25+ Fun and Creative Ways to Fundraise Your Startup Part 2

idealmike Level X³

June 3, 2017, 9:30 am

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25+ Fun and Creative Ways to Fundraise Your Startup Part 2

Hello all. All my entrepreneurs that have a new startup idea they need to get started up! I hope you read my last starting post for this series of posts on 25+ Fun and Creative Ways to Fundraise Your Startup! In that first one I spoke about some truly fun, novel and creative ways to raise some funds. From taking a bean bath, doing a skydive, to hosting a bake off!

And in today's other fun and creative fundraising ideas, we'll be talking about several more fun and creative things you can do to raise some funds. Things that ANYONE can do. How to do them and what you need to know about it when and if and when you do! So without barking on too much let's get right down into it and talk about 3 fun and creative fundraising ideas!

Fun & Creative Fundraising Ideal 4: Make A Naked Calendar
Okay this isn't or doesn't have to be what you think it is! I'm not talking about making an actual naked calendar like the Calendar Girls! And this might not seem like the most creative of all ideas since this has already been done before many times over. But that's simply because it is a very viable, legitimate and fun way to raise some funds. For any idea or thing you need them for. But in actuality, in actual fact, compiling together a calendar of tasteful nude photos (they don't have to show pink bits) of either yourself or of your business' staff members or of a group of you (say, the people that are behind your startup ideal) can actually be a good way to raise quite a lot of money and get you some exposure at the same time!

Image source: Friends rally around breast cancer survivor to make naked calendar.Now you would have to get one made up but if you already have the photos taken (and they could be funny/comical photos of you holding a plant pot or something over your private parts) or just posing in a funny pose or having a funny facial expression on. Being painted and drawn on or something. Then you can get those photos made into a calendar quite easily these days. Most local stationary/computer stores on the highstreet provide a calendar making service. Or you can even find one of these online quite easily too. The online ones are better since you can usually choose a design first and then just send them your photos, pay the fee and then wait for them to make them into calendars of one large photo per month or something.

I've never personally done this myself but I know that it's popular amongst people and businesses that do want to raise some funds and get some extra "exposure" (that's a risque word to use here what with all the literal exposure going on right?) for them, their new startup idea and business venture.

What you'll need:

Some funny or tastefully nude photos of you or your group.
Someone to make a calendar for you (either online/offline).
Someone to sell them for you or ways in which you can.

Fun & Creative Fundraising Ideal 5: Host a Dance-A-Thon / Dance Off
In a Dance-A-Thon, it's sort of like a Marathon except, instead of running, you are dancing! You will need to have somewhere where you can host this. That could be your local town hall for the night or even in your or someone else's home. You'll need a lot of music ready so you might need a DJ to sort that. And you'll need a lot of people to turn up too. At least enough so that everyone has someone to dance with. And this is a great way to raise funds if you love dancing! You can dance away until your hearts content! Or at least until the night is over!

The way to earn money with a dance-a-thon is to charge people a fee to enter. You could also ask for donations as well and give a free gift away such as DVD or something relevant to what your business is about. Even refreshments, make them free for people who donate a certain amount of something. It could take some organising, but if you pull it off, it could be quite lucrative too!

What you'll need:

A venue you can hire for the night or even your own dinning room perhaps?
Enough music to last the whole night and maybe a DJ to play it for you.
To charge people to dance for the night and ask for donations too.
Refreshments like hot and cold drinks, a buffet maybe.
Fun & Creative Fundraising Ideal 6: Host a Quiz Night.

Another great fundraising idea, and one that probably isn't quite as daunting an event to arrange, organise and host for the night than a dance-a-thon or making a naked calendar is. And if you happen to have a bit of a competitive side to you and are fairly knowledgeable when it comes to general knowledge or in something else. And you just happen to know a few other people that are too. Then hosting a quiz night can prove to be very affective to help you raise some funding money for your startup! All you need is some teams, some questions, and then well, you know how quizzes work! At the end of the night, the winners are announced by whover got the most amount of questions right.

What you'll need:

Some quiz game with lots of questions.
A venue you can host enough people (at least 10).
To charge them to play and ask for donations.
Some prizes to give the winners (bottle of wine/leg of lamb etc).

Fun & Creative Fundraising Ideal 7: Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt can be a quite profitable to thing to do if you can advertise it enough first and get sponsored enough to do it. You would make money by charging people to enter that hunt. And let's be honest, why wouldn't they? Scavenger hunts are great fun for all ages and they can even be themed to a certain type of hunt too. For instance, if you was in the health niche, you could create a scavenger hunt to find healthy snacks or even tips. If you was in the motoring niche, you could create a scavenger hunt to find things for their car like allinone kits or just driving tips and things. Just look at what those things are in that nice that are popular with people and source them which you can give or have people find in those scavenger hunts.

What you'll need:

You'll need to source the items people can find in your scavenger hunt.
You'll have to hide things in places and provide a map or clues to find them.
You'll have to charge people to go on the hunt which is where your funds come from.

Fun & Creative Fundraising Ideal 8: Speed Dating
Could you help people find love and raise some funding money at the same time? You bet! With the rise of online dating and sites like Tinder, it's easier to find a date than ever before and long gone of the blind date days of Cilla! But hosting a speed dating night could also be quite profitable as well for several reasons. Firstly, due to it being "speed dating", people can move quickly through the nights so you can get in other people. A standard speed dating night will take someone about an hour to speed date up to 5-10 different people where each one only last 5-10 minutes. You could have a bell go off so when it does, everyone has to switch partners. But this is something you could set up and charge around $10 per night per person to and if you get just 10 people for one night that's $100 right there. Now do it every night for a couple weeks $12-1400 in funding. Not bad for helping people to find lurve right?

What you'll need:

A venue to hold and host the speed dating night.
Enough tables and chairs for people to sit in for the amount of people there are.
Some drinks, refreshments and things.
To charge for access to the speed dating night.

Fun & Creative Fundraising Ideal 9: Dinner Party
So if all these other hosting ideas don't fancy your take so far, for being to extravagant, how about hosting a simple dinner party? You could charge for access to the dinner party, or even ask people to make donations to you for however much they thought your dinner party night was worth to them. Make sure you cook them a proper slap up meal with all the trimmings (this is making me hungry just typing it!) and provide some drinks and entertainment for the night. Throw in a chocolate fountain and that will be sure to get you a boost in donations!

What you'll need:

A venue to hold the dinner party night at or even in your own home?
Enough people to cover the costs of the food and drink you give them.
A way to ask for and collect donations based on what they think the night is worth.

Conclusion

While these fundraising methods might not be for everyone. You can bet your back teeth on it that other people have done this successfully before in the past. And if you can pull it off right, organise and host it etc. And get enough people interested through the hype you create about it, all three of these fun and creative fundraising ideas can be very lucratively worth doing!

Do you do or have you done any of these fun and creative fundraising methods?

What other ways can you do these and what others are there you know of?

Cheers and enjoy!

Mike.

Comments

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Tronia

Ok, Mike. I need your help. I am desperately trying to raise some funds for my company and we are going to make a naked calendar. Can you be our January??

Joking aside. I do enjoy reading this because they're truly creative ideas that I wouldn't think of myself. I am far more old fashioned and traditional when it comes to fundraising. My choice out of these nine ideas is the last one - dinner party. A lot of funds can be raised at such dinners if you, of course, invite the right people.

9 years ago

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Makefort

I must say that the naked calendar about breast cancer was a brilliant idea. As for dance-a-thon, instead of DVDs, why don't you give certain money prizes for 1-3 best voted places. You will surely have enough money if enough people join to give prizes and by actually giving money prizes you might attract even more people, which could potentially lead to finding possible donors just by talking to people you see around.

Scavenger hunt is a pretty decent idea as well, it might attract some people, but probably not that many as dance-a-thon or similar events, though.

9 years ago

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clara1993

Thank you Sir for The Ideas You give to me and honestly Sorry but I had to copy this one on my word for later re-reading when I'm settled :-) I know it's against low but don't worry I won't miss use it :-) :-)
I liked the speed dating night idea. and right night I'm looking around in my Flat to see if I can transform it into a speeding date room lol :-)

9 years ago

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vinaya

These are great ideas, however, I am not sure whether you can actually raise funds from these ideas. For example, you may want to create a naked calendar for breast cancer awareness. First of all you will have to find women willing to pose for camera clicks. If you cannot find women who are willing to volunteer, you will have to get paid models, which cost money. Secondly, you will have to sell calendars. Are you sure you can sell enough calendars?

9 years ago

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idealmike

Well not with that attitude you wont no!

No I get you. To me you sound like a realist Vin. And I'm a realist. But a positive one. I just believe that positive things really do happen to positive thinking people. It's that kind of rugged, wont take no for an answer attitude that makes CEO's. And I bet if you asked any big CEO if they stayed positive and if it helped and I'm sure they'll tell you that it was only through remaining positive despite all the objections and hurdles in their path, that helped them see success!

And for the nude calendar no no. It doesn't have to be woman! It can be of you and your mates. Even random funny people or something. Funny ones sell better. I bet if you made an Extreme Selfies calendar it would sell!

You just gotta think outside the square Vin!

9 years ago

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Barida

Yeah, I agree with you that helping partners to find love can be a great way to raise funds for a course. I have seen bloggers use that to an efficient level and that made me believe that it is really possible.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

I like that calendar which can have a variety of designs that is far from the example. It will depend on the kind of business that you are raising funds for. Let’s say the business is a movie project, the calendar can be a showcase for the intended cast of the movie. If the business is car wash, what about a picture of a carwash with beautiful and sexy attendants? I’m not saying that the fundraising will be a success because of the calendar but surely it is one fun way of doing a campaign.

8 years ago

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25+ Fun and Creative Ways to Fundraise Your Startup Part 2

25+ Fun and Creative Ways to Fundraise Your Startup Part 2

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Tronia

Makefort

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idealmike

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