Ways to Raise Money to Fight Cancer

Tips for raising money to fight cancer and to host your own fundraiser!

This post is sponsored by American Cancer Society; however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sadly, cancer is a disease that has affected all of us in some way. Whether you know someone close to you who has had cancer or have even had it yourself, cancer has probably impacted most of our lives.

My grandpa and I on Easter one year

In my family, my grandpa had colon cancer and skin cancer. The colon cancer was when I was very young and I do not remember it but after his surgery, he had a colostomy for the rest of his life which we were always aware of. Finding cures to cancer and helping those who currently have cancer is a passion of mine.



We also have a close family member who had breast cancer. This was about three years ago and she was in her mid-forties so it was a huge shock. The worry and fear that you have for a family member with cancer is very stressful and sad. I cannot imagine what she was going through both with surgery and worries. She beat the cancer and has been cancer-free for about 3 years now! We are so, so thankful for this as she is someone that we love very much.

As a dietitian, I have worked with many patients with cancer. Both in long-term care facilities, in hospitals and at cancer centers. I have worked with patients with pretty much every type of cancer and it is very sad to see people having to go through these difficult diseases.

Running a race is a great way to raise money for cancer!

The American Cancer Society has a Raise Your Way fundraising platform where you can do fundraising any way that you want, wherever you want to help raise money for cancer.

Ideas of fundraisers you could do in order to help raise money for cancer

A kid's fun run would be a great way to get kids involved with raising money for cancer.

1. Run a race and have people sponsor you

You can try to earn a certain dollar amount and run any road race that you want to help raise money for cancer. It could be any distance: a 5k, 10k, half-marathon or even a full-marathon. I ran until 21 weeks pregnant and as soon as I'm cleared for exercise after baby is born and I'm feeling good, I plan to return to running.

2. Have a bake sale

If you have kids at a school or go to church, you can have a bake sale where people donate baked goods and the proceeds go to the Raise Your Way fundraising platform.

3. Host an outdoor BBQ where everyone pays a certain amount towards cancer research

The summer is a great time to host parties because it is simple to have people over to your backyard or to meetup at a local park. You can provide the food or at least the main dish and ask people to bring a side dish and to donate a certain amount towards cancer research or whatever they are comfortable with.

Some other ideas including hosting a hike, a bike ride, a craft night, a sports tournament, a food cook-off, a dance party, etc!

A fundraising idea is to host a breakfast at a school, church or even at your house to raise money for cancer!

How to start a fundraiser for cancer

To get started hosting a fundraiser, choose what you want to do (a race, bake sale, etc.). Create a monetary goal that you are trying to reach and write that figure down. Once you have that in place, start asking close family and friends for a donation to the American Cancer Society.

A community bike ride is a fun way to get involved in your city to raise money for cancer.

How to use the Raise Your Way platform to start a fundraiser

1. Go to the Raise Your Way platform site.
2. Follow the prompts to start a fundraiser.
3. Choose where you want your donation to go.
4. Create a crowdrise account, name your fundraiser and set a goal
5. Share on social media and start to ask those you know for donations.

Have you ever hosted a fundraiser? If not, now would be a great time to start!