A

Auction action

Ask your staff or colleagues to donate goods or services to an auction. Finally, all those un-used Christmas gifts can serve a useful purpose. If people don’t want to donate goods, they can offer services – like making coffee, baking muffins, washing cars…or even working overtime!

B

Biking challenge

The ASB bank in Timaru held an amazing bike challenge – from Mt Cook all the way to Timaru. Every rider was sponsored and they raised a lot of money. Think of a scenic biking route near you – big or small – then plan your event.

C

Cakes and muffins

Get the team baking and have a bake sale at morning tea time. You can even award prizes for the most delicious, most colourful and healthiest.

D

Darts tournament

Buy a dart board and charge an entry fee for a knock out tournament. Make it a regular Friday night event after work.

E

Email marketing

Use your email signature to show you support St John! Give people a link to click through to your online fundraising page.

F

Football sweepstake

Organise a sweepstake on this season’s big rugby matches. Works well for other sports too.

G

Girl’s night out

Organise a great girl’s night out and sell tickets (at a profit) to everyone who wants to go. Drinks, dinner and movies for a set price.

H

Happy birthday!

Ask friends to donate money to St John instead of presents for special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas and weddings. This is easy to do with an online fundraising page

I

Indoor jumble sale

You can’t always rely on the weather, so hold an indoor jumble sale and rent tables to anyone who has junk to sell. School halls are great for this.

J

Juggling lessons

Believe it or not, there are juggling associations in New Zealand! Hire an instructor, gather a bunch of friends and charge them to learn how to juggle. It’s a skill that everyone would love to master.

K

Karaoke night

Hire some karaoke gear and do some sing-raising. Charge friends and/or colleagues to participate. You can also make it a talent quest and charge people to vote.

L

Lovely lunch 

Have a shared lunch. Everyone brings a dish and you all pay an entry fee to enjoy the feast. If there are lots of different cultures at your workplace, you could have an international theme.

M

Matched giving

Ask your company to match whatever you and your work colleagues raise. Tell people this when asking for sponsorship.

N

No-smoking challenge 

Giving up smoking is easier when you’re doing it for a good cause. Get a band of wanna-give-up smokers together and get sponsored to give the bad habit away.

O

One-for-one

Ask your company to match dollar-for-dollar whatever you and your workmates raise.

P

Party time

Pick a theme and throw a fancy dress party. Charge for entry, food and drinks. Use donated prizes to reward the best-dressed party goers.

Q

Quiz night

Challenge your friends to a quiz or games night. Run a pub quiz or play any of your favourite games. Make money by charging for entry and snacks.

R

Raffle

Raffles are quick and easy to run. Gather together a bunch of donated prizes, then sell tickets. This is a super-easy way to raise money.

S

Small change

Get everyone to donate their small change to St John. You can collect and count the haul.

T

Themed work days

Charge everyone $2 to come to work or school dressed in a specific colour (Blue Monday) or in keeping with a certain theme (Hawaiian Shirt Day). Challenge departments or classes to raise the most money.

U

Underwear party 

Lingerie parties are fun, and they can raise funds. Google for a supplier – there are plenty of them out there. Negotiate to give a percentage of sales to St John.

V

Video viewing

Rent a just-released film and invite friends to come and watch it.  Charge them for couch space and pizza. We could provide you with a short video about St John, to kick the evening off.

W

Watching the weight

Gather together friends and colleagues who’d like to lose a few kilos. Have weekly weigh-ins and share weight loss tips. Charge people to join the slimming group and encourage them to get sponsors who’ll pay up for every kilo lost.

X

Xmas party

If you usually have a Christmas party at your workplace or school, turn it into a fundraiser for a good cause. Raise money by charging for entry, food and drinks. Run quick-fire raffles throughout the occasion.

Y

Yearly collection 

The St John national appeal is held in June every year. Volunteer to be a collector.

Z

Zodiac party

Invite your friends over for an evening of astrological fun. Get them to dress as their own star sign and charge them for dinner.