All work and no play can make the workplace a little dull. So, why not shake things up a bit in the office, get creative, and come together to have some fun while raising money and awareness for a good cause?
Whether your colleagues prefer a themed walk-a-thon, online auction, or a 24-hour challenge, be sure to check out our top 10+ fundraising ideas for the workplace to get started.
Why Fundraise At Work?
Unsurprisingly, we spend a huge portion of our lives at work. The people we see day in and day out are not simply colleagues but a part of our community. So, why not work as a team for a greater cause and focus on making a positive impact on people’s working lives?
Add a bit of fun to your typical 9 to 5 office hours with our top 10 fundraising ideas in the workplace.
Best Classic Fundraising Ideas for the Workplace
Sweepstakes and Raffles
Fundraising raffles are a workplace fundraising favorite. Why not raffle a cash pot or a paid day off from work to grab people’s interest? If you have generous suppliers and partners, be sure to ask them to donate prizes for your raffle to attract as many donors as possible. You could even open this up to your colleagues’ friends and family to broaden your outreach to spread more awareness of your cause and exceed your fundraising goals.
Check out our simple guide for more ideas on the best raffle prizes and how to get them donated.
Sweepstakes are a classic workplace fundraising idea because of their diversity and potential to raise big funds for your chosen charity. Simply decide the sweepstake topic, such as an upcoming sporting event, how many sweets are in a jar, or how quickly someone in your office can complete a daring activity. Ask workers to donate to guess the correct answer and the winner gets a fun prize.
Games Evening
Trivia nights, quizzes, and board games are great workplace fundraising ideas to get your workers into the team spirit and raise valuable funds for charity. Just charge everyone a small ticketing fee to participate, offer food and drinks for sale, and find some fun prizes for the winners. Include entertaining activities or dares throughout the evening to keep up the giving momentum. Virtual games evenings are also a great option to include colleagues from other branches or those working remotely or even overseas. Our livestreaming platform is made for mobile giving to maximize donations.
Best Fun Fundraising Ideas for the Workplace
Dress Up Day
A fancy dress day is one of our top choices for a fun way to raise money at work. The options here to go as crazy as your office desires are completely limitless. Why not set up one of our themed fundraising websites and use this to give your coworkers some ideas? Decade dress-up days are always fun – 60s hippies and 80s punk rockers are some ideas that everyone can take part in.
You could even choose a theme based on the charity for which you’re raising funds. For example, if you’re collecting money for an animal shelter, why not get people to dress up as their favorite furry TV characters and household pets?
Hold a competition with various categories to see who has the best, funniest, and most elaborate costumes. Ask people to make a small donation to submit their votes and award fun prizes to the winners. You could add a silent auction into the mix to pull in more valuable funds for your chosen charity.
Auction of Skills
This is a great way to fundraise at work and learn more about your colleagues’ hidden skills. An auction of skills is basically the same as an auction of promises. Simply create an Excel sheet and get your coworkers to list the skills they are willing to donate. Here are a few ideas:
- car washing
- gardening
- dog walking
- cooking or baking
- workplace tasks, like helping out with filing
There really are no limits! Just make sure that all the skills offered are respectful and appropriate. Once you have enough skills donated, it’s time to start an easy auction website for online bidding.
Best Summer Fundraising Ideas for the Workplace
Bike-to-Work Week
With World Bicycle Day and the Tour-de-France rapidly approaching in June and July, there’s no better time to get your staff out into the fresh summer air, start exercising, and raise money for a good cause. Biking fundraisers like these work especially well for companies located in places where biking and outdoor activities are common.
It’s also a great way to strengthen your brand positioning if you are a company that promotes health, fitness, or sustainable living. This type of event is very similar to a bike-a-thon event, it just happens during the workweek. Participants collect pledges based on the total miles they will bike to and from work or donors can also choose to donate a set amount.
Office Sports Day
Technically, this might be cheating as an office sports day wouldn’t be held inside the workplace. But in the name of raising money for charity, we think it’s a great summer workplace fundraising idea. Just set a date, choose a park close to the office, and charge each participant a small ticket price to take part.
Bring back all the classic races from a school sports day and get your staff feeling nostalgic and competitive to raise money for your chosen cause. Activities such as the egg and spoon race, the sack race, the three-legged race, and the tug-of-war will have your coworkers in fits of giggles and working together to create a memorable workplace fundraiser. Just remember to make sure that the day’s activities are inclusive and that there’s something for everybody to enjoy, no matter their ability level.
Best Easy Fundraising Ideas for the Workplace
Sponsored Silence
Why not cut the chit-chat in the office by organizing a sponsored silence to raise money for a good cause? Set up one of our free crowdfunding pages and ask your friends and family to donate to see how long you can last. You could even hold a sweepstakes on who your coworkers think will break the silence first. Just be sure to choose a day that is not full of client meetings, as that could be a little tricky!
Donate an Hour or a Day’s Pay
This is one of the most popular and easy fundraising ideas for the workplace. Simply ask managers and coworkers to donate an hour or day’s salary to your chosen cause. To double your money, why not ask the HR team to consider a matching donation incentive for all the days and hours donated?
Best Virtual and Hybrid Fundraising Ideas for the Workplace
It’s essential to consider inclusivity in the workplace and the benefits of offering virtual fundraising options to your home office and hybrid employees. When organizing your workplace fundraiser, don’t forget about your virtual colleagues. Remember that the more participants you have, the more money and essential awareness you’ll raise for your chosen cause.
Many of the workplace fundraising ideas above can be tweaked to include virtual and hybrid options. Here are a couple more to get you thinking.
24-Hour Challenges
A fun way to raise money at work for a good cause is by organizing a 24-hour challenge. Merely decide on an activity that your coworkers (physical and virtual) can do for 24 hours straight. Popular ideas for this are dance-a-thons, only eating a certain color food for 24 hours, or singing every word you speak for 24 hours.
The only limit is your imagination. Boost your donations by promoting your challenge on social media, setting up a trendy hashtag challenge, and getting local media attention.
30 Days Around the World Challenge
This challenge is similar to a walk-a-thon or a 5K virtual race. The idea is that every participant tracks the weekly miles they have achieved by running, walking, cycling, or any other physical activity. At the end of each week, the miles are totaled, and you get to see how far around the world you’ve traveled. The contest runs for 30 days.
The challenge goal is for your office to collectively make it around the world (or perhaps coast to coast). Meanwhile, you’ll raise money and awareness for your charity through sponsorships from family, friends, and other colleagues. This is a great virtual fundraising idea for the workplace as it allows colleagues to go at their own pace.
Conclusions on Workplace Fundraising
Getting to know your colleagues better through workplace fundraisers is a must. Creating community spirit and making a positive impact through workplace fundraising is a great way to unite and strengthen your team, brand, and company. Having fun in the process is just a huge plus!
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