A
Abseil – get the adrenaline pumping with a sponsored abseil.
Alcohol – choose how long you are going to give up drinking for, and then ask people to sponsor you.
Antiques roadshow – find experts to donate their time. Charge for entrance and valuations. Maybe link with an Antiques Fair and charge stall holders for their pitches.
Artwork sale or auction – of friends work or that of local artists. Any picture, however bad or good looks more attractive in a mount so get them mounted and wrapped in a protective cover.
Afternoon tea – join up with friends and host a Tea for Treetops party.
Auction of promises – people offer goods or services to be auctioned (e.g. cleaning a car, chauffeur for the day, decorating room, haircut etc.) Make sure you advertise well in advance and get an auctioneer with a loud voice.
Angling competition – participants pay to enter. Prizes for the biggest fish caught, most fish caught and a booby prize for the most unusual item caught.
B
Babysitting – donate your earnings to us.
BBQ – held in your garden. Ask guests to pay an entrance fee, then provide them with food and drink for free.
Barn dance – find a real barn if possible and hire a good band. Recruit a caller who knows all the dances and can instruct those with two left feet. Charge for admission and refreshments. Make sure you sell enough tickets before the night, not just on the door.
Bed pushing marathon – different teams are sponsored. Choose a high profile route, eg through the town centre on a Saturday morning. Please note, you will need permission from your local council.
Bike rides – you name the distance and the route. Don’t forget safety precautions and your helmet.
Book sales – get all your friends and relatives to clear out their book shelves and donate the books to you to sell.
Bridge evening – the entrance fee could include a light supper or nibbles and a glass of wine.
Burns Night – get your local Scottish residents to help catch the haggis!
C
Cake bake – invite your neighbours round or do this at work. Bake a few cakes and sell each slice for a £1.
Caption competition – you need a group of at least 25 people. Get a photo of your club chairman or work CEO doing something unusual and then get everyone to submit a caption for £1. Winner gets 50% of the proceeds.
Carol singing – entice people along with the promise of mince pies and sherry.
Car washing – decide how much you plan to charge per car (usually between £3 – £5 for a normal external wash, ask for an extra donation for waxing or inside cleaning.) Make a sign to display to let customers know the price and also that the funds raised will be sent to Treetops Hospice Care.
Children’s fun day – parents pay for children to take part. Arrange entertainment, face painting, races etc.
Cinema screening – could your local cinema be persuaded to do a preview for Treetops? Increase the price ticket by £1 – £2. Have a display in the foyer.
Coffee mornings – set a time and place for your event, get the word out and sit back and enjoy a cuppa.
Concerts – ticket selling and publicity are vital. Many bands, orchestras and choirs are often on the lookout for opportunities to perform for good causes and in good venues, on an expenses-only basis. You just need to ask!
D
Dances – organise a disco, ceilidh, ballroom, salsa or 70’s night. You need a venue, band/ DJ and a drinks licence (if you are selling alcohol.)
Darts match – charge an entry fee, have a raffle and refreshments. Make it fun – ladies versus, left handed throws only etc.
Dog walking – get your neighbours to pay you.
E
Exhibition – get local arts and crafts groups (wood turners, jewellery or nick nack makers, painters etc) to hold an exhibition of their work. Ask for an admission fee and ask exhibitors to pay a fee for their pitch.
Expeditions – read more about the challenges you could take part in.
Expert talk – use an expert or well-known personality prepared to donate their time. Charge admission, have a break to sell refreshments and auction their latest book, invention or autograph.
eBay – register yourself on eBay or another auction site and auction off your old, unwanted items. You’re likely to raise more money than you would from a car boot sale and have fun watching the items go up in price at the same time!
F
Fancy dress days – pay to wear fancy dress or dress down to work or school and fine those that don’t make the effort. Non-uniform days at school are always popular. In the office have crazy tie, bad hat or yellow and blue only days. April Fools Day is ideal for this.
Festivals – of craft, drama or flowers. You’ll need a team of volunteers to design and create displays. Sell programmes, refreshments and organise stall sales.
Fetes – celebrities will help draw in crowds. But there’s lots of work, planning and costs involved – so be careful!
Fishing tournament – get sponsorship from a local angling shop.
Football match – collections at half time.
Fun Day – hold a family fun day at work. Include an It’s a Knock Out style competition.
Fun runs – organise your own; you decide the venue and the distance. Try to get a local personality to compete or start the event off. Or, if you do not have time, simply book a place in an officially organised event and ask friends for sponsorship.
£5 into £50 – Give friends or volunteer fundraisers a sum of money (£5) and a time limit (three months) to increase this by devising a money-generating activity. Ideas include: planting vegetable seeds and selling produce; baking and selling cakes; backing the Derby winner; investing. Award prizes for the most ingenious idea.
50:50 club – get everyone to donate £1 a month. Each month holds a draw when someone wins half the total raised. No licence is required – you just need to ensure at least half the money goes back into prize money.
G
Garden party – or open garden; held in your garden, with stalls, games, refreshments and raffles.
Grow a beard or moustache – get sponsored to grow a beard or moustache.
Give a car – if you have an old car you might want to donate it so that the proceeds go to Treetops Hospice.
Go-karting – sponsored laps. Pay entry fee and winner (and maybe loser) get a prize!
Golf open days – get a golf club to sponsor the event for you, invite club members and local businessmen for the tournament. Organise a raffle and auction in the evening as well.
Greek night – lay on Greek food, wine and dancing in your local village hall.
Guy Fawkes party – if you have a large garden organise a firework display, charge for admission and refreshments.
H
Halloween party – hold a fancy dress party at your house or in a local bar. Ask for an entrance fee. Organise a DJ, spooky decorations and nibbles.
Head and tails auction – good to do at a dinner evening. Get everyone to stand up and pass a bucket around collecting people’s change (although encourage £5 notes). Everyone decides whether they’re heads or tails by putting a hand on their head or their bottom. Flip a coin on stage and announce the results. Those who get it wrong sit down. Continue until only one person is left. Winner gets a prize.
Hat sale – get everyone to donate their old hats and then come and buy a new one.
Head shave – Ever thought about doing something outrageous and a little bit silly all in the name of charity? How about shaving your head, or men, waxing those legs?.
I
Individual gifts – gift day, pledges, an hour’s pay, donations, membership, payroll giving. Good for the office.
J
Jelly eating competition – great fun for the kids.
Jewellery collection – ask the public and your friends and relatives to donate unwanted jewellery. Auction off the best items and sell the remainder at a car boot sale or use as raffle prizes. Package and display attractively to boost prices and sales.
Jumble sales – book a date at the hall you plan to use and organise jumble collection points. You will need to ensure the clothes are clean and sort your jumble into different types: clothes, shoes, games, books.
K
Karaoke night – decide on a venue, publicise the event well and look forward to an evening of entertainment.
Knit – put your needles together and knit garments to be sold at fetes and Xmas bazaars.
Knockout darts or snooker tournament – at your local pub.
L
Local races and marathons – take advantage of any local races that are established in your area. Book a place and ask friends for sponsorship.
Lotteries – could work particularly well in large offices. Make it a monthly event perhaps on pay day. It’s important that you adhere to the government’s regulations.
Loud tie day – get your company to sponsor it.
M
Market stall – book a pitch at your local market. Sell fruit and vegetable from your garden or unwanted items from your home.
Masterclasses – are you good at something? Why not organise a small class to show other people how to do it? Charge people a fee.
Matched Giving – lots of employers will match some or all of the sponsorship you raise. It’s a great way to increase your fundraising so check with your manager or HR to see if your company takes part in a matched giving scheme.
Memory meal – transport yourself back to the 60s, 50s or the 40s. Dress in the style of the day and try to cook some dishes of the day.
Mile of coins competition – how many coins will it take? Person with the closest guess gets a prize.
Mobile phone recycling – if you have an old mobile phone lying around, why not recycle it? It’s good for the environment and will raise money for Treetops Hospice Care.
Music and mulled wine evening – organise a recital at your local stately home or in someone’s summer garden.Find out more about how to organise a music event.
N
No smoking week – for all those who need a real incentive.
Non uniform day – for kids at school.
O
Open Garden – ask visitors to donate an entry fee and pay for refreshments or hold a raffle as well.
Outgrown exchange – a sale of children’s clothes, books or toys.
P
Plant sale – next time you’re planting seedlings or taking cuttings why not double the quantity and have a plant sale later in the year?
Poetry recital – get people to read their own verses over some mulled wine.
Pub games evening – teams pay to enter for dominoes, skittles, darts, pool, quizzes etc. Have plenty of fun prizes and charge for refreshments.
Q
Quiz night – all you need is a venue and a quiz master and you’re good to go.
Quintessentially British Day – get the tea and scones out and celebrate Britishness for the day. Ask for an entry fee. Give prizes for the best fancy dress.
R
Race night – organise an event at your local dog or horse racing stadium or arrange a ‘fake’ racing night.
Raffles – Read more about organising a raffle.
S
Scrabble competition
Shave off your beard or flowing locks!
Sherry evening – sell tickets for an evening in your own home. Included in the price is one glass of sherry. Further glasses are by donation only.
Skydiving – pick the best date for your skydive.
Slave auction and disco – prior to the event ask people to offer their skills for auctioning – e.g. cleaning windows, dog walking, decorating a room, babysitting, baking a novelty cake, making a dress.
Slim – why not raise money as you lose the pounds? Get friends to sponsor you.
Sponsored events – always popular. Bed push, half a beard shave, wheelchair marathon.
Sports events – do you belong to a sports club? Why not persuade them to hold a charity day? People could pay to enter a competition.
Sporting club dinner collection or raffle
Stand up bingo – sell bingo cards around the room, each with one number on it. Ask all the participants to stand up. Spin the balls and when a number is called that person has to sit down. The last one standing scoops the prize. Good for dinner dances.
Street collections – there are a number of legalities and restrictions. Find more on this in our Keeping it legal section.
Supermarket trolley dash – arrange date with manager and sell tickets beforehand. Winning ticket ‘dashes’ through the store grabbing as much food as possible. Money to pay for goods has to come from proceeds.
Swimathon – kids and adults can do sponsored distances.
T
Talent competition
Teddy bears picnic – charge for entry and organise a clown, face painters etc.
Theatre preview – could your local theatre or amateur dramatics society be persuaded to do a preview in aid of Treetops?
Treasure hunt – get some prizes donated and organise a set of clues leading people from one location to the next. All participants pay a fee to enter. Finish with a barbecue?
Triathlon – organise a place in your local triathlon, ask friends to sponsor you.
U
Underwear out – wear your underwear on the outside for a day, ask your friends for sponsorship. Make sure it’s clean!
(Down) Under day – celebrate all things Australian, hold a BBQ and ask everyone to dress up like surfers or beach babes. Ask friends to pay an entry fee.
W
Walk – take part in a sponsored walk like our Moonlight Walk.
Wine tasting evening – spend an evening tasting fine wines. Ask attendees to pay an entry fee, provide wine, cheese and French bread free of charge. Try and get the wine donated or buy it from France!
World meal – have an Indian, Caribbean or Australian meal at your home for your friends and family. Get everyone to dress up and charge an entrance fee.
X
Xmas bazaar
Xmas card donation – instead of sending cards this year, just wish your friends, family and colleagues a good Christmas verbally and ask them to do the same. Donate the money you would have spent on cards to Treetops.
Y
Yoga marathon – a rather more healthy way to support Treetops.
Yes day – say yes to everyone’s demands (within reason!) and ask people to sponsor you to do so.
Z
Zany events – the list is endless … throw a custard pie at your manager, eat jelly with chopsticks, greatest number of marshmallows in a mouth. People can get sponsored or pay to enter.