Fundraising ideas

Pick an idea your team can actually run and follow up. Give it one owner, a target, a cost budget and a follow-up date.

• Start with: the people you can already reach.
• Then: match the idea to your kind of group or the time of year, using the sections below.

Start with the people you can reach and the work you can support. These are planning examples, not promises about what an appeal will raise.

For your chosen idea, write a target, expected costs, one owner and the next date to check progress. Put supporter follow-up on the same plan as the event or appeal.

This is a planning example with made-up figures, not a promise of what a dinner will raise. Use your own quotes and your payment provider's rates.

A made-up nonprofit plans a dinner for 60 guests on March 4, 2027, with tickets at $75 each.

Follow-up dates for the same dinner:

• March 5, 2027: a thank-you email to every guest.
• March 11, 2027: calls to first-time guests.
• March 18, 2027: final numbers to the board.
• April 1, 2027: invite guests who enjoyed it to give monthly.

• Ideas that fit: a giving Sunday for one named need, a congregation meal with tickets, a monthly-giving invitation after a service.
• Plan: who speaks, how people give in person or online, and how cash and check gifts are recorded the same week.
• Check after: gifts by method, first-time givers who need a personal thank-you, and anyone who asked a question.

• Ideas that fit: a family dinner or game night with tickets, season sponsorships from local businesses, a scholarship appeal in a past participant's words.
• Plan: who may contact families, one parent volunteer per task, and dates that avoid exams and tournaments.
• Check after: sponsors who need their thank-you, volunteers to thank, and families to invite next season.

• Ideas that fit: a monthly gift that sponsors one animal or one site, a cleanup or open day with a suggested gift, a seasonal update with photos of the work.
• Plan: what one gift pays for in plain words, a photo from the work, and who answers questions.
• Check after: new monthly givers, visitors who have not given yet, and an update to send in three months.

• Ideas that fit: a ticketed performance or preview night, a members' evening, an appeal tied to one exhibit, show or restoration.
• Plan: ticket types and any added gift, seating limits, and who greets guests at the door.
• Check after: ticket buyers who also gave, first-time guests to invite back, and the next show date.

• Ideas that fit: an appeal in a supporter's own words, a remembrance or awareness walk, a monthly-giving invitation for ongoing care.
• Plan: never share a patient's or client's details without written permission, and name who reviews the wording.
• Check after: gifts made in someone's memory that need a careful thank-you, and any family to tell.

• Ideas that fit: a meal or bed-night appeal with one clear cost, a seasonal drive with a match from a local business, monthly giving for steady needs.
• Plan: the cost you will quote and where it comes from, who sends thanks, and how donated goods are counted apart from money.
• Check after: gifts against the target, donated goods logged separately, and an update on what the gifts paid for.

• Ideas that fit: a club breakfast or dinner with tickets, a members' challenge with a shared target, a relief appeal right after a local need.
• Plan: which members invite whom, how dues stay separate from gifts, and exactly where relief gifts will go.
• Check after: gifts against the target, members who brought guests, and a report to the club by a set date.

• Ideas that fit: a one-day appeal with a match from a board member or local business, a short countdown of emails, a thank-you the same evening.
• Plan: the match amount in writing, what happens if it is not reached, and who sends updates during the day.
• Check after: gifts during the match, the match paid in, and a thank-you that says what the match did.

• Ideas that fit: a volunteer day with an optional gift, a short appeal tied to the day's cause, an update on the work volunteers saw.
• Plan: sign-up and check-in for volunteers, one ask at the end of the day, and someone to take photos.
• Check after: volunteers to thank, volunteers who also gave, and a date to invite them back.

• Ideas that fit: a year-end appeal, a spring or summer update with one small ask, a holiday meal or gift drive.
• Plan: a calendar so nobody is asked too often, one owner per mailing, and thank-yous ready before the busy weeks.
• Check after: gifts by appeal, people who gave last year but not this year, and the next contact date.

• Ideas that fit: a supporter's birthday or wedding appeal to friends, an anniversary dinner for your nonprofit, a memorial fund with the family's permission.
• Plan: what the supporter or family wants said, who is told about each gift, and the link friends will use to give.
• Check after: a thank-you to each giver, a note to the honoree or family about who gave, and the tribute recorded.

GivJoy’s donation pages, monthly gifts and events are in development on every plan.

On Pro, Bryn’s jobs start Off; once turned on they start on "Ask first". Her four asking jobs together ask anyone for money at most once every 90 days.

Auctions, raffles and peer-to-peer pages are not in the first release.

Ana Torres, board chair at Hillside Garden Club (a made-up nonprofit), planned the dinner above on December 1, 2026.

Print this page to use the worksheet on paper.