Fall Fundraising Ideas: Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

As summer rolls into fall and you begin gearing up for the important fall and holiday nonprofit fundraising season, you are likely on the lookout for some new event ideas. Thankfully, autumn is full of wonderful traditions and activities that are perfect for your next fundraiser.

Family-Friendly Fall Movie Night

Who doesn’t love a good seasonally-appropriate movie? Give your supporters a fun night out, and raise funds by accepting donations in place of ticket sales. Depending on your budget, you can either rent out a screen at the local movie theater, or simply set up a projector screen in a nearby park.

Select a family-friendly film like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for an excellent fall movie night that is enjoyable for all ages.

Community Leaf Raking

Have you ever raked leaves for an elderly neighbor? Do you remember how excited they were to have the help? They may have even offered you a baked good or a little cash as payment for your good deed. Why not put this same idea to use for your nonprofit organization?

Organize groups of volunteers and children to travel around town and offer to rake leaves, accepting donations in return for the work. This is a wonderful way to do good in your community while raising the money you need to do more great work in the future.

Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Contests

Another autumn tradition that gets people excited is carving/decorating pumpkins. Kids and adults alike enjoy coming up with fun new ideas for their pumpkin, especially if they are competing for a prize. Gather a wide variety of pumpkins, carving tools, and decorations. Then you can allow event attendees to sign up to join the contest and compete for the top spot.

For safety purposes, give children under a certain age their own separate competition, with markers, glue, and other safe decorations for their pumpkins. Save the sharp carving knives for the adults.

Have less competitive guests who just want to carve or decorate a pumpkin for fun? Have extra supplies on hand so they can join in, too, without the pressure.

Fall/Halloween Festival

As the weather starts to cool down, nothing is more fun than a fall or Halloween-themed festival. By combining various smaller activities, like pumpkin carving, costume contests, cake walks, and hayrides, you can put together a memorable nonprofit fundraising event that will get people in the fall spirit. When your guests are in a good mood, thanks to your hard work, they will be sure to donate to support your cause.

Using a Givelithon At Your Nonprofit Fundraising Event

Does your favorite idea for a fall fundraiser involve some kind of competition? Using Givelify’s real-time Givelithon feature, you can raise money by allowing guests to vote with their donations. Project a live feed of incoming mobile app donations as the contest is happening, so event attendees can use their smartphones to send donations to vote their favorite competitors into first place.