Christmas fundraising ideas for charities, CICs and nonprofits

Running a CIC, a small nonprofit, or a community enterprise is a hands-on job, often with just a handful of staff, or none at all, yet you’re competing for the same Christmas donations as national charities with a comms team, a legacy donor list and a six-figure target. Most advice out there is built for them, not you.

This guide is built differently: distinct ways to actually raise money this Christmas, several of them leaning on something you already trade or offer rather than starting a fundraising ask from nothing. For the basics of fundraising at Christmas, including how crowdfunding pages, prize draws and match funding work, start with Festive fundraising 101 (link live once published) first. If you’re new to Crowdfunder as a CIC specifically, read our blog on how CICs can use Crowdfunder.

Why Christmas works differently for a CIC

A registered charity mostly has one lever: asking people to donate. A CIC or community enterprise usually has two, since many of you already sell something, whether that’s produce, workshops, memberships or a shop. Christmas is a natural moment to lean on both at once.

Alongside a straightforward crowdfunding page, think about what you already trade that could become a Christmas offer: gift vouchers for your services, a festive version of what you sell, or a “buy one, gift one” scheme where a customer’s purchase also funds a place or product for someone who couldn’t otherwise afford it.

If you’re already selling something, rewards should usually be your main lever rather than an afterthought, offer what you make or do as reward tiers on your page rather than defaulting to a plain donation ask, the way Cook for Good did with a straight cookbook pre-sale.

Save a prize draw for when you’ve got one or two genuinely standout items, it works best with a small number of brilliant prizes rather than a long list of small ones, as Well Grounded Jobs CIC did with a single coffee machine.

Real examples: CICs and small organisations using rewards

Salads for Good (Cook for Good)

Cook for Good is a food-focused social enterprise in Islington running a surplus food pantry, a wellbeing cafe and free cooking classes to tackle food insecurity on a social housing estate. Their entire reward structure was built around pre-selling their second cookbook, “Salads for Good,” 52 recipes and stories from the community, including donated recipes from Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Claudia Winkleman. Every pledge is essentially a pre-order, and every profit from the book funds a training programme to help 80 local people move into paid work. It’s a clean example of turning something you’re already making into the reward itself, rather than inventing a separate perk, and it’s match funded by the BA Communities Fund on top. 

The Woodshop of Recycled Delights CIC

A London CIC teaching carpentry skills and rescuing waste timber for community garden projects, raised £25,933, match funded by Aviva Community and the Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund. Their page has a section titled “Delicious Rewards,” offering handmade items made from the reclaimed wood they work with back to supporters who pledge. I couldn’t pull the exact tiers and prices from the page text (they sit in a separate rewards widget rather than the main description), but the model itself is worth noting: the reward is literally the thing the CIC already makes, at effectively no extra production cost. 

Save Northamptonshire Cheese

A business example: a private cheesemaking business, Hamm Tun Fine Foods, offers another useful rewards model. Raised during a COVID-era survival campaign, with a clear, simple reward ladder: £20 for a branded tote bag, £30 for a Northamptonshire cheese box, £50 and above for a t-shirt. Worth including anyway because it’s a genuinely clean, easy-to-copy tiered structure; low, mid, and top reward, each priced to feel proportionate to what you get.

Real examples: CICs and small organisations using a prize draw

The Patchwork House Women’s Centre CIC

A small women’s centre in Torquay running prize draws repeatedly as an ongoing income stream, not a one-off. At least nine separate draws between 2022 and 2025, ranging from £2,788 to £13,726 each, an Advent calendar and Dyson bundle draw, a December draw, a “Hello Spring” draw, a store-launch draw, a birthday draw, and a Christmas draw. Genuinely the clearest real-world proof that a small CIC can build a repeatable model around prize draws rather than treating it as a once-a-year event. 

Well Grounded Jobs CIC 

Raised £12,281 offering a customised La Marzocco Linea Mini coffee machine as the prize, in support of their mission to help end unemployment in the UK. Worth noting because the prize ties directly to what the CIC actually does, they run barista training, so the reward reinforces the cause rather than being generic. 

Wyld Service CIC 

Raised £12,460 with a “Right to Roam” prize draw, twelve nature-inspired prize bundles, to fund campaigning for expanded access to nature in England. A good example of a values-led, campaigning CIC using a prize draw rather than a straight donation ask. 

Ideas that suit a small team

Most CICs and small nonprofits don’t have spare volunteers for an elaborate event. These ideas are built for that reality:

• Turn existing stock into gifts. If you already sell something, from produce to handmade goods to workshop places, package it as a Christmas gift option rather than creating something new from scratch.
• A simple crowdfunding page with a clear, single ask. One honest target beats several vague ones. Say exactly what the money covers, whether that’s rent, a piece of equipment or a specific project.
• A membership or subscription as a gift. If you offer any kind of ongoing membership, make it giftable for Christmas, since it brings in supporters who commit for months, not just December.
• A small, low-admin prize draw. One good prize from a local business supporter, run for two or three weeks, needs far less organising than a full event and still brings in new people. See our prize draws page for the basics.

Layering match funding on top

CICs and small nonprofits are genuinely well catered for by Crowdfunder’s funding partners, including Aviva Community, and regional funds such as Cornwall Council’s Climate and Nature Fund. Check what match funding is available before you launch, since a modest campaign with the right match can end up raising several times your original target.

What Crowdfunder’s own data says

• Friday is the best day to launch. Christmas campaigns launched on a Friday hit target 48% of the time, against 35% for a Thursday launch, worth bearing in mind if you can pick your own date rather than defaulting to whenever your board or steering group next meets.
• Giving Tuesday is worth a dedicated push. This year it falls on Tuesday 1 December 2026, and brings around 28% more pledges and 34% more raised than a typical Tuesday. Read more about Giving Tuesday.
• Message people directly. Over half of Christmas pledges come through direct or private shares, WhatsApp, email, texts, rather than a public post. A message to your customer list or membership base will likely outperform a single social post.

Case study: turning trading income into a permanent home

Second Hand Sundays CIC in Torpoint raised £5,171, match funded by Cornwall Council’s Climate and Nature Fund, to secure a permanent shop selling second-hand clothes sustainably, with proceeds supporting local causes. It’s a strong example of exactly the trading-plus-donations model available to a CIC that a straightforward charity appeal doesn’t have.

Case study: a small team that kept coming back

Spiral Freerun CIC in Bedford raised £30,736 towards its own parkour gym, match funded by Power to Change and Sport England, and has returned to Crowdfunder more than once since to keep the community space open through difficult periods. It shows that a small team can build a genuine, repeatable relationship with its supporters over several campaigns, not just one big push.

Frequently asked questions

Can a CIC apply for match funding in the same way as a registered charity? Yes. Eligibility depends on the individual fund rather than your legal structure, so check the funds page for what’s currently open to CICs and social enterprises.

We don’t have any spare volunteers this December. Is Christmas fundraising still worth it? Yes, if you keep it simple. A single crowdfunding page with a clear ask, or a small prize draw with one good prize, needs very little ongoing admin once it’s live, just a small amount of time each week to promote it. Get prepped now, check your page is polished in early November and then go live. Refer to our Festive 101 page for more key dates.

Should we ask for donations or offer rewards instead? Both! A trading offer (gift vouchers, festive stock, a giftable membership) reaches customers who wouldn’t otherwise give, while a donation ask, especially alongside a prize draw or rewards, reaches supporters who believe in your mission directly and helps you cut through the noise of Christmas giving. Backers don’t have to choose a reward; they can also decide to simply donate as they would on any other project without rewards.

Is there a minimum size to be taken seriously by match funders? No. Several of the examples above raised well under £10,000 and still secured match funding, so it’s always worth checking eligibility rather than assuming you’re too small.

Where to go next

• Back to basics: Festive fundraising 101
• Running a food bank or warm space? Christmas fundraising ideas for food banks and warm spaces
• Start a crowdfunding page
• Check your match funding options
• Explore the charity fundraising hub

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