Soapbox Engage Blog

Christmas is nine months away (at the time of publication), and now is the perfect time to plan your holiday fundraising events. You're probably thinking, "but I just did that!" And, that's a fair argument--but, hear us out: it's always a great time to start planning early.

Table of Contents

• The gift of giving this Christmas fundraising season
• Christmas gift wrapping station fundraisers
• Christmas decorations fundraiser
• Holiday gala fundraiser
• Christmas cookie fundraisers
• Christmas tree removal fundraiser

Why Start Planning Early for Holiday Fundraising

Christmas (many other winter holidays) fall right in the midst of year-end fundraising efforts. We don't have to tell you twice that at least one-third of annual giving occurs during year-end giving campaigns. That makes it all the more important to leave plenty of time for planning and preparing amazing Christmas fundraising events.

You would probably agree that a Christmas fundraising event often has many steps to think about and implement, which can get more challenging when you've got many events and campaigns going at once.

Plus, proper promotion and marketing require time to reap the full benefits. In fact, the majority of work is promotion and marketing, which takes time to reap the full benefits. By starting as early as possible, you'll set your team up for greater success.

Also, it's helpful to start planning while last year's fundraisers are still fresh in your memory. We're barely out of winter, so you probably remember all the details about what went well and what you'd like to improve from last year's Christmas fundraising events. Take the time now, while the schedule is less hectic, to review everything. What went well? What would you like to tweak? Are you thinking about doing something different this holiday season?

Religious charities tend to fare very well during year-end fundraising, especially when they leverage religious holidays. So, taking the time to plan your Christmas fundraising events early will also help you take advantage of this trend.

6 Christmas Fundraising Ideas that Actually Work

Like the Christmas carol goes, "you better not pout, you better not cry…" because the Soapbox Engage team rounded up some fun, successful Christmas fundraising ideas that your donors and your team will love!

1) The gift of giving this Christmas fundraising season

This season, encourage your supporters to give their loved ones the gift of giving to charity. While giving to charity in place of a physical gift for the holidays is still considered unconventional or minimalistic, these kinds of gifts are growing in popularity, especially in recent years.

People are leaning into appreciating the things we already have. With hit sensations like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and the Minimalists, recipients have already considered the necessity of physical things. Many of your donors will likely appreciate having a way to give a meaningful gift that won't risk becoming clutter.

That said, many people like to shop in advance, and you'll likely need to prime your donors for the idea. Prepare mail-out cards for donors to give to their loved ones that explain the gift in their honor. Then work on multiple forms of promotion: direct mailing, emails, social media posts, search engine advertisements, and website banners to let your donors know about the giving option.

The key here is early and consistent promotion so you can catch holiday shoppers well before they've made their list and checked it twice.

2) Christmas gift wrapping station fundraiser

Not everyone is an origami master when it comes to present wrapping. As the Christmas season gets closer, wrapping presents is just one more thing on people's holiday to-do list. You can help supporters cross things off their list AND raise money for a great cause by hosting a Christmas gift wrapping station.

Ask your staff in your next meeting who's a gift-wrapping whiz. Next, look for inexpensive wrapping supplies in bulk and coordinate with local businesses for a space that's convenient for shoppers. After that, it's all about promotion and making sure your donation bucket is out in front.

Another variation of this fundraiser is to offer an in-home gift wrapping service for a set fee. With this format, your donors sign up for a time slot to have one of your volunteers come to their home and wrap all their gifts. An advantage of this format is you can offer "up-sell" options, like coordinated wrapping papers (where each member of the family has their own wrapping paper design, but all the designs coordinate together), or other options.

The Soapbox Engage Forms app can make your life much easier if you decide to offer the in-home gift-wrapping service. You can gather all the necessary information in one organized location!

3) Christmas decorations fundraiser

Help those in your community deck their halls with trees, wreaths, mistletoe, boughs of greenery, ribbons, and bows by setting up a decor station. Your community will get the joy of a festive house and the comfort of knowing they donated to a good cause.

If you don't want to wrangle wholesale distributors, you can work with a local seller to have a portion of the proceeds go to your cause or allow you to set up a hot drinks and Christmas cookies station near the cash register.

Nobody likes climbing on roofs to string Christmas lights or put up that Santa inflatable. If you've got some eager volunteer elves that have decorating talents, consider offering full-service home or office decorating! Many people in your community will likely eagerly give a generous donation to have their homes decorated.

4) Holiday gala fundraiser

Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, New Year's Eve… there are plenty of reasons to celebrate with a fancy meal, entertainment, and a cozy set of drinks. Invite your supporters to a year-end gala fundraiser. This is a time to focus on your cause, the holiday spirit, and your nonprofit's progress over the year.

One of the keys to a successful Christmas or holiday gala is making your donors the heroes. Plan ways to highlight their generosity and all that your nonprofit accomplished because of their partnership.

5) Christmas cookie fundraisers

Nothing says Christmas like cookies and treats. Add a Christmas cookie swap or bake-off fundraiser to your Christmas fundraising schedule, and you're sure to have people lined up around the block to get in!

The Christmas cookie swap event is a creative way for all participants to get a wide variety of Christmas cookies without baking them all themselves. Instead, participants bring several dozen of their favorite homemade Christmas cookies and swap for other cookie varieties with the other participants. Everyone leaves with loads of Christmas cookies and holiday cheer!

Turn the Christmas cookie swap into a fundraiser by asking for a small donation to participate. Then your organization can do all the work of ensuring there are a lot of cookie options. If you have some eager baking elves, you can even sell trays of Christmas cookies to people who aren't keen to bake their own Christmas cookies!

If your donors and supporters are a bit more competitive, you can turn this fundraiser into a Christmas cookie contest. Offer bragging rights and a small prize to the best Christmas cookie in town. Or celebrate cookie creativity by having a cookie or gingerbread house decorating contest. No matter how you design it, this can be a fun affair that families will eagerly pay a small entry fee to participate in.

Consider boosting your fundraising potential by selling warm drinks like hot chocolate, cider, or even mulled wine. Inviting a local baker or decorating expert for a short cooking seminar can really take your Christmas cookie fundraising event to the next level.

6) Christmas tree removal fundraiser

The fundraising potential doesn't end as soon as Christmas is over! All those live Christmas trees only last so long. Put one last event on your Christmas fundraising calendar! People generally dislike the un-decorating process, so take advantage of their disdain and offer a Christmas tree removal service.

Gather a few of your volunteer elves and head to the homes of people who pay for the service. Wrap the trees and take them to the local landfill--easy as pie! It's an appropriate fundraiser to wrap up your Christmas fundraising season.

When you consider how important year-end giving is for your bottom line, it's never too early to start planning for the end of the year. We hope these ideas have sparked some inspiration as you consider where to take your campaigns this coming Christmas season!

Now that we've got you dreaming about your Christmas fundraising season, here are three more resources to help you get the most out of your year-end fundraising efforts.

• Church Year-End Fundraising Checklist: Year-end-giving campaigns are essential for churches and religious organizations who depend heavily on this season of charity for year-round financial stability. This blog offers an excellent, basic year-end giving checklist to help make your church fundraising a smashing success.
• 5 Must-Have features of Nonprofit Event Registration Software: No matter what kind of Christmas fundraising events you choose, you'll probably want to use an event registration software to make the planning and registration process easier for yourself and your donors. This blog highlights the top five features that are "must-haves" for your event registration software.
• Creating the Best Fundraising Event for Your Nonprofit: Choosing the right fundraising event for your nonprofit can be confusing and overwhelming. There are literally thousands of options, and choosing the right event is about more than fundraising potential. It's also critical to consider your resources, manpower, and other limiting factors. This blog offers some guidelines to help you choose the right fundraising event to help you accomplish your goals.