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Fundraising Ideas for Breakthrough T1D™ Your Way

Whether big or small, in–person or online, serious or wacky—there really are no limits to how you can fundraise for Breakthrough T1D Your Way. Looking for some ideas? Here are some good ones to get you inspired...

Socialize with your Friends and Family

  • House Party: Invite people over for a spaghetti, pizza, or ice cream party and ask that they make a donation to your fundraiser in return. Consider including some games, trivia, or a movie!
  • Product Party: Everyone loves a good excuse to go to a party! So why not host a PartyLite, Norwex, AVON, Pampered Chef or other home product party for Breakthrough T1D? Ask the sales representative to donate 20–50% of all sales to your fundraising campaign.
  • Poker Tournament: Invite everyone over for a backyard poker tournament. Ask local businesses to donate prizes and/or food. Then have people make a donation to your fundraising page to enter!
  • Family Carwash: Rally your family, friends, and co–workers–either at your home or a local business–and offer car washes in exchange for a minimum donation.
  • Accessory Party: Ask friends and family to donate old accessories that they no longer use and host a party for donations! It’s a great way to gain some fun new accessories while helping a great cause.

Athletic Events & Activities

  • 5K Walk: Plan out a route that is safe to walk—and that accommodates strollers—and ask everyone in your neighborhood to walk with you and fundraise for a collective goal.
  • Group Hike: Plan a special hike fundraiser. Ask people to join and raise money together or make a donation in order to participate.
  • Charity Pilates/Yoga/Spin Class: Connect with a local studio or gym and ask them to donate the fees for a class to your campaign. Then promote the event to everyone you know! This will increase the amount you raise—and serve as great publicity for the studio or gym. It’s a win–win!
  • Train for a Marathon/Triathlon/Cycling event: Challenge yourself to train for an endurance event and ask everyone to support your personal challenge with a donation. You can also invite people to "sponsor a mile" to show their support.
  • Frisbee Golf: Host a fun competition in a wacky way! Set an entry fee of a specific amount for teams of two. Then "Tee–off" at staggered times and offer donated prizes for the 1st – 3rd place teams.
  • Dodgeball Tournament: Have each team fundraise to meet a specific goal— and then have fun dodging balls at your favorite local park!
  • Neighborhood Olympics: Set up various athletic activities or obstacles at a park or school yard (you’ll need to ask for permission for the latter) to mimic Olympic events. And have your neighbors team up and fundraise for T1D research!

In the Community

  • Trivia Night/Lunch: Host a trivia event where teams compete against each other to be crowned the smartest of the night. Have prizes for the winners and allow people to buy clues for answers to raise extra cash.
  • Have a Lip–Sync or Dance Competition: Gather a few volunteers to show their lip–synching skills. Have the audience "vote" for their favorite singer by making a donation and including their choice in the donation comment section.
  • Handy (Wo)Man for a Donation: Offer your services for a donation to help with tasks or projects "around the house".
  • Firehouse Luncheon/Dinner: Firehouses are known for their great cuisine, so why not incorporate that into a fundraiser? Ask your local firehouse to donate a home–cooked meal and charge an entry fee for diners to chow down!
  • Local Newspapers: Contact your local newspaper editor/writer/columnist and ask them to highlight your team’s story in the next issue. Make sure they include a link to your fundraising page so readers can make donations. Or simply ask them to advertise your fundraising event. One former fundraiser asked their local paper to advertise their car wash and ended up getting a whole article!
  • Home/Kitchen/Garden Tour: Do you know people with some spectacular homes and/or gardens? Arrange a walking tour so your community can see how lovely they are and ask for donations as an admission fee.
  • Scavenger Hunt: This is a great way to get to know your neighborhood or city! Scout out some fun locations where people can find clues and work in teams to reach the final destination. Offer extra tips and hints for specific donation amounts. And, ask some local businesses to donate gift cards and/or prizes for the winners. You can even include them as stops within the hunt!

For Special Occasions & Milestones

  • Birthday or Anniversary Fundraiser: In lieu of gifts, ask your friends and family to make a donation to your birthday fundraising page. It’s a great way for them to give back and celebrate you at the same time!
  • Child’s First Day of School: Use all those cute first day of school photos to help you fundraise! Ask friends and family to donate to your child’s fundraiser to help them feel like a "big kid". The best part? Your child will know that their big day is helping find a cure for T1D!
  • Child’s First Visit from the Tooth Fairy!: Yes, we’re serious! One generous little fundraiser decided they wanted to donate their Tooth Fairy money to Breakthrough T1D–and then rallied other kids to donate their Tooth Fairy money as well.
  • Sell Flower Seeds and Potted Plants on Earth Day: Ask a local nursery to donate seeds and/or potted plants for an Earth Day Sale. Then sell the donated items and collect the proceeds for your campaign.
  • Sell Pies for Mother’s Day: Ask your local bakery to donate pies—or ask friends to bake them—and then hold a Mother’s Day Breakthrough T1D fundraising sale.

In the Workplace

  • Matching Gift Programs: Many companies will match donations made by their employees. Ask your company if they have a similar program. Then ask your co–workers to fill out the appropriate forms and donate. You can turn those $25 donations into $50 donations in a snap!
  • Dress Down Days: Ask your boss if you can host a Dress Down Friday or a Jeans Day in exchange for employee donations. You can monitor this fundraiser by giving participants a stamp on the hand, sticker or button.
  • Company Bake Sale: Host a bake sale for your office, floor, or entire building. Ask employees to donate baked goods and make sure to advertise, advertise, advertise! Great tip–don’t price items! Just ask for a donation and tell them it’s going to Breakthrough T1D. Some people might give you $20 for a cookie–we’ve seen it happen!
  • Parking Space Raffle: Does your CEO have a reserved parking space? If so, ask him or her to raffle it off for a week, a month, or for the year!
  • Office Olympics: Ask each department to create an obstacle course/relay race. Put them all together and you have Office Olympics! Get participants (or teams) to make a donation as their "entry fee" and you have an afternoon filled with fun!
  • Ice Cream Sundaes: Similar to the bake sale idea, ask a local grocer to donate some ice cream and then let co–workers make their own special sundaes for a donation. This also works great for Root Beer Floats! Don’t forget to put up flyers.
  • Vacation Days: Ask your boss if employees can "give back" one or more vacation days in return for a company donation to Breakthrough T1D. Or you can also ask your boss to raffle a day off!
  • CEO Jail: Ask co–workers, clients, and vendors for donations to put the boss in "jail" for a day! Then he/she must raise funds for T1D research to get bailed out. It’s a fun way to be creative with your CEO’s time!
  • Brown Bag Days: Have employees bring a brown bag lunch to work and donate what they would have spent at a restaurant or cafeteria. Have it outdoors, add music, dessert and drinks–and have a special lunchtime picnic!

Get Creative!

  • Kiss a Pig: Yes, this actually happened! One brave fundraiser told everyone if she hit her fundraising goal she will kiss a pig! How do you top that?
  • Shave Your Head (or Beard) for Big Bucks: You’ll be amazed at how many people will donate to see you shave your head! Charge $10 for each inch of hair to be chopped.
  • Virtual Lemonade Stand: Create a picture or icon of a glass of lemonade that you can post on people’s social media pages. Then ask everyone to "buy some lemonade" as a donation. When they do, post the image on their page with a special thank–you note!
  • Make a Cookbook: Making your own cookbook can be a fun way to highlight your favorite recipes, quotes and related stories.
  • Green Thumb: One fundraiser with a green thumb grew veggies and flowers to sell to her co–workers and friends. Think about your talents and how you can use them to raise money!