20+ Nonprofit Fall Fundraising Ideas to Inspire Generosity

From apple-picking in orchards to Halloween parties and going back to school, fall is filled with exciting events. For nonprofits, autumn presents the opportunity to fill your fundraising calendar with truly unique and creative activities and programs that are sure to delight your donors.

If you’re ready to tap into fall fundraising opportunities, this guide is for you. We’ve compiled a list of the top fall fundraising ideas that are perfect for rounding out your fundraising calendar. No matter the size or audience of your nonprofit, you’re sure to find an option that inspires giving!

1. Themed Auction

One of the most appealing aspects of auctions is their ability to adapt to any theme your nonprofit chooses – no matter the time of the year. You can easily plan an auction to fit a fall fundraiser idea through:

Ways to make your auction fit a fall theme, also discussed in the text below.

  • Decorations: Immerse your audience in the fall season with pumpkin centerpieces, maple leaf garlands, and cinnamon and pinecone accents.
  • Food and drinks: Serve a harvest apple salad, sweet potato casserole, or pecan pie, and offer your guests cider punch or caramel lattes to sip throughout the event.
  • Dress code: Motivate guests to wear darker, neutral tones. For styles, think of longer dresses or khakis. You can create a vision board to inspire guests.
  • Auction items: Create a pumpkin lover’s dream basket or auction off tickets to a local football game.
  • Invitations and marketing materials: Incorporate leaves or pumpkin graphics with orange, red, and brown colors to truly emphasize the fall season.

Once you’ve planned your theme, start thinking about what type of auction you want your guests to experience.

Are you looking to start a bidding frenzy and deepen your supporters’ connection to your cause? Silent auctions can do just that! Donors can enjoy the anticipation of winning showstopping items, especially when there are endless silent auction item ideas to consider.

Or, maybe you’re looking to rally donors long before your fall event to maximize donations. Your nonprofit can procure items, sell tickets, and have donors start bidding early with an online charity auction. Streamline your online auction with software that automates the majority of event planning and provides donors with seamless registration and mobile bidding.

Auctions are versatile, meaning there are many different types to choose from. But the most important part of the event is procuring auction items. Remember, your items and packages serve as the main attraction for your fall fundraiser. Make them count!

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2. Walkathon

Engage your community with a walkathon – a fundraising event where participants walk a predetermined route in support of your cause. Walkathons make for the perfect fall activity because of the mild temperatures and beautiful outdoor scenery.

Here are two ways you can achieve a fall-themed walkathon:

  • Nature Walk: Plan a fall hike along a scenic nature trail. Add a picnic on the way or a guided tour for supporters to enjoy for an additional fee.
  • Ghost Walk: Add a layer of spookiness by walking around local ghost sites. Your donors will surely get into the Halloween spirit.

The best part of walkathons is how flexible and customizable they are, so feel free to get creative with your fall fundraising ideas.

3. Giving Tuesday

Capitalize on the season of giving by planning your Giving Tuesday efforts early. Whether that be promoting matching gifts or reaching out to donors via email, social media, and text, discuss with your team fall fundraiser ideas to maximize donations.

Planning can become overwhelming, so having robust fundraising software for Giving Tuesday will be your most valuable asset. You want to invest in software that will maximize your planning before, during, and after an impactful day.

Implementing best practices with a strong platform in place and a successful campaign will help your nonprofit make the most of Giving Tuesday.

4. Fun Run

Boost excitement among donors by taking a different twist on the traditional fun run. To maximize donor engagement, here are a few fall event ideas:

Fall-themed fun run fundraising ideas, also discussed in the text below.

  • Costume Run: Promote the spirit of competition with a Halloween costume run. Add some fun by handing out candy with a small note or QR code for more information about your nonprofit.
  • Pets Run: Ask donors to dress up their four-legged friends in their favorite fall outfits for your community run or walk.
  • Zombie Run: Chase supporters with volunteer “zombies.” Whoever gets caught has to donate to your cause.

Regardless of the type of run or walk, make sure to communicate with local authorities to prioritize the safety of guests. Your nonprofit can have medically trained volunteers stationed along the running and walking path while other volunteers provide water to keep participants hydrated.

Differentiate participants from pedestrians by providing branded merchandise, like T-shirts. Think about including it as an option during registration so donors can proudly show off their involvement with your nonprofit.

5. Bonfire

Cozy up around a warm bonfire this fall season. With the weather getting chillier, now is the time to organize your outdoor fall fundraising ideas. Roast marshmallows over a fire, play music, or invite supporters to a scary story contest.

Pass around a donation basket during the bonfire or inspire generosity with event fundraising software. By setting up an event page, your nonprofit can raise money to cover the cost of marshmallows and skewers; add some fun with raffle prizes, like a branded blanket; or even have donors vote for next year’s fall event theme from their phones.

6. Haunted House

Incorporate some spooky spirit into your fall fundraiser. Gather a few volunteers and decorate a house with hanging spiders, gravestones in the yard, and witch cauldrons all around. Pick a location with an urban legend around it to fully dive into the Halloween season, and then your supporters can donate to visit the spookiest house in town.

Elevate your haunted house fundraiser by asking supporters to decorate their homes with the season’s theme, then launch a donation-to-vote campaign for the home with the best scare!

7. Pumpkin Carving Contest

Bring your community together and see who has the most spooktacular pumpkin carving skills. Have participants donate to vote for their favorite pumpkin or offer pumpkins with a carving kit for guests to take the fun home at an additional price.

Your supporters will have a blast with this fall fundraising idea, and your nonprofit will reap the benefits! Think about partnering with a local pumpkin patch to see if they’ll donate pumpkins for a good cause.

8. Apple Bobbing

Add some fun to your fall fundraising efforts with a budget-friendly activity. All you need is a large bucket of water, apples, and supporters who are willing to participate. You can even plan to combine apple bobbing with pumpkin carving or other fall festival fundraising ideas.

Not sure that everyone will participate? Consider hanging apples – where there’s no shared water and each participant has their own apple.

9. Movie in the Park

Who doesn’t love a classic movie marathon? Pick a few thrillers or Halloween movies to screen at a drive-in theater or local park where you can take an inflatable screen.

Elevate the experience by offering guests “movie time” rentals that include a blanket and lawn chair or VIP tickets for premium seats. Lean into fall cravings by selling candy corn, caramel popcorn, apple cider, and other seasonal snacks.

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10. Harvest Picking

Host a family day at the farm for the ultimate fall activity! Team up with a local orchard and organize a harvest picking day with part of the proceeds supporting your cause.

Here are a few ideas to elevate your harvest picking day:

Harvest picking event ideas, also described in the text below.

  • Apple picking day: Offer related sweets to boost event revenue. Include candied apples, apple pies, caramel apple fudge, and other fall treats.
  • Pumpkin patch fun: Incorporate contests, like the heaviest/smallest pumpkin, most unique, most round, and so on. Award winners with your nonprofit’s branded merchandise or have supporters donate to vote for the winners.
  • Grape vineyard visit: Engage donors with a wine-tasting event. Add an auction or raffle to include related items, like quality wine bottles, to boost donations.

11. Oktoberfest

Rally supporters to celebrate the spirit of the German festival with your organization. Partner with local pubs for a pub crawl or plan an Oktoberfest-themed watch party during the football season. Plan the fall fundraiser with a local pub and charge an entry fee, then have a portion of the proceeds go toward your cause.

12. Halloween Costume Contest

Boo! Whose costume is the scariest? Have participants pay to showcase their costumes and have major donors or community members as judges. Book a venue with enough space for contestants to walk the “runway” with their spookiest looks!

13. Pie Contest

Did someone say pie? Add a pie bake-off to your fall fundraising ideas for all ages to enjoy. Charge an admission fee for guests to sample and vote for their favorite pie recipes. To prevent you from having too many leftovers (although that might not happen!), you can plan a bake sale. They can run simultaneously to make use of all the pies.

14. Winery Tour

Plan an afternoon of donors sipping and supporting you! Sell small plates of food to accompany refreshments or have drink tickets for purchase. While this is a great social event almost any time of the year, the autumn foliage adds an appeal only available during this season.

15. Back-to-School Fair

Help prepare families with anything a student might need by hosting a one-stop shop. From pens and notebooks to backpacks and books, you can collect donations from a local company and then charge a small entry fee for the supplies fair. To get started, connect with a school and team up with the school’s PTO to promote your school supplies fair.

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16. Yard Raking Service

Remember, the fall season means the leaves are changing colors, but that also means falling leaves everywhere. Now is the perfect time to put together a group of volunteers to clean up the community’s yards for a fee. You’re not just generating funds with this fall fundraising idea, but you’re also building engagement and awareness about your organization.

After you finish, add a yard sign to their yard promoting your nonprofit’s mission. Include a QR code for those who are called to donate and show their support!

17. Carnival

Invite the community to celebrate the fall season with a carnival. Host this fall fundraising idea at a school, park, or other local area to welcome a large crowd. Secure corporate sponsorships to have activities or booths and conduct live donation appeals on mobile phones to boost donations with your fall fundraising ideas.

18. Spooky Story Night

Lean into the Halloween spirit by encouraging guests to share the most spine-chilling story they can think of. This fall fundraising idea is a perfect budget-friendly event for nonprofits. All you need is a space to host, snacks or refreshments to sell, and perhaps a flashlight for an extra thrill during storytelling.

19. Thanksgiving Dinner

Inspire generosity with a Thanksgiving charity dinner. Collaborate with a local restaurant or find a community center to host your dinner. Dive into the season’s harvest with your menu selection and incorporate different ways for guests to donate.

Unlock the power of peer-to-peer fundraising to raise more money at your event by having supporters raise funds on behalf of your nonprofit leading up to the dinner. Adjusting your Thanksgiving dinner to be a peer-to-peer event will grow your network of supporters, strengthen donor relations, and increase awareness around your mission.

20. Thankfulness Challenge

Remind donors to be thankful during this season. Challenge donors to make donations to your organization in gratitude to someone, either celebrating or honoring them. This could be done with a “thankfulness tree,” where supporters can pay to write on and add a leaf to a large giving tree display.

Go beyond a physical display by launching a viral video challenge. Ask participants to share what they’re grateful for, donate to your cause, and challenge another person to participate. Incorporating social media into your fall fundraising ideas will help spread awareness of your organization.

21. Corn Maze Challenge

Welcome guests to race through a corn maze and award the quickest participant to find their way out with a branded t-shirt from your nonprofit. This activity can be combined with other fall fundraising ideas to maximize donations and reduce planning efforts.

22. Harvest Dance

Saddle up and hit the dance floor for the ultimate fall event of the season. Feature square and line dancing lessons to prepare guests to dance the autumn night away. Plan to have a refreshment station for proceeds to benefit your cause along with an entry fee to raise more money. Incorporate a silent auction to boost proceeds, too!

Getting Started with Your Fall Fundraising Ideas

Take advantage of the spooky seasonal festivities and outdoor scenery to inspire generosity. Assess the progress your organization has made towards its yearly fundraising goals, then decide which fall fundraising ideas to organize.

Ensure the best use of your organization’s time by having the right tools at your disposal. The best fundraising software will support any event and provide donors with a seamless giving experience to drive deeper engagement.

To learn more, take a look at these resources:

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