5 Outdoor Fundraising Event Ideas For Your Next Charity Drive

At any given moment, there are probably several different charity events and fundraisers going on within 20-50 miles of your location.

And you are probably not aware of most or any of them. How can that be?

Well, part of it is that the organizers of those events aren’t marketing them in a way that reaches you.

But the other part of it is that their events are probably not all that interesting or engaging.

So, how can you get better results, and what fundraising event ideas can you come up with to ensure that your charity drive is successful and maybe even repeatable?

Note: And, of course, if you need a place for everyone to gather after the event (or during it), check out this other list we made.

1. Organize a 5K Run

The first entry on this list of fundraising event ideas is probably one of the most obvious ones.

Create an opportunity for everyone in the community to get together and engage in a communal activity that is challenging for most people, but not so difficult that only a few people can do it.

Even if they have to walk almost all the way, everyone can complete a 5K, especially if they have a few months to prepare for it.

And you’ll probably start advertising and talking about it a few months in advance anyway, so that works out.

The best part is that a 5K is one of the easiest types of large events to organize.

2. Costume Run

A costume run can cover any distance (5K, 10K, etc.), but the main difference between it and any other kind of run is obviously that everyone wears a costume while they’re doing it.

This is a fun way to mix things up, and you can even give some kind of award to those with the best costumes.

Costumes can be holiday themed (Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, 4th of July, etc.) or they can be random.

They can even be themed around a local event, organization, or business.

For example, here in Ohio, several organizations host Civil War reenactments in different locations around the state throughout the year.

A 5K run where everyone is dressed up as Union soldiers would certainly draw attention to your cause while also showing patriotism.

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3. Relay Race

This is another variation on the foot race theme, but it’s slightly different than the other two in the sense that it necessarily involves an element of teamwork.

Because different runners will cover different stretches of the track, you can also extend the race over a larger area.

For example, you could have members of each running team stationed at different locations throughout your town or a national park.

They each carry the baton (or whatever else you’re using) to the next station after their own and hand it off to the next runner on their team.

This can be a great event choice if you want to bring extra attention to a specific location or group of locations.

For instance, each runner station might be located at a historically significant spot in town or in the parking lot of a specific building owned by one of the event’s sponsors.

It’s also great if you want people all over town (including those who have no idea your fundraiser is happening) to see your participants running through different parts of town.

Bonus: Because a relay race is a team activity, you can also get pretty creative with how you organize it. You can also involve kids to a greater degree because the distances between each station don’t have to be long.

4. Dodgeball Tournament

For some reason, people don’t play dodgeball very often after they graduate from high school.

That’s really unfortunate because it’s a great game, and if PE class in school was anything to go by, most people would enjoy it.

So why not create an opportunity for people to play this American favorite again?

And why not do it for an admirable cause?

Fundamentally, organizing and putting on a dodgeball tournament is pretty simple and not much different from organizing any of the other fundraising event ideas on this list.

So you shouldn’t have much trouble as long as you can secure a space for the tournament to be held in (like a college gym, a soccer field in a public park, etc.).

It’s also not expensive, as you only need to buy some rubber balls and maybe a scoreboard.

5. Organize a LARP Event

Hosting a LARP (Live Action Roleplay) is the most eccentric option on this list of fundraising event ideas, but it also has the potential to be one of the most fun.

Lots of people are really into fantasy fiction and roleplay, and even those who aren’t will often still find such a thing fun if they’re invited to participate in it.

It can really be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, and depending on your budget and space, you can even go all the way and turn it into a Renaissance fair or something like that.

Another benefit of hosting a LARP event is that, because there is more going on, you have the possibility of being able to involve a lot more vendors, sponsors, and local artists than you might normally be able to with a simpler event like a 5K run.

Note: Medieval fantasy isn’t the only genre you can host a LARP event for. You can also try sci-fi or even other historical eras and civilizations, like colonial America, pre-colonial America, or feudal Japan. Basically, any interesting period you can buy some cheap costumes for.