Fundraising for non-profits and social impact projects just continues to evolve for 2022.
So, in this video I'm going to share several of the best non-profit fundraising ideas that i've
seen recently. Welcome or welcome back! My name is Amber Melanie Smith. I am a non-profit founder and
executive director who's done a bit of fundraising over my time in the nonprofit world and I make
these videos here on YouTube for folks starting out in non-profits, doing fundraising, doing
social impact projects, and more. I hope that you find this video helpful - don't forget to give
it a like and subscribe to my channel for more content like this. And if you happen to be looking
for more training and support on developing a fundraising plan or starting a non-profit
check out my website, FounderToFullTime.com! The world is sadly not completely out of the COVID-19
pandemic, but people are craving human connection like never before. According to a recent
report by fundraising platform Rallyup.com, 61 of respondents in a survey that they conducted
noted that despite the rise of virtual events during the covid19 pandemic,
in person fundraising events were still the biggest fundraisers for non-profit organizations.
All that is to say the pandemic has caused non-profits and fundraising efforts to get
more creative, and despite the rise of virtual events people are clearly needing that human
connection that can typically come with in-person events. So as a result we might see more hybrid
opportunities - hybrid events and fundraising initiatives into the future - and a lot of the
ideas that I'm going to share have that in mind. So with that context out of the way,
let's get into eight of the best fundraising ideas for 2022. Idea number one is one of my
favorites. It is sleep in for a cause, and it is literally what it sounds like.
For this idea, instead of inviting your supporters to come participate in a 5k or some other type of
event you're literally asking them to nope don't come instead you sleep in and just donate the
amount of money that you would have donated if you would have participated in another type of event I
think this idea is fun it's creative and it really speaks to that inner voice in everyone's head
right now saying please let me rest if you want to add a fun twist you can consider asking your
sleep in for a cause participants to do something like take a fun photo of themselves in their
silly pajamas or reading their favorite book in bed or enjoying a nice delicious
cup of tea while they rest and use some kind of event hashtag idea number two is to host a movie
or documentary online viewing a party so what i like about this idea is that people are already
doing this they're already gathering in groups and participating in online chats while watching
something through platforms like Netflix's Teleparty or various platforms that can help
groups sync YouTube videos or even online meeting software so why not turn it into a fundraising
opportunity to do this one first you want to pick out a movie or show or documentary that has
something to do with your cause something related to the mission of your cause then you're going to
set up a simple registration page for the people you want to invite to participate they can either
purchase a ticket or make a donation of whatever amount that they want in order to participate in
the online viewing party then of course you want to communicate the logistics the date the time
how to log in to participate all that to your registrants might also be a good idea to choose
a moderator to keep an eye on the conversation and maybe inspire people to discuss certain aspects
that are related to your mission and i think this is a cool one because it allows you to raise a
little bit of money while also though educating people on something related to your cause so you
get a little bit more emotional buy-in while you are fundraising the third fundraising idea
for 2022 is curbside donation drives this is where you invite people to drive through
a space a parking lot and drop off needed items supplies or even cash donations for your
organization and you can add different elements to give it a fun twist people of course can always
donate online but if they're going to be coming through with item drop-offs anyways you can of
course give them the opportunity to add a cash donation by fun twist. I'm talking about combining
some elements of other types of drive through fundraisers like um adding fun photo stations
for people to take selfies at while they hop out of the car and then jump back in the car or
getting a special treat at the end of the line just something fun to add an extra incentive for
folks to come on out in their cars for the drive through drop-off or fundraiser to do this type
of fundraiser you'll of course need some kind of decently sized parking lot that people can drive
through and permission to use said parking lot you'll need to create a wish list of the types of
donations or items you are hoping people will drop off and then of course you need to set up some
mechanism for people to make donations of money also so an online donation page or a way to donate
through their phones or by text the fourth idea is local business gift card team ups or passports
this is one of those fundraising ideas that can give supporters a bit of flexibility because
what they are going to get out of this fundraising event or program is a gift card they can use at
local businesses whenever and however they need to for this idea the goal is to team up with local
businesses in your area and convince them to sell you their gift cards at a lower than market value
then resell them at market value and keep the net proceeds for your cause the businesses of course
love the extra of the extra business and attention and your nonprofit has a built-in way to raise a
little bit of extra money and you can also do this by teaming up with multiple businesses and create
a sort of combined gift card or passport situation where one gift card can be used at multiple local
businesses this idea would probably also generate a decent amount of buzz around the community
because of how many participants are participating and the small businesses themselves would have an
incentive to promote it as well the fifth idea is for an in person but possibly socially distanced
event and that is swap for a cause the premise is pretty simple you are inviting people in your
community and your supporters to come bring items they no longer want to swap those items out with
items that other people are bringing that they no longer want so like a swap meet but it becomes a
way to raise money through a couple of different mechanisms you can possibly charge a registration
fee to participate you can ask for donations at the door and or you can also ask people to
donate a certain amount of money to participate even if they don't have any items to swap
out what I like about this idea is two things one it's pretty simple and i don't think it would take
that long to organize something like this you'd need a decent sized space like maybe a warehouse
possibly some tables and maybe some decorations for fun but that's really it and the second
reason I like this idea is that a lot of folks are looking for opportunities to minimize and
simplify their lives right now and you can help them do that through an event like this the sixth
fundraising idea for 2022 is recurring donations or a donor subscription program you know this is
something that a lot of successful non-profits are already doing and there are so many different ways
you can make it interesting and make people feel really excited about participating but
think of what NPR does you know you pay a certain amount you're not pay it's you make a donation
of a certain amount every month you can have it automatically withdraw out of your bank account
and then you become a member of this nonprofit's subscription program sometimes you'll get cool
things in the mail like a coffee mug or a coloring page or something to to thank you and acknowledge
your participation but it allows you to feel like you're kind of included behind the scenes
while also contributing consistently to a cause that you care about if this concept is kind of
new to you think of it as like a Patreon for your non-profit it's a way of cultivating a community
and receiving their support on a consistent basis that you know you can count on for your cause
and giving them just small token small tokens of your appreciation as as donors to this program the
idea is that you don't want to spend too much time or money on the actual perks that you send out
you want to make sure it has a good return on investment and also there's really fascinating
donor psychology research out there that talks about how donors actually become disincentivized
to donate if they think they're getting something too valuable or too expensive
in return they want to feel like they're being altruistic and generous for making a donation
and so if you give them something too big they're like well wait you know i wasn't asking for that
so just keep that in mind as you develop what perks you would offer for a program like this
this seventh idea is fun and it is a virtual mystery event so most people have heard
of a murder mystery dinner this is a take on that that you can do virtually and it doesn't have to
be murder it can be any mystery that you want your guests to solve so for this guests are invited to
participate through an online meeting platform like zoom for example and are receiving clues
that they can discuss together in breakout rooms or as a group to try to solve the mystery you
can even use text messages to your participants to add another layer of suspense and intrigue to host
one of these types of fundraisers you can partner with a business that already offers these sort of
online murder mystery packages and work out a deal with them to make it a fundraiser for your cause
or you can try to put together your own mystery experience funds are raised through registrations
and ticket purchases for the event and you can even amp up the fundraising by offering clues
in exchange for a donation to do this you will of course need some kind of online platform or
mechanism to host the event you will need to have your guest registration list and you'll need an
entertaining and very dramatic mc to keep things interesting. And the eighth idea that I'm going to
share today is for you to lead a workshop this can be virtual or in person on a topic related
to your non-profit's mission the idea is that you can host this learning workshop or opportunity for
either individuals in your community or even teams of employees at local businesses the key here is
that companies are always looking for interesting team building activities for their employees and
so offering them an opportunity to have a fully guided and completely packaged experience that you
have put together for them that they don't have to do any work for and they also get to receive
education about an interesting cause or topic in the community it's going to have a good value
proposition for these businesses for example let's say you have a food bank or food pantry non-profit
an example of a workshop you might offer is how to cook with healthy ingredients something related
to food or the food pantry or say you have an animal rescue non-profit perhaps a workshop on
uh tips and tricks to train your new dog the list goes on and on. Okay! What did you think? Are you
considering one of these ideas or another idea for 2022? I'd love to hear what you're working on,
what's on your mind. Share in the comments below. As I alluded to earlier if you're
starting a non-profit or working on developing a sustainable fundraising plan check out my website,
FounderToFullTime.com for some trainings and resources for folks in that position. If you're
looking for some free resources on nonprofit leadership and making an impact in the community I
have a super cool newsletter that I send out about once a month, sometimes a little bit more often,
and you can subscribe to that - the link to do that is below you can of course opt out anytime.
Finally I have a group on Facebook called Change the World or Bust - we've got, I want to say,
2500 or some number of people from around the world in there now who are all interested and
excited about making an impact in the world in their own unique ways. Of course come on by and
join us you are welcome to come be a part of our change maker community and i hope to see you there
once again my name is Amber Melanie Smith and I hope to see you next time! Thanks! Bye!