25 Fundraising Business Ideas You Can Start Today [2021]
Interested in starting a fundraising business in 2021?
We put together 25 of the best fundraising businesses you can start in today.
For each business idea, we’ll show you real-world examples of other fundraising businesses to help you see what it really takes.
Here's the full list:
1. Start a blogging business ($60K/year)
Chhavi Agarwal from New Delhi, Delhi, India started Mrs Daaku Studio about 3 years ago, a blogging business.
- Revenue: $5,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 3
- Location: New Delhi, Delhi, India
I am a licensed attorney in India and right after my master’s in law, I started working with a leading company as a lawyer. I worked there for about two years before I quit my job to become more location independent.
Choose a niche in whatever you start. It is critical for streamlining your efforts and make money.
My job paid me well but I worked 12 hours a day, I was exhausted by the end of each day, spent my weekends sleeping and I almost quit the things I liked to do - for example, sketching, yoga, traveling, etc.
2. Start a fundraising consulting business ($1.8M/year)
Daryl Hatton from Vancouver, BC, Canada started ConnectionPoint about 13 years ago, a fundraising consulting business.
- Revenue: $150,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 10
- Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Over my career, I’ve started and run multiple companies. Before ConnectionPoint, together with a business partner, I created a company and a product in the document automation space called ReFORM. We merged that company into Optio Software of Atlanta, GA in the early ’90s. As CTO and part of the leadership team for Optio, we took it to a NASDAQ IPO in December 1999. In that year, according to Business Week, we were the 78th fastest growing small business in the US and one of the hottest IPOs of the year.
Post-Y2K, the company struggled as our customers slowed their investments in upgrading their ERP systems. We dug in deeply, pulled the company back from the brink, and reinforced our value proposition by reinventing the product line. This enabled us to sell at a decent multiple to our largest competitor in 2008.
After the transition, I decided to take the opportunity to leave. At the time, Facebook and other social networks were emerging as disrupters of the way we communicate. I was coaching my son’s lacrosse team and was struggling to get my players to attend practice. I emailed them and no-one would show up. I was also experimenting with social media and decided to test inviting them to practice using Facebook. To my surprise, most of them showed up.
3. Start a niche investment platform ($4.2M/year)
Justin Cooke from North York, Ontario, Canada started Empire Flippers over 9 years ago, a niche investment platform.
- Revenue: $349,983/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 53
- Location: North York, Ontario, Canada
We originally started out as an outsourcing company in the Philippines that helped businesses in the USA with various administrative tasks, but when we lost one of our main clients we had to find a way to fill our team’s hours.
If you are committed to systems and process, then failure holds no meaning because it’s simply you learning the systems and processes better.
So, we heard about this whole niche site thing and had our staff start creating micro niche sites monetized with Adsense. If you’re not familiar with the term, niche sites are usually just small sites that are talking about a specific thing. Usually, they’re heavily informational based (Ex: How do you stop snoring?) but can also include product reviews. Most of them are monetized either through Google Adsense or Amazon’s affiliate program, or a mixture of both. We blogged about the whole journey and soon started selling the sites we made.
4. Start an online learning platform business ($480K/year)
Balázs Vendler from Pécs, Magyarország started Games for Business over 5 years ago, a online learning platform business.
- Revenue: $40,000/ month
- Founders: 3
- Employees: 15
- Location: Pécs, Magyarország
I have a biology teacher degree, but I started my first business already while at university. My company was a digital marketing agency that delivered creative solutions for 10 years and started the first gamification-based projects in 2006.
In a market that expressed huge interest in gamification, but had lots of questions and uncertainties, with our credibility we managed to convince clients rather quickly, while many competitors had rather vague propositions to offer.
By 2012, the agency overcame the economic crisis, which was an extremely stressful period. I was completely burned out of my job as the company manager and owner, and I was thinking about what kind of professional work I would like to do in which I could find my motivation again. I was looking at the projects of the marketing agency and realized that it was the gamification-based solutions that really interested me.
5. Start a social media marketing service ($600K/year)
David Schlais from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA started Vital Traffic Labs almost 5 years ago, a social media marketing service.
- Revenue: $50,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 0
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
My personal background is in B2B enterprise sales, and at my previous employer, things were going great for the first 2.5 years that I was an employee there. I moved up quickly, was promoted twice, and actually had the opportunity to build out a team. Unfortunately, one day that all changed and I realized that I was deeply unhappy, and after years of trying and failing to start businesses online I thought that maybe it was time for one more go.
Your pot of gold and freedom is out there somewhere, but you will never find it until you start looking for it.
The company I was working for announced that it was being acquired, so I decided to give my old friend Derek a call. Initially, I pitched him on starting a recruitment agency together (both of us had started our careers at an executive search office together). He said that he would think about it, and actually came to me with the idea for an SMMA (Social Media Marketing Agency).
6. Start a crowdfunding platform ($4.8M/year)
Howard Marks from Los Angeles, California, USA started StartEngine over 8 years ago, a crowdfunding platform.
- Revenue: $400,000/ month
- Founders: 2
- Employees: 22
- Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
After the second video game company I founded, Acclaim Games, was acquired by Walt Disney (Playdom was the original buyer), I wanted to take a break from the entrepreneurial side of the business and become an investor. I set a personal goal for myself to invest in 60 companies, and since I was living in LA, I decided to invest in startups in LA too.
Where do you start with that goal? How do you find entrepreneurs to support? As I started this journey, I realized that an accelerator model was quite effective for my purposes, and so StartEngine, the accelerator, was born.
We offered companies $20,000 for a 10% stake in the company and 90 days of mentorship. Given we were one of the first accelerators in LA, we had a lot of interest. Ultimately, we accepted around 5% of applicants and had 60 companies participate in the StartEngine accelerator in total.
7. Start a campaign promoting business
Examples of a successful campaign promoting business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a campaign promoting business:
- 7 Key Steps To Planning And Launching A Successful Marketing Campaign
- Get Your Kickstarter Campaign Funded In 5 Steps - Launching A Business
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Wait, How Do I Promote My Business?: Danny Rubin
- How to Market, Advertise and Promote Your Business or Service in Your Own Backyard: Tom C. Egelhoff
Learn more about starting a campaign promoting business ➜
8. Start a trick-or-treating event hosting business
Examples of a successful trick-or-treating event hosting business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a trick-or-treating event hosting business:
- Local Business Hosts Trick-Or-Treat Event For Make-A-Wish Families
- Roxana Volunteer Fire Company Hosting Drive-Thru "Trunk Or Treat" Event
Learn more about starting a trick-or-treating event hosting business ➜
9. Start a community newsletter businesss
Examples of a successful community newsletter businesss:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a community newsletter businesss:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- How To Start And Produce A Magazine Or Newsletter: Gordon Woolf
- Newsletter Ninja: How To Become An Author Mailing List
Learn more about starting a community newsletter businesss ➜
10. Start a gold exchange-traded funds business
Examples of a successful gold exchange-traded funds business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a gold exchange-traded funds business:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- How To Profit In Gold: Professional Tips And Strategies for Today’s Ultimate Safe Haven Investment
- Exchange Traded Funds for Beginners: An Essential Guide to Investing in ETFs: Aaron Zepeda
Learn more about starting a gold exchange-traded funds business ➜
11. Start a non-profit fundraiser
Examples of a successful non-profit fundraiser:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a non-profit fundraiser:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Starting & Building a Nonprofit: A Practical Guide
- Non Profit Organization Business Book: Secret Success Plan For Starting, Financing, Fundraising & Management
Learn more about starting a non-profit fundraiser ➜
12. Start a peer to peer lending business
Examples of a successful peer to peer lending business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a peer to peer lending business:
- Peer To Peer Lending (P2p Investing) Basics
- How To Setup A White Label Peer To Peer Lending Crowdfunding Platform
For further info, check out these books and products:
- A Beginner's Guide to Lending Club: An Investment Guide to Peer-to-Peer Lending
- The Ultimate Guide To Peer To Peer Investing
13. Start a live contest hosting business ($360K/year)
Examples of a successful live contest hosting business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a live contest hosting business:
- How To Start A Web Hosting Company In Under 10 Minutes
- How To Start A Web Hosting Company (Easy Passive Income!)
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Start an Online Business: Easy Low-Cost Business Models for New Entrepreneurs: Prosper Vista
- Contest (9780312990046): Reilly, Matthew: Books
Learn more about starting a live contest hosting business ➜
14. Start a temporary help agency business
Examples of a successful temporary help agency business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a temporary help agency business:
- How To Start A Temporary Staffing And Recruiting Agency Business - How To Become A Staffingpreneur!
- How To Make $20,000 A Month - Start A Recruitment & Staffing Agency!
For further info, check out these books and products:
- How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Staffing Service Business
- The Complete Staffing Agency Guide: The A to Z’s of Starting and Running Your Own Staffing Business
Learn more about starting a temporary help agency business ➜
15. Start a side-project business
Examples of a successful side-project business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a side-project business:
- How To Start A Side Business In 2021 - 10 Remote Side Hustle Ideas
- Why You Should Start A Side Project
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Start With A Side-Project: How I Built, Marketed, and Sold a Side-Project in 3 Months
- Running A Side Business: How To Create A Second Income: Richard Stim
Learn more about starting a side-project business ➜
16. Start a donation business
Examples of a successful donation business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a donation business:
- Benefits Of Starting A Nonprofit Organization - Running A Nonprofit Business
- How To Get Donations For A Business Startup Or Nonprofit With Crowdfunding
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Business & Start-up Ideas: A Comprehensive Guide: Step by step guide on how to go from business ideas to starting a successful business
- How to Start a Business - Jason Nazar
Learn more about starting a donation business ➜
17. Start a contest marketing business
Examples of a successful contest marketing business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a contest marketing business:
Learn more about starting a contest marketing business ➜
18. Start a charity auction service business
Examples of a successful charity auction service business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a charity auction service business:
For further info, check out these books and products:
Learn more about starting a charity auction service business ➜
19. Start a proper health care practices campaign business
Examples of a successful proper health care practices campaign business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a proper health care practices campaign business:
- Effective Advertising Tactics For Healthcare Practices
- 7 Booming Healthcare Business Ideas You Can Try
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Working On Health Communication: 9781847879226: Medicine
- Risk Communication: A Handbook For Communicating
Learn more about starting a proper health care practices campaign business ➜
20. Start a mutual fund investing business
Examples of a successful mutual fund investing business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a mutual fund investing business:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Start A Successful Mutual Fund: The Step-By-Step Reference
- Mutual Fund Investing: Comprehensive Beginner's Guide to Learn the Basics and Effective Methods of Mutual Fund Investing
21. Start a cause awareness raising podcast business
Examples of a successful cause awareness raising podcast business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a cause awareness raising podcast business:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Internet Famous: A Practical Guide To Becoming An Online
- Internet Famous: A Practical Guide To Becoming
Learn more about starting a cause awareness raising podcast business ➜
22. Start a real estate auctions business
Examples of a successful real estate auctions business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a real estate auctions business:
- How To Start A Real Estate Business In 8 Simple Steps
- How To Start A Real Estate Business From Scratch
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Start A New Real Estate Brokerage, Economically!
- How to Invest in Real Estate: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Getting Started
Learn more about starting a real estate auctions business ➜
23. Start a car flipping business
Examples of a successful car flipping business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a car flipping business:
- Car Flipping - How I Turned My Passion Into A Business At 22 Years Old On Craigslist
- How Much Money Do You Need To Start Flipping Cars?
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Flipping Cars - How To Make Money Buying And Selling Cars for Profit
- Car Wash Business 101: The #1 Car Wash Start-Up Guide
Learn more about starting a car flipping business ➜
24. Start a paid online surveys business
Examples of a successful paid online surveys business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a paid online surveys business:
For further info, check out these books and products:
Learn more about starting a paid online surveys business ➜
25. Start an apartment rental business
Examples of a successful apartment rental business:
Here are some great videos on how to get started with a apartment rental business:
For further info, check out these books and products:
- Property Management Start-Up Business Book: How To Start & Finance A Rental Property Real Estate Investing Business: Brian Mahoney
- Rental Property Management How To Start A Property Management Business: Commercial Property Management & Residential Property Management
Learn more about starting an apartment rental business ➜
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