Effective and continuing fundraising plays an integral part in the continuing success of arts and culture in local communities. That’s why more and more art-based nonprofit organizations are looking to creative arts fundraising ideas to boost donor engagement.
The fundraising landscape continues to evolve in 2025 and demands innovative and adaptable strategies. Focusing on approaches that leverage technology, engage diverse audiences, and build sustainable long-term support empowers art organizations to secure the financial resources they need to thrive.
Here Are 9 Effective Fundraising Ideas for Arts Organizations in 2025
1. Appeal to Your Loyal Patrons
A huge part of your past fundraising success has likely been receiving recurring donations from loyal patrons. Most arts-based nonprofits have a reliable base of patrons who support their work by purchasing tickets, attending galas, or making other financial contributions to the continuation of your mission.
Reach out to these patrons and invite them to support your fundraising efforts in a new way: by making regular or one-off donations. Your nonprofit must craft exactly the right approach for this initiative to be successful. You want your donors to feel like they’re an integral part of propelling your mission forward without appearing pushy.
Use Technology to Develop Fruitful Donor Relationships
Technology is essential for helping arts nonprofits foster strong, long-lasting, and fruitful donor relationships amidst the digital noise of 2025. A key aspect of this is using AI-powered technology to identify well-matched donors and send them the right message at the right time.
An increasing number of arts-focused nonprofits are turning to the fundraising intelligence platform Kindsight to manage their donor strategy. Kindsight offers the largest donor database on the market to help nonprofits identify potential new sources of donations. Their AI-powered content creation tool crafts perfectly pitched emails, website content, and social media posts to attract likely donors and keep existing donors interested.
Donors want to know they’re pushing your mission forward and that their contribution matters. Choose a fundraising platform that offers personalized donation emails alongside features like recurring giving, peer-to-peer giving, and a range of donation methods to make it easy and rewarding to collaborate with your arts organization.
2. Hold a Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a highly successful way to mobilize your existing supporters to invite donations from their family, friends, or colleagues. It allows individuals to run individual campaigns as part of a much larger whole while raising awareness of your organization.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is highly effective as it empowers fundraisers to mobilize their own networks from wherever they are. Great historical examples of this include the Movember campaign for awareness of men’s health issues and the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk.
A 2021 study into the success of peer-to-peer fundraising concluded that nonprofit organizations can optimize the success of their campaigns by providing fundraisers with “social technology outlays” like web pages to share their fundraising initiatives and collect donations (page 16 of the document). This is made possible by choosing an industry-leading fundraising platform that features goal and progress tracking, offers multiple payment methods, and integrates with social media platforms.
The best fundraising platforms offer tools for individuals to personalize their own peer-to-peer fundraising pages. They can then share their pages with people in their network along with a message about why your nonprofit is so meaningful to them.
3. Auction an Artistic Experience
Auctions are the perfect fundraising event for arts NGOs to connect and engage with their supporters. The options within the arts are endless!
Get local artists on board to create a piece of art for an event, or auction off costumes or set pieces from past productions at your theatre. You could even auction the cost of painting a brand-new custom family portrait for the winning bidder.
If your organization doesn’t have the budget for high-end prizes, engage your supporters to create art of their own to auction off. For example, art schools could auction off works done by their students.
4. Raffle Off 1:1 Lessons
A raffle is an alternative way to raise money for lessons or artwork if you don’t have the resources or expertise to hold an auction. Offering one-on-one lessons is a wonderful way to showcase the value of your artists, performers, or directors while raising invaluable funds for your next project.
These sessions would be of great value to budding artists or performers eager for new opportunities and to show their own skills. It’s a perfect way to make meaningful personal connections within your community and raise money while you do it.
5. Host an Online Course
The best fundraising plan for your arts nonprofit will be to leverage what you do best: art! The pandemic saw an explosion in the popularity of online events and courses and opened up the possibility to take arts-based initiatives to a much wider audience.
Ask if the staff members, volunteers, or artists affiliated with your nonprofit would be interested in teaching a 101 arts course online. This type of artist-led programming is a great way to boost your nonprofit’s income and raise its visibility while keeping overheads fairly low.
6. Create a Virtual Gallery
If your nonprofit centers around physical art, a virtual gallery is a wonderful way for patrons to interact with the pieces online. Consider setting up an interactive platform where visitors can explore the different works of art, learn about the artists, and purchase artwork they love. Raising funds is possible by adding a “Donate” option in the virtual gallery or charging a nominal fee to “enter” the virtual gallery.
7. Engage Your Community
People love being part of local art in their community! Take advantage of the wow factor connected with meeting somebody in the arts. Consider your art nonprofit’s strengths and how to monetize them to raise funds.
Consider a Q&A, a behind-the-scenes tour, or even a chance to rehearse with your cast for a day. These types of initiatives are a great way to share your nonprofit’s story, get local press coverage, and engage both new and potential donors.
8. An Art-Themed Adventure Fundraiser
The art your nonprofit supports or produces should ultimately be at the heart of all your fundraising efforts. However, this doesn’t mean you should be limited by it. Be willing to embrace different ways to engage the community with art and its worth.
One way could be to organize a scavenger hunt or escape-room-type activity in a gallery or museum where participants solve puzzles and complete tasks related to famous artists, artistic styles, or artworks. This type of activity could be a ticketed event or simply encourage donations.
Fun activities like these are creative and interactive ways to engage supporters and raise funds. As a bonus, they’re perfect for kids and a great way to get young people engaged with the arts from the word “go.”
9. Offer Entertainment
The most successful nonprofit campaigns will play to the organization’s individual strengths. In the case of arts NGOs: giving ’em the old razzle-dazzle! Creating an event that showcases the talent funded by your NGO is the ideal way to show your community the great work you’re doing.
How you offer entertainment will largely come down to what type of art organization you are. A gala often strikes the right balance between glitz and glamor and offers your nonprofit a chance to show off its work. Otherwise, an art exhibition (live and/or virtual), a talent show, or a concert is the perfect way for your donors to enjoy seeing what they’re contributing to.
Secure the Future of the Arts in Your Community
Securing consistent funding remains a perennial challenge for arts organizations. This makes a shift toward new fundraising strategies a must.
The key is to remain adaptable, embrace change, and consistently demonstrate the value and impact of the arts within the community. Take advantage of digital fundraising platforms, explore diverse revenue streams, and foster strong relationships with individual and corporate donors to maximize your fundraising success in 2025.