While Father’s Day became a national holiday in 1972, it’s been celebrated for over a century. Today, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there are 72 million fathers, and with 75% of people planning to celebrate the holiday, that makes it a promising fundraising opportunity for your cause!
Especially considering that American consumers collectively spent a record-high $22.9 billion to celebrate Father’s Day last year, your cause stands to gain a lot from this holiday. With thoughtful Father’s Day fundraisers, you can make this Father’s Day one for the books:
- The Best Father’s Day Fundraiser: Donation eCards
- Memorable Father’s Day Fundraising Ideas
- Fun-Filled Father’s Day Fundraising Ideas For Schools
- Community-Based Father’s Day Fundraising Events
Let’s turn appreciation into action through creative fundraising ideas that celebrate fatherhood while supporting causes close to our hearts.
The Best Father’s Day Fundraiser: Donation eCards
According to greeting card company Hallmark, 72 million Father’s Day cards are given each year, making Father’s Day the fourth-largest card-sending holiday in the U.S. Since most people already plan to buy a greeting card, make those cards more thoughtful and less wasteful with an eCard fundraiser.
The proceeds of each card sale will go to your charity, making the classic greeting card much more meaningful. With eCardWidget, you can even enable tribute donations, so donors can give in their dads’ names, transforming the card into a thoughtful gift! Then, they can either email the card or print it out to hand to their dads on Father’s Day.
How To Launch Your Father’s Day eCard Fundraiser
Using our fundraising eCard tools, here’s how you can create your Father’s Day donation eCards within minutes:
- Create Father’s Day-themed designs that capture the essence of fatherhood. Incorporate elements such as ties, tools, sports equipment, and family illustrations into your design. Pair these visuals with a witty dad joke or a simple “Happy Father’s Day!”
- Embed our widget into your organization’s website or Shopify storefront. Set a fixed price for each eCard or allow custom donation amounts. You can even enable tribute donations and add suggested giving amounts.
- Donors will then buy your eCards to send to the father figures in their lives. They’ll enter the recipient’s contact details, craft a personalized message, and fill in payment information. The eCard can be sent immediately or scheduled to arrive on Father’s Day.
That’s it! Your donors get a thoughtful eCard that means more than the traditional greeting card, and your cause generates funds. For a visual tour of the eCardWidget platform, check out this video:
Make Father’s Day greeting cards more meaningful this year. People outside of your community can even participate, inspiring more people to give to your cause!
Cost and Earning Potential: You only need to pay for the eCard platform for this Father’s Day fundraiser. With eCardWidget, the first 15 eCards sent are free, but we recommend choosing one of our paid plans to create unlimited designs and sell more cards!
Memorable Father’s Day Fundraising Ideas
Beyond gifts and celebrations, empower donors to give back in honor of the men who have shaped them with these memorable Father’s Day fundraising ideas.
Matching Dollars for Dad
This Father’s Day fundraising idea is a matching gift challenge that encourages tribute donations! Here’s how it works:
- A corporate sponsor or major donor promises to match a portion or all of your nonprofit’s donations within a certain timeframe.
- You’ll invite donors to give in honor of their dads and let them know that their contributions will be doubled.
- Once you reach the fundraising goal or deadline, the sponsor will match the donations.
Double the Donation’s matching donation challenge guide explains that 84% of individuals are more likely to donate if a match is offered. Add the urgency that comes with a deadline-focused matching gift challenge, and that makes it a great fundraising opportunity!
Cost and Earning Potential: This Father’s Day fundraiser has zero upfront costs and incredible fundraising potential. Depending on how well you build momentum, you can easily raise a few thousand dollars.
Classic Car Show
A classic car show is the perfect Father’s Day fundraiser for car-loving dads. Collectors and enthusiasts can display their vintage automobiles, and attendees can pay an entrance fee to view the collection. Other fundraising activities can include auctions, raffles, and food sales.
Cost and Earning Potential: The cost of organizing a classic car show varies from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the event’s scale, venue, and additional activities. Depending on attendance, entry fees, sponsorships, and the success of your additional fundraising activities, you can expect to raise anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000.
Father-Child Dance
This Father’s Day fundraiser is a heartwarming event where fathers and children enjoy an evening of dancing. They’ll need to buy tickets to attend. Make the night particularly memorable with personalized invitations, a fun theme like “Superhero Night” or “Enchanted Evening,” and a photo booth with fun props.
Cost and Earning Potential: Organizing a Father-Child Dance can cost a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars, depending on the venue, entertainment, and refreshments. Expect to raise between $500 and $5,000, depending on ticket prices, attendance, and additional fundraising activities like raffles during the event.
Beard Growing Contest
A beard growing contest is a playful and engaging Father’s Day fundraiser where participants grow their beards over a set period to compete in various categories, such as “Longest Beard,” “Best Groomed,” or “Most Creative Style.” You can either judge them or count “likes” as votes. Participants can solicit donations for your cause via peer-to-peer fundraising. Think of it as them securing sponsorships.
Cost and Earning Potential: The cost to organize this fundraiser is typically low. All you’ll really need to spend time or money on is promotional materials and a peer-to-peer fundraising platform. Expect to raise anywhere from $500 to a few thousand dollars, depending on the number of participants.
Doughnuts For Dads Fundraiser
Leverage the popularity of Krispy Kreme’s iconic doughnuts with a Father’s Day fundraiser. With their Digital Dozens fundraiser, you’ll sell digital vouchers that recipients redeem for an Original Glazed Dozen at a participating location. This approach eliminates the need for physical inventory and distribution, making it convenient for sellers and buyers.
Krispy Kreme also has in-person fundraisers where you sell physical certificates. Alternatively, pick a day for your fundraiser, purchase a selection of available products, and “watch the dozens disappear” as you sell them at a bake sale.
Cost and Earning Potential: You’ll need to invest time and money into marketing digital vouchers. Once you’ve collected your orders and funds, you’ll purchase your Digital Dozens. Since you’ll buy them at a discounted rate from Krispy Kreme and sell them for full retail price, the difference will serve as your fundraiser’s profit. The in-person options require a bit more effort and may incur higher costs. Potential earnings vary based on your organization’s reach.
Car Smash Fundraiser
A car smash is a unique Father’s Day fundraiser that will be one for the books! Participants will pay to take a swing at a junk car with sledgehammers. Charge participants per swing or for a set period of time. This makes for a cathartic experience, attracting a crowd eager to participate in something out of the ordinary.
Cost and Earning Potential: Keep costs fairly low by asking a local salvage yard to donate a car and community members to lend a few sledgehammers for the afternoon. You’ll need to buy safety equipment like goggles and gloves and secure a good area for the car smashing. Depending on the participation and the price you charge, you can raise anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
Fun-Filled Father’s Day Fundraising Ideas For Schools
If you’re a school administrator or a PTA member in need of some family-oriented ideas, here are some Father’s Day fundraising ideas for schools that are sure to be a big hit!
Father’s Day Fun Run
A Father’s Day fun run is a family-friendly event that encourages families to run (or walk) on a scenic route to celebrate together. Participants register beforehand and come together on Father’s Day weekend. Try adding a fun theme like:
- Superhero Sprint: Participants can dress up as their favorite superheroes, symbolizing how dads go above and beyond for their families.
- Retro Run: This throwback theme encourages participants to wear outfits from their favorite decade, such as tie-dye for the ’60s or neon for the ’80s.
- Sports Fanatics: Participants can wear jerseys or other gear representing their favorite sports teams, creating a spirit of team pride and competition.
Cost and Earning Potential: Organizing a Father’s Day fun run involves costs such as permits for the route, timing services, promotional materials, and t-shirts or medals for participants. This may run you a few thousand dollars. However, expect to raise substantial funds through registration fees, sponsorships, and additional fundraising activities tied to the event. Depending on your event’s scale, you could potentially generate several thousands of dollars.
Father-Child Sports Day
A father-child sports day is a Father’s Day event where dads and their mini sidekicks team up for an epic showdown in different sports and wacky challenges. Imagine an afternoon filled with laughter and high-fives as teams dash in sack races, test their strength with tug-of-war, and pair up for goofy three-legged races. It’s a wonderful way to promote health, happiness, and family bonding.
Cost and Earning Potential: This fun-filled day requires a bit of cash upfront, typically a few hundred or a couple of grand. Cut down on venue costs by using your playground, your football field, or a local park. Then, you’ll need sporting equipment for each activity and maybe a treat for participants. By charging a fee to enter, selling refreshments, and securing sponsorships from local businesses, you can cover those costs and potentially generate a few thousand dollars.
Workshops for Dads and Kids
Have families roll up their sleeves for a day of tinkering, creating, and bonding. This Father’s Day fundraiser involves dads and their mini-me’s diving into activities, such as:
- Building birdhouses or learning other basic woodworking skills.
- Learning new recipes or cooking basics to whip up some culinary delights together.
- Unleashing creativity in a painting, sculpting, or pottery class.
- Getting their hands dirty in a gardening workshop to learn about plants and how to grow vegetables.
Have teachers or enthusiastic volunteers lead these classes. Then, dads can enjoy these hobbies at home with their kids, too. It’s the perfect combo of fun and learning that’ll strengthen the dad-kid bond while supporting your school. Just make sure to thank your volunteers for all their hard work afterward.
Cost and Earning Potential: This Father’s Day fundraising event will incur upfront expenses, depending on the types of workshops you’ll offer. You may need to splurge on crafting materials, cooking ingredients, or pots and plants. By charging participation fees, you can earn that money back and then some. Expect to earn an additional few thousand dollars.
Father’s Day Discount Card Fundraiser
Unlock a world of savings with this Father’s Day fundraising idea. A discount card fundraiser is a clever and practical way for dads and their families to enjoy special discounts at local businesses. While you can contact local businesses to offer discounts, the easiest way to run this fundraiser is by purchasing discount cards from a fundraising company.
For example, the ones from ABC Fundraising feature up to 20 merchants in your area. They even boast good profit margins since you’ll earn $4 for each $10 card you sell, $7.50 for each $15 card you sell, and $11 for every $20 card you sell.
Cost and Earning Potential: You’ll need to pay for the discount cards, which typically cost several hundred dollars. The company we mentioned above provides a great example of your potential earnings. They even toss in free cards depending on how many you buy. Their most popular card is the $15 one, and based on their analysis, you can earn $2,700 for every 300 of these cards you sell (which includes the additional free cards they toss in). Your profit all depends on how eager and persistent your students are when selling these cards!
Ultimate Dad Joke Competition
Why do golfers carry an extra pair of socks with them? In case they get a hole-in-one!
You can expect all sorts of cheesy dad jokes like that one at an ultimate dad joke competition. The week before Father’s Day, host an assembly. Then, ask dads (and dad joke aficionados) to take the stage to say their favorite jokes. Competitors will pay an entry fee to throw their hat in the ring for the chance to win a fun trophy or another prize. Sell tickets so spectators can watch the comedic spectacle unravel, or have them vote on the best joke with their dollars. Be sure to sell snacks and drinks!
Cost and Earning Potential: You’ll really only need to pay for a prize for the winner and refreshments for audience members. Earn a few thousand dollars, depending on the number of entries, ticket sales, sponsorships, and concession sales.
Community-Based Father’s Day Fundraising Events
The National Research Federation found that special outings were the third most popular Father’s Day gift category last year, following greeting cards and clothing. With that in mind, here are several Father’s Day events that’ll bring your community together.
Community Cookout
Fire up the grill for a community cookout, a delicious and engaging Father’s Day fundraising event that brings families together. Picture grills sizzling with burgers, hot dogs, and vegetarian delights paired with homemade sides and desserts. You might even have some yard games set up like cornhole or life-sized Connect 4, adding some fun activities into the mix.
Cost and Earning Potential: You’ll need to pay for catering, and feeding a large crowd can easily run you a few thousand dollars. Cut costs by relying on volunteers to make the food for your event. Fun activities like this are a great way to diversify volunteer opportunities and get volunteers to stick around. Don’t forget plates, napkins, and cutlery! Rake in several thousand dollars through ticket sales, additional donations, or a raffle on the side.
Charity Golf Tournament
Tee off for a cause with a charity golf tournament. This is a classic yet sophisticated Father’s Day fundraiser that invites golfers of all levels to enjoy a day on the greens while driving support for your cause. Participants will pay to enter, compete for a trophy, and win on-course competitions like:
- Hole-in-one contests
- Longest drive contests
- Closest-to-the-pin contests
- Putting contests
Cost and Earning Potential: Organizing this event requires course fees, carts, refreshments, and prizes, which can easily swing from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. However, GolfStatus explains that these fundraisers tend to attract an affluent, influential demographic, instantly broadening your donor base. Plus, companies will pay a good bit to sponsor the event, individual golfers, and specific holes. DonorBox’s charity golf tournament guide suggests that a well-organized event can net an impressive $5,000 to $100,000.
BBQ Cook-Off
Heat things up with a BBQ cook-off as a Father’s Day fundraiser. Grilling gurus can battle it out over brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and chicken to claim the title of Grill Master. You’ll bring the community together for a day of feasting, family fun, and fundraising. Attendees will pay to taste and vote on their favorite BBQ dishes.
Cost and Earning Potential: You’ll need to pay for a venue, permits, and other setup costs. This might cost your organization a few thousand dollars. With ticket entry fees, team registration fees, and additional money-makers like drink sales, merchandise, and perhaps a raffle, a BBQ cook-off can easily net a tasty profit. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama raised $25,455 for its annual Cahabaque last year.
Family Camping Trip
Picture tents under the stars, roasting s’ mores over a campfire, and outdoor activities like fishing. This memorable Father’s Day fundraiser combines the tranquility of nature with quality family time.
Cost and Earning Potential: This outdoor adventure requires a modest investment to cover campsite fees and equipment rental. At most, you’ll spend a few thousand dollars. Families will pay for their campsite or a package deal with meals and guided activities, so you can potentially bring in an additional few thousand.
Parting Thoughts: Make Every Moment Count This Father’s Day
What if, instead of ties and toolsets, we could contribute something more meaningful this Father’s Day? By hosting a Father’s Day fundraiser, you can help community members give their dads gifts that mean more.
As our favorite idea, we recommend launching an eCard fundraiser. It’s easy, cheap, and reimagines the classic Father’s Day card.
Once you choose your favorite Father’s Day fundraising idea, check out these resources:
- Thoughtful Mother’s Day Fundraising Ideas To Spread Love. Dads aren’t the only superheroes in your community. Check out these Mother’s Day ideas to celebrate moms, too.
- Donor Retention: How to Unlock Lasting Loyalty Among Donors. After your Father’s Day fundraiser wraps up, try these donor retention ideas to get your contributors to stick around.
- Nonprofit Marketing: A Behind-the-Scenes Guide for Success. Once you select a campaign idea, follow the tips in this guide to spread the word about your Father’s Day fundraiser.
