A - Z of Ideas

Get inspiration from our A – Z of fundraising ideas – whatever you decide to do, make sure you've thought through the safety considerations and that it's legal!

A

Abseil - Scale the dizzy heights of a local landmark or office block...with permission!

Aerobics - Organise a sponsored aerob-a-thon with the help of local gyms, leisure centres and sport shops.

Auction - Organise an auction – you could offer the skills and services of friends, colleagues and local businesses to the highest bidder e.g. singing lessons, personal training sessions, dinner for two.

B

Bad tie day - Charge your colleagues a pound to come in wearing their loudest tie.

Bake Off - HHold a baking competition amongst staff or friends. Charge the judges and anyone coming to sample the wares and vote.

BBQ - Hold a barbecue in your garden. Ask guests to pay an entrance fee, then provide them with food and drink for free.

Be Blue - Wear blue for the day in support of RoSPA.

Boat race - Teams build model boats and race them. If you are feeling nautical, use real boats, yachts and dinghies!

Bag Pack - Ask your local supermarket if you can help customers pack bags for a donation!

Bungee jump - For daredevils only!

C

Cake stall - Hold a traditional cake stand at fêtes or fairs or even in your office.

Car Wash - Organise a car wash at your local school or workplace.

Christmas Carol - Get a group together, sing carols outdoors and collect donations!

Copper collection - Ask people to donate their collections of one and two pence pieces – every penny counts!

Cricket match - Assemble a team and challenge your local rivals, county team or a team of local celebrities to a match – charge spectators.

Coffee morning - Arrange a coffee morning at your local church hall, events room or even in the office.

D

Dance - Hold a dancing party or a dance marathon – barn dance, tea dance, disco dance, salsa dance – whatever gets people's toes tapping.

DVD night - Invite people and charge an entrance fee. Watch films around a theme and sell refreshments.

Duck race - Sell numbered plastic ducks and launch them from a bridge – the duck to finish first wins. Ask local businesses to donate prizes.

De-tox - Set yourself a healthy eating regime, no sweet stuff! Get friends and family to sponsor you.

E

Easter egg hunt - Edible hide and seek! Organise an Easter egg hunt in your local park and charge people to take part.

Eyebrows - If you are feeling brave – be sponsored to have your eyebrows waxed off. They'll grow back eventually!

F

Fashion show - Clothes shops may supply samples to promote their lines. Friends can act as models – charge entry, raffle or auction donated prizes and sell refreshments.

Fastathon - Fast for a morning, a day or even 24 hours. Consult your doctor first if you have any underlying medical conditions.

Football tournament - Organise a five-a-side or full football tournament and charge teams to enter! Ask local businesses for prizes or even a trophy to turn the event into an annual one.

G

Greetings cards - Exercise your creative muscles – design and make greetings cards for every occasion.

Give up something you like - Get sponsored to give up something for a month or longer, like chocolate, crisps or cigarettes.

Guess the ??? - Hold a Guess the ??? competition such as guess the weight of a cake, guess how many sweets in a jar or guess the name of a teddy bear.

H

Halloween party - Hold a Halloween party with a fancy dress competition.

Head shave/hair dye - Get sponsored to shave your head or to dye your hair a funny colour.

Hoopla - Traditional fairground game – ask local companies to donate prizes.

I

Indian / Italian night - Organise an Indian or Italian themed night with food, music and dancing!

Inflatables - Put a bounce into your fundraising with an inflatable boxing ring, gladiator game or bouncy castle.

It's a knockout - Revive the 80s gameshow by inviting teams to compete in silly games in silly costumes.

J

Jailbreak - Take teams to a surprise location and see who, with limited or no funds or transport, can blag their way back to base first.

Jewellery making - Get creative and sell your creations at craft fairs and markets.

Jumble sale - Get everyone to rummage through their houses for those hidden treasures they would be happy to part with.

K

Karaoke night - Host a karaoke night in your local pub/hall/club and charge people to take part

Kilimanjaro - Join the elite few to climb Mount Kilimanjaro – not for those afraid of heights!

Kayak - Organise a kayak race or paddle as far as you can yourself.

L

Left-handed day - Try doing everything with your left hand for the day...unless you are actually left-handed; in which case, use your right!

Line-dancing - All you need is a caller and some cowboy boots.

Longest line of coins - Get sponsored per metre around your school, office or club. Or start a line of coins in your local park or college grounds. Publicise you're raising money for RoSPA and get passers-by to add their loose change to the line.

M

Marathon - The ultimate challenge – the traditional 26.2-mile race. If that is too daunting, set a challenge that reflects your abilities.

Mini -Olympics - Invite everyone you know to compete or watch silly and traditional sports.

Murder Mystery - Organise a Murder Mystery night and charge people to take part.

Mud run - Get muddy in one the many popular obstacle races out there. E.g. Wolf Run, Major Series and Tough Mudder. There are always options for shorter distances!

N

Nature photo competition - Organise a photography competition.

New Year's resolutions - Get sponsored to stick to your New Year's resolutions.

Non-uniform day - Participants pay a donation to dress up or down for a day in work or school.

O

Office sweepstake - Run a sweepstake on big sporting events like World Cups, horse races or even which country will win the most medals at the Olympics.

Open House - Host an Open House or Open Garden event and charge an entry fee. You can sell refreshments, plants and organise a treasure hunt.

Orienteering - Organise an orienteering event and charge teams to enter.

P

Parachute jump - For daredevils only!

Pet show - Charge proud pet owners to show off their pets – no animal is too small! Encourage local pet shops and vets to sponsor the event.

Pub Games - Organise a darts or pool tournament and charge people to enter.

Q

Quiz - Get quiz-y at the office and personalise the questions.

Quit smoking - Get your friends to sponsor you quitting!

R

Raffle - Including a raffle as part of your event is always a great way to raise some extra cash. Check www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/guidance/about-fundraising/raffles-and-lotteries/.

Relay race - Hold a team relay race – to make this really challenging you can increase the distance or time the relay is held for.

Ramble - Take to the countryside for a mass walkabout – throw in a theme (fancy dress, three-legged) to make it more interesting.

Ride-out - Motorcycle groups could organise a ride-out, and ask people to contribute to participate.

Running team - Set up your own local jogging team and get people to put a £1 in each week.

S

Slimming contest - Get sponsored for every pound lost.

Silence - Silence is golden – get sponsored for being mute by the minute!

Shave for a Save - Be sponsored to shave your head, legs, eyebrows off.

Stand Up - Get colleagues to tell their best jokes. Organise a comedy night amongst and charge on the door.

Swear box - Charge £1 for every £*!!$% uttered.

Sober September - Give up alcohol for a month and get people to sponsor you.

T

Ten pin bowling - Hold a tournament at your local bowling alley.

Three Peaks - Not for the light hearted! Climb the three highest mountains in the U.K, within 24 hours.

Toy sale - Ask people to donate unwanted toys and hold a tabletop sale.

Tombola - Organise a tombola for colleagues on their lunch break.

Tuck shop - Sell sweets, crisps, sandwiches, fruit and drinks at your school or office.

U

Unwanted presents sale - This one works especially well after Christmas!

Unicycle - Why not learn a new skill and have people sponsor you to stay on a unicycle for as long as possible!

V

Variety Show - Organise a Variety Show in your local town hall and get your friends, colleagues and family to showcase their talents!

W

Waxing - Get your male colleagues, friends and family members to be sponsored for a hair-raising experience.

Welly throwing - See who can throw their welly furthest.

Wine and cheese - Ask local shops to donate and hold a wine and cheese event. See if people know their cheddar from their camembert.

Walk to work - If you live within a reasonable distance from your job, walk to work for the month and use the money you’ve saved on travel costs for our charity.

X

Xmas hampers - Make up and sell or raffle your own Christmas hampers.

Y

Charity of the year - Why not make RoSPA your organisation's charity of the year and organise fundraising events throughout a 12-month period?

Z

Zzzz Sleep over - Have a Sleep Over in your school/office or club and let participants get sponsored to take part.

Zumbathon - Organise a one hour non-stop zumba session and get sponsored.