Here are some other fun event ideas:

  Appreciation Grams
Appreciation grams are sent to co-workers in the office on an ordinary day or in connection with a holiday such as Valentines Day, Easter, Halloween, May Day, etc.

Appreciation grams consist of little notes with words of thanks, recognition, or good wishes. Along with the note include a bag of candy, a Mylar balloon or flowers.

Some examples include: jelly beans for Easter, Hershey Hugs for Valentines Day, pet rocks for a 70’s theme, candy corn for Halloween.

Take pre-orders for one week in the break-room. Write down the names of the sender and receiver so they can be delivered at a later date. Notes can be computer printed generic messages, or at time of purchase, purchaser can hand write a note of appreciation.

Backyard/Parking Lot Bar-B-Q
Determine costs of set-up. Set a sale price for the Bar-B-Q. Pre-sell tickets to the event. The event may also be set up as a potluck picnic with everyone bringing a dish to share.

Items that need to be purchased include: paper products, meat and fixings, buns, beverages, grill, lawn chairs, tables. Set-up outside. You may wish to include a volleyball net, Frisbee, music, etc. as time and space allow.

Bake Sale
Homemade or store bought items are brought in such as: cookies, pies, muffins, bars, cupcakes, fudge, and candy. Arrange baked items on a table to be seen throughout the day. This is a single-day event; chance ticket sales ($0.25 a piece) begin that morning. Chances may be sold at the reception desk, in the lunchroom, and during lunch. Committee members draw names of winners at the end of the day and deliver items to the winners.

Bingo - Five A Week for Five Weeks
When employees turn in their pledge card at the start of the week, they receive a Bingo card in return. The sooner the card is in, the more chances there are of winning because a new Bingo game is called each week for five weeks. The week’s winning numbers are pre-determined and only one winning card is made each week. Make enough different cards so that it is not obvious who holds the winning card, and then make copies. Each day of the week a number is posted and players mark their cards. By Friday a winner is determined and he/she receives a prize. At the end of the week, dead cards are exchanged for new ones. This game continues for five weeks.

Brown Bag Day
Choose a day to designate as Brown Bag Day. Hold the event every month or alternating months. Staff should bring bag lunches on the designated day and money ordinarily spent on lunch out of the office is collected. Post quarterly results of Brown Bag Day in a visible location, enabling employees to see the results of their efforts.

Building for Our Future
Play on the construction and building theme, decorating a meeting room with bricks, tools, and a poster board with the foundation of a house drawn in. The house is built as the company becomes closer to reaching its campaign goal.  Campaign committee members may wear hard hats and tool belts at the kick-off meeting. Set a toolbox out on display. Refer to the staff as the “tools of the community, which have come together to build for our communities future.”

Arrange a day in which employees may 1) participate in United Way Day of Caring or 2) volunteer to assist with a United Way agency construction project in place of work for that day.

Casual Day
Every Friday, employees have the opportunity to purchase coupons for a Jeans Day or Casual Wear Day for the following workweek. Cost is $1 for one day of casual attire or $4 for a week’s worth of casual days. Give buttons to employees purchasing weeklong coupons. Buttons state, “We wear jeans to show support of United Way.” Give stickers to daily coupon holders with same message. This publicizes campaign among co-workers and offers customers an explanation for the casual attire.  

Catch the Spirit

1. Arrange a kite-making, kite-decorating or kite-flying competition. Hold awards for the smallest, largest, most creative and highest flying kites.
2. Create office displays with kites, windsocks and mobiles. Afterwards, donate exhibit items to a youth related agency.
3. Team up with a United Way funded youth program. Adults and children spend the day together making and flying kites.
4. Order a kite shaped cake to celebrate the start or finish of the campaign.

Chili Cook-off
Employees sign up to bring homemade chili for lunch at the office. For those who just want to help, ask them to bring napkins, utensils, and bowls. Donations such as breadsticks, cheese garnish, sour cream, and beverages may also be added to the luncheon. Spice up the event by encouraging a western theme with employees dressing up in cowboy hats and bandanas. Bowls of chili are sold for a set price such as $2 a bowl.

Christmas Cookie Sale
Call bakeries for cookie bids. Determine the cost and selling price. (Charge $0.75 more per dozen than the cost.) Check to be sure the bakery will package in dozens, if not the committee will need to package. Have sign-up sheet to take preorders.

Selling hints: they make great gifts, saves time from baking and buying at a store. Order, then have committee pick-up cookies in the morning and deliver treats to work.

Craft Sale
Advertise the craft sale ahead of time in the company newsletter, bulletin board, email enabling participants time to make (or buy) crafts. Place items on a display table, each with its own jar to place purchased chances. Employees purchase chances, fill out name and place it in a jar corresponding to the item they desire (example: $0.25 each or 5 for $1.00). Run the sale for a week, allowing employees to check each day on their odds by looking at the number of tickets in the jars. At the end of the week, the Committee draws names and delivers the items to winners.

Disney Day for United Way
Cut out badges in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head, write “Disney Day for United Way” on them, and sell them for $1. (Money goes to United Way.) Allow employees who buy the badges to come to work in jeans and encourage them to wear a T-shirt or sweatshirt with a Disney character on it. They must wear the badge if they wear jeans. Encourage anyone who has Mickey Mouse ears / hats to wear them also. Hold drawings for Mickey Mouse items - cups, pens, hats, etc.   If possible, get “Mouseketeer Club” theme song and play over the PA system as employees arrive for work.

Employee Car Wash
Recruit a team of car-washers (consider involving managers) and determine shifts.  Team members bring sponges, rags, soap, buckets, hoses, radio, etc. on day of event. Set up wash site in employee parking lot. Wash tickets may be purchased in advance ($3-$5) or simply recruit cars on wash day. Car washers get keys from co-workers, pick up vehicle and bring to the wash site to be cleaned. Return washed cars to parking places. Workers never have to leave the office! Another option is to set aside a reserved parking area for employees to park in the morning, leaving keys in the car to be moved if necessary.

Employee Cookbook
Ask employees to bring in their favorite recipes from home. Research publishing companies to print the collected recipes in a book format, or do it in-house. Plan on a two to six month time period for the preparation and printing of the project.

Take pre-orders after determining price per copy with the publishing company.  Profit earned from the sale can be added to the United Way donation from your company. Order extra books for last minute shoppers. (Those who have done this always run out!)

Game Show Giving
Have a new Game Show theme every day for a week. Use the information in the campaign materials to get your answers. Let employees know ahead of time that they should keep these materials for use in the games.

For each game, you must make a display board and place it in a heavily traveled area like the hall way or cafeteria. Make up individual answer sheets for each game and place them beside the display. Make a drop box for their answer sheets & place by the display. Each evening, you and your committee goes through the answer sheets and from those who got 100% right, do a drawing for a prize.

Announce the winner of Day 1 over the intercom (if possible) or list their name near the next day’s game display to get some excitement going. Do this with each day’s winner.

Give Life a Lift

1. Explain that by giving to United Way, employees are “lifting their community”. Start with a hot air balloon lift off. Check with local radio stations, airports or hot air balloon or aeronautic clubs to see if they have a balloon to feature.
2. Hold a balloon launch at your work site. Staff purchase a postage paid tag card for $1.00. The person puts their name on the card, along with the company name and address, and a short message asking finder to return card. Person whose name is on the card returning from the farthest distance (by a set date) receives a prize. The launch is a great way to tell the word that you company supports the work of UW.
3. Host a balloon artist, decorate office with balloons and hand out thank yous attached to a balloon. Create a balloon trivia contest, consulting the local library for information on the history of balloons and flight.
4. Hold a prize incentive drawing for a hot air balloon ride.
5.  

Gold Fish Race
Gold Fish are ordered from a pet store ahead of time, picked up on racing day, and sold to employees (minnows or rats work as well). Employees may be asked to place orders ahead of time to determine exact Gold Fish needs, yet remember to include the chance of casualties in your order. Nets for catching fish and small plastic bags for putting individual fish in (especially if employees are to take them home) are also needed for this event.

Serve Gold Fish crackers and punch as a snack.  Each fish is given the opportunity to race down a gutter section (with end caps), which can be purchased from a hardware store. An example would be to have five fish in five separate gutter sections go at one time. Winners are determined by a process of elimination leading up to a final heat. First, second, and third place winners are awarded ribbons and fish bowls to take their prized fish home.

Identify the Baby Photo Contest
Employees bring in a favorite baby picture, writing their name on the backside.  Pictures are numbered and posted on a bulletin board. Employees purchase a chance to match co-workers with baby pictures. When purchasing a chance, give purchaser a numbered sheet with blanks to write their guesses. Have them put their own name at the top and turn in. Employee with the greatest number correct wins a prize! Remember to have more than ten prizes on hand in the event of a tie.

Indoor Mini Golf
This indoor event is great for swinging away those winter blues! To make the event a contest, have each department design a creative hole using only materials already in their department. Examples include: wastebaskets, letter trays, reams of paper, machine parts, etc. If possible include a shot from the roof.

The employee committee rounds up some clubs and staffs the course during the lunch hour for the week of the campaign. Employees play the course as often as they like for a small fee. The CEO serves as the pro, challenging the employee with the winning score to a sudden death playoff on the final day of mini golf.  Prizes are awarded to the department with the most creative hole and to the best mini golfers.

Let the Race Begin

1. For this auto-racing theme, create a large goal poster that looks like an Indy racetrack to set the pace of your campaign race. Use Velcro cars to measure progress along the track as the company moves closer to the finish of the campaign.
2. Decorate main room with race flags, jerseys and auto racing posters.
3. Hold your own auto race with radio-controlled cars in the parking lot.

Life is Not a Spectator Sport - Go the Distance

1. At the start of the campaign, hold a kick-off meeting explaining touchdowns (accomplishments of previous years), penalties and receptions (areas needing improvement), and huddles (ideas for the coming campaign).
2. To launch the campaign, hold a tailgate party in the parking lot or at a park.  Arrange to have the party at the same time as a local softball or baseball game and cheer on your home team.
3. Throughout the campaign hold sport fundraisers such as a slam dunk/shootout contest, volleyball tournament, football toss, etc. Aeros, Brown, Indians or Cavs tickets or tickets for other local teams make great prizes.

Movie Trivia Quiz
This quiz can be completed at workstations & returned to an appointed person to tally the scores. You can match the actor/actress with the movie, match the quote with the movie, or combine. The highest score wins a prize. In case of a tie, a drawing will be held. Winners can be announced at a group lunch at the close of the campaign.

Ornament Raffle
Buy or have donated an artificial tree, which can be stored and used annually.  Employees bring in ornaments either purchased or handmade to hang on the tree.