Fundraising Ideas

The folks involved in the Cancer Prevention Challenge are creative and interesting people. We love to hear about inspired and fun ways that are used to raise money.

Below are some ideas to get you started but we REALLY like hearing about your own unique ideas. At the end of the 2011 Cancer Prevention Challenge we are going to vote for the most unique, creative way to raise money – winners will receive awards and recognition on the CPC website.

Any photos or videos of you or your event would certainly be helpful.

• Get a “real” Mohawk haircut. Not faux hawk. MOHAWK. When people ask you why, may sure you tell them you’re raising money for Prevent Cancer Now. Photos please!
• For one month, you will wear plaid. This is not a threat but a promise! If anyone asks why, be sure to tell that that you are raising awareness and funds for cancer prevention.
• Commit to 30 days of an exercise training program – P90X anyone? Make sure you take before and after pics!
• Set a date, and on that day, rid your house of all cleaning products that contain carcinogens. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll find. This is a triple bonus fundraiser:

   a) get carcinogens out of your house

   b) clean out underneath the sinks and storage closets

   c) raise money for cancer prevention while doing it

• Publish the list on your fundraising page and tell friends and family what you’ve found.
• Commit to something silly – ride a tricycle on a 1km route, tap dance on a busy street corner for 1 hour, play a bucket drum set in the name of cancer prevention, jump up and down on a trampoline for 2 hours. Extra points for creativity.
• On an announced date, run further than you’ve ever run before. This could be an incredibly long way or an incredibly short distance. Regardless, this is all about breaking your personal barriers and challenging yourself. Once you catch your breath, make sure you update your fundraising page and let us know how far you ACTUALLY ran.
• Learn a new activity in the name of cancer prevention! I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf, maybe you do too? What better excuse to get out there and try something new – all in the name of a good cause. Learn to play the pianopick up a clarinet or tuba! Build a kite or a model airplane – have fun while educating your friends and family on cancer prevention.
• Commit a date to climb the stairs of the tallest building in your area. Let’s hope you don’t live in Toronto!
• Face your fears! Scared of spiders? Pick a date to go to the local pet store. Tell them you are raising money for cancer prevention and you would like to hold a spider as your “event”. Fear of heights? Contact your local window cleaning company and tell them you are raising money for cancer by facing your fears. Volunteer to help clean windows with them for one day, all in the name of cancer prevention. Scared of the dark? Pick a date and time for your “event”. Put a chair inside a closet and agree to sit in the dark for 20 minutes – all in the name of cancer prevention!
• Commit to participate in a local event – walkathon, running, mountain biking, kayaking, or hiking. Choose anything that is a healthy option then have your friends and family support you by pledging.
• Write a blog. Everyone’s thought about starting a blog – do a post a day for one month as your fundraising challenge. The blog doesn’t even have to be about cancer prevention. Tell your friends you are doing this to raise money and awareness for cancer prevention.
• Have your friends over for dinner – set a minimum “donation” to attend. Offer them a whole foods meal.
• Host a girls night at your place – offer manicures and all natural facials – avocados, chocolate, mud, and cukes? This looks like a beautiful way to raise money for cancer prevention.
• If you are already involved in a club or group, ask them if a portion of the proceeds from the next event can go to Prevent Cancer Now. You can create a fundraising page for the event and your existing event can raise money.

Once you choose an “event” to challenge yourself, all you have to do is sign up and create your fundraising page. This page will display your goals, a picture of yourself and a description of your “challenge”. It’s often helpful to explain why you chose this challenge, and why you think that cancer prevention is important.

Once your page is set up, you can direct friends and family to your page and encourage them to make a donation to support you in completing your personal challenge. Friends of family with donations of $20 or more will automatically be sent a tax receipt from the super duper fundraising software that we use. It’s like tax receipt magic!

If you choose something that lasts for a period of time, for example, giving up red meat for a month, you can update your page periodically and “blog” about your experience. Supporters want to read about your journey, both the good and the bad. You may think it’s silly to write about them, but your experiences inspire others and educates them too.

Check out our tips for maximizing your fundraising – click here.

The real key – just ask. Then ask them again. And then ask one more time and maybe throw in some humor. People want to support what you are doing, they are just busy and need to be gently reminded.

The Cancer Prevention Challenge offers easy-to-use, electronic tools to help you raise money for worthy cancer prevention projects, from anywhere in Canada. These tools not only make fundraising easy and secure, but also ensure that donations of $20 (Cdn) or more receive an official receipt for income tax purposes instantly, via email.