Healthy fundraising events are possible. Even in the middle of winter, you can incorporate some good old fashioned physical activity into your fundraising plan.
Every time your child comes home with a new school fundraising project selling candy or cookie dough, you’re probably more worried about the potential dental bills.
Schools concerned with healthy eating habits and food allergies might want to avoid food fundraisers altogether. It’s a good lesson for kids that delicious, fattening treats, as tempting as they are, don’t necessarily equate to a good cause. Plus, most active fundraisers are an effective way of engaging a larger number of guests, ensuring each of them has a fun time.
The lesson an active charity event teaches about fundraising is that yes, it’s hard work, but in the end, hard work pays off. Pairing healthy activities and charity fundraising is a no-brainer.
The best winter fundraisers had better take the weather into consideration. That’s why our top pick is the skating fundraiser.
Now, your skating fundraiser could be hosted at an open city rink, on a large outdoor pond (just ensure it’s been checked and verified for safe skating), or you might approach a local indoor skating rink to see if you can host it there. Remember, the rink operator will never lose out if you book their location. Kids love to skate, and the rink operator will love the traffic!
Ice skating parties held at the local ice rink will hold a particularly fond place in the hearts of many people in your community, so it’s an obvious location for a local charity fundraiser. We’ve put together some helpful tips to ensure your skating party goes smoothly:
The Local Rink Versus the Iced Pond
Without a doubt, hosting the party at a community ice rink or community center is your best bet. This is because most community facilities offer a daily public skate block when the rink is open to groups.
Community rinks also employ their own staff, so you can be assured the rink will be monitored by qualified staff just in case someone falls or gets separated from their skating partner.
Just remember that with public skating come some rules and up-front fees:
- Public rinks typically charge $2 to $5 for the public skate, a blocked set of hours that can range from two to four hours in length.
- Guests can bring their own skates, but if they need to rent them, it’s another $4 per person on average.
- Many public rinks also require that skaters wear helmets.
Another option for hosting a skating party at a community ice rink is to speak to the operator about renting the entire facility for your group. Rinks will typically rent the ice per hour, and the price will vary depending on the day and time, the ice size, and the staff requirements.
The benefit of renting out the facility is that your group will have a better quality skating experience with no people unrelated to your group on the ice.
Despite the up-front fees, you can make money for your charity with this type of skating fundraiser by asking guests to cover their skating rental (or bring their own skates), plus an additional ice fee.
Skate-a-Thon
Another money-making option for your skating fundraiser is a skate-a-thon. This type of charity event is similar to a charity walk-a-thon or fundraising marathon, where participants sign up for a flat donation or take pledges for time spent making laps around the ice rink.
Skaters will gather pledges before they take to the ice, and then return to collect them after their skating date.
With a skate-a-thon, you may need some type of incentive to get skaters to do laps around the ice. Try offering prizes for the most laps completed or the most pledges raised. Or infuse some fun prize categories such as craziest toque, or set up a silly obstacle course and offer a prize to the skater with the fastest completed time. Just remember—safety first!
Also remember, a skating fundraiser doesn’t necessarily have to entail ice skating, either. Especially during winter, it may be more fun and enticing to participate in an event held indoors where it’s nice and warm. If your city or town has a traditional roller skating rink, that’s also a great place to hold your event!
