Volunteer Fundraising Ideas
If volunteering is on your bucket list for this year, take advantage of your newfound free time to start planning how you'll pay for your trip.
It can be difficult to save enough money to pay the expense of your vacation, what with airfare, visas, and program fees.
Grants
Look for scholarships and grants available in your area on the internet. If you're still in university or college, you might be able to locate scholarships and fellowships for international volunteer fundraising. Look for community grants and scholarships as well.
Sausage
Hire a grill, stock up on sausages, and don't forget the mustard, ketchup, and onions! A popular and profitable fundraising initiative that is especially successful outside of large shopping centers on weekends or during sporting events. At Woolworths or Bunnings, I held a sausage sizzle. In half a day, I made over $300 profit. - A volunteer
Packing
Here's a simple way to raise a few hundred dollars in a matter of hours. When you go food shopping, do you notice anything unusual? We make a bag pack to collect money for charities here. So, someone will pack up your groceries, and there will be a box underneath them if you want to donate money to a charity.
Treasure hunt
Organize a treasure hunt. It's a fun approach to generating money that's especially popular among elementary school students. Charge a small admission fee and distribute donated gifts and chocolates. For folks who live near the beach, huge digs in the sand are another option. It is one of the best ways of volunteer fundraising opportunities.
Crowdfunding from community groups
If you belong to a youth group or a community club of some kind, approach the leader and ask if you can give a presentation about what you're planning and why you're gathering money one night. You might find that the organizer of a youth club can persuade the group's members to generate money for you in some way. Other presentations may be money-on-the-night affairs, in which you deliver a presentation, thank the audience for their time, then ask for a gift before leaving. You'll be able to deliver your presentation confidently and it will be more fun and fascinating for the audience if you've spent time carefully planning it. Donors who are interested in what they are hearing are good.
Schools
Make contact with the local primary and secondary schools where you attended. Every year, they usually raise money for a good cause. They may contribute to your cause by organizing a sponsored walk or paying for students to wear their clothes to school instead of the school uniform.
BONUS TIP: When appealing for funding, potential sponsors are often skeptical of your cause's legitimacy. Your Program Manager can supply you with a verification letter from International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) if you request it, which will assist you in resolving this issue. To request a verification letter, send an email to your Program Manager.
Ocean swim
Take a sponsored dip in your local ocean or pool in the middle of the winter. If it's summer, establish a tough swim distance for yourself and seek sponsorship for each meter or yard you swim. Contact your local media and try to get a group of dippers to join you. The more exposure you get, the better!
Hike
Organize a sponsored hike up a national or regional landmark. In the past, many have raised a lot of money by hiking up Mount Snowdon, Wales' highest peak. Before you go, just hassle people for a £1 here and there, and then when you go for the walk, bring a bucket with a banner on it and simply ask them if they'd want to donate. It would be much better if you dressed up as a chicken and brought along one friend to do the same. It attracts attention, believe us! It doesn't have to be a walk; a run or a sponsored bike ride will suffice.
Sporting event
Plan a day for a sporting event. You may easily organize a 7-a-side football (soccer!) or rugby tournament. Place an ad in the newspaper or make a Facebook event, and keep informing everyone about it. You raise funds by charging a per-person or per-team admission fee. It's a fun day out, and if you have your trusty bucket, folks will almost certainly put some more coin in it after a few beers.
Recycle
Use a recycling program and organize a clothing/shoe/housewares drive... There are many companies where you can have a clothing drive and get paid. They also give the clothes to third-world countries. In our opinion, this is a total win-win situation!
Quiz night
At the neighborhood boozer, host a quiz night. Participants will be charged to participate. Before the quiz night, go around to local businesses and ask for donations for a raffle that will be held after the quiz night. When we've done similar things in the past, we've discovered that little local companies are far more charitable than larger supermarkets or corporations. Their produce is also of higher quality, and all you have to do is provide them with some free publicity during Quiz Night. Wine, a free haircut, chocolates, biscuits, pet food, a teddy, beer, more beer, a sports t-shirt, vouchers, and other items are examples of lottery prizes.
Dinner Dance
A good dinner dance requires a fantastic band, delectable cuisine, and eye-catching decorations. Set a reasonable price, hold a raffle, and devote a significant amount of time to marketing. It's a good idea to give a presentation and show images before dinner to highlight what you intend to accomplish during your volunteer experience. These can also be hosted after your vacation overseas to show folks what you got up to and assist offset any costs you may have spent while you were gone.
Wrapping up
There are many fundraising platforms too. You can host a party or arrange a challenge, and there are various other ways to volunteer to fundraise.
