Team Kidney Your Way: 8 Unique Fundraising Ideas

Team Kidney Your Way lets you use your imagination to create fundraising events that excite you and your community. Not sure what to do? Here are eight one-of-a-kind ideas to get you started!

1. Set up a neighborhood yard sale

Difficulty: Medium

A neighborhood-wide yard sale is a fun way to declutter your home and unite the community for a great cause. First, determine which neighbors are interested in participating and settle on a date several months in advance. Ensure the event is successful by spreading the word through social media, community bulletin boards, and word of mouth. Encourage friends and family to share the date with their own connections. Choose a central location where everyone can display their items and create a festive atmosphere by playing music, providing snacks, and setting up games for children. 

At the end of the day, pool the earnings, donate to the Team Kidney Your Way page, and smile knowing you made a real difference for kidney patients while building lasting connections. 

2. Create a neighborhood scavenger hunt

Difficulty: Easy to Hard

A scavenger hunt is a fun activity for children and adults alike. You can get as creative as you want and tailor the event to suit different levels of complexity for any age group. 

For an easy scavenger hunt, you can provide a list of items for participants to find on their own, such as a red shoe, a heart-shaped rock, or a brown mailbox. For a more challenging scavenger hunt, create a list of clues that lead participants to hidden items in your town or a local park. These require participants to use their problem-solving skills and teamwork to decipher clues and uncover the treasures. 

Sell tickets or encourage donations from the participants on the day of and award prizes to the individuals or teams that complete the scavenger hunt first or collect the most items.

3. Run a workshop or a class 

Difficulty: Hard

Share your skills with the world in the form of a workshop. First, determine how much you’ll charge for this class. Then set up an event registration web page and start promoting on social media, to peers, and community bulletin boards. Once the event is finished, transfer the registration money to your Team Kidney Your Way page. At the end of the day, you'll get to lead a class on an activity you love, and your attendants get to go home with their craft, knowing they supported kidney disease awareness and education. 

Eight workshop ideas:

• Candle making 
• Succulent planting
• Simple car maintenance 
• Painting or drawing
• Card making
• Screen printing
• Cooking
• Wood carving

4.  Conduct a raffle 

Difficulty: Easy

Raffles are one of the most well-known fundraising events out there.

Here's how to host your own: 

1. Research the laws related to raffles in your jurisdiction. Raffles may be considered gambling in your area and require a permit or license. 
2. Obtain your prizes from local businesses, through donations, or from second-hand stores.
3. Decide on ticket prices and set a drawing date.
4. Create tickets.
5. Promote the event and sell your tickets. 
6. Hold your drawing, either publicly or privately, and notify the winners. 

5. Put on a variety show

Difficulty: Hard

A variety show celebrates all talents, from musicians showcasing their catchy songs to comedians sharing their best jokes and witty humor. All talents are welcome to share their skills and passions on the stage.

Organizing this event is as easy as finding people willing to participate, choosing a suitable location, and selling tickets to the big show. Your performers do all the heavy lifting, so gather your talented friends and prepare for an unforgettable night. 

6. Hold a balloon pop event

Difficulty: Easy

A balloon pop is similar to a raffle but louder and with more balloons! 

Here's how to hold a balloon pop event:

1. Gather items of varying values to give away. These could be local restaurant or business coupons, jewelry, and thrift store finds. Choose at least one big-ticket item to encourage sales.
2. Assign each item a number.
3. Find a location where you can display a decent number of balloons, like a place of worship, a running track, or a local park. 
4. Sell tickets to the balloon pop event.
5. Write the numbers on slips of paper, place them in balloons, and inflate them. Consider including blank slips with no prize, depending on how many items you have and the number of tickets you sell. 
6. On event day, let ticket holders pop the number of balloons they purchased. 

You can make this event more fun by including small carnival games like ring toss, supplying snacks, or playing music.

7. Create a movie night

Difficulty: Easy

Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned movie screening? It's a great way to bring people together for a nostalgic experience while supporting National Kidney Foundation. 

Whether you choose to show the movie indoors or outdoors, you'll need the proper licensing from the copyright owner to ensure you comply with copyright laws and avoid legal issues. To minimize costs, consider screening a "public domain movie." These films' copyrights have expired or were never covered in the first place. 

Sell concession stand foods like popcorn or organize a bake sale for some additional fundraising goodness and create a cozy ambiance with seating or decorations.

8. Scrapping for a cause

Difficulty: Medium

Sometimes one person's trash really can be another's treasure! Many scrap yards pay people for items based on weight. So, invite your friends, family, and neighborhood to donate their recyclables for charity. Just check with your local scrap yard to ensure you're collecting items that they accept.

Scrapable items:

• Aluminum cans
• Copper
• Iron
• Glass bottles
• Broken electronics

Once the event is complete, gather up all the payments and make a one-time donation to your Team Kidney Your Way page.

Create a Team Kidney Your Way fundraiser

Ready to take this inspiration and turn it into action? It’s easy to get started.

Here’s how to set up a Team Kidney Your Way fundraiser: 

1. Register
2. Personalize the page with your story
3. Add a photo to make unique
4. Share it with your friends and family

Interested in creating a ticketed or multi-member team fundraiser? Contact teamkidney@kidney.org for help.