Fundraising Ideas For Nursing Homes: 10 Fresh ideas For Maximum Results
With tight budgets to navigate, raising extra funds is an ongoing requirement for care homes who want to provide the best service to their residents. But to capture donors’ attention, is it time to get creative with fundraising ideas for nursing homes?
From making sure your residents are cared for day to day, to covering your building’s running costs, staff wages, and beyond – when there are so many bases to cover, there’s often a need for care homes to boost funds further. Especially if you want to provide those little treats and extra activities to keep spirits high.
So, while you're likely to have fundraised for your care home before, how can you think outside the box with new and creative ideas for maximum impact?
First, being clear about what you’re fundraising for is important (such as taking residents on a day trip outside of the care home) – so donors understand the need for their support and the impact it will have. Then, it’s onto creating your latest fundraising initiative!
10 easy fundraising ideas for nursing homes to get you started
When you’re constantly fundraising for your care home, it can be easy to rely on old ideas that have worked in the past. With these new and original fundraising ideas, you can capture attention effectively and fundraise to your full potential!
1. Host A Themed Dinner Night
Invite residents’ family and friends along for a themed fundraising dinner – where they get to spend time with their loved ones and enjoy a fantastic foodie experience. You could choose a specific theme or world cuisine, or let the seasons inspire you. Think festive feasts for advent or Shrove Tuesday suppers!
Dinner nights also give family and friends a taste of the delicious food you serve their loved ones, providing that extra bit of reassurance that all appetites are catered for!
2. Organise a bake sale with a difference
Why not organise a bake sale with a twist? Fitting different celebration and awareness days (like National Coffee Day!) into your fundraising gives you the perfect excuse to bring everybody together. As residents always enjoy a coffee morning, make sure you have plenty of coffee and tea flowing! And as the Nation’s favourite coffee1, NESCAFÉ® is the perfect partner.
3. Set up a charity raffle with themed hampers
Simple but effective, raffles with quality prizes like hampers can get you closer to your fundraising target too. You could even take it further with a theme – like ‘elevenses’ hampers with NESCAFÉ® coffee, mugs, biscuits, chocolates, and a newspaper!
4. Hold seasonal family days
Family and friends days create extra social connection for your residents, and boost everyone’s spirits (plus donations!) for your care home. There are so many opportunities for them throughout the year (from summer picnics to bank holidays and Christmas), so you can hold as many as you wish. Fête-style games and cake and coffee stands are just a couple of ways to get you closer to your fundraising target.
5. Partner with local businesses for your events. Get local businesses to sponsor and attend your events!
Think about which businesses your guests would be most interested in – whether that’s the local gift shop, hairdresser, garden centre, or something else. Their presence at your event will help get their name out in the community. And in return? Their sponsorship will significantly boost your donations.
6. Encourage local schools to participate
Why not bring in more of the community to your events? Approach local schools – whose staff and pupils could well be your residents’ relatives - and see how they could breathe new life into your event. Think performances, games, and more!
7. Collaborate with community centres to host joint fundraising activities
Your local community centre’s always finding ways to get everyone together, so why not join forces and double your audience? Plus, events like coffee mornings or activity sessions also help connect your residents with independent adults looking for company in the community.
8. Hold ‘coffee and culture’ mornings
To celebrate the different cultures within your care home, why not invite friends, family, and the community for coffee mornings with food and beverages from different cultures, and even performances like traditional dancers and musicians?
9. Organise an online auction
Want to reach people who are short on time but still keen to support? Online fundraising activities, like online auctions, are your answer! Get people bidding on irresistible items like gift baskets – with daily staples like NESCAFÉ® coffee, chocolates, and more.
10. Host a virtual cooking class using Nestlé Professional ingredients
Other virtual events such as cooking classes help get the whole family involved! It can be as easy or challenging as you like – from sweet treats like tiramisu and coffee cake to sizzling curries.
At Nestlé Professional and NESCAFÉ®, we’ve teamed up with serial entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star, Deborah Meaden, to support small and medium businesses just like yours. Explore advice and discover business support on Let’s Partner up for Good.
References
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1Circana: Volume Sales, Hot Coffee, IRI All Outlets & KWP Discounters, 52 w/e 25th Feb, 2023
