A-Z of fundraising ideas
There are loads of ways you can help AAM make a difference in York. Here are just a few of them.
A-E
A
Auction – Hold a charity auction with goods and services donated by local businesses.
Arts and crafts – Get crafty and sell what you make to raise money for AAM.
B
Bake Sale – Bake your favourite treats and sell them to raise funds for AAM.
Bungee Jump! – Set yourself a challenge with added adrenaline.
Birthday Giving – Ask friends and family to give donations instead of gifts.
C
Climb Club – Get some friends together and set a collective goal. Get sponsored to do all the competition climbs at your local bouldering gym. Or get outside in amongst nature and set your sights on completing crags in your area.
Clear out – Sell your stuff and raise money for AAM. There are lots of ways you can do this, online and in person. Why not check out Thrift+ or eBay for Charity? We’ve got a how-to guide here.
Chess tournament – Put your chess knowledge to the test. Hold a tournament with friends and donate the entry fees to raise money for AAM!
Coffee and Cake morning – Bring your friends and family together, while raising money for AAM!
D
Dungeons and Dragons – Host a single game or a full campaign and ask players to donate to enter.
Dinner Party – Host your own Come Dine with Me contest, where everyone donates depending on how much they’d pay at a restaurant.
Disco – Are you a dab hand behind the decks? Why not put on an old-school disco and charge on the door?
E
Endurance challenge – Get sponsored to do 1,000 sit-ups or something silly like seeing how long you can keep a balloon off the ground for.
Egg and spoon competition – Put together an egg-citing series of challenges involving an egg and spoon where contestants pay to enter. The winner stays on as the challenges get more hard-boiled, until someone’s crowned the winner!
F-J
F
Fun Run – Grab your running shoes and set your sights on your favourite fun run course.
Facebook Fundraiser – Ask friends and family to donate to AAM. Why not ask them to give us a follow so they can see what we’re all about?
Fancy Dress Day – Organise a fancy dress day at school or work to raise money for AAM. The sillier the theme the better!
G
Game for Good – Are you a gamer? Why not set yourself a challenge, raise money and engage with your followers?
Give something up – Get people to sponsor and spur you on to quit something.
Great British Bake Off - Bring out your inner Mary Berry and have your own Great British Bake Off with friends. Ask for a donation to enter your competition!
H
Hop-scotch – Set yourself a challenge to hopscotch around the local park and get sponsorship.
Home collection tin – Pop your spare change in here and you’ll be amazed by how quickly it can fill up! Ask us for one here.
I
Inclusive sports day – Organise a sports day where everyone can get involved. Get people to raise money for AAM by asking their friends and family for sponsorship.
J
Jumble sale – Everyone loves a bargain, so why not organise a community jumble sale where the proceeds go to AAM?
K-O
K
Knit-a-thon – Knitting needles at the ready! Challenge yourself to knit the longest scarf, the biggest sock or as many hats as you can in 24 hours and get people to sponsor you. Or why not set your sights on knitting 100 hats to sell and raise money that way?
L
Lego – Get your friends and family to sponsor you to build a big Lego creation. Or why not see how many different things you can make from the same few bricks?
M
Marathon – Run, cycle or walk the length of a marathon and get friends and family to sponsor you to spur you on!
N
Non-uniform day – Ditch the uniform for one day to help raise money for charity. Charge everyone £1 to take part and it’ll soon add up!
O
Open Mic – Host a charity open mic night, where people donate to play and ask the audience for donations on the door.
Open Decks – Host a charity open deck night, where people donate to play and ask the audience for donations on the door.
P-T
P
Potluck Dinner – Host a charity potluck dinner and ask everyone to bring along a dish and a donation.
Put on a play or performance – Thespians at the ready, this one’s for you! Get a troupe of actors together and put on a performance (or two!) where the proceeds are donated to AAM.
Poetry Slam – Host a poetry night where the audience and performers donate on the door. Then the poets all perform - best poet stays on!
Q
Quiz-a-thon – Host a string of quizzes and raise funds with an entry fee. It could be in your local pub, at home with friends or even hosted online!
R
Record-break – Set yourself a record-breaking challenge and raise money while you’re at it. It could be the longest paperclip chain, the most jumping jacks in a minute or the most hula-hoops spun at once.
S
Swim-a-thon - Set your sights on a swimming challenge. It could be the most lengths swam in a pool over a weekend, a swim across the Channel, or any number of open water swimming races held throughout the year. Click here to find one near you. Get inspired by Nick’s Summer of Swimming Story.
Streaming – Are you a Youtuber? Why not add a ‘Donate’ button to your stream so your followers can support us as you stream?
Swish! – Swishing is essentially a clothes swap. Get your friends together for a charity clothes swap, ask for a small donation to get involved and you could come away with a new outfit to boot!
Stair climb – Use your stairs to ‘climb’ your way around the world! Set yourself goals based on the height of famous landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, Big Ben and the Empire State Building! Ask your friends and family to spur you on to reach your goal by sponsoring your chosen climb.
T
Treasure Hunt – Organise an exciting treasure hunt around your local area and get people involved for a small donation.
Tombola – Everyone loves the chance to win. Gather some tombola items from your friends and family, give the tickets a roll (or a shake) and you’re away!
Talent Show – Host an event where everyone can show off their talents for a small donation. You can ask local celebrities to act as judges!
Triathlon – Set yourself a tri-mendous challenge and run, swim and cycle any number of Triathlons around the country.
U-Z
U
Upcycle and sell – Have a rummage in your garage, basement or attic and see if you can’t give an old item a new life. You could sell stuff at local fayres, on eBay or, if you’ve got good quality clothes, on Thrift+. Take a look at our handy how-to guide here.
V
Vegetable box – If you’re green-fingered, this could be one for you. Why not sell your excess veggies by popping them outside with an honesty box?
W
Wedding Gifts – Ask guests to give the gift that keeps on giving by donating to AAM instead of giving gifts.
X
X-Box Tournament – Enter an X-Box tournament with friends and donate the winnings.
Y
Yorkshire 3 Peaks – Feeling ambitious? Why not grab a crew and climb three mountains in a day!
Yes Day – Spend the whole day saying ‘Yes’ to things and get sponsored to do them!
Z
Zero Waste Challenge – See if you can go a week without waste and get people to sponsor you to do it.
Zip Wire – Challenge yourself to a zip wire ride. Rope in some friends to help raise more money.