A baby forest elephant walks behind its mother's legs

Fun Fundraising Ideas

Fun ways to fundraise!

Whether you’re looking for ideas to do over a weekend or activities for your entire class or school, we hope this page will give you some inspiration.

How about doing absolutely nothing – for charity? Take a tip from our big cats and relax! Or, how about a non-uniform day to raise money for big cats? There are lots of ways you can help raise money for your favourite charity, and we would love it if you decided to support Born Free.

Keep reading for our top tips on planning a successful fundraiser!

Big Cat Nap

Sit back, put your paws up and do nothing for Born Free!

Laura Gosset, Born Free’s Education Manager, says: “Big cats in the wild can sleep up to 23 hours a day and many domestic pets are not far behind their wild cousins, spending the majority of their time snoozing in a favourite spot! With just 20,000 lions left in the wild today, events like the Big Cat Nap are vital to help spread awareness of their plight, as well as raise vital funds.”

IN SCHOOL: SPONSORED SILENCE

Can your class remain silent for 60 minutes? Or even longer? Read, draw or even nap during your class’s sponsored silence.

TOP TIP: Read The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo or draw pictures of big cats (tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard and snow leopard).

OUT OF SCHOOL: SPONSORED SLEEPOVER

Why not invite your friends over for a sponsored sleepover? Can you all sleep as long as a big cat? Male lions sleep up to 20 hours a day, while lionesses get about 15-18 hours! Make sure you get permission from all of the parents/guardians involved.

TOP TIP: Make big cat-themed cakes to eat (check for allergies). Watch Born Free or The Lion King.

BIG CAT QUIZ

Host a Big Cat Quiz to test your classmates’ (and even your teacher’s) knowledge!

Use our Big Cat Quiz questions and ask teams to pay a small fee to enter.

TOP TIP: At the end of the quiz, share all of the answers with everyone – this is your chance to educate your audience!

Download our Big Cat Quiz

OTHER FUNDRAISING IDEAS

CAKE SALE

Fundraise for Born Free while showing off your baking flair! A successful cake sale takes some careful planning to ensure you have a good selection of treats for your customers to purchase. It is really important that every item is labelled with any ingredients that might be an allergen (nuts, wheat, milk, etc).TOP

TOP TIP: Create big cat cookies with a tiger or lion-shaped cookie cutter. Or use orange and black icing to make visually striking tiger cakes.

MUFTI DAY

Ask students and staff to join together and take part in a non-uniform day. Give your mufti day a theme such as stripes or spots and encourage everyone to dress accordingly. You could even have a prize for the best dressed student or teacher.

TOP TIP: Celebrate World Wildlife Day on 3rd March by wearing fancy dress!

HOW TO RUN A SPONSORED EVENT

Get permission from your teacher

They will decide when the best time is for the event. They may need to get permission from the school and parents/guardians. They may also need to carry out a risk assessment, depending on the type of fundraising activity.

Get sponsored

Create a sponsorship form. You will need your sponsor’s name, address and the amount they wish to pledge.

Promote your event

Let everyone know about your event by creating posters and pinning them up for all to see. Think about how you can make your posters stand out. Ask a teacher to make an announcement in assembly or ask the school office to send an email or letter home.

Carry out the event

Make sure your plans are sensible and safe, and that children are supervised. Thank everyone involved in organising, running and participating in the event.