5 Excellent types of fundraisers that’ll draw donors

Discover how your organisation can attract more donations by using various types of fundraisers and use our templates to make it even easier.

No matter your cause, there are plenty of types of fundraisers that inspire donors to give. All you have to do is decide which one will work best for you.

And we’ve got great news … We’ve almost already built your next campaign!

Today, we'll talk about some of the most popular types of fundraising campaigns and their benefits. We’ll also show you how our templates can help maximise the impact of your fundraising efforts.

Here are five types of fundraisers you should consider to attract new donors, score major gifts, and achieve your fundraising goals.

Let’s get started!

1. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

Peer-to-peer campaigns allow you to tap the resources of your peers. Not only are you reaching out to them for donations, but you’re also providing them with tools to motivate their peers to get involved and give to your good cause. In other words, you’re turning your nonprofit’s biggest fans into brand ambassadors, and providing them the opportunity to fundraise on your behalf. It’s a great opportunity to expand your donor base and acquire new donors.

Running a peer-to-peer campaign requires a sound fundraising strategy. You’ll want to get as many people as possible to spread the word, including your board members and anyone else in your network.

Also, be prepared to do a lot of social media marketing and other forms of online fundraising. Your ambassadors are attracting new, potential donors by casting a wide net, and going online is the best way to do so.

There are all sorts of peer-to-peer campaigns you can plan, both in-person and online. Some include:

• In-person or online challenges
• Trivia nights
• Walkathons or fun runs
• Readathons
• Scavenger hunts
• DIY Campaigns

You can also run a biking campaign as The Bike Project did. The Bike Project is a multitiered charity and social enterprise that takes in second-hand bikes, fixes them up, and donates them to asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.

Their flagship campaign, Refugee Routes, lets you choose your distance based on the common migration routes of refugees (for example, 51 miles from Calais to Dover, 160 from Izmir to Athens). This campaign is in its third year and has raised over £130,000 (including GiftAid). That amount of money equates to over 1,300 people getting bikes — and that’s just for one of the events The Bike Project puts on.

2. Fundraising Events

Throwing an event is a fun way to raise awareness and support your charity’s mission. These fundraising event ideas are for big and small groups, and come in all shapes and sizes, including:

• Car washes
• Bake sales
• Talent shows
• Movie nights
• Karaoke nights
• Sporting events
• Yard sales
• Charity golf tournaments
• And so much more!

Go the extra mile and contact local restaurants and community members for sponsorships in exchange for branding or other incentives. Also, maximise your donations during the event by selling merch like T-shirts and hats and having a concession stand with snacks and refreshments if your event is in-person.

If your event requires an entrance fee or ticket sales, we’ve got you covered there. If it’s going to be a fun event, people won't mind paying a small fee — especially for a good cause.

Recently, Olivia’s Walk for Wellness used our active event template to celebrate the life of Olivia Newton-John. On the fundraising page, participants were invited to simply donate or register for the Walk in Melbourne or virtually to support people with cancer, a cause near and dear to Olivia.

3. Community Fundraising

Community fundraisers rally friends and neighbours around a unified cause. These types of fundraisers give your supporters an easy way to create their own campaigns around life’s most significant events.

Community fundraisers provide great opportunities for partnerships with local businesses and community members. Also, contact local artists to see if they’re willing to make a special event that much more special.

UNICEF Australia’s community hub lets supporters run all types of fundraisers throughout the year, as well as support appeals for Ukraine Emergency, Sri Lanka Crisis, and Afghanistan Emergency.

4. Donation Appeals and Giving Days

Donation appeals and giving days help you quickly raise funds for an emergency and maximise your success in a short period of time. If a forest fire puts wildlife in immediate danger, or your fundraising is only for 24 hours, these types of fundraisers optimise the time you have for your appeal with:

• Progress bars
• Countdowns
• Matched giving
• 3-step donation form to increase conversions

GivingTuesday is a perfect example of a giving day. You have 24 hours to reach your fundraising goal, so make the most of it. Releasing content throughout the day to keep your cause top of mind and encourage your supporters (and their supporters) to give and give more. Share your countdown clock and progress bars on all your channels. This will speak to the urgency of your event and set up matching gifts that can double or even triple a small donation.

Try our newly released giving days template in three different styles to best suit your fundraising needs!

5. In-Memoriam

Memorial pages help you celebrate the life of a loved one and contribute to their memory.

When creating an in-memoriam campaign, use sensitive language, share testimonials, and tell donors why a cause resonates with the dearly departed.

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Australia’s memorial page is a perfect example of showing empathy while encouraging donations. They provide donors the opportunity to set up online tributes for isolated people and communities. On MAF Australia’s donation page, you can:

• Create a tribute page to honour your loved one
• Donate in memory of a loved one
• Request a donation envelope to collect funds at a funeral or memorial service
• Leave a gift in your will

Which Type of Fundraiser Should You Try?

Don’t limit yourself to just one type of fundraiser. If you want to acquire new donors, nurture existing ones, and make the biggest impact you can, diversified fundraising is key. Run multiple types of fundraisers throughout the year.

For example, you can set up a community fundraising page at the beginning of the year, plan a peer-to-peer campaign in the spring, host your walkathon during the summer, and then a giving day for GivingTuesday in the fall and an end-of-the-year appeal. Each of these fundraising campaigns will attract new donors and retain your most committed givers.

That’s one of the many cool things about fundraisers: They can be as diverse as the nonprofit organisations running them.

Use Raisely's Templates for All of These Types of Fundraisers

When it comes to fundraising software, our templates are where we really shine. All of our templates are fully customisable and super easy to customise, so you can add your brand logos, colours, and messaging in minutes. No coding required.

Also, we have a template for all five types of fundraisers we covered today. Encouraging online donations is a seamless process. You can even create donation options, like recurring giving and matching gift programs.

Best of all, your nonprofit organisation can enjoy these templates and the rest of our all-in-one fundraising platform for the low cost of free. You can’t beat that!

Have these five types of fundraisers inspired you to start one of your own? Do you still need inspiration? Whatever your answer is, we’d love to help you on your journey. Talk to our team today.