Top 15 Powerful Christmas Fundraising Ideas

Posted on December 8, 2021

As the Christmas of 2021 beckons, are you ready with your fundraising ideas for donations for your cause on Christmas?

Year-end is the time when Giving features in most people’s minds. And, this is the best time for nonprofits to think of fundraising ideas to encourage donors.

Have you geared up for Christmas and thought about how you will collect donations for your cause?

Get Festive with these 15 powerful Christmas Fundraising Ideas for your Nonprofit:

1. Choose a Good Cause

Nonprofits always raise funds for important causes. However, when the spirit of Christmas is in the air, make sure to choose a cause that donors feel connected to and are motivated to give. For instance, it is a good idea to raise funds for donating to the underprivileged section of society. Donors are more likely to contribute where they can uplift someone during Christmas!

2. Make your Christmas Themed Fundraiser

Create a fundraiser where you tell the donors that they are gifting someone during Christmas.

Share Christmas-themed creatives to promote your fundraiser on social media and your website.

You can include a fundraising thermometer with a deadline of Christmas day to create urgency among donors.

3. Promote your Fundraiser on Online and Offline Platforms

Christmas is a time when people are on the move, preparing for the festivities, buying gifts, or meeting people.

Make sure to promote your fundraiser extensively on online platforms and on prominent places, billboards, etc. where passers-by cannot miss it.

4. Make it Easy to Donate

You do not want to miss out on donations because your donors find it cumbersome to donate.

Make sure that your website is easy to navigate and donors can easily reach the Donate Now button.

Responsive websites are a must to make it easy for donors on the move.

Ensure that your forms are not too complicated and offer hassle-free registrations.

Include donation buttons on social media pages.

Send personalized emails to your subscribers informing them about your fundraiser and encouraging them to donate.

Offer mobile giving options like Text to give, text to donate, and scan to give.

These methods encourage donors to give when they see a hoarding or flyer about your fundraiser at any time from anywhere. These methods encourage impulse giving and you don’t want to miss out on these.

5. Matching Gifts

Gifting is the highlight of the Christmas season. Matching gifts is a way to raise funds where corporates donate an amount equal to the amount a nonprofit has generated.

You can contact the HR representatives of corporates and tell them about your cause and ask for donations. Many nonprofits miss out on the matching gifts option for fundraising.

Christmas is the best time to approach corporates for matching gifts.

6. Organize a Gift Wrapping Party

Wondering what a gift wrapping party is?

Everyone is short on time during Christmas with too much on their hands. Gift Wrapping is among the many things to be accomplished during the festive season. So, why not take this task off their list?

Here’s what you can do:

• Organize a team of volunteers to do the gift wrapping for people in the community.
• Designate a specific day close to Christmas day for gift wrapping.
• Host a gift wrapping party where you decorate the venue according to the Christmas theme. Invite all volunteers for wrapping the gifts together.
• You can have Christmas-themed dressing for the party.
• Make it a fun event by playing Christmas carols in the background.
• Offer Christmas treats to everyone at the party. You can get these treats as a donation from bakers/chefs, etc.
• You can reduce the expense of gift wrapping by procuring all wrapping material as a donation.
• You raise funds for your cause by charging an amount for the gift wrapping service you provide.

The party can be an offline or a virtual one depending on the COVID protocols at that time. In case of a virtual event, you can get everyone to dress according to the Christmas theme and join the event over a Zoom call. Volunteers can wrap the gifts from their homes and interact with others virtually.

7. Christmas Treats

Fundraising can be done by offering Christmas treats. You can partner with some local chefs and ask each one of them to make a different Christmas treat. You can also indicate the exact quantity of the treat. Display all these treats on your website by creating a special page for them. When someone orders a specific item from your website, you can inform the concerned baker and ask them to arrange the delivery. The partner bakers will increase the visibility of their products and services. The nonprofit raises funds from the amount collected when people purchase these treats from the website.

Make sure to clearly display the items and their prices. Offer a secure and simple payment method. Promote this offer on online platforms and through emails to your subscribers.

8. Donating Christmas

Donating Christmas is another great way of generating funds during Christmas. The concept of donating Christmas is similar to donating Birthdays where you ask people to donate to your charity instead of purchasing Christmas gifts.

You can reach donors by:

Promoting the fundraiser on your website and social media pages.

Sending emails to all subscribers requesting them to spread the word in their network.

You can also leverage peer-to-peer fundraising to reach a wider donor base. Ask your donors and supporters to ask people in their network to donate to your charity. Donors and supporters can share the details of the fundraiser on their social media pages to reach their network.

9. Share on Partner’s Social Media

This is a fundraising strategy where you connect with corporates, etc., and use their social media pages to promote your fundraiser. This helps you promote the fundraiser directly to their network and increases the funds raised.

10. Christmas Decorating Services

Everyone wants to decorate their homes during Christmas and have a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree at home. You can offer Christmas decoration services at a fee that will add to the funds raised.

11. Provide Christmas Trees

Buy Christmas trees wholesale and sell them at a profit. You can create your own Christmas tree outlet if you have the space. Decorate the outlet with Christmas decorations and lights. Play carols in the background to give a festive fervor.

12. Christmas Gift Boxes

Create Christmas gift baskets or gift boxes with assorted items. Collect items of different price ranges to create differently priced baskets to suit all budgets.

Display gift baskets/boxes on your website. Nonprofits generate funds when these gift items are purchased. Make sure that you clearly indicate the contents of the gift box/basket so that buyers can choose their gifts easily.

Promote these Christmas gifts on the various online message that buyers will be giving a “double gift” if they purchase from you. The first gift is when they gift the purchased item to someone and the second gift is the cause they will support with funds raised through the sale. Provide a simple and secure method of payment to donors.

13. Christmas Cards

Living in an online world, we are inclined to send ecards to our friends and family. But, did you know that there is a huge market for handmade cards?

You can have a team of volunteers make handmade cards and sell them to raise funds.

14. Christmas Carols

Get a group of supporters to sing carols at an event or they can go door to door and sing. You can set up a crowdfunding campaign with your supporters so that they can share their personal funding pages with their social groups and family.

Engage the audience by offering customization of the playlist according to their choice of songs.

Here’s how you can facilitate it:

Members of the audience can be asked to text a keyword to a number.

When they do so, they will be guided to a mobile-friendly form in which they can furnish their details and add the song of their choice.

15. Christmas Gala Dinner

The festive season is a time for dinners and galas. Your nonprofit can organize a Christmas Gala Dinner. The gala may be an offline one or a virtual one. Fundraising can be done by charging an entry fee for the event. Use all your creativity to host an event that your audience will remember!

These are some ideas for raising funds during Christmas. Put on your thinking caps and make fundraising an incredible experience for your audience!

Make sure to keep track of your fundraising goals so that you raise enough to make the Christmas of the disadvantaged section of society worthwhile!

iConnectx offers a platform to streamline all your fundraising efforts!

Merry Christmas!