So you’re ready to get involved in a cancer charity fundraising event, but you’re not exactly sure how you’d like to go about doing so. We hear you. That’s why we’ve included an A-Z list of charity fundraising ideas below that will inspire you on how to put the ‘fun’ in ‘charity fundraising’.
Holding a charity fundraising event can be one of the most rewarding ways to show your support for ACRF and cancer research.
Once you have made the decision on what type of charity fundraiser you would like to participate in, here’s what to do next
Read our fundraising guidelines
Fill out the fundraising proposal
Or download an offline version
Submit the form and we will get back to you within 24 hours (or the next business day for weekends) to help you continue your fundraising journey!
Use the alphabet links to find and retrieve charity fundraising ideas.
Amazing feats
Time to get out of your comfort zone. Host a competition with your friends, family and/or co-workers to see who has the most amazing or bizarre party trick. You might even like to try to and break a world record!
Related Story
Arts & crafts
Create a work of art and fund state-of-the-art equipment for our researchers! Use your artistic talent for a good cause. Organise a craft event with friends and/or have a craft sale and donate a percentage of your proceeds to cancer research.
Auction
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so why not do something positive and hold an auction or sale? Clearing out your cupboards for a worthy cause will make you feel amazing (think of all the extra storage space!) and your customers will also be happy knowing that they’ve contributed to cancer research!
BBQ
A great Aussie tradition and the perfect way to spend a summer’s day. Turn a fun day catching up with friends into an opportunity to make a difference – good friends and delicious food? What better way to support your favourite charity!
Bingo
Get together with friends and family for a game of bingo. To increase the impact of your event you could also reach out to local businesses to see if they would like to get involved and contribute to a raffle.
Bowls/Bocce day
Let’s strike out cancer and organise a bowls day at your nearest club, or play bocce at a local park. Not only is it plenty of fun, but it’s fantastic office team building! The ACRF is humbled to have a number of annual cancer fundraising Bowls Days – most notably the 5-year running George Veitch Memorial Bowls Day run by Affinity Constructions in Canberra.
Cancerian Committee
Form or join one of our Cancerians Committees – dedicated volunteer groups who organise annual or ongoing fundraising events in their local community. In just the past 10 years, the total contribution from these incredible charity volunteer groups has reached more than $3 million!
Car wash
Everybody loves a car wash, especially when it’s for a good cause! If you’re looking to support cancer research, grab some enthusiastic friends and set up a washing station in your local area. You’ll have people lining up around the corner to get involved!
Celebrate
Celebrate your next special occasion or milestone with the gift of cancer research. Whether you’re celebrating a wedding, birthday or another event, donations in lieu of gifts are a wonderful way to celebrate a special day and help outsmart cancer!
Coffee drought
Replace your morning barista coffee with a donation. Brew your own cup and put the money you would have spent towards cancer research. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it adds up! A little can go a long way!
Cycling event
Organise your own cycle endurance event or join in an existing community cycle and make sure you get sponsored! You can go solo, with a group, or you might even like to ride tandem for an extra challenge, it’s as easy as riding a bike
Dinner party
Host a dinner party with friends or family and charge a small donation for your amazing culinary services. Bon appetit!
Dress ups
Playing dress up begins at a very young age and never truly ends. Your friends will love the excuse to dress up and pretend to be someone else for a day! Simply charge a small fee to host a dress-up party, and run small fundraising competitions throughout the event.
Drive
Go the distance for cancer research with a fundraising drive – literally! We’ve had a number of amazing supporters take their cars around Australia, raising funds and awareness for ACRF. They’ve been to Alice Springs, across the Nullarbor and right along the East Coast: a great way to see the great outdoors while making a difference!
Drop those pounds
Need a little bit of extra motivation to reach those fitness and weight-loss targets? Why not do it for a good cause? By introducing a cause that is outside of your own goals, you’ll be even more inspired to do the hard yards.
Every coin counts
Collect silver or gold coins at your workplace and ask customers, suppliers or friends and family to do the same. Every coin counts!
Expeditions
One does not simply carry out an expedition – so why not motivate yourself further by doing it for cancer research? Whether you traverse over the mountains or hug tight to the rugged Australian coastline, group expeditions are a great way to take on a challenge for cancer research.
Fair day
A fair day is a brilliant way to fundraise while spreading the cheer simultaneously. Get local families together and sell tickets to play different games. Throw darts at balloons, have a sack race or make up your own games.
Fashion show
Fancy yourself as a bit of a fashionista? Why not grab a few friends and host your own fashion show! You can keep it low-key, or contact a few celebs and fashion designers to help you put on an extravaganza! Adding a raffle is another great way to support cancer research.
Footy match
Whatever your code, host a match in tribute or in celebration of someone special who might be fighting cancer.
Gold coin collections or sausage sizzle at your local club are a great way to arrange donations for cancer research. This is also a great way to get your local community involved in funding cancer research.
Games day
Have a day of games and fun with family and friends, with the proceeds going to cancer research. Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Monopoly, Marco Polo, Bull Rush are all great games to play!
Garage sale
For items you might otherwise have thrown away or stored out of sight, why not have a garage sale? Better yet, get your neighbours involved and turn your charity fundraising event into a street party!
Golf tournament
It’s time for a par-tee! Tee off and test your techniques on the green with this classic cancer fundraising idea. Bring friends, colleagues or local businesses together for a fantastic day of networking and friendly competition!
Headshave
Make a symbolic gesture of hope and love for someone who has experienced cancer by shaving your head. Many of our supporters even choose to make a competition out of it ie. the highest donor gets to pick the type of head-shave – Mohawk, speed stripes etc.! Or, colour your hair a daring colour!
Ironman Challenge
Go the extra mile with these ultra fitness challenges – sweat it out in an organised ironman event. Not for the faint of heart, ironman triathlons are a challenging fundraiser that tests you both mentally and physically. Events are run across Australia annually, you can view them on Triathlon Australia’s website.
Jump!
Take the plunge with our most hair-raising fundraising campaign. Skydive with the ACRF and face your fears for cancer research. Either do it solo or get your friends to jump with you – it is guaranteed to be an experience you will never forget!
Karaoke
Here’s your chance to show off your singing skills and help outsmart cancer at the same time! Pay for your chance to use the microphone, or pay to support your friends in a singing competition. And most importantly, have fun!
Kite flying
Enjoy a picnic day with the family and bring your kite; charge a fee for entering the competition and see who can keep their kite airborne the longest.
Laughing club
Laughing clubs are some of the most popular wellness clubs right now – why not start your own and charge a small fee for people to join? This is feel-good fundraising at its best!
Marathons
Whether in Australia or abroad there are plenty of great sporting events that are hosted throughout the year, where you can sweat it out for cancer research.
Masked ball
Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Winter, Summer or Halloween, or any reason for that matter. Host a masked ball or dinner gala and kick up your heels for cancer research!
Music
Do you play an instrument, or enjoy singing? Better yet, do you play in a band? Why not put on a concert or music recital to support cancer research? If you’re thinking of going pro, you could also consider donating a percentage from your music sales, that would be music to our ears!
Night at the movies
Lights, camera, take action to end cancer! Have friends/family over for a movie night in support of cancer research. Sell tickets and concessions to make it as authentic as possible!
One day fast
Get friends or an organisation to sponsor you to go without food for a day and donate the money to cancer research. To up the ante, you might also like to encourage a group of people to join you.
Plant sale
It’s time to put those green fingers to use! If you’re particularly handy around the garden, why not strike a few new plants and pot them up for sale at a local market stall. With proceeds going to cancer research, you’ll find your flowers flying off the table to go to a good home!
Putt-putt
Let’s putt an end to cancer! Organise a lunch-time at your workplace to hold a hallway or foyer putt-putt competition. You could also get some friends or family together for a friendly competition at the local putt-putt centre.
Quiz night
Let’s get quizzical! Trivia or quiz nights are a great fundraising idea for large groups of people or corporate team building. This charity fundraising event allows you to charge an entry fee for a night of entertainment. Include some additional games or a raffle to boost donations.
Raffle
It’s a traditional fundraising favourite! To get started, complete a fundraising proposal and once you have your approval chat with local businesses. When they find out about the great cause you’re supporting, they’ll be sure to get on board with kind donations for you to raffle off at your next party or gathering.
Regular giving
Regular giving is a powerful and important form of support. It can be done monthly, quarterly or biannually. To become a regular giver, all you have to do is sign up online or contact us and we will arrange to deduct the donation amount of your choice from your credit or debit card on a date that works best for you.
No matter the size of the donation, you will be making a huge difference in the lives of those who are affected by cancer by helping to speed up research discoveries.
Scientists and superheroes
At the ACRF, cancer researchers are our heroes. So why not have a dress-up party that brings these two ideas together? Host a dress up party and charge a small fee which goes towards outsmarting cancer!
Swear jar
A swear jar can be a handy way to fundraise to end cancer while also creating good habits, whether at home or at work. Any slip of the tongue equals a coin in the jar.
Swim
Just keep swimming! Dive into the journey towards outsmarting cancer and take part in an organised swim marathon like the Cole Classic, or host your own. It’s a great way to motivate you and/or your friends to get fit.
Ten pin bowling
Ten pin bowling is a fun, social way to fundraise for cancer research. Test your skill in a sponsored bowl – if you’re looking for an extra challenge you could even try it blindfolded. Let’s strike out cancer together!
Treasure hunt
Write the clues to a treasure hunt by car, push bike or on foot. Be creative with the location and the prize at the end! Help us find the end to cancer while you find the clues that lead you to the treasure!
Triathlon
They say good things come in threes so why not take part in a triathlon and get all your family/friends to sponsor you! It’s a charity fundraiser set to challenge you and help us end cancer.
Ugly duckling competition
It’s time for a blast from the past. Bring in a couple of snaps of yourself from 20 years ago and hold a photo competition to see who was the “ugly duckling” of the group! Get people to participate by small donation towards cancer research.
Victory donation
When your sporting team wins or your office makes its target, why not make the celebration a little sweeter and help end cancer with a donation to ACRF?
Visit the vineyards
Itching to experience Australia’s iconic vineyards? A weekend trip to the Hunter Valley or Barossa Valley is always a good idea, so why not organise a bus trip and add a little extra charge for ACRF. Let’s cheers to ending cancer!
Walk to outsmart cancer
Grab a few friends and head off on a trek somewhere exciting while supporting cancer research. Take in some of Australia’s (or the world’s) most iconic landscapes – you can tailor the journey to suit your fitness levels and imagination! It’s one step for man (or maybe a few more than one) and one giant step for cancer research.
White water rafting
White water rafting is a fun, exhilarating way to raise funds for your favourite charity and there are varying levels to suit most skill levels. Join a team and ride the rapids for cancer research!
Wine tasting
What a great excuse for a charity fundraising event! Invite a local wine merchant in (or visit the vineyards with a group) and charge people a small fee to enjoy the day. You might also like to ask the owners of the vineyard if they’d also like to contribute!
World Cancer Day
Why not organise a charity fundraising event for World Cancer Day on February 4th – celebrating prevention of cancer by making healthy life choices.
Xmas party
Tis the season of giving! Turn the festive season into a reason to bring new hope to the journey towards ending against cancer, whether it’s a Christmas party for friends, family or coworkers.
Yacht challenge
It’s time to get some vitamin sea. There’s nothing like being out on the open ocean, enjoying the sun and great company. Make a day/week of it or race it out with all your sailing buddies, all in support of cancer research!
Yearly collection
Keep a collection box at your home or office for the whole year and encourage family, friends, customers and colleagues to contribute to it. You can even set a target and keep a running total.
Zodiac readings
Are star signs your thing? Can you tell your Cancer apart from you Gemini? Get your friends, family or colleagues to donate a gold coin to find out their astrology reading.
Zombie march
There’s nothing quite like getting your ‘thriller’ on, and dancing down the street looking like Frankenstein! Make sure you check to see whether you need permissions from council and enjoy the hype you create as you spread the word about cancer research while raising funds.
