Fundraising Ideas
Would you enjoy organising a fundraising event in your workplace or local community?
Here’s a list of practical ideas.
Fundraising Ideas
Would you enjoy organising a concert, a dinner, an auction or any other fundraising event to help Amnesty International defend human rights? If so, please get active today!
When you have decided on your fundraising event / activity, please let us know if you need any supplies eg. sponsorship cards, posters, collection buckets, permission letters etc by calling us on 1850 882 400 or e-mail fundraising@amnesty.ie
See Tips and Advice
Here is a list of the most practical fundraising ideas around:
Fundraising in the Workplace
Marathons & Mini Marathons Get a team of work colleagues to take part and raise sponsorship for Amnesty International. Full list of nationwide events and entry details etc are posted here
Parachute jumps Raise €600 in sponsorship and you jump for free!
Details here
BBQ Hold a lunchtime or evening barbecue on the company grounds and sell tickets in advance. Local suppliers may donate food.
Car wash Organise a car wash in the company car park and wash cars for a fee or donation.
Coffee Morning Requires a budget. Invite friends to a cakes and coffee morning.
Dress down day. Everyone makes a donation to Amnesty to take part.
Fast Go without food for a day while others sponsor you to do so
Party premium - add a €5 donation per person to the cost of your office party.
Sliming challenge Get sponsored per pound that you lose (or gain if you're underweight) over a certain period.
Sponsored Silence Almost anything can be sponsored, but this is particularly challenging. Go a set time (e.g. a morning) without talking.
Stop smoking or another habit you want to overcome and get sponsored to do so
Swear box Put one in your workplace for a set period and donate the proceeds.
Five-a-side competition. Get as many teams as possible and charge an entry fee per team.
Tug of War Organise a tug-of-war knockout tournament or one-day league table contest between teams from local factories and offices, charging an entry fee and giving a prize to the winners.
Wages Donation: Contribute one hour or one day’s wages and encourage others in your company to do the same. Some companies run schemes which allow you to donate a set amount, tax free, each month to a selected charity.
Your own idea Come up with your own fun event!
Fundraising in the Local Community
Bag Packing in Supermarkets. Needs to be booked well in advance. Can raise €1.000 or more per day if enough people help out.
Marathons & Mini Marathons Take part and raise sponsorship for Amnesty International. Full list of nationwide events and entry details etc are posted here. Church Gate Collection We are always looking for people to organise or help out at church gate collections. Please contact us if you can help.
Flag Day Help out at a local flag-day or church gate collection. If there isn’t one already planned for your town/city we would be delighted to hear from you with offers of help for such an event. We would apply for the necessary Garda permit.
BBQ Hold a lunchtime or evening barbecue and sell tickets in advance. Local suppliers may donate food.
Bike rides / races e.g. organise a safe, scenic route. Pick a theme such as Tour Against Torture.
Bowling night Hold a Charity Challenge Night.
Bridge drive or poker tournament Jokers wild!
Cabarets night Ask local bands and artists to perform at a local venue
Cake Sale Can be combined with coffee morning or book sale
Car wash Organise a car wash and wash cars for a fee or donation.
Carol singing Gather together a reasonably tuneful choir and collect in shopping centres and other public places at Christmas. Please remember this requires permission from local Gardai. Amnesty International can apply for a permit if you let us know in good time.
Celebrity Walks Persuade a celebrity (a local one is fine) to walk a set distance with a group and get people to sponsor them.
Cheese and Wine Evening: Requires a budget. If possible, get local suppliers to provide some of the cheese and wine. Sell tickets in advance and donate proceeds. If you're enthusiastic and knowledgeable, each table could have a theme e.g. a particular wine-growing or cheese-producing region.
Coffee Morning Requires a budget. Invite friends to a cakes and coffee morning. This can be combined with a book sale or other event.
Concert/Gigs Ask local bands and/or DJs to play a gig and donate the ticket money to Amnesty International. Raffle can be included.
Cookery demonstration Ask a well known chef to put on a demonstration. People will gladly pay for this – great fundraiser.
Darts tournament. Charge an entry fee for a knock out tournament; encourage local pubs or clubs to organise teams.
Disco This will require a budget. First, find a suitable venue and someone to run the disco. Sell tickets in advance.
Fashion show Organise a fashion show with clothes donated or loaned by local shops and stores. Record the event and sell copies as soon as possible after the event.
Fast Go without food for a day while others sponsor you to do so
Five-a-side Charge an entry fee per team and run a tournament or league.
Flower arranging Can be very popular at certain times of the year
Food tasting – ask a restaurant or supermarket to host a food tasting day/night. Charge entry fee to taste any dish or dishes – you promote it and sell tickets. The owner wins by bringing in new customers who may never have tried their particular type of food. Foreign food would be ideal because people may be very keen to try out new dishes without the risk of buying a full meal they may not like.
Fun Runs – organize a fun run locally – talk to the Gardai first if it’s to be run on the public road.
Fundraising gig. Organize a special fundraising gig or other event.
Garden Party/Fete: May require a budget for refreshments. Invite friends and colleagues to an afternoon reception with refreshments, asking them to make a donation.
Golf classic – organize(or ask a golfing friend) a classic in your local Golf Club.
Goods & Services Auction
Ask local businesses or individuals to donate a service (e.g. a free haircut, piano lessons, etc) or some goods (e.g. a bottle of wine, gift vouchers, meals, trips, concert or sports tickets, golf green fees, etc). These goods and services can be raffled or auctioned off to the highest bidder at a special evening or combined with any event. The key to a successful live auction is to have a good auctioneer, preferably one willing to donate their services. event.
Head-shaves, leg or chest wax for men (ouch!) great fundraiser
Jumble sale. This requires a venue. Have separate stalls for different types of items such as ladies' clothing, men's clothing, toys, books and bric-a-brac. Have fixed prices for each type of item or price them individually (latter is only feasible for better quality items). Be prepared to let customers haggle. Advertise in advance and charge an entrance fee. You may wish to sell refreshments as well.
Lorry Pull Can generate plenty of good publicity and raise lots of money. Pulls are done by teams that can compete in several categories.
Categories include:
- The Fastest Pull
- Lightest Combined Body Weight
- Top Women's Team
- Showmanship - team with the best costume, theme, or creative idea
- Challenge Trophies - Challenge your business competitors to a pull
Night at the dogs Ask your local track to dedicate a night
Quiz/Trivia Evening Charge an entry fee for individuals or teams to take part; questions could be on a set theme, like films, pop music, or general knowledge.
Race Night Hold an indoor event where you hire horse-race films (special films/videos of 8-horse races are available) and sell each horse. The owner of the winning horses get a percentage of the takings for each race. You can make up race cards or ask local companies to sponsor each race or individual horses.
For more information please contact us at fundraising@amnesty.ie
Sliming challenge Get sponsored per pound that you lose (or gain if you're underweight) over a certain period.
Sponsored Silence Almost anything can be sponsored, but this is particularly challenging. Go a set time (e.g. a morning) without talking.
Sponsored Walk Can be as simple as a stroll in the park!
Table Quiz/Trivia Evening: Charge an entry fee for individuals or teams to take part. Questions could be on a set theme like pop music or general knowledge. Get someone well known to ask the questions. The winning team gets a prize.
Tug of War Organise a tug-of-war knockout tournament or one-day league table contest between teams from local businesses or clubs, charging an entry fee and giving a prize to the winners.
Yoga event Ask your local yoga school to set aside a day for people to try out yoga in return for a donation to Amnesty International.
Your own idea Come up with your own fun event!
Marathons & Mini Marathons Get a team of work colleagues to take part and raise sponsorship for Amnesty International. Full list of nationwide events and entry details etc are posted here
Bike rides / races e.g. organise a safe, scenic route. Pick a theme such as Tour Against Torture.
Bowling night Hold a Charity Challenge Night.
Bridge drive or poker tournament Jokers wild!
Darts tournament. Charge an entry fee for a knock out tournament; encourage local pubs or clubs to organise teams.
Five-a-side Charge an entry fee per team and run a tournament or league.
Fun Runs – organize a fun run locally – talk to the Gardai first if it’s to be run on the public road.
Golf classic Organize (or ask a golfing friend) a golf classic in your local Golf Club.
Head-shaves, leg or chest wax for men (ouch!) great fundraiser
Lorry Pull Can generate plenty of good publicity and raise lots of money. Pulls are done by teams that can compete in several categories.
Categories include:
- The Fastest Pull
- Lightest Combined Body Weight
- Top Women's Team
- Showmanship - team with the best costume, theme, or creative idea
- Challenge Trophies - Challenge your business competitors to a pull
Night at the dogs Ask your local track to dedicate a night
Parachute jumps Raise €650 in sponsorship and you jump for free.
Race Night Hold an indoor event where you hire horse-race films (special films/videos of 8-horse races are available) and sell each horse. The owner of the winning horses get a percentage of the takings for each race. You can make up race cards or ask local companies to sponsor each race or individual horses.
For more information please contact us at fundraising@amnesty.ie
Sliming challenge Get sponsored per pound that you lose (or gain if you're underweight) over a certain period.
Tug of War Organise a tug-of-war knockout tournament or one-day league table contest between teams from local factories and offices, charging an entry fee and giving a prize to the winners.
Sponsored Silence Almost anything can be sponsored, but this is particularly challenging. Go a set time (e.g. a morning) without talking.
Sponsored Walk Can be as simple as a stroll in the park!
Tug of War Organise a tug-of-war knockout tournament or one-day league table contest between teams from local businesses or clubs, charging an entry fee and giving a prize to the winners.
Your own idea Come up with your own fun event!
- Some of the above may require a budget, venue and permission.
- Church Gate Collections require a Garda Permit but if the priest/clergy in a given church gives you permission to collect on the church ground then you do not need a Garda Permit.
- Minimize the risk – plan an event that has little or no financial outlay if you are not sure you will get good support. Whatever event you run, your chance of success will increase if you publicise your event well – the more publicity you get, the more your chance of success.
- Make it a fun event – this will encourage more people to attend and don’t be afraid to ask for support – most people are happy to give financial or other support if asked.
- Take photographs and send them to us. We will be happy to include them on our website with an article about your event.
- Set up your own personalised fundraising page on www.mycharity.ie if you’re taking part in a sponsored event. Email everyone in your address book AND text everyone in your mobile ‘phone asking them to visit your page and sponsor you.
And finally…
Remember, it is important to raise awareness of Amnesty International’s work as you raise funds. At every event you organise, please try to include an element of human rights awareness. Make yourself familiar with Amnesty International’s current campaigns and have an Amnesty International banner at all your events for visual impact. Just contact us at fundraising@amnesty.ie and we will supply whatever you need.
So, organise an event you will enjoy working on, or raise sponsorship by participating in one of the many events organised by Amnesty International throughout the year. Either way, we are here to help, and we would love to hear from you.
If you have any questions or fundraising ideas or if you need anything for your fundraising event please contact the Fundraising Team.
Callsave 1850 882 400 or e-mail fundraising@amnesty.ie
