8 Fundraising Challenge Ideas to Make Your Fundraiser More Fun

Add excitement to your fundraiser by creating a fundraising challenge. For fundraising challenge ideas, check out the article below.

mud run fundraising challenge

If your organization is tired of hosting the same old fundraiser and wants to mix it up with some added fun, consider creating a team or individual fundraising challenge. By hosting a fundraising challenge, you can reach your audience in a new way and hopefully gain new supporters who are interested in joining in on the fun.

8 Fundraising Challenge Ideas

  1. Scavenger Hunt: Adults and kids will love participating in this event and raising money for a great cause! Organize a scavenger hunt with teams or individuals, and partner with local shops and restaurants. Make sure you have clear rules for all participants and organize the hunt well in advance. For some inspiration and tips for your next event, click here to read an example of a successful non-profit scavenger hunt. 
  2. Mud Run: Mud runs have become popular fundraising challenges because of the fun, competitive nature of them. Participants of all levels can register to compete in your event by racing against one another to complete a messy obstacle course. This event will require extra work to set up, but can raise a lot of money and will provide great memories. To learn more about how to get started with your mud run fundraising challenge, check out this article.
  3. Challenge Campaign: Challenge campaigns can be extremely effective and even have the opportunity to go viral! A challenge campaign is great at not only raising money but raising awareness of your cause. First start by getting creative and thinking of a fun challenge that people can easily execute and share. A great example of a successful challenge campaign is the Ice Bucket Challenge.
    • Ice Bucket Challenge: This challenge went viral and dramatically accelerated the fight against ALS all because of an ice bucket and the power of social media. By starting out as a simple challenge of pouring a bucket of ice over yourself for charity and challenging others to join the movement, the Ice Bucket Challenge became viral and attracted athletes, celebrities, and thousands of users on social media to participate and raise money for The ALS Association.
  4. Polar Plunge: This fundraising challenge idea is a peer-to-peer fundraising event centered around a group stunt. Participants and supporters raise money for your cause and then jump into cold water in the wintertime… for fun! To begin planning your fundraising challenge, find an online fundraising platform for people to sign up. From there, find a body of water (lake, ocean, etc.) to host your event – just make sure the water is nice and cold! For more help planning your polar plunge fundraising challenge, click here
  5. Head Shaving Challenge: This is an already existing fundraising challenge that you can participate in by yourself or with other volunteers. Benefitting the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, willing participants raise money while spreading awareness of the organization by shaving their head. The four simple steps to participate in this challenge include finding an event, creating your participant page, raising funds, and finally, shaving your head.
  6. Selfie Challenge: Utilizing social media, consider creating a selfie challenge for your next online fundraising challenge. A selfie challenge can be a part of your challenge campaign and can reach a large audience if you gather enough participants and momentum. Take advantage of people’s increased time at home by challenging them to take a selfie showing anything from their favorite mug, makeup-free face, or mustache. Not only are you raising awareness on social media, you can set up an online portal or phone number that people can visit or text to donate to your cause. The more people that participate and spread your selfie challenge, the more awareness and interest it will gain. Get creative and start sharing!
  7. Hashtag Challenge: This can accompany any challenge campaign and fundraiser or act as a standalone fundraising challenge idea. A hashtag campaign is great at encouraging shares on social media and having all relevant content filtered together through your hashtag. First, come up with a creative and fun hashtag that’s unique to your cause and doesn’t have too many shares. Next, determine your goals and how you will execute your challenge. It can range from having people share photos or videos of a specific thing, or simply using the hashtag with any post to raise money and awareness. For help on creating a winning hashtag, check out this article. For a fun example of how a hashtag challenge works, read about the #dadbod challenge. Something to note with this online fundraising challenge idea is that you need supporters to not only participate in the challenge by sharing your hashtag, but also donate to the cause. Having an online donation platform will help people learn more and donate.
  8. Partner with a Fundraising Challenge Company: There are companies like Charity Challenge that specialize in delivering exceptional adventure challenges that allow participants to raise money for the charity of their choice. Their challenges range from a London to Paris bike ride, to dog sledding challenges.

 For more inspiring charity challenges, take a look at this article.