Looking to shake things up a bit in 2017? Here are 25 unique ways to get involved fundraising this year!

1. Be Fit to Fundraise

Organize a wellness initiative with get-fit campaigns that include healthy eating plans and exercise regimes. Raise money from sign-up fees or goal setting on individual giving pages (peer to peer). Encourage involvement by hosting volunteer-led fitness classes, and bolster your cause by helping people change their own lives for the better. Don’t forget to tell everyone about it on social media!

2. Holiday Grocery Delivery

Memorial Day and Fourth of July BBQs are around the corner, and a lot of people are intimidated by the hassle of crowded grocery stores. Shoulder the burden for a cause with your team! Volunteer to offer grocery delivery for a local supermarket — this is a great way to buy faith and open a conversation with potential new supporters.

3. Have Voluntourists #TagTheBag

Challenge supporters commit to a goal amount to participate on a volunteer or mission trip. Each participant can personalize their own fundraiser page, giving them a place to channel their supporters while you get a warm introduction to their networks. Try having all volunteers sign each other’s luggage as a memento to keep the trip on their minds for many years to come.

4. Zombie Run

Plan an out-of-the-box 5K! Road races can be powerful fundraising opportunities. To spice things up, create a challenging interactive obstacle course and have half of the participants wear three flag belts. The remaining volunteers wear zombie costumes and try to snatch participant belts as they run through the obstacle course. If you make it through without all of your flags getting captured, you’ve survived the zombie apocalypse!

5. Water Balloon Fight

When the weather starts to heat up, cool down with friendly fun. Participants pay for their playful ammol. Let the good times splash!

6. We dare ya!

Don’t be afraid to get extreme with sky diving, bungee jumping, polar plunging, abseiling, and more! Gain visibility by positioning donations made to your peer to peer fundraisers by challenging people to raise money for courage. Personalize the experience by getting the journey on camera and re-challenge others on social media. Partner with a professional sporting business and recruit additional volunteers to help manage promotion and challenge others to get involved.

7. Host a Hunger Banquet:

This is an interesting concept by Oxfam that helps raise awareness of inequality. Although everyone gets a seat at the table, the quality of the meal is calculated to world standards and guests are assigned according to luck.

8. Get your groove on

Find an event space and host a dance-a-thon. Invite people of all ages and find prizes to award. Need a good prize idea? Most local dance teachers offer free first classes. Partner with a local dance instructor and print out coupons for a free dance class to give to participants.

9. Host a gala

Galas are a great way to engage with people and create lasting memories. Throw a large party and sell tickets to sponsor a specific initiative or the overall organization. Be sure to have mobile-ready donation forms available for any patron who wants to give an additional gift on the spot.

10. Create a ‘Biergarten’:

DIY is in. Find a space, fill it with communal seating, and have an afternoon of camaraderie! In Germany, Biergartens, or Beer Gardens, are outdoors and usually serve up food community-style at big tables. The key is the atmosphere of ‘Gemütlichkeit’, which translates to friendliness. Partnering with a local brewery or two and finding some volunteer musicians can help complete the atmosphere and drive tons of support.

11. #DonorMatch

A lot of workplaces will match your supporters’ donations, so be sure to communicate that to your donors. To go a step further, have your supporters challenge their workplace to designate a percentage of profits on a given day to give to a nonprofit and advertise the partnership for local support and visibility.

12. Register with Amazon Smile

Register your organization on Amazon Smile to receive a 0.05% back as donation on eligible purchases.

13. Outdoor Movie Night

Host a donation-only movie night in the park. Make a brief intro about your cause, queue up a classic movie, enjoy the summer breeze and a blanket, and make sure you have volunteers with concessions galore!

14. Yard Sale

Do a clothing or household item drive and gather clothes, toys, and books from your community. Rain or shine, a community bazaar is a great way to bring people together and raise funds. Charge fees for booths and tables and set up refreshment stands. This is the perfect event to center around spring cleaning. Donate whatever is left over to a local shelter!

15. Parents Night Out

Do a collaboration event by throwing a small event for kids with a planned night out for some lucky donor parents! Find a multipurpose space with crafts & board games for the kids, along with some volunteer childcare. Parents will be more than happy to give a donation in return for getting a night of freedom.

16. Children’s Day Carnival

Throw a carnival for Children’s Day! Fly Kites, play lucky duck, rent rides, invite some local farm animals to visit, and have a picnic. Try a friendly scavenger hunt, along with face painting and crafts. These are all unique and inexpensive way to create a memorable experience for families, and a great way to associate your image with smiles! Here are some cool crafts for booth inspirations.

17. Mothers Day High Tea

Throw a tea party in appreciation of one of the most important jobs in the world.

18. Fathers Day BBQ

Get out the apron and spatula–it’s time to see who BBQs the best. Hold a competition around who can make the best burger, best ribs, and any other grillables you can think of. Add a donation onto the cost of purchasing a plate to eat at the event to make it a fundraising AND culinary success!

19. Ice Cream Social

Nothing like a Sundae Funday! Hand out wrapped ice cream bars on a warm day downtown and accept donations only. Have your team and volunteers wear organization merchandise to push visibility.

20. Bake Sale

The throwback jersey of fundraising — but make yours better and different by asking your participants to do something unique. Check out some cool ideas here: Bake Sale Ideas

21. Art for Good

Collaborate and create a giant mural painted by your community. Get donated supplies from local businesses and charge donation participation fees. Host the event all week and when the masterpiece is done, raffle or auction it off.

22. Fashion Show

Lights. Camera. Donations. There are a lot of ways you could pull off a charity fashion show. Make it fun and light-hearted or serious high-fashion. Try creating a theme and find guest judges in your supporter base. How about a project runway theme? Get supplies for creating fashion masterpieces and have participants raise funds to get access to the different materials. As participants raise higher amounts on your behalf, they gain access to better and more exotic materials. Have volunteers model the clothing and local makeup artists and photographers can volunteer to showcase their skills. Throw a great event, while highlighting the local talent. It’s sure to be quite a PR attraction!

23. Cooking Classes

Put together a class hosted by a local volunteer chef at a trending restaurant. Raffle off a gift certificate and serve up an awesome meal. You can sell tickets and ask people to throw in their best recipes for an additional donation amount – with the best recipe submissions being entered in to win a prize and bragging rights.

24. International Festival

Throw a festival celebrating ALL of the cultures in your community and the precious diversity they offer. Exchange different cuisines, dances, jewelry and proudly display your heritage, traditions, and local customs!

25. Karaoke for a Cause

Just in case the music is slow to heal, isn’t laughter the best medicine? Rent some karaoke equipment and offer mic time for donations.