual bingo cards or the whole night as a one-off. Just add a charismatic caller and you’re good to go.
Barbecue
Perfect for those hot summer afternoons (however infrequent they may be). Get your friends round and sell burgers, hot dogs and whatever else takes your fancy
Bake Sale
Channel your inner Mary Berry (or your inner Prue Leith, depending on where you stand…) and bake up some delicious goods to sell at school or the office. Be careful to avoid a soggy bottom!
C
Coffee Morning
Ever popular and dead easy – sell coffee and cakes for charity. Why not combine it with a bake sale and get your friends and coworkers to contribute to the selection?
Car Washing
All you need is a sponge and a bucket of water. Don’t forget to wash the wheels as well!
Cycle-a-thon
How long can you cycle for? Get a team together and see if you can do 24 hours straight, or see how long it takes you to reach a certain distance. If this is something that appeals to you, our Coast to Coast Challenge might just be right up your street…D
Dress Down
Organise a day where you ditch the suits/uniforms for a nominal donation and wear something a bit comfier for the day.
Darts Night
Get down your local pub and host a darts tournament! Charge per team or individual and organise a schedule – either a round robin or a knockout tournament with prizes for the winner.
Duck Racing
Sell some rubber ducks, let contestants decorate them and then race them down the nearest stream! Remember to stay safe in the water and to collect all the ducks back out again afterwards.
E
Egg Hunt
Hide some chocolate eggs and charge friends and family to find them. Try leaving cryptic clues as to the locations of other eggs.
F
Film Night
Sell tickets to the big screening of your favourite film. Can’t decide which one? Make it a double feature! Popcorn and Pick’n’Mix required.
Face Painting Competition
Get your paints and decorate the faces of your friends. Give prizes for best artist.
Fancy Dress
Spend a day at work or school in your best fancy dress. You could decide on a theme or even make it a competition, there are so many possibilities!
G
Guess the Weight
Take a jar, fill it with sweets and secretly count them or weigh the jar. Let people pay to guess how much it weighs or how many sweets there are and the closest wins the whole jar!
Give It Up
Campaigns to give something up for a month are all the rage – stop drinking for Dry January, smoking for Stoptober and shaving for Movember. Pick a bad habit and get sponsored to stop for a month.
H
Hair Dying
Change your hair colour in the name of charity – why not try drawing colours out of a hat to make it really random?
I
International Day/Night
Pick a country, get dolled up in the national dress (or a flag!) and bring snacks and drinks from wherever you’ve chosen – Eurovision is a great excuse for this one!
J
Jersey Swap
Perhaps the toughest fundraising challenge of them all – spend a day wearing the jersey of your favourite team’s arch rivals. All in the name of charity, of course.
K
Karaoke Night
Head to your local bar or function room, or even your front room and spend an evening belting out your favourite songs and channelling your inner rockstar.
L
Loose Change
It’s amazing how many coppers you find lying around and also how much they can all add up into a significant amount of money. Keep a jar of all your loose change, donate it when it’s full and start all over again!
M
Matched Giving
Holding a fundraising event in your office? Talk to your boss about matched giving. Some businesses will match the amount you raise to double your donation.
N
Night In
Spend a night in with your mates rather than out in town. Get dressed up and get together but donate the money you save.
O
Obstacle Course
Find a field and fill it with obstacles – the zanier the better! Try making different levels and difficulties of obstacles to encourage even more people to take part.
P
Pub Games
Get down your local and host a pub games tournament. Pool, darts and even dominoes, charge per entry and give prizes to the victors.
Q
Quiz Night
An ever popular fundraising method. Find a quizmaster and charge teams to enter. If you host in a pub, talk to the bar staff about donating free drinks to the winner of the quiz.
R
Running
It doesn’t matter if you’re a hardened marathon veteran or you just run for the bus. Pick a distance and start training, if you set up a JustGiving page we’ll feature it on our shiny new website.
Rounders Tournament
All you need for this one is a couple of bats, some tennis balls and some jumpers for bases – a really easy and fun afternoon.
S
Silly Games Afternoon
Watch out Mo Farah and Jess Ennis – you can host your very own Silly-mpics! All you need is a back garden, a few props and a group of friends who are up for anything.
Sponsored Silence
This one is one for the kids – and the parents! Sponsor your child(ren) to keep schtum for an hour, an afternoon; or if you’re lucky – all day!
Swear Jar
Put your money where your mouth is and introduce a swear tax in your home, office or workplace. Collect the fines and donate them – it’s better than washing your mouth out with soap!
T
Thrill-seeking
If afternoon tea and face painting seem a little too tame for you, why not try something crazier! Bungee jumping, sky diving or even climbing a mountain – the sky’s the limit!
Tombola
Get colleagues and friends to donate unwanted toys, bubble bath and bottles of wine, stick some raffle tickets on and away you go!
U
Underwear as Overwear
Raise some sponsorship to spend a day wearing your underwear over your trousers. If Superman could make it work so can you!
V
Vintage Sale
Got any old clothes you haven’t worn in years? If you call them ‘Vintage’ rather than ‘hand-me-downs’ you’ll be amazed at how much people will pay for them! Try selling them off and donate the profits.
W
World Record Attempt
Get your Guinness World Book of Records and find yourself a challenge!
Waxing
This one is as simple as it sounds. All you need is a packet of wax strips, a chair and a (willing) volunteer!
Walking
Okay, so maybe walking from John O’Groats to Lands End wearing nothing but a tutu probably isn’t your thing – but sponsored walks of all shapes and sizes are a great way to raise money.
X
X Marks the Spot
Get your eye patches and parrots at the ready – we’re going on a treasure hunt! You could sell maps and leave a prize where X marks the spot – great for the whole family!
Y
Young at Heart School Disco
Get your mates together, find some speakers and blast out the tunes from your youth – so start digging out those records and cassettes!
Z
Zumba-thon
Perhaps the only challenge harder than trying to find a fundraising idea beginning with Z! Get some friends, music and see who can out-zumba the others! See how long you can all last, or make it into a last one standing competition.
These are just a few ideas to get you started but they’re not the only things you can do. In terms of fundraising, the sky’s the limit!