20 Low Energy Fundraising Ideas for Medical Campaigns

If you’re running a fundraiser for your own medical expenses, you may not be physically up to running high energy fundraising events like a sponsored run or walk. Don’t worry! There are still plenty of fun fundraising events you can run which require less energy. We’ve even provided an ‘energy score’, ranging from 1 (barely any energy involved) to 10 (lots of energy needed), so that you pick the right event for your needs.

Running a pyjama party means that you can be in your home, literally in your pyjamas and people come to you! You could have people sleep overnight as a traditional pyjama party, or you could choose to just run the party for a few hours. You could even ask people to bring their own nibbles and drinks so you don’t have to worry about refreshments.

You could play games or just enjoy chatting. You could even run a competition for the cutest or funniest pyjamas! You could talk about your cause and ask people to donate directly via your link. It’s a great idea to have a bucket for those who want to donate their spare change at any event. Our crowdfunding site offers an option for you to add offline donations to your campaign so you can keep track of your total.

A movie night could be as big or small as you want it to be. You could choose to invite friends round to your house to watch a movie and offer some refreshments. Alternatively, you could hire a hall and a projector playing movies on the big screen. You could sell tickets and refreshments to raise money.

You could choose to play just one movie, or you could do a themed movie night such as ‘romantic movies’, ‘horror movies’ or even actor-specific movies. You could even take it one step further and ask people to get dressed up in accordance with the theme.

Just as with the movie night, a board game tournament could be as big or small as you would like it to be. You could have board games at home with refreshments offered, and simply ask people to donate throughout the night.

Alternatively, you could hire a venue and run the tournament on a bigger scale. You could have tables for each board game which people rotate around throughout the night. You could have a scorecard for each person or team to increase the competitive spirit, and even offer prizes for the winner and runner up.

The great thing about a knit-a-thon is that you can do it at home while sitting down and invite people to join in, or you could even do it through the internet. You could be knitting in your home and ask other people to get involved online. You could encourage them to post their pictures and videos of their progress, and of course ask them to donate to take part.

You could see who can knit for the longest amount of time, or who can create the biggest number of specific items (you could choose one smaller item like gloves or hats). You could then sell the items you have knitted to raise more money for your campaign. Alternatively, you could donate the knitted items to charity, helping others as well as raising money for your own campaign in the process.

The wonderful thing about a sponsored silence is that it requires no equipment and very little organization. You could do the sponsored silence throughout your usual day at home, for example staying silent for a full 8 or 12 hours. You could post live updates on social media and your campaign page, or even live stream parts of your silence on social media.

If you want to step things up, you could arrange to have loved ones come to your house and get involved in a group sponsored silence. You could ask them to pay to take part as well as getting their own sponsors. You could run a competition to see who can stay quiet the longest, or you could encourage the competitive spirit by using our support campaigns. Each participant could have their own support campaign and you could see who can raise the most money during the event.

While you may not be up to doing a sponsored run or walk, a stroll can be a great alternative. You can stroll at your own pace and for a short distance. You can do whatever you feel comfortable with. You can ask people to sponsor you, and get loved ones involved to take part in the stroll with you.

Be sure not to push yourself too hard or set your goals too high. Remember that the aim of a sponsored stroll is to go at your own pace, to have fun and raise some money, not to put pressure on yourself. To make things more interesting, you could ask participants to get dressed up in fancy dress for the stroll or make banners to carry to raise awareness of your cause along the way.

Whether it’s from your living room or in a local venue, a creative crafts afternoon brings people together and is tons of fun! You can choose to offer as wide a variety of crafts as you like. You could even have separate tables for each craft if you have the room so that people can experiment. Some ideas for craft tables include:

• Painting
• Drawing
• Pottery painting
• Knitting
• Sewing
• Cross stitch
• Felting
• Jewellery making
• Scrapbooking
• Origami

You could charge people a small amount to enter, or to take part in each individual craft. If you prefer, you could just ask people to donate as much as they feel able. You could also choose to sell refreshments. Bear in mind that you will need to provide the craft materials so take this cost into account. You could even ask local craft companies to offer supplies at a discounted rate or for free in order to help your cause.

Getting your loved ones round to your house for a pamper night allows you to both raise money and have some stress relief. Whether it’s doing each other’s nails, doing face masks or another pampering activity, it’s an opportunity to give yourself the TLC that you need even more when you’re struggling with your health.

The fantastic thing about a photo competition is you don’t need any resources or have any outgoing costs, and you can do it from the comfort of your own bed or sofa. You can set a theme, or even run more than one category, and then ask people to submit their photos for a small fee to join in. You could ask for photos to be submitted on social media or through email.

You can set a date for the end of the competition and then either judge the best picture in each category yourself or use a random name generator (there are plenty online) to pick out the winner. Alternatively, you could ask people to share their picture on social media and the picture with the most shares or ‘likes’ is the winner.

Be sure to ask people to include your campaign link in their social media post. This not only raises money and increases the competitive spirit, but also has the added benefit of increasing the visibility of your campaign. You could choose to offer a small prize for the winner and runner up.

Some photo competition category ideas include:

• Cutest pet
• Best selfie
• Funniest pose
• Best fancy dress outfit
• Best nature picture
• Best candid photo

Just like with the photo competition, a video competition can be a cost effective and low effort way to raise funds. You can approach it in the same way as the photo competition. One of the most fun parts about these competitions is that you can choose any theme you like! You could even choose to set a specific challenge. Some ideas for video competition categories include:

• Best original dance
• Funniest joke
• Funniest prank
• Best singer
• Best short nature documentary
• Best magic trick
• Best impression

Book chains are fun, low effort and can involve as many people as you like without needing to pay for a venue or extra resources. They work by asking on social media or through word of mouth for participants.

Each person who wants to be involved pays a small donation fee to your cause and provides their address. You then pair them with another person. They post their favourite book, and a note if they like to make it more personal, on to the other person. The person who receives the book then sends their favourite book to the next person, and so on. Everyone receives a new book to read and has fun along the way.

Throwing a dinner party can be a great way to raise funds, but it requires a lot of effort and planning to shop for ingredients, cook the meal, lay the table and so on. By turning your dinner party into a potluck, each person brings their own dish to the party. All you need to do is set the table and wait for them to arrive.

A potluck fosters a real sense of community as everyone lays out their dishes and people can taste what they like. You could choose to simply ask for donations at the party, or as with the other events, ask people to pay a small donation on the door to get involved. If you want to make it even more fun, you could set a theme for people to dress up as to attend the dinner, such as black tie or dress as your favourite movie character.