22 Virtual Fundraising Events for Rotary, Kiwanis, and Main Street Organizations

Virtual Wine Tasting Event

Partner with a local winery or wine shop that single glass sized-bottles they can sell in a set. Not all wineries offer this size. Then, find someone knowledgeable in wine to give a live stream tasting overview and answer questions. Now, pre-sell wine kits (with your swag or other bonus items) for pickup the day before the live stream. Mark them up to make a profit. If you need help with the live stream production contact a local videographer.

Here’s a great example from the Renton Downtown Partnership. Here’s the Facebook Event they created.

Online Ladies Night Fundraiser

What better way to engage the community than hosting a Ladies Night. These are typically popular in-person events and are easily transitioned online. Determine what activities you want to include in a live stream and create a package for local ladies to purchase so they’re ready for the event. Host a pickup time for participants to get their ladies night kits and work with a videographer on producing the live stream.

Virtual 5k

At-home fitness events are a great way to get the community moving and raise some money. You’ll need:

• Shirts, medals, or other swag to offer
• Race bib & finisher certificate
• The ability to accept registration on the website

Arrange these before choosing the participation price and choose an event date when participants complete the event. Ship out the packages in time for participants to have them for the event and encourage everyone to post to social media.

Continue selling participant packages for up to 5 days after the event, just make sure that when the pre-race shipping deadline is passed, you’re clear that kits will arrive after the event. This allows people who see the commotion on social media to jump in and participate.

Virtual Watch Party Netflix/Amazon Prime

Consider hosting a socially distant watch party. With social distancing in effect people all around you are doing this already on a personal/friendship/family level. As of this writing the only known method that stays within copyright and licensing permissions is to use Twitch to play the movie and Zoom or another platform for communicating with the group. This will likely change shortly.

Financially, you’re looking to accept donations to admit people to the event. This is why licensing and copyright and terms of service matter.

What you’ll need:

• A movie
• A twitch account (or other party watching platform)
• A registration/payment page on the website
• Promotion of the event
• Skype/zoom/conference call for everyone to share their thoughts and laughs

Online Cash Mob Deals

A Cash Mob is the name given to a group of people that swarm a local business to support it. Put an online twist on this old idea by working with local businesses to put together a unique exclusive product, service, menu item, or package and sell it on your website for a markup. Pickup should be at the business or via shipping for folks out of the area. 

Starting a weekly Online Cash Mob is a great way to generate repeat business that generates profit for your organization.

An alternative model is to have your audience pay the business directly with a written agreement that each item sold generates a certain monetary donation.

Here’s an in-person example.

Online Gaming Fundraiser

Do you have any online gamers in your network? Do you know anyone who plays games and streams to a service like Twitch or has a YouTube channel? If so, this community is used to charity gaming and will likely contribute to your online gaming fundraiser.

Choose a game, make some gamer contacts for guidance, charge for entry via your website, include some cool prizes, and live stream the event.

You can ask people to support the gamers with donations to their “Table” and make it a fundraising competition.

Virtual Beer Tasting Event

Partner with a brewery, bar, or pub that offer craft bottles in a set of various varieties. Then, find someone knowledgeable in craft beer to give a live tasting overview, answer questions, and talk about home brewing. You may be able to sell home brew kits with the tasking kit. If you need help with the live stream production contact a local videographer.

Virtual Cooking Lesson Fundraiser

With so many people spending so much more time at home, the time people spend cooking has exploded. Help those at home by organizing cooking classes. Local restaurants and caterers will typically be happy to provide the expertise. You work to setup a price and ingredients kit so everyone can follow along and sell tickets on the website. Work with a live streamer to prepare the program. Then, at the arranged day and time, give everyone a great experience that generates funds for your club or nonprofit. 

Virtual Bike Ride

With gyms closed, cycling events canceled, and so many people staying home, many cyclists and other fitness minded community members will enjoy participating.

Arrange for:

• Shirts, jerseys, or swag
• Participant bib or bike tags
• Finisher certificates
• Taking registrations on your website
• A date to host the event

With the planning figured out, start selling registrations and ship out participant kits in time for the big day. Make sure everyone knows to share their participation on social media, tagging your social accounts.

People can participate any way they like, a stationary bike, or spin bike in the garage works great.

Keep registration open for 5 to 7 days after the event in case people see the event on social media and want to participate after the fact.

Get some good ideas from this virtual ride platform but realize you can execute this yourself.

Taste Of The Town

Have several local restaurants and food businesses create a unique to-go package representing their specialty. Create a Taste of _____ event and have people purchase meals from your organization or the business directly. Add a markup or arrange a donation per order. You can add a live stream entertainment component to sweeten the deal.

Food Truck Rodeo With Outdoor Dining Room

A hybrid event that can help restart or activate a downtown community and support small businesses. Gathering some food trucks in a parking lot or gravel lot and create a properly socially distanced outdoor dining area. Invite everyone, and enjoy the event.

You can ask for donations at the event, sell tickets for certificates that can be redeemed at the trucks, or sell merchandise and other items at the event.

Be very careful to follow all local and health department regulation in your area at the time.

For an example, check out the MainStreet.org COVID-19 Roll Up Article

Backyard Games Tournament

Choose a set of games and have families, roommates, or video conference friends compete to see who gets the highest score in each game. Participants pay to enter and winners get fun prizes. Ask all participants to stream or post on social media to generate visibility.

You can ask locally known people, personalities, or entertainers to participate to help as well.

Consider randomly choosing tournament winners if collecting reliable scores is an issue.

Art / Photo / Craft / Talent / Costume Contest

Setup the contest, choose a prize (likely donated from a local business) and charge participants to enter. Find a local authority on the subject of the contest and have them judge or setup community voting and charge $1 per vote with a 5-vote minimum package.