Ideas and inspiration

No matter how much time you have or what you feel like doing, we know there's a fundraiser for you.

Take a look through our suggestions below to see what you could achieve. Contact us for toolkits, support, advice and more.

Seasonal fundraising

There are so many opportunities to fundraise every year, whether you do something around a personal celebration, a national holiday or ‘just because’! Here are some seasonal fundraising ideas to help you raise money this December.

Take part in a festive fundraiser and directly support initiatives that provide crucial training and support to those in need. Already doing a festive fundraiser? Tell us about it here!

Christmas quiz

Download and print our Christmas Quiz here as a quick and easy tool to kick-start your very own Christmas quiz fundraiser
Organise a games night or festive pub quiz and fundraise together as a team
Reach out to friends and family by hosting a virtual Christmas quiz night via video conferencing platforms

Gift certificate

Gift a one-off or recurring donation on behalf of a family member or friend
Try Secret Santa with a twist! Your colleagues can contribute a donation in their chosen person’s name, in place of or alongside their gift
Use a personalised hashtag on social media and encourage friends or followers to pledge a certain amount and to join in using your hashtag

Christmas bake sale

Bake and decorate Christmas-themed cookies in shapes like Christmas trees, stars, gingerbread men or snowmen
Decorate cupcakes with red and white frosting to resemble Santa hats. Add a mini marshmallow for the fluffy pom-pom on top
Create your own hot chocolate mix jars, with layers of hot chocolate mix, marshmallows and crushed candy canes. Attach a recipe card for making them at home!

Carol singing

Brave the cold and get the community spirit going with door-to-door carolling
Carry a donation box and let people contribute to your cause
Surprise shoppers or local gatherings with a carolling flash mob performance in a public space and have a designated area for donations and help spread joy whilst raising funds
Organise a virtual Christmas carol singing event

Christmas jumper day

Dress to impress your friends or colleagues by holding a Christmas Jumper Day fundraiser
Organise a competition for the ugliest Christmas jumper and encourage participants to donate a small entry fee
Turn the office into a festive runway by hosting a charity Christmas jumper fashion show where the audience can vote for their favourites
Set up a DIY Christmas jumper station with plain jumpers and festive decorations that employees can customise for a donation

New Year's challenge

Buddy up with colleagues, friends or family and get involved in a team fundraising event or challenge
Ignite your adventurous spirit by signing up to one of our marathons or bungee jump fundraiser events
Organise your own run or walk and donate in memory of a loved one
Partner with a local fitness studio to host a special New year’s fitness class or workshop and donate the proceeds

Fundraising starts with a feeling! What are you looking for?

Creative ideas

Crafting

Knit or sew small items to sell
Use woodworking or leatherworking skills
Try making keyrings, phone holders, masks, small bags or pouches
Make jewellery
If you have a small business, pick a small item and donate the sales proceeds
It’s up to you how much you spend on materials and how many days or weeks you want to spend creating

Letter writing campaigns

Write to local MPs and ask them to donate or talk tot he council about doing something bigger in the community
Write to local celebrities to see if they will make a donation – and maybe give Grassroots Suicide Prevention some air time on their social media platforms!
Write to businesses in your area and ask if they will consider donating something
Write to local schools or colleges and suggest ideas for their students to fundraise, or ask if the school can nominate Grassroots Suicide Prevention as their Charity Of The Year
Remember to be respectful. Not every school, business or individual has the spare funds to make donations, but sometimes making the suggestion can be what puts a charity on the radar for next time!

Odd jobs

Hire yourself out to do odd jobs like mowing lawns or weeding gardens and donate your pay
See if you can do small jobs within your own skillset: for example, a painter/decorator could offer to do smaller jobs at a slight discount, and donate the payments
Younger children could sweep driveways or help relatives and neighbours with washing up or laundry for some pocket money to donate

Seasonal

Think about what seasonal events are coming up and do something special!
On Bonfire Night you could ask for ‘pennies for the Guy’ or give out warm drinks in the neighbourhood
Instead of getting sweets for Trick or Treat, you could ask for spare change from houses you visit
At Easter, you could hold an Egg Hunt and ask for a small donation to take part
If you give gifts in December or at other important religious events, consider asking for donations instead
Ask people to match their spending for Secret Santa or White Elephant gifting

Classic fundraisers

Ask your neighbourhood or workplace to help you fill a wheelbarrow with loose change
Have a bake sale!

Active ideas

Running and hiking

Marathons and half marathons
Fun runs, community runs and night runs
Pick a hike or series of hikes to do over summer (or winter if you’re feeling hardy)

Challenges

Classic challenges like Three Peaks, Camino Santiago or Kilimanjaro
Cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End
Complete any of these virtually at the gym – just count the miles and work out how far you’ve gone!
Couch to 5k Challenge

In the gym

30 day yoga or pilates challenges – plenty available online
Push yourself! Bench press 10 woolly mammoths (60,000kg), bicep curl an elephant (5000kg), etc.
Make sure you stay safe and don’t overexert yourself or your muscles

Silly ideas

Fancy dress

Fancy dress party fundraiser
Fun run in fancy dress
Remember to choose costumes that don’t make fun of diseases or cultures

Silly sponsorships

Ask people to sponsor you for something like:

Wearing a onesie to work for a week
Not talking for a day
Taking a baked bean bath

Parties

Have a ‘big kid’s party’ and play all the old party games – except everyone has to donate £1 if they miss pinning the tail on the donkey, or don’t hit the piñata

World Records

Break a silly world record – how many snails can you fit on your face? How far can you cycle backwards while playing the violin? How fast can you arrange alphabet spaghetti?
Remember ‘breaking a world record’ is an official process, check the Guinness World Records website for more

Brave ideas

Adrenaline

You can ask people to sponsor you for all sorts of extreme events!
Bungee jumping
Skydiving
Wing walking

Personal

Ask for sponsorship to make a brave change like the cut or colour of your hair
Go vegetarian or vegan (for as long or as little as you like and get sponsorships based on how long you can do it
Pick a personal challenge you’ve been thinking about for a while and do it to raise money

Brave the elements

Pick a really tough physical challenge, like hiking the Inca Trail, Camino Santiago, Appalachian Trail or something else in your area of interest
These challenges will be different for everyone – maybe you just want to see if you can take 15,000 steps a day!

World Records

Find a tough world record and try your best to break it, whether alone or as a group
How far can you walk on your hands?
How many pull ups can you do in 24 hours?
Remember ‘breaking a world record’ is an official process, check the Guinness World Records website for more

With friends

Hold a coffee morning in aid of Grassroots Suicide Prevention
Hold a bake sale or collaborate with friends or colleagues
Find a group run or walk and ask or sponsorship
Do yourself a favour too and hold a jumble sale or garage sale and donate your profits!

In your community

Have you got a few connections? Think about organising a charity auction (big or small!) – ask local businesses if they have goods or services to donate
If you’re feeling fancy, make your next dinner party, community or industry event a gala – involve local or national businesses as sponsors
The sky’s the limit!

Quick ideas

Make it snappy

Do a penny drive (ask everyone for coppers)
Number envelopes 1-100 and have everybody pick one, then donate that amount of money (raises £5050!)
Do the same as the above but with 1-20 and you’ll raise £210
Have a swear jar (or an ‘every time we lose the remote’ jar)
Give something up like coffee or chocolate and donate the money you save
Vote with your money – put your options on two or more jars and encourage people to vote for their favourite (a great one for the office)

Ideas and inspiration