Fundraising is a vital part of any charitable organization, and nonprofit summer camps are no exception. Fundraising events help raise awareness and support for your camp and provide much-needed financial assistance so that every kid has an opportunity to attend. But all seriousness aside, camp is fun so fundraising for your nonprofit camp should be as well!
Here are some fun and creative fundraising event ideas to help you raise the money you need this summer:
Host a fundraising event at camp
Host an outdoor game tournament like cornhole or horseshoes, or even plan a mini-golf tournament. Or, if you’re feeling really creative, why not host a giant scavenger hunt, obstacle course, or dodgeball tournament? Hold competitions or games, such as water balloon tosses, tug-of-war, or sack races to make your fundraising event fun for the whole family.
Nothing says summer like an outdoor BBQ! You can also organize a fundraising BBQ at camp and invite the community to come out and enjoy delicious food. Charge a ticket price and include other activities like raffles or auctions to bring in even more donations.
Another way to get the community involved is by putting on a talent show at camp. Encourage kids to sign up and show off their talents like singing, dancing, playing instruments, and performing skits. Charge a small fee for attendance and sell snacks and camp merchandise at the fundraising event.
Parents and community supporters will love the chance to come out to camp and see where the magic happens!
Organize an online fundraising event
If you don’t want to organize a physical event, you can always host an online fundraising event. Use a comprehensive fundraising software like MaxGiving to create a donation page and raise money for your camp online.
One of the best, most profitable online fundraising events is an online auction. With MaxGiving, you can easily upload unlimited auction items, securely collect bid information and payments, and customize your online auction to suit your needs. Remember, gathering items for an auction takes time and dedication, so get started early! Try to collect items that appeal to the people who will be attending your online event for maximum donations.
Utilize peer-to-peer team giving to encourage your supporters to fundraise on your behalf. With peer-to-peer giving, individuals or organizations set up personalized fundraising pages to raise funds for your summer camp. This helps expand your fundraising reach and helps your supporters feel involved and inspired.
Even if you don’t host an online auction or utilize peer-to-peer fundraising, an engaging giving page is an essential part of raising money for your nonprofit. This is an important aspect of fundraising for your summer camp, as it’s a great place to highlight sponsors, advertise events, and collect donations online.
MaxGiving automatically tracks donations and keeps everything organized. You can live stream a fundraising event, sell raffle tickets and merchandise, or host other fundraising activities online. Remember to promote your online event through social media and attach links to your fundraising page!
Golf tournaments
Golf tournaments are a popular fundraising event for many organizations, and they’re great for raising money for camp. Tournaments take a lot of coordination, but they can be well worth the effort if done properly. Make sure to include activities like silent auctions, games, or contests during the tournament so that everyone can have fun. Contests like longest drive or closest to the pin are crowd favorites that will make your tournament a hit.
You can also host additional games and activities, or sell items such as camp merchandise or snacks and drinks at each hole. Remember, many courses require you to utilize their staff along with their provided drinks and meals, so take this expense into consideration if it is part of the tournament package. You can also sell mulligans, giving golfers a chance to improve their scores and bringing in more donations for your cause.
Fundraising concert for summer camp
Summer is the perfect time for a concert! Put on a fun fundraising event with live music, food, and drinks to draw in crowds and help raise money for your camp. You can even reach out to local businesses to sponsor the event and help cover costs.
Organize a fundraising walkathon
Encourage people to walk for your cause! To maximize donations, set up peer-to-peer giving, where each team or individual collects donations and pledges to walk a certain distance. You can even make it a competition between teams and have awards for the most money raised by each team. Set a goal, plan out a route, and designate rest stops and checkpoints throughout the event. Hosting this at your summer camp is a great way to bring people to your facility and get them interested in your programs.
Host a themed gala
For a more formal but still totally fun fundraising event, why not host a themed gala? Choose a theme like “Under the Sea” or “A Night in Paris” to make it extra fun. You can decorate accordingly, hire performers to entertain people throughout the night, and encourage attendees to dress up according to the theme.
Adding a fundraising auction to your themed gala is a great way to raise money for your nonprofit summer camp. Have guests bid on items like gift cards, artwork, and other unique items donated by local businesses. You can even offer exclusive experiences, like dinner with the camp director or a special tour of the facility. Sell tickets to your fundraising gala, keep track of guests, host auction items, and more with MaxGiving’s all-on-one fundraising software!
Further reading: The Ultimate Fundraising Event Planning Checklist: 1st Steps
Host an art show fundraising event
Host an art show with kids’ art to raise money for your camp. Art shows are a great way to highlight the artistic talents of the campers and help them get involved in fundraising efforts.
During camp, plan activities for kids to create team or cabin art pieces as well as individual artwork. You can even bring in an art teacher and offer an art class for the campers to attend. It will be a fun rainy day activity and will help provide money to fund camp projects and initiatives.
Host an art show at the end of the year and invite families as well as business sponsors to view the artwork and bid on the projects. Parents will love seeing the unique creativity of their children shine in group or individual pieces. You can also use the artwork to create prints or other products that can be sold, with all proceeds going directly to your camp.
Summer camp fundraising events can be a great way to get the community involved and raise money for camp upgrades or subsidize the attendance cost for underprivileged campers. Whether you’re hosting a gala event, putting on a family-friendly fundraiser at camp, or holding an art show, there are plenty of creative and fun ideas that will help you reach your financial goals.
With some planning and a powerful software to keep everything organized, your summer camp fundraising event will be a hit! Click here to start your free trial of MaxGiving today.
