10 Ideas for Winter Fundraising

10 Winter Fundraising Ideas

Winter is here! Winter in Australia might not bring snow to all corners, but it’s the perfect time for cozy, creative, and community-focused fundraising. Whether you're looking to support your school, club, or charity, these top winter fundraising ideas are sure to warm hearts and fill coffers. Here, in no particular order, are 10 ideas to warm up your fundraising this winter.

1. Cookie Dough

Freshly baked biscuits are sooooo good but baking may not be one of your favourite things particularly when you're left with cleaning up the mess! The best alternative to skipping the mess is cookie dough where you can have yummy, fresh cookies in 3 easy steps:
1. Get cookie dough out of freezer
2. Scoop out required amount and return to freezer
3. Bake cookies

All you’re left to do is eat the cookies and you’ll have (hopefully!) minimal clean up afterwards.

Cookie dough fundraisers are run as an order form drive and you can even set up an online ordering system to reduce paperwork and money collection hassles.

2. Trivia Night or Games and Puzzle Night

Host an evening of board games, puzzles, and card games makes for a great family night. Charge an entry fee for individuals or teams and offer prizes for the winners. Sell snacks and warm drinks, creating a laid-back and engaging event.

If you're looking for an adults only event a winter trivia night is the perfect way to bring people together in a cozy indoor setting. It offers a fun mix of friendly competition, laughter, and community spirit while keeping everyone warm and entertained. Trivia appeals to all ages, making it a versatile event. With opportunities to include raffles, themed rounds, and snacks, it’s an engaging and effective way to raise funds and create lasting memories. Best of all there are some great companies that do all of the hard work for you in hosting the trivia part.

3. Wine

There are a few ways that your group can fundraise with wine while offering the opportunity for your community to top up their wine cellar.

• Order form drive or online ordering – a nominated dollar amount per dozen or percentage of sales is refunded to your group.
• Wine tasting – run in partnership with a wine merchant who will normally offer your group a percentage of sales, this can be a great social event.
• Winery tours – There is no shortage of wineries to choose from in Australia. This type of event will require a bit more coordination but makes for a fun and social day out. You’ll make your money from tickets sales, so make sure you include all expenses in the ticket cost and also talk to the winery about whether they can donate a percentage of sales to your group.

4. Movie Night

How about a pyjama party and movie night for a cosy winter fundraiser. You can sell food, drinks and glow sticks to raise some extra cash on the night. For example local cafes or bakeries may donate ingredients or products in exchange for promotion and you can serve some hearty soups and breads. 

Make it BYO sleeping bags, blankets and pillows or you might even set up a ‘Gold Class’ section with bean bags or other comfy chairs and provide table service to those lucky patrons. Of course, you can charge extra for these limited seats too. Most importantly, don’t forget to make sure that your group is properly licensed to show your movie.

Extra Tip: Don't forget to add a raffle or silent auction to raise extra funds!

5. Pie or Chocolate Drive

Who doesn’t love a good pie? They’re not only an easy dinner but great comfort food for those cold nights. Pie drives are another order form drive and are not complicated to organise. Send order forms home 2 or 3 weeks before your cut off date. Send your master order to the supplier and then you only need to distribute the orders once they’re received.

Any time of the year is a good time for chocolate but the best thing about running one in winter is that your chocolate is not going to melt! Now, whether you are a fan of chocolate drives or not is a whole other story, but there is no argument that they can raise good funds for your group. Just make sure that you give families the choice to ‘opt out’.

6. Winter Raffle

Raffles are always a great way to raise money. Gather winter-themed items for a prize hamper, such as cozy throws, hot water bottles, and gourmet hot chocolate mixes. Sell tickets online or at any of the community events/fundraisers mentioned in this article to maximise reach. Here are just a few:

• Movie hamper – with DVD’s, popcorn, chocolate, chips, lollies, ingredients for hot chocolates, maybe even a bottle of wine.
• Tea/Coffee hamper – with a selection of tea/coffee, a teapot and tea cup, chocolate and some fancy cookies
• Book lovers hamper – books, or book vouchers, some warm socks or slippers, maybe a nice warm throw rug or pillow
• Baking hamper – with apron, baking utensils and ingredients and a recipe book.
• Trailer load of donated firewood – this was a suggestion by one of our readers and I when I looked into how much firewood costs, I would think it would very popular with those who have fireplaces.

7. Special Winter themed lunch day

Talk to your tuckshop convenor about running a weekly special lunch day through winter. Ideas that could be done ‘in-house’ include pies, hot dogs, hot chocolate, lasagna, pasta, casseroles, nachos, pizza or soup. You could also get external caterers to organise if you are low on volunteers.

8. Sock drive

What household isn't in need of new socks? It’s almost like they out grow their current ones overnight! Then there are the lost socks, holey socks and the sock missing its mate. This winter fundraiser could be run as an order form drive or some suppliers specialising in sock fundraisers who will supply you with a selection of socks in a carry pack – think chocolate carry box but without the calories 😉 For some fun, launch your sock fundraiser with a crazy or odd sock day.

9. Cookbooks

Specialist suppliers make these fundraisers very simple to run. Put the call out now for your community ‘Best of’ winter recipes. You can even include photos of some of the dishes. Once you’ve got them all together send them off to your supplier and they’ll do all the hard work for you and produce a beautiful cookbook with special meaning for your group.

10. Christmas in July

This is a tradition that is gaining popularity and giving us Southern Hemisphere dwellers a chance to experience a cold Northern Hemisphere ‘Christmas’. It doesn’t replace the real Christmas but gives us a chance to enjoy a spread of winter comfort foods that don’t necessarily work in the middle of summer. Partnering with a local restaurant for your Christmas dinner is a great idea for this type of event. Get started on your winter fundraising now to boost your bank account and beat those winter blues. Read our ‘Christmas in July‘ article here.

Tips for a Successful Winter Fundraiser

• Start Early: Promote your event or campaign well in advance using social media, local papers, and community boards.
• Collaborate Locally: Partner with nearby businesses for sponsorships, donations, or discounts.
• Offer Variety: Include multiple fundraising elements like raffles, food sales, or merchandise to boost your fundraising.
• Create Comfort: Warm drinks, heaters, and cozy lighting can make any winter event more inviting.

Winter fundraising is an opportunity to bring people together while supporting a good cause. Whether it’s a simple soup night or a full-scale Christmas in July celebration, these ideas are sure to make your winter fundraiser a success!