With the festive season around the corner, now is the time for Not For Profit or charity organisations to plan their Christmas fundraising ideas. As people get into the festive spirit, it is reported that under half (49%) of the public say they are more likely to give around Christmas than any other time of the year [1]. With this being the case, you should organise fun and well-executed fundraising campaigns to make the most of your supporter’s generosity.

Although there are a sleigh full of approaches you can take, the size and budget of your organisation will help to determine the type of charity ideas that you can run effectively. Below, we round up our top 12 Christmas fundraising ideas that consist of both in-person and digital approaches for organisations of all sizes to consider, while including examples to provide further context.

Christmas charity ideas to make your festive campaigns a success

Throw a local Christmas party

Who doesn’t love a Christmas party? Depending on the size of your Not For Profit or charity, the extravagance of this event is your choice. Either way, you can work with local organisations throughout the year to collaborate on charity fundraising events and build relationships within your community. This will hold you in good stead when searching for the perfect venue, food, and entertainment as these connections will likely be more than willing to help!

Before considering these finer details, you need to decide who will be invited, which can include:

Supporters
Donors
Volunteers
Board members
Members of your community

Once a potential guest list is established, send out invitations to purchase tickets and raise money for your Not For Profit or charity. You can also receive donations via alcohol sales (don’t forget the eggnog!) and entertainment activities such as a Christmas raffle or quiz.

As this is a charity event, why not treat your guests to a surprise raffle? Include several individuals/organisations who have supported you throughout the year and have details written down that include how their contributions have helped you and your causes. When the respective name is chosen, share these details with your guests and award them with a special prize for the evening. While this may not provide you with an immediate financial incentive, building a stronger rapport with your supporters is priceless and can even lead to them providing further donations in the future.

If you opt for these options, remember to invest in prizes – food and drink hampers are always a popular choice!

Example – Charity Christmas party in aid of Brain Tumour Research

Orchestrate a Christmas concert

If a party isn’t enough, organise a sing-song with a Christmas concert! Once a venue is decided, recruit carol singers and/or local bands to belt out festive favourites for everyone to sing along to and get into the Christmas spirit.

As it’s the season of goodwill, we would recommend giving your performers something back in return. This could include creating pamphlets for the event that provide details about each respective performer such as:

Who they are
What they offer
Where they can be located (organisation address, websites and social media platforms)
How they can be supported

Not only will this raise the profile(s) of those who are performing at your event, but it is a great networking opportunity to potentially gain future support from new donors.

Like a Christmas party, donations can be raised through ticket sales, food and drink, raffle tickets, and even song requests.

Example: WaterAid’s ‘Christmas Carol Concert’ at St Paul’s Cathedral

Dress up for Christmas jumper day

Is it even Christmas without those itchy sweaters? The 8th December marks ‘Christmas Jumper Day’, where people in the workplace can make a small donation and wear their favourite Christmas jumper! However, don’t worry if you can’t arrange this for the 8th, feel free to take part whenever best suits you.

This is a fun and simple event you can organise digitally via a JustGiving page . In the lead up to this event, post a link to your JustGiving page on your social media platforms and even through an automated email campaign to those on your mailing list.

In addition to donations, invite people to send pictures of them and their friends/colleagues wearing their favourite jumper to help drive engagement and donations.

Example – Save the Children’s ‘Christmas Jumper Day’ campaign

Rustle up a Christmas bake off

People are keen to showcase their baking skills over the festive period, so why not let them? This is a great option for smaller Not For Profits or charities who can either host the event themselves or work with community organisations such as local churches or community centres.

Once a venue is agreed, invite your closest supporters to take part in the bake off in exchange for a small donation and ask them to bake a Christmas dessert of their choosing such as:

Christmas pudding
Chocolate yule log
Christmas cake
Mince pies
Christmas cookies
Holly cupcakes

Once they have been baked, judge the desserts and award 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. You can also make this an open event so that the local community can attend and make a donation to enjoy these treats for themselves!

Example: Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity’s ‘Christmas Bake off’

Put a bow on your supporters’ gifts

Christmas or not, some people simply do not enjoy wrapping presents! This therefore provides a unique opportunity for smaller Not For Profit and charity organisations to raise funds by doing this for them.
This can be organised through the following steps:

Plan a day near Christmas where people from your local community can attend and get their gifts wrapped.
Work with local organisations such as churches and community centres to host the event.
Recruit volunteers.
Ask for people to donate wrapping supplies.
Ensure Christmas decorations are on display and potentially organise carol singing for a festive experience.
Charge a small amount for every gift wrapped.

Example: Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity’s ‘Christmas Gift Wrapping Service’

Light up your donors’ Christmas

Spread the festive cheer by offering a Christmas decorating service! Similar to the previous idea, recruit volunteers to decorate for both locals and organisations in exchange for small donations.

You can also help those who wish to decorate themselves. Allow your volunteers to collect either unused or unwanted decorations from the local community and resell them at a local church, charity shop or Christmas event hosted by your organisation.

Don’t be shy to shout about the positive impact these actions have. Keep your followers updated on your social media platforms by sharing before-and-after photos of where you decorate, the decorations that you have for sale and the general experiences of those who are involved. This approach is likely to entice additional followers, volunteers, and donations!

Example: The Air Ambulance Service’s ‘Donate Christmas Decorations to Charity’ campaign

Mastermind a Christmas quiz

A Christmas quiz is an excellent activity to bring people together and test their knowledge! This is a straightforward, yet effective event to organise. Simply invite potential supporters via your website, email, and social media and enroll their teams once they have donated.

You can then organise question rounds that have specific themes such as:

Christmas movies
Santa’s reindeers
Christmas number 1’s
Christmas food & drink
Christmas anagrams

Ensure a good attendance by enticing potential participants with mention of your festive star prizes beforehand!

Example – British Pest Control Association’s ‘Charity Christmas Quiz’ for Dementia UK

Craft thoughtful Christmas cards

Christmas cards are an essential feature of most people’s shopping list, so why not help them tick it off? This can be a popular and fairly simple method of gaining donations for your charity or Not For Profit, most commonly adopting at least one of three approaches:

Create handmade cards – This is a common approach for smaller organisations. Invite your followers and locals to create their own handmade cards in exchange for a small donation. Not only is this a personal touch to those involved, but this is also one for kids to enjoy too!
Design your own cards and sell online – Depending on your budget, you can commission artists and photographers to create designs for your cards before selling them online via your charity shop.
Create e-cards – Not only are e-cards environmentally friendly, but they are an affordable option that allow for personalised messages and heartwarming media to be uploaded. See our recommended e-card platform in the example below!

Example – Macmillan Cancer Support’s Christmas e-cards

Share heartwarming stories

As Christmas is a time for giving, why not showcase how your charity or Not For Profit has helped people throughout the year?

This is an effective campaign for organisations of all sizes whereby they can share their case studies via social media platforms. Where possible, include videos and images as this resonates well with potential donors, with videos having a reported audience reach of 92% among internet users worldwide [2]. Remember, a picture tells a thousand words!

Ensure your campaigns fulfill their potential with the following steps:

Share stories that highlight a tangible improvement in people’s lives
Include images and/or videos of the people involved
Ensure shareability options are enabled on social media platforms
Include a clear CTA to your donation page

Example – Oxfam’s ‘Farms Fit for the Future’ case study

Write to Santa – and receive a response!

Christmas is an extra special time for children – especially where Santa is concerned.

Get creative and organise a stall at a Christmas market where kids can write and post a letter to Santa. Parents and guardians can then make a donation for their child to receive a personalised return letter from the big man himself.

Alternatively, you can do this digitally via your website, allowing parents to submit all the required details and surprise their child with an unexpected letter from Santa!

Remember to ensure that their name and address is written clearly on their letter – you don’t want the return going to the wrong child!

Example – NSPCC’s ‘Letter from Santa’ fundraising campaign

Make a wish come true with a Santa’s Grotto

With Santa Claus coming to town, don’t forget one of – if not the – most important Christmas charity ideas – a Santa’s grotto.

When organising this, ensure that you cover the following steps:

Find a venue such as a shopping centre, or host it yourself
Recruit volunteers to be Santa and his trusty elves
Build the grotto with the required props

For a small donation from parents/guardians, their child will get to meet Santa and receive a gift that will be sure to get them extra excited for Christmas!

Example - ‘Charity Santa’s Grotto’ run by ‘The Hospice of the Good Shepherd’

How to maximise your Christmas fundraising

While this blog may provide you with potential Christmas fundraising ideas, you may require finer details to put these into practice such as the planning stage and gaining a better understanding of your supporters.

References and citations

[1] Enthuse (2021). Donor Pulse – Winder Edition 2021: Insights from Enthuse Intelligence

[2] Statista (2021). Most popular video content type worldwide in 2^nd quarter 2022, by weekly usage