Unique Fundraising Ideas You Haven’t Tried Yet

The best fundraising ideas require you to get your creative cap on. Unique, engaging fundraisers are much more likely to capture the attention of donors, sparking their interest and encouraging them to get involved. 

Therefore, creative crowdfunding strategies and event ideas are essential to maximize donations – the key is to make them as memorable and exciting as possible. 

In this article, we provide easy-to-implement, unique fundraising ideas to help your event stand out from the crowd and have a lasting impact. Bring your quirky ideas to life and realize your fundraising ambitions with the support of GoFundMe.

How to Make Your Fundraiser Unique

Your fundraiser is more likely to be successful if you take a unique approach to building your strategy and think outside the box when selecting your chosen fundraising event. In doing so, you’ll be able to:

• Grab people’s attention and enhance engagement.
• Increase awareness of your cause.
• Reach a wider audience online.
• Stand out from other fundraisers.
• Bring the community together in a meaningful way.
• Generate more donations.

Here are some of the strategies you can implement to make any fundraiser more distinctive and successful.

Tell an Engaging Story

Writing a unique and engaging fundraising story is essential when trying to engage donors. Attention spans online average eight seconds, so your story needs to make an immediate impact and draw the reader in. 

Here are some helpful tips for those who don’t feel confident with writing or storytelling and want to ensure their fundraiser leaps from the page:

• Get inspiration from great storytellers and other GoFundMe fundraising stories.
• Create a fundraiser title that’s easy to remember and specific to your cause.
• Start with a personal introduction; using a ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ structure.
• Be authentic and genuine to build trust with donors.
• Add photos and videos to make it more personal.
• Be honest about personal challenges – show you care about your story and cause.
• End with a strong, impactful call to action.
• Ask family or friends to proofread your story.

Find out more about crafting a fundraising story.

Express Your Individuality

Make sure you showcase your unique character, interests, and personal story to help build a connection with potential donors and make it relatable. Not only does it make you appear genuine and authentic, but it will also help your fundraiser get noticed. 

It’s beneficial to centre your quirky fundraising idea around any interesting skills or talents you might have. For example, if you have graphic design, web design, video production, storytelling, comedy, auctioneering, or event planning skills, you should leverage them to make your event more engaging.

Also, think about what your family or friends can bring to the table, and whether they have any skills or talents you could utilize.

Make Use of Technology

Embracing technology is increasingly vital to make your fundraiser a success. Online tools offer endless ways to creatively connect with donors, allowing you to add a personal touch and expand your reach.

Here are just a few ways you can harness technology to create unique fundraising ideas for a charity or personal cause:

• Post daily pictures or videos updating people on fundraising milestones or challenges.
• Interactive polls on social media to involve donors in your decision-making and gather ideas for your fundraising event.
• Organize live streams to create an immersive experience where users can donate virtually from across Canada and the rest of the world.
• Use online crowdfunding platforms to elevate your fundraiser and access the latest technology and tools.

Add an Element of Surprise

Another technique is to introduce surprising elements to your fundraiser that create a sense of excitement and intrigue. Surprising donors, followers, and the general public help to keep them engaged and encourage them to participate and share the experience.

For example, you could organize a raffle but keep the prizes secret to create an air of mystery or invite surprise guests to speak or perform at your fundraising event to attract a larger turnout. Hosting the event in a unique venue can also make it more special and memorable, using historical sites or quirky bars to elevate the experience.

Remember, the more excitement about the event you’re able to generate, the more likely you’ll raise plenty of funds for your worthwhile cause.

Give Something Back to Donors

To truly make your fundraiser successful, not only is it important to attract donors, but also to say thank you and show gratitude for their contributions. Offering donors something memorable in return for their generosity is a thoughtful gesture that adds personalization and makes them feel appreciated, reinforcing a fundraiser’s uniqueness and value. 

Whether you choose to write a simple thank-you letter, create personalized t-shirts as keepsakes, or organize a celebratory get-together after the event, acknowledging your donors will help to build long-lasting relationships and encourage future support. 

5 Quirky and Unique Fundraising Ideas to Boost Donations

Now you know how to bring individuality to your fundraiser, it’s time to explore some of the best unique fundraising ideas. We encourage all fundraiser organizers to let their imaginations run wild, so you can drive donor engagement and boost donations.

Don’t forget, if you wish to increase the reach and engagement of your fundraiser while effectively telling your story, you should create a GoFundMe page – easy to set up in just a few clicks.

Here are some of our favourite ideas to get you started.

1. Bake-Off or Cook-Off

Let’s kick-start this list with a fundraiser that always attracts strong participation. A bake-off or cook-off may seem unoriginal, but there are many ways to make this classic crowdfunding event unique. 

Known for its accessible nature for the whole community and low levels of organization, here are some tips to ensure your bake-off or cook-off event is head and shoulders above the competition.

• Create a theme – movie-inspired creations or childhood favourites. 
• Invite special guest judges – local chefs or TV personalities.
• Organize blind taste tests.
• Live cooking demos and audience interaction.
• Unique prizes – signed cookbooks or cooking classes.

2. Lip Sync Challenge

Lip sync challenges (or battles) are all the rage, having increased in popularity thanks to the rise of celebrity lip sync shows. Not only are they incredibly entertaining, but lip sync battles also encourage public participation and allow everyone to get involved. Here are some top tips to make your event different.

• Create themed genre battles – 80s hip-hop or Disney songs.
• Purchase comedic costumes and props – with awards for best-dressed.
• Invite surprise guests – local musicians or influencers. 
• Encourage group battles so people can perform routines.
• Create category awards for the most entertaining or best dance moves.

3. World Record Attempt

Breaking world records is designed to be tough, but the challenge it presents is a great way of building excitement and encouraging viral engagement. People will relish the opportunity to have their name go down in history, and the fact it’s all for a good cause is even more of an incentive. 

It’s important to research the Guinness World Record Guidelines, prioritize safety, and obtain necessary permits, then you can think about event promotion and use these tips to make it unique. 

• Choose a unique and unusual record.
• Document the journey online – create a buzz with teaser videos and social media posts.
• Live stream the event for viral participation.
• Align the record with the fundraiser’s theme.
• Let attendees actively contribute to the record attempt.

4. Rage Room 

A rage room is a quirky fundraising idea where people break and smash things in a safe, controlled environment – the perfect activity for relieving stress. Rage rooms have seen significant growth in popularity over recent years, which makes them an ideal fundraising choice for attracting high participation.

Stringent safety measures are needed. This includes providing protective gear, age restrictions, professional supervision, and on-site first aid. You can boost engagement with these tips.

• Design a bespoke room – you could create an office theme to attract workers who need to release tension.
• Gamify the event with prizes for the most destructive participants.  
• Play music to create more of an atmosphere.
• Collect fragments of objects at the end and create artwork.
• Host team smashes where groups can destroy larger items.

5. Eating Contest

Last but not least we have the tried and tested eating contest, a fundraising event that guarantees widespread public interest. Catering to a large audience of potential donors, it’s a great way to encourage involvement from local businesses, who could supply the food or help to host the event.

Make sure you follow strict health and safety measures, such as getting participants to sign waivers, buying or preparing food in advance (safely), and having onsite first aid. Try some of these tips to enhance your event.

• Invite an engaging MC – a recognizable local chef or TV personality.
• Theme the food with rounds for spice tolerance or dessert lovers.
• Introduce mystery dish rounds, where participants don’t know what food will come out.
• Livestream the event on social media and use interactive polls to boost engagement.
• Organize a team relay race with each person eating a portion before tagging the next.

Make Your Unique Fundraising Ideas a Success with GoFundMe

To implement the quirky, unique fundraising ideas in this list, you must prepare and promote the event successfully by following the advice we’ve shared. The best way to guarantee success is to start a GoFundMe, so you can reach your full fundraising potential.

Canada’s #1 no-fee crowdfunding platform offers powerful tools to make it easy for donors to contribute and help you raise money for your chosen cause. Personalize your unique fundraiser with GoFundMe today and join millions of other fundraisers in making a difference.