Fundraising ideas for hurricane relief
1. Disaster preparedness clinic
Invite people to get educated about hurricane relief and hold a disaster preparedness clinic. Recruit a local firefighter, police officer, or another first responder to help you. With your co-host, create a program that will teach people valuable skills in the case of a hurricane or other disasters. Ideas could include CPR, making an evacuation kit, or how to board doors and windows with everyday materials. Have everyone create a disaster recovery plan for their family. Ask for donations to your fundraiser for the price of admission and watch the community help with disaster relief in more ways than one.
2. Sip and paint
If your community wasn’t hit, but you still want to help the families affected, try a creative fundraising idea. Host a sip and paint party with drinks (both boozy and non-alcoholic). Before the event, have people sign up so you can provide the right number of canvases, brushes, and paints. Recruit an artistic friend to guide participants through an easy scene of your neighborhood (like a beach, park, or monument). For the price of admission, which all goes to your fundraiser, participants get to take home their work.
3. Trivia or game night
Nights of fun and games attract players of all ages while shifting the focus from heavy subject matter. If you know restaurants or venues that already host trivia or game nights, check to see if they would be willing to donate the proceeds from a certain portion of the night to hurricane relief, or use a small cover charge to fundraise.
Fundraising ideas for fire relief
4. Symbol of hope
There are few things as devastating as losing loved ones, homes, and more to fire. In a moment of community heartbreak, offer some hope in the form of a ribbon, button, pin, or other adornment that symbolizes what your community went through together. Each sale of this symbol of hope will go towards your fundraiser. And each time someone wears the symbol, it’s an opportunity to spread awareness.
5. Host an art gallery
After the devastation of a fire, bring everyone together to celebrate something hopeful by hosting an art show. Reach out to local artists, in every form, and ask them to create something in a theme that relates to the recent hardships your community experienced. Rebirth, unity, or perseverance could work well as topics to center your art show around. At the show, have a smartphone or tablet set up where people can donate on the go.
6. Host a charity sports tournament
Connect with local sports leagues to create a tournament that raises money for victims of fire disaster. Approach professional or youth leagues to find teams willing to participate, and then fundraise by selling tournament entry fees and admission to games. Raise even more money by creating commemorative tournament merchandise that also spreads awareness for fire relief.
Fundraising ideas for flood damage
7. Community potluck
There are few things that bring people together more than sharing a meal. After a damaging flood, bring back morale and community bonds through a neighborhood potluck. Find a venue that wasn’t affected by the flood to host your event. Ask people to bring their favorite treats (homemade or store-bought). Those who bring food to share can pass on the admission price, but encourage participants without food to donate as the price of admission.
8. T-shirt fundraiser
Let supporters wear their heart on their sleeves with a custom t-shirt. Sites like Bonfire make it easy to pair your crowdfunding fundraiser with a t-shirt element. Fundraising with t-shirts is a great way to get people involved in a concrete way. Your t-shirt design can commemorate the damage done to your community or offer hope in a slogan of goodwill.
9. Partner with a local business
Whether you’re near flood damage or aiming to help out from a long distance, local businesses are a great resource to tap into for disaster fundraising. See if a local coffee shop would be willing to dedicate the proceeds from a specific brew for a specified duration of time, then promote that item with signage and on social media. Some businesses may be willing to do matching campaigns, where they’ll match the amount of funds added to a donation jar or rounded-up tips for a set period of time.
Fundraising ideas for earthquake relief
10. Community forum
An earthquake can literally and figuratively unsettle the foundation of your community. Take some time to decompress and move forward after a disaster by bringing your community together in a forum. With thoughtful conversation about the future of your neighborhood, you can figure out how to work together and rebuild. Ask a few members of the community to speak and then open the floor for all voices. Sell snacks and beverages, with the money going to your fundraiser.
11. Emergency kits drive
In the wake of a disaster, like an earthquake, the importance of emergency kits becomes evident. Gather family and friends to run an emergency kit drive where you can gather supplies, then donate the kits to people recovering from a natural disaster. Set up a fundraiser to collect donations in order to buy the supplies, then use the money to purchase everything you need for your emergency kit drive. Donors can be informed of how the funds will be used and you can update them when you distribute the kits to those in need.
12. Benefit concert
Communities far and wide pull together when facing disaster, and one feel-good way to drive folks to donate to disaster relief is to organize a benefit concert. You can recruit local musicians and artists to play, and venues may be willing to waive or reduce fees for a benefit show. Try reaching out to larger artists who may have a connection to the area. They might agree to play or at least mention the event on their social media.
Fundraising ideas for tsunami relief
13. Crowdfunding
While tsunamis may not have had a major impact in the U.S., their effects worldwide can be catastrophic, leaving communities devastated. A great way to raise funds for communities around the globe is by crowdfunding with a GoFundMe. Sharing photos of the devastation with a message that even a small donation can help is one way to contribute to those who lost everything.
14. A virtual class or course
Setting up an educational class or course is one way to promote awareness for a cause while garnering donations from the class fee. Structure your class around disaster preparedness or showcase how communities come back after a disaster. Offering your class online allows you to tap the global donor pool for participants.
15. Live streaming entertainment
Similar to organizing a benefit concert, you can organize a live-streamed concert, comedy night, or other performance via a streaming platform such as Twitch or Instagram Live. Increase draw by recruiting artists from all over the country, or even all over the world, to perform. Consider structuring the event as a 24-hour series or two-part series to capture audiences in varying time zones. If you are collecting donations, you can ask supporters to make a donation to a nonprofit helping or find ways to collect donations offline.
Check out this inspirational fundraiser for disaster relief
Country music star Chris Young has deep ties to Texas, so when the state was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, he knew he had to help. He started a fundraiser on GoFundMe, pledging $100,000 of his own money to go toward the Red Cross’s rescue and recovery efforts. He spoke directly to his fans across the country, and he rallied support for a total of more than $380,000 in donations. Most importantly, he focused on the people whose lives were directly affected and used his national platform for the greater good.
Disaster fundraising tips
Online fundraising tips
- Build an effective social media strategy. Cast a wide net to capture the attention of as many donors as possible.
- Tell a compelling story. Engaging donors is key, and a story that speaks to the heart encourages donations.
- Share updates regularly. Keeping donors updated on progress shows that their donation made an impact while maintaining the fundraiser’s momentum.
Offline fundraising tips
- Collaborate with your local community.
- Create a welcoming atmosphere.
- Make it easy to donate in person.
- Create “new” and creative approaches, such as flyers and posters.
Funding hope for your community
Disasters tear through lives and communities every year, but there’s hope for recovery in the aftermath. From natural disaster fundraising to rebuilding after a house fire, people find support for all types of disasters with crowdfunding. Whatever disaster relief fundraising idea you pick, you’ll inspire healing and help in rebuilding.