7 Easy & Fun Christmas Fundraising Ideas

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As a nonprofit that relies on donations to run your organization, using holidays as fundraising opportunities can be really beneficial for you. Set your community’s holiday spirit in motion and increase engagement with some simple Christmas fundraising ideas! If you want to create easy and fun fundraisers for Christmas or New Year’s, keep reading to see our 7 suggestions.

What is Christmas fundraising?

Christmas fundraising is a form of fundraising meant to induce holiday cheer, and increase donations for your nonprofit. Holidays are usually seen as times where people are more generous and helpful towards others. People love to share their good fortune with others, and what could be more fortunate than a family in need getting some extra help for the holidays? Depending on your organization’s general focus, using Christmas fundraising ideas to grow your community can help strengthen bonds and take your nonprofit to the next level.

How to create Christmas fundraisers for your nonprofit

From bake sales to silent auctions, there are lots of fun ways to make money at Christmas time. One of the first things to keep in mind while thinking of Christmas fundraising ideas is that it will depend on the type of charity you represent, and how many people you have to encourage to donate.

If you want to run a successful Christmas fundraising campaign, ask yourself the following questions first:

What are your goals and objectives?
What is your budget?
Where is your general community located? Will your fundraiser event be online or in-person?
How long will the Christmas fundraising ideas take to complete?
Who is involved in the process? Is there a group or committee for this purpose that can take on the hard tasks?
Can you get enough volunteers and staff to carry out your plans?
Will it be easy for your community to part with money at Christmas time?
Do you have enough time and resources to plan your activities well in advance, or do you need to come up with an idea at the last minute?
Are there any problems that may arise? For example, if you’ve created a physical fundraiser and it’s raining on the day of your event, will this reduce donations or affect turnout?

7 Easy & Fun Fundraising Ideas for Christmas & New Year’s:

1- Christmas bake sale

Bake sales are a time-honored tradition for a reason: They’re easy to organize, they tap into people’s emotions, and they have an immediate impact on your bottom line.

They’re a great way to raise money for just about any cause, from the local school to the church to helping a family in need. One of the most important things is to set a date and time for your bake sale and place it in a convenient location for your supporters. Also, make sure you have enough baking supplies, tablecloths, cutlery, etc. on hand.

2- Gingerbread decorating workshop

In a similar vein, you can organize a gingerbread person/house decorating workshop for your supporters! This will be a very fun way to engage with your supporters, especially children, with some holiday decorating. In the end, everyone gets to take home their creations (and eat them, of course). Or, connected to our first idea, you can also try selling these decorated gingerbread houses in a bake sale later.

All you need to buy is the gingerbread mix, cutters, icing and candles to get started. Paying for all of these and preparing them might be tiring and costly. So, to utilize this fundraising idea to its fullest, consider getting an event sponsorship for your nonprofit – it might be a great option! You can read one of our blog posts to see how you can get an event sponsorship in just 3 steps.

3- Ugly sweater competition

Another idea is to host an ugly sweater competition, and provide the winner with an award (again, sponsorships might be very helpful for this fundraising idea). You can do this as a separate event, or make it part of a bigger Christmas party. There can be a certain fee to enter the competition, or just to the larger Christmas event itself. Encourage creativity by asking participants to make the sweaters themselves. Consider giving runner-up prizes to the second and third places, to the most creative, the most related to Christmas, etc.

Marketing this type of event is important. Make sure you have a photographer during the event, so that the sweaters all have a chance to shine.

4- Caroling

This is another classic that you’ve probably heard many times. If you have volunteers in your community that are talented enough to sing traditional Christmas songs, you can decide on a few songs among your organization and ask them to go caroling in surrounding areas. Door-to-door marketing works best when you manage to entertain and keep the interest of your potential donors.

5- Matching gifts

Matching gifts is a type of fundraising where a business matches their employee’s donation. It’s a great motivation for businesses to contribute in goodwill, while also doubling your earnings!

To learn more about how a matching gifts program works, check out one of our other articles: Successful Fundraising Ideas for Nonprofits.

6- Hot chocolate or eggnog stand

With a holiday twist, instead of a lemonade stand, you can host a hot chocolate or eggnog stand to encourage people to help your cause. This is a really simple Christmas fundraising idea, as long as you can arrange volunteers to make the drinks and wait on the stands. Letting your community know about this beforehand might also greatly contribute to your sales. Make sure you place a donation box on the counter as well!

7- Christmas cards

Last but not least, you can consider giving virtual or physical cards to your supporters.

Sending out cards is a particularly good idea if you’re running another charity event as it’s a nice way to thank everyone who has supported your event, and even those who have donated in advance. However, you can also create personalized Christmas cards for a certain fee for people to send to their loved ones, while also supporting your nonprofit.

There are a lot of free tools online you can use that include templates. It’s best to include information about your organization, your logo, the amount donated, and a section where people can include their special messages. Personalization options make people feel like they’re cared for, so make sure you show that you care!

Take your fundraising to the next level with Raklet

Christmas fundraising ideas, no matter how engaging, are still simple and one-off options. For an all-in-one solution that can take your nonprofit to the next level, check out Raklet’s nonprofit fundraising software. With Raklet, you will have an online platform where you can create events and fundraisers, collect donations, manage your community with a built-in CRM, and more.

Check out our list of extensive features to learn more, and book a personal demo to see how we can help your nonprofit thrive.