21 Excellent Fundraising Ideas for Aussies

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Looking for a way to raise money for your nonprofit organization in Australia? There are many great ways Aussies can raise money for their favorite causes. Try one of these excellent ideas for your next fundraiser, and you're sure to be pleased with the results.

Special Event Fundraisers:
1. Silent Auction: Everybody loves a bargain, which is why silent auctions are such popular fundraisers for all types of groups and organizations. Put together a committee or group to ask area businesses to donate auction items. Set up a display of available items, and allow people to place bids on the item for a set period of time. When it's time for the auction to end, the highest bidder gets to purchase the item, and all of the profits go to your group's fundraising goals.

2. Trivia Night - Host a trivia night fundraiser. Invite people to put together teams to compete against each other in trivia quiz games. Entry fees can go to your group or organization, and teams can compete for prizes donated by various local businesses.

3. Talent Show Performance Night - Organize a musical revue or other type of performance event, featuring members of your group or organization. These events are a lot of fun, and can be a great way to bring money into your group. The performers can be children, adults, or a combination. You can charge admission, or offer free admission and focus on raising money from concession stand and raffle ticket sales.

4. Karaoke Night: Are there some natural born performers in your group or organization? Maybe they won't put together their own routine for a talent show, but they'll probably be happy to stand up and belt out a few songs accompanied by a karaoke machine. You can raise money from this type of event the same ways as with a talent show.

5. Walkathon: Many organizations around the world utilize walkathon events as a way to raise money. Recruit participants to walk a set number of metres or kilometres, and have walkers get sponsors to donate money to your cause. These types of events can raise a lot of money, and they are also a powerful way to raise awareness of your cause.

6. Danceathon: A danceathon functions exactly like a walkathon, with one exception. The participants are dancing rather than walking. They solicit sponsors to donate money for each song they dance to, or for the number of hours they are able to remain in the contest.

7. Fun Run or Walk: Many nonprofits utilize fun runs as a way to raise money. As with a walkathon and danceathon, participants may collect sponsorship donations, asking their contacts to contribute money based on the distance they run or walk. Fun runs also usually have entry fees, which can be another way to raise money for your cause.

8. Car Wash: Nobody likes to wash their car. Youth groups have been taking advantage of this fact for decades, running car wash fundraising events on weekends. Kids offer to wash cars free, but encourage those who take advantage of their services to make donations to their group.

Food Fund Raisers
9. Sausage Sizzle: Everybody loves a great sausage. The next time there is a special event going on, like a fete or carnival, consider hosting a sausage sizzles as a part of the event. Your group will have a lot of fun planning and working the sizzle, and you can make a great profit margin for your organization.

10. Bush Tucker Sale: For a uniquely Australian fundraiser, consider putting together a bush tucker stall, featuring tasty home baked cakes, lamington, biscuits, and other goodies.

11. Barbecue Sale: Many groups and organizations host barbecue dinner events to raise money. These fundraisers are always popular, particularly when paired with another event that requires participation up to or through meal time.

12. Bake Sale: Selling sweet treats can be a great way to raise money for your group. There are many different types of events that are appropriate for bake sale fundraisers. If you're raising money for a sports team, set up a bake sale stall during the game. You can also contact local retailers for permissions to set up a stall outside of their entrances. Have each member bring a baked good, and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of money you'll be able to raise.

Fundraising Sales
13. Seedling Sale: Help the environment and raise money for your organization by selling seedlings native to Australia as a fundraising opportunity. Your friends and neighbors will jump at the chance to purchase a seedling to benefit their landscape and your group!

14. Jumble Sale: Your junk is probably someone else's treasure. Holding a jumble sale is a great way to restore order to your home and raise money for your favorite charity. Ask each member of your group to clean out his or her closets, cabinets, under-the-bed storage boxes, and other areas that accumulate stuff that is never or rarely used. Selling the unwanted items will likely raise quite a bit of cash for your group.

Contest Fundraisers
15. Art Contest: Art contests with a small entry fee can be a great way to raise money for schools and other youth-oriented groups. Come up with a theme, and promote the contest through classes, youth groups, art centers, etc. Request donations from local businesses for prizes and sponsorships, with the entry fees designated as funds raised to support your cause.

16. Classroom Coin Contests: A terrific idea for a school fundraiser is to encourage school children to collect coin donations is to hold a contest designed to reward them for their efforts. Have students bring in coins, and position them so they form a line or stack up against the wall. Award a group prize, such as a classroom pizza party, to the class that ends up with the largest stack of coins.

Dress Up Day
17. Costume Day: Young children love dressing up in costumes, so fundraising costume days are great fundraising opportunities for elementary schools. Charge each student who wants to wear a costume to school a small fee to do so. You can have themes for costume day events, which can make them even more fun and appealing. For example, if you're trying to raise money for endangered species, encourage kids to wear animal costume contents.

18. Green Day: This fundraising opportunity works well for groups of kids and adults, and is a great way to raise money for environmental causes. Encourage each person to wear green clothing (either the color or organic fabrics) to promote environmental responsibility, and ask for a nominal donation for participating, with the funds going to a related charity.

19. Casual Day: If your office normally requires business attire, your co-workers will probably be happy to donate a few dollars to a good cause for an opportunity to wear their favorite casual outfits to work.

Other Fundraising Ideas
20. Loose Change Collection: Everybody has loose coins floating around their handbags and pockets. Put out a collection jar in a prominent (yet safe) location, and encourage people to empty their pockets into the jar to raise money for a god cause. Be sure to label the jar with information about the charity group, so people will know where their money is going.

21. Swear Jar: Looking for a way to raise money and help your friends and coworkers improve their vocabularies? Consider putting out a Swear Jar in your office or apartment, and charge a fine (you pick the amount) every time someone uses profanity in conversation. Depending on the people you are around, you might find this to be your most profitable fundraiser yet.