How to host a picnic fundraiser

Looking for unique and successful fundraising ideas that are fun, inclusive and a sure way to raise money and awareness for a worthy cause? Then why not host a picnic fundraiser? Here is everything you need to get started.

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Select the location for your picnic
Select the date for your picnic
Select the type of food you’ll serve at the picnic
Select the entry fee you’ll charge for the picnic
Select additional activities for your picnic
Plan your picnic checklist
Promote your picnic
Thank everyone who contributed to your picnic

Select the location for your picnic

The great thing about a picnic is that it can be held outdoors, making them perfect for social distancing, if required!

The best place to host your picnic fundraiser is a local park or reserve. Most parks have picnic tables, benches and lovely shady spots to enjoy a meal under. There are also barbecues if you want to turn your picnic into a BBQ event. Plus, there are plenty of bins located conveniently to ensure nobody litters. And many parks have lots of parking available.

If you are hosting a small picnic, you can simply turn up to the park on the day and set up. Give yourself plenty of time to secure a spot and arrange the tables, especially if you have a theme or want to make use of signage and kits promoting the charity of your choice.

However, if you are hosting a big event, and want to run lots of side activities (such as a fairy floss stand, ice cream stand, bouncy castle, etc), you may have to get in touch with your local council to gain approval for safety reasons.

Select the date for your picnic

Choose a day that is most convenient for your picnic attendees. While weekends would be a popular choice, especially for office workers and people who have school-aged children, weekdays can also have their benefits. Parks tend to be less crowded on weekdays and might be more convenient for people who pack a lot of activities into their weekends.

While the summer months may seem ideal for picnics, they can get hot and you’ll have to make extra considerations to ensure everyone slips-slops-slaps and practises sun protection, as well as guards themselves against mozzies and other bugs. Dehydration is also a risk so have plenty of water bottles ready.

Autumn and Spring months are quite temperate and make for nice picnic weather. There are also those who prefer crisp winter days, especially when it’s sunny.

Before you select a date, read about current weather patterns (for instance La Nina) to see that rainy weather doesn’t dampen your day.

Select the type of food you'll serve at the picnic

Finger foods are ideal for picnics, including sandwiches, tarts, pies and mini quiches, as well as sweets like cupcakes, biscuits and scones.

However, there are lots of insulated storage and picnicware available in the market that can keep your hot food warm. So, if you want to serve something heartier, it can be done.

Instead of preparing all the food yourself, ask all the attendees to bring a dish to share with everyone else. Make a list of what everyone is bringing to ensure variety.

Be sure to cater to people with special dietary requirements to make it an inclusive community event. A few considerations include vegetarian, vegan, kosher, halal, gluten-free, nut allergies, dairy, and egg allergies.

A birdseye view of Joel Edgerton's fundraising event in LA

Photo credit: The Fred Hollows Foundation

Select the entry fee you'll charge for the picnic

Be sure to keep the entry fee reasonable and cater to the demographic of your attendees. Anything from five to a hundred dollars can be reasonable, depending on the average income bracket of your guests.

Be sure to remind your guests that their generous contribution will help someone in need. For example, fundraising for the Fred Hollows Foundation, will help restore sight in over 25 countries to people who are at risk of becoming needlessly blind. Ensure your attendees remember this important message of ending preventable blindness.

Select additional activities for your picnic

Here a list of additional activities you can run at your picnic fundraiser to raise even more money for the charity of your choice:

Raffle
Trivia
Auction
Entry giveaway prizes
Pop quiz
Best dressed award
Best dish award
Talent contest
Taste test competition

Plan your picnic checklist

Here’s a checklist to help keep your picnic-planning as stress-free as possible:

Send an invite to the picnic with an RSVP date
Remind everyone attending to donate on the fundraising page as their entry fee
Set up a fundraising page on our community fundraising website. This is quick and easy, and you can reach out to the community fundraising team if you get stuck
Decide on a theme for your picnic
Choose a menu for your picnic
Rally volunteers to help on the day
Ask local businesses to donate goods and services to your picnic
Decide whether attendees should bring a dish each to share
Decide whether attendees need to bring their own plates, cutlery and picnic blankets
Have volunteers manning the picnic area entrance on the day, in case anyone wants to donate on-site
Keep a first-aid kit on hand for any accidents.
Take spare serviettes and eco-friendly picnicware as backup
Provide bottled water to ensure everyone stays hydrated

Promote your picnic

If you want to support our sight-restoring work you can set up a fundraising page on our website. These handy resources will help you reach your fundraising goals.

As well as sharing your fundraising page via email, you can also promote your event on your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

By promoting your picnic fundraiser, you’ll help raise awareness for the cause you’re championing. You will also increase the chances of more people attending. In addition, you may inspire lots of other people to host their own picnic fundraiser.

A lunch with The Fred Hollows Foundation colleagues

Photo credit: The Fred Hollows Foundation

Thank everyone who contributed to your picnic

After the picnic is over, within a few days, be sure thank everyone who attended or contributed to your fundraiser and the total amount of money they helped you raise. This way, people will feel good about the difference they’ve made, and will work towards keeping them engaged and interested in future events you host.

COVER PHOTO CREDIT: Rebecca Nicholls

Team Bangladesh meet hiker and fundraiser Zan Campbell

Alexander ‘Zan’ Campbell, an Australian man currently walking 40,000km around the globe raising funds for The Foundation, has seen our work first-hand as he travelled through Bangladesh. Our Bangladesh team welcomed the fundraiser, who has raised over $16,000 so far, to the capital Dhaka and gave him a tour around our partner hospital, the Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute & Hospital (IIEI&H).

The Fred Hollows Foundation

10 tips to make your next fundraising event a success

Helping others not only makes us feel good but also boosts our mental and physical well-being. Fundraising is a fantastic way to lend a hand, support a social movement and spread the word about a worthy cause or charity that's making a real difference.

Tessa Bell

How you can give back to those with avoidable blindness

The Fred Hollows Foundation is proud to carry on Fred’s work of restoring sight across the 25 countries where we work. This would not be possible without the contributions of our supporters. If you’re looking to help people around the world, there are so many ways to give back and make quality eye health care easily available to everyone.