Now that the holiday season’s glittering lights are in the rearview, the winter doldrums are starting to creep in. People are drawn toward things that will brighten their spirits, make a positive impact, and be something fun to do. This is exactly why the back half of winter is a great opportunity for running peer-to-peer fundraisers!
Through peer-to-peer fundraising, you’ll attract new donors and supporters and build awareness for your charitable organisation. Meanwhile, by doing something good for their community, participants and supporters will get that mid-winter serotonin boost they crave.
Below, we’ve got eight creative winter peer-to-peer fundraising campaign ideas to (hopefully) inspire you.
What is Peer-to-Peer?
Before we dive into our ideas, let’s revisit the concept of peer-to-peer. This fundraising strategy inspires supporters or casual followers to raise funds on your charity’s behalf. To participate, people sign up and create personal fundraising pages. They then encourage friends and family members to pledge or donate by sharing their pages within their social networks.
While “walk for a cure” events are a classic example, peer-to-peer fundraising can be adapted for various causes and campaigns. For an in-depth guide, check out our article, “Peer-To-Peer Fundraising: Everything You Need To Know.”
Creative Winter Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Ideas
Supporting a cause and being part of something meaningful is especially appealing in January, February, and March. The weather’s kind of dreary, and many people are looking for something to brighten their day-to-day.
Dumpling or Dim Sum Eating Challenge
Who doesn’t love dumplings and dim sum? This year, the Lunar New Year falls on 17th February 2026—get everyone into the spirit with a dumpling-eating challenge. Encourage participants to gather pledges for each dumpling or dim sum they devour at local restaurants. It’s a delicious way to raise funds and satisfy appetites.
Use custom Lunar New Year Horse flyers and yard signs to promote your event. It’s also a good idea to partner with your region’s Asian cultural organisations or Chinese community centres.
Wild Horse Run
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2026 ushers in the Year of the Fire Horse. Channel that fierce energy and help people keep their resolutions to be more active with a fun run/walk. Peer-to-peer participants can wear custom printed t-shirts with Fire Horse imagery, and then complete a set distance. Pledges can be based on the number of laps, steps, or miles. Encourage participants to run in teams—anyone seeing a bunch of runners wearing the same sweatshirt will want to know what’s going on! So, you’ll build awareness not only through your participants’ social networks but also in person.
Queen + King's Court Pickleball Tournament
Mardi Gras falls on 4th March 2026—tap into pickleball’s massive popularity surge with a tournament where participants compete to be crowned the “King” or “Queen” of the court. Peer-to-peer fundraisers collect pledges based on games played, points scored, or matches won. Deck out the courts with purple, green, and gold decorations, and order beads in Mardi Gras colours to hand out. Teams can rally their networks with action shots, score updates, and friendly trash talk on social media. Pair up with your local pickleball venue, YMCA, or associations to reach enthusiasts, post themed flyers around town, and, of course use social media and email to spread the word.
Tournament participants could score custom printed bags full of pickleball swag local business donate—just don’t forget to drop in some beads!
Puppy Love Walk-a-Thon
Dog lovers take thier pups our rain or shine! Plus, not everyone wants to focus on romantic love in February. Create an inclusive alternative with a “Puppy Love Walk-a-Thon.”
Encourage pet parents to dress their pups in red bandanas, bowties, an heart-themed outfits, and share the adorable photos on social media. You could even partner with local animal shelters to highlight adoptable pets or include a “foster a friend” component in which people can foster for a day and take a shelter dog for a walk. The engagement potential is massive—people can’t resist posting their pets, especially in cute costumes.
Alongside the walk-a-thon, consider adding a online raffle! It’s a natural fit – this audience would love to win pet-friendly prizes and services. Plus, you could share the proceeds with your local shelter or a rescue group.
Reading Challenge
Curling up with a good book and some hot tea or chocolate is ideal in winter. For your read-a-thon fundraiser, you could come up with a reading list that touches on your cause or let participants freestyle it. Either way, pledges would be made for each book they read. Team up with your local library or bookstore to stir up participants, and print fundraising flyers with a QR code directing to your sign up site.
Shamrock Ruck Challenge
Rucking—walking with a weighted backpack—is one of the hottest fitness trends right now! Launch a “Shamrock Ruck” where participants carry their “pot of gold” (weighted pack) for a set distance and collect pledges per mile.
Ruckers can decorate their packs with shamrocks, wear green gear, and share their routes on social media. Send out custom invitations to your mailing list, post flyers, and connect with area rucking clubs to help spread awareness for your event.
Indoor 5K Challenge
Not everyone is a fan of snowy landscapes. Host an indoor 5K challenge where participants gather pledges for every mile or step they take at the mall or gym. It’s a fantastic way to keep the winter blues at bay while supporting your organisation’s good cause.
We hope these ideas help spark some hot in-person and online fundraising events during the cooler months!
If you’re looking for a better way to manage and execute your charitable organisation’s fundraisers, we’d love it if you gave Eventgroove a try! Our platform is a powerful yet user-friendly tool equipped with fundraiser-type templates, peer-to-peer functionality, and more. Plus, our integrated printing services make it easy to order custom raffle tickets, postcards, flyers, and merch.
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