Fundraising for a good cause is a valuable and rewarding experience, but over the years we have become reliant on a good old bake sale to bring in those much-needed pennies for our chosen charity. If you want to take a break from the usual cakes and biscuits, we’ve come up with a few ideas to help you plan a ‘healthier’ fundraiser.

Sugar free baking:

Consuming too much added sugar is bad for our health but baking doesn’t have to mean consuming excessive added sugar. Look for sugar free recipes or stick to savoury bakes, a few suggestions below:

• Carrot and courgette muffins recipe
• Carrot and sultana mini pancakes recipe
• Choc cherry popcorn cakes recipe
• Pizza pitta faces recipe

Crafts:

Try making something you can sell on a stall like seasonal cards or bobble hats. You could buy some fabric paints and plain white t-shirts and ask people to design their own t-shirt for a donation. Or if you’re feeling creative you could set up a tie-dye workshop.

Book sale:

Ask your school or work to donate old books and set up a book sale. You could even try an honesty box and display books in your staff room or canteen.

Games event:

Hold a games night (or day), charge a small entry fee and ask people to bring along their favourite game to play. You could ask people to bring some healthy snacks for the gamers.

Quiz:

Everyone loves a quiz (well we do).  A quiz is an easy way to raise some funds as it will cost pennies to arrange.  Charge a few pounds to take part, you could ask for donations for the prize.

Sports match:

5-a-side, netball, basketball, even ultimate Frisbee!  If the weather is nice arrange a charity sports day for your work, school or friends and family.

Organised walk:

Organise a walk in a local park or nature reserve, you could arrange a city walking tour.  Test your knowledge of your home town and you could even arrange a guided tour.

Treasure Hunt

Using clues and challenges arrange a treasure hunt for your friends and family.

Dance off:

Get your dancing shoes on and organise your very own Strictly Come Dancing final, you could even make a glitter ball trophy for the winner. 

Fashion show:

Ask for donations of clothes, shoes and accessories and put on a fashion show. Guests can purchase the outfits and the proceeds can go to your chosen charity.

Pamper session:

Ask local beauty salons, shops friends and family for donations such as facemasks and nail varnish. Charge a small fee for a pamper session and provide some healthy snacks and drinks.

Sugar free ‘lemonade’ stand:

Lemonade doesn’t need to be sickly sweet. Set up a stand with some healthier alternatives using fresh fruit and herbs like mint.

Car wash:

If you have a space you can use why not organise a charity carwash?  You can put posters up to advertise your event and pre-book friends and family.

Seedling sale:

Green fingers? Plant a few seedlings and watch the donations grow! This can be a low-cost way of raising some money for a good cause.

We would love to hear all about you fundraising efforts, Tweet us @actiononsugar #sugarfreefundraising