Fundraising Event Ideas

Holding a special event is a great way to raise funds and get family, friends and work colleagues involved in contributing towards your goal. There can be a little more work involved, but they can also generate fantastic results and give your sponsors ‘something for their money’.

IMPORTANT: Contact us before you plan your event

Any person or organisation fundraising must have an official Authority to Fundraise on behalf of MS Australia. We will issues these only after approving your event as an MS Australia fundraising activity.
Phone (02) 9413 4166 or email: supportms@mssociety.com.au for more information.

Below are some fundraising event ideas that past fundraisers have had success with. If you have any ideas or examples of events that have worked for you, please contact us and let us know.

Auction

Organise donated items or use an auction company (eg, http://allsports.fundraisinggroup.com.au) to hold a fundraising auction. A silent auction is a great idea at dinners, trivia nights etc.

Ball

Organise a ball with dinner and entertainment for your work or social group. Allow plenty of time to organise and spread the word!

Barefoot lawn bowls

A set entry fee covers food, green fees and any extra goes toward your fundraising effort.

Book sale

Ask for donations and set up a stall in a local market.

Bowling night

Get friends together for a bowling night and charge entry to cover cover costs plus a little extra. Make the night a theme to make it more fun!

Car Wash

Organise a neighbourhood car wash

Cocktail Party

If held at a bar then charge an entry price and have a set list of cocktails available for a pre-arranged amount of time. The bar benefits through bar sales further into the night and you keep ticket sales.

eBay auction

Put unwanted or donated items for auction on eBay and donate the money towards your fundraising goal.

Garage Sale

Sell all those unwanted items and ask friends, neighbours and family to donate goods towards the cause.

Golf Day

Hold a golf tournament with friends, family or work colleagues and charge an entry fee to cover green fees, lunch and money towards fundraising. To raise extra money hold a ‘closest to the pin’ or ‘hole in one’ competition.

Guessing Competition

How many lollies in the jar? (gold coin donation)

Host a party

Organise a band to play for free (or for a minimal cost) and charge entry to a local pub/club. The bar will receive money from drink sales and you keep the entry fee. Alternatively organise a themed party (eg. 70’s disco) or a dj.

Karaoke Night

Charge an entry fee and supply food and karaoke facilities.

Let go for Lent

Seek sponsorship for giving something up for 40 days and 40 nights throughout the year (drinking, eating chocolate, smoking) etc. The harder people know it is, the more they will pledge to watch you suffer.

Market stall

Organise a stand at a local market and ask for friends/family to donate items.

Mini sports competition

Organise through your friends or work colleagues. Sports such as pool, darts, soccer, volleyball, cricket or putt putt golf are just some examples.

Morning tea/Lunch/Afternoon tea

Set up a morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea at work in exchange for a contribution towards your fundraising goal.

Movie Nights

Many cinemas open their doors to charities to screen a movie of your choice. They will set a reserve price, you set your price above that and keep the difference.

Mufti Day / Casual Day

Through workplace or local school (Gold coin donation). Other ideas include ‘crazy tie day’ or ‘loud shirt day’ etc.

Neighbourhood service

Sell a service to your neighbours or friends. Dog walking, mowing lawns, sweeping driveways, cleaning pools are but some examples.

Poker / Casino night

Get your friends around and donate a percentage of the winnings towards your fundraising efforts (or charge for chips).

Progressive dinner party

Organise through local neighbourhood or local restaurants. Charge an entry fee and ask some of your friends or local restaurants to volunteer and help you arrange the evening.

Treasure Hunt

Run an event or competition where people follow clues around the city or neighbourhood with a team of others. Run it through local pubs or finish with the final destination being a pre-arranged party.

Raffle

Organise your own raffle. Ask local businesses for prizes and ask others from your local area to help sell tickets.

Sausage Sizzle

Many local businesses will allow you to organise this on site (Bunnings, Mitre 10, BBC Hardware, local nurseries), you cover costs of food through the purchase price and keep the extra.

Self sacrifice

Instead of buying lunch or breakfast, make it at home and donate the money you would have spent towards achieving your fundraising goal. Try to include others in your office to do the same with meals or coffee.

Slave for a day auction

Auction yourself off for a day to the highest bidder. Also get friends to volunteer themselves to help you in your fundraising.

Sponsor a shave

Ask friends or work volunteers to volunteer themselves to have their head shaved or beard shaved etc if a certain amount of money is raised. Send emails out or put on company Intranet to gain support.

Swear jar

Suggest a gold coin donation for every %$! spoken!

Tours

Organise a day or weekend tour for friends and family. Organise the transport, accommodation and activities. Local businesses should arrange a discount for your group and you charge a set price, some of which goes towards your fundraising.

Trivia nights

The bar/restaurant/club benefit through bar sales and entry fee goes towards your fundraising. To raise extra funds charge for clues and answers, hold a ‘closest coin to the wine’ game in breaks or hold a ‘true/false’ competition.

Wine tours

Charter a bus through your local wine region and charge for a tour. Call ahead and let the wineries know you are coming, they may donate bottles of wine for a raffle or do a discounted lunch.

Wine and cheese night

A great idea to host a gathering of friends in a relaxed atmosphere. You could also tie it in with one of the many companies that participate in wine drives and sell bottles at your event.

Xmas/Birthday Card drive

Design and sell your own xmas/birthday cards to family, friends, school work colleagues.

Any other ideas? Then contact us and let us know!