Keys to Success in Mental Health Fundraising: 13 Event Ideas

The world is discussing mental health more each year. We’re here to explore ways to keep this conversation going through meaningful fundraising events.

Consider this your all-encompassing guide to building donor engagement through impactful fundraising initiatives and advocacy for mental health awareness.

The Modern Mental Health Crisis

Mental health is for everyone. It encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being and influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Various factors can compromise your mental health, resulting in symptoms such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, stress, addiction, and disassociation. In fact, the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental health conditions each year, and 75% of all lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 24.

These mental and behavioral health challenges impact people profoundly, changing how many live their everyday lives. For example, regardless of industry or seniority level, 59% of employees experience work-related stress, which can affect their ability to perform their designated tasks. Additionally, the national rate of adults experiencing suicidal ideation has also increased yearly since 2011-2012.

Many mental health resources, suicide prevention education, and mental health charities exist to embrace people who need peer support as they experience the stigma, insecurity, and confusion that come with mental health issues. Yet, over 28 million individuals experiencing mental illness go untreated.

The world needs your mental health services and support. It’s a matter of establishing that critical awareness and changing lives.

How to Stand Apart in Mental Health Fundraising

The number of mental health screening, mental health care, and mental health awareness nonprofits across the globe is incredibly encouraging for society—and a consideration when determining how to stand apart.

We want to help you make your nonprofit’s name known and offer creative ways to make your work more accessible and engaging to the masses.

How do you engage donors thoughtfully to spread awareness?

• Show authenticity: Those facing mental health challenges or who want to support others experiencing its impact actively look for organizations they can connect with and trust. Donors feel the difference between a fundraising pitch and an authentic mission they want to support.
• Make fundraising goals highly relevant: After a tragedy, difficult time, or sudden change that impacts a broad group of people, communities often respond quickly. Think about timely fundraising opportunities in these moments or during mental health awareness month.
• Take your fundraisers online: Online fundraising events can be more convenient and accessible to donors. Use in-person, digital, and hybrid fundraising events to create the right atmosphere for all potential mental health supporters.
• Educate supporters: Just as the statistics at the top of this article might have caught your attention, learning about the true impact of mental health challenges on the lives of others can help keep them motivated.
• Model inclusivity: Knowing that mental health impacts everyone in different ways, sparked by various situations, it’s essential to showcase how your organization supports anyone who needs it by demonstrating diversity.
• Provide resources: When there’s a clear pathway for supporters to spread awareness, they’re more likely to recruit their family members and communities to act. One great way to do this is through fact sheets or quotes on social media posts that people can save and reshare from the platforms they use most.

Why are events effective for mental health awareness?

Mental wellness is all about connections. Classy’s The State of Modern Philanthropy report revealed that awareness events foster meaningful relationships and boost cause awareness, donor acquisition, conversion, and retention.

Our report found tremendous year-over-year donation volume growth for events and the highest conversion rate of all fundraising campaign types.

Donors want to feel connected to the nonprofits they support. Hosting mental health events is an avenue to build that initial connection and awareness with new donors and remind existing supporters why their contributions matter.

How do you host a mental health event?

Your mental health events can be as simple or sophisticated as your organization or audience prefers. Here’s a four-step formula to start with, and add new steps based on your chosen idea.

Make a Plan

• Determine a date: Choose a suitable date that maximizes potential attendee availability and consider critical timing, such as Mental Health Awareness Month.
• Select a theme: Decide on a theme that resonates with your mission and appeals to your target audience. Themes can be broad, like “Wellness for Everyone,” or specific, like “Overcoming Anxiety Together.”
• Set goals: Establish clear, measurable goals for attendance, fundraising, and engagement to guide your event planning and execution.
• Identify audience value: Understand what will drive your audience to attend and participate in your event. Consider what they gain, such as education, community, or support.

Organize a List of Tasks

• Create a task list: Divide the event into manageable tasks such as venue booking, speaker engagements, marketing, and technical setup.
• Set milestones: Identify key milestones within your planning timeline, such as finalizing the event program, opening registration, and completing the first round of attendee outreach.
• Develop a timeline: Construct a detailed timeline that aligns with your milestones and ensures each task gets completed on schedule.

Recruit Support

• Involve your internal teams: Engage with various departments within your organization, such as marketing, finance, and operations, to leverage their skills and resources.
• Engage volunteers: Recruit and train volunteers to help with various aspects of the event, from preparation to day-of-event activities.
• Define roles and responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities for all team members and volunteers to ensure everyone knows their tasks and how to execute them effectively.

Showcase Your Values

• Integrate core values: Ensure that every element of your event reflects your organization’s core values. This could be through the content provided, the inclusivity of the event, and the overall atmosphere.
• Communicate your strategy: Reinforce your organization’s mission and values using consistent and clear messaging across all promotional materials and during the event.
• Implement feedback and adjustments: Be open to feedback from participants and team members during the event planning and execution phases to make the necessary adjustments that align with your values.

13 Mental Health Event Ideas

1. Storytelling Livestream Series

An incredible way to validate individuals’ experiences is to share real stories about others who have gone through it. Host a storytelling series and livestream it to an audience of registered attendees. Then, gather stories from community members, your staff, or those impacted by your organization’s work to share tips for coping with various situations in a judgment-free environment.

With Classy Live, you can host online and hybrid livestreams. Our fundraising event software provides tools for real-time interaction, donation tracking, and audience participation analytics. Check out all the features and possibilities.

2. Mindfulness Meetups

Get people together for a live mindfulness event. Bring in a mental health professional or provider to talk on a specific topic, and consider auctioning off a few helpful mental health resources the professional recommends. Attract people looking to connect over similar situations and gain access to a resource they might not otherwise find. Then, choose an exciting location nearby to make the event comfortable and inviting for anyone looking to learn more.

3. Burnout Prevention Sessions

Work-life balance and boundary setting are prominent challenges across organizations. These topics are often even harder to discuss with leadership. Help corporations or large businesses advocate for workplace mental health by opening this line of communication and hosting a joint burnout prevention session.

Share stress-reduction tips, screening tools, and helpful apps to empower workers to check in with themselves. After the session, offer an easy way for anyone particularly moved to set up a personalized peer-to-peer fundraising page and raise money on your behalf.

4. Get-Outside Challenges

Getting outside is one way to support anyone’s mental health and is a nice sentiment to share with your supporters. Host a virtual challenge to walk, bike, swim, run, or hike a mile in a beautiful setting and invite participants from everywhere to join. Then, encourage supporters to raise funds through a peer-to-peer campaign leading up to it.

Consider ways to incorporate symbolism into your event, like walking 2,000 steps to represent the number of young adults and adolescents your organization supports with free therapy services. Lastly, make it easy and exciting to share online by using various natural settings in people’s feeds and showcasing that no one is alone.

5. Breathwork Workshops

Many people are intimidated by the idea of breathwork, so help them test it out in an educational workshop. You can offer free registration for your event or webinar by asking them to contribute what they can.

Consider including a QR code on the event’s donation site, at a water bottle station near the event’s entrance, or in other places that prompt people to give as they enjoy the experience.

6. Pop-Up Snack Bars

Head to a populated area in your community and grab some volunteer staff, exciting recipes, and powerful blenders to demonstrate the power of tasty, balanced nutrition on mental well-being.

Sell homemade muffins, hot coffee, and delicious smoothies. Place your logo on these to gain even more awareness as people post about the pleasant surprise online. Adding a QR code on napkins or cups is another opportunity to raise more.

7. Random Acts of Kindness Challenges

There’s no denying the feeling you get when someone does something nice for you without any expectations. Equally fulfilling is when someone does something to make someone’s day they didn’t expect.

Start random acts of kindness challenges with your supporters and communities to build awareness around your work. Take it to social media and ask people to film their kind acts in real-time or their reactions to surprising someone else and challenging others to do the same.

Just remember to create a memorable hashtag for your challenge associated with your organization’s name to draw traffic back to your social media accounts, where a donation page link awaits.

8. Mirror Reminders

Sticking a quote or personal intention on a mirror or somewhere you see yourself daily has become popular. For example, in Kendall Jenner’s viral interview on Jay Shetty’s podcast, “On Purpose,” she shared her method of placing a younger picture of herself on her mirror to remember the importance of talking to herself and her inner child with care.

You can help others take the same self-care approach by creating a sticker or reminder for them to place in a special location. Then, sell the stickers for a low cost or as an add-on to any donations made with a thoughtful note to explain the significance.

9. Mental Health Advocates

Become affiliated with mental advocates and influencers across TikTok or Instagram, where you can reach more people daily. After all, people are more open to following voices in the mental health arena when they share experiences with those individuals.

Have them speak to the work your organization does or help promote one of your virtual fundraising events. That way, you broaden your reach globally through a relatable lens.

Here are a few mental health micro-influencers to consider for a creative partnership on TikTok:

• @lindsay.fleminglpc
• @theshaniproject 
• @matthiasjbarker

10. Gratitude-Letter-Writing Events

They say feeling gratitude can outweigh feeling anxiety. Why not apply that theory to spread good energy among your community?

Send supporters a gratitude-letter-writing kit with stickers, pens, branded stationery, and envelopes for every donation over a specific period.

Encourage writing gratitude and showcasing the feeling to someone to improve the mental health of a donor and the recipient of their letter. This is a great incentive to donate and build awareness for those needing it most.

11. Yoga and Meditation Retreat

Organize a rejuvenating yoga and meditation retreat to promote mental wellness and mindfulness. This day-long event should cater to participants of all experience levels, offering a serene and supportive environment to explore the benefits of yoga and meditation in mental health.

Structure the retreat around multiple yoga sessions, guided meditations, and mindfulness workshops. Start with gentle yoga to accommodate beginners and gradually move to more focused sessions incorporating Hatha, Vinyasa, or restorative yoga.

Meditation sessions could include guided imagery, breath-focused practices, and silent meditation to help participants explore different techniques.

Offer a registration fee with options for additional donations. Also, consider creating a special retreat-themed merchandise line, including yoga mats, water bottles, and apparel, with proceeds supporting mental health initiatives.

12. Mental Health Film or Music Festival

Host a mental health film festival to showcase documentaries and feature films that delve into various aspects of mental health. Hold the event over a weekend to allow for a series of screenings, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions with filmmakers, mental health professionals, and individuals who have personal experiences with mental health challenges.

Sell tickets with options for additional donations and consider partnering with local businesses for sponsorships to increase funding potential. Bringing together filmmakers, professionals, and the community lets you create a meaningful experience that resonates with audiences and supports your mental health initiatives.

One of our customers, To Write Love on Her Arms, is hosting a Hangout Music Festival in May to recognize Mental Health Awareness Month. The nonprofit makes mental health topics more approachable and conversation-friendly by surrounding them with the beach, fun, sun, and music.

13. Art Therapy Sessions

Organize art therapy sessions as a unique and creative fundraising event that allows participants to explore their emotions through art. This event caters to individuals of all ages and provides a therapeutic outlet for expressing feelings without words.

Activities could include painting, drawing, sculpturing, or collage-making—anything to help participants discover new ways to cope with stress and mental health challenges in a supportive, nonjudgmental environment.

Create tickets for entry to the event, with all proceeds supporting your mental health programs. Additionally, offer attendees the option to donate their artwork for auction at the end of the event or purchase additional art supplies to further contribute to the cause.

Bring Your Mental Health Event to Life

Customize any of these mental health event fundraising ideas to align with your organization’s mission. Just be sure to focus on what matters, using fundraising event software that works seamlessly in the background and provides donors with the most straightforward experience.

Nonprofits of all sizes can deploy customized strategies on Classy’s fundraising platform. We have the technology to support you as you craft your virtual and hybrid event experiences or add modern flair to your in-person events.

Copy Editor: Ayanna Julien