Easter is coming quick and with visions of bunnies, chicks and all things fresh and new like Spring and flowers in bloom – it is a great time to get thinking about an Easter fundraiser for your animal shelter or rescue.
Unfortunately, this time of year we see a lot fundraising ideas – most notably by photographers that focus on the use of real bunnies and chicks and we do not recommend doing those for obvious reasons.
Children placed with baby chicks and bunnies are typically not in the animals best interest. Yes, they are are usually successful Easter fundraisers – but if you love animals, please look at other fundraising options like some of the great ideas below.
Easter Biscuit Hunt
Instead of an Easter egg hunt – how about an Easter biscuit hunt just for dogs! This idea from the City of Palo Alto Animal Services is a great way to engage your local dog lovers for a fun day at the park.
This is the perfect event for those pet parents who truly treat their dogs like kids and want a fun event to celebrate the arrival of the Easter Bunny. Get donations from a local pet bakery or pet store and hide those puppy biscuits all around the park.
When pets and their people arrive – they pay a small donation fee and explore with their dogs to find the cookies! Finish up the event with a bake sale, some vendors, or even egg painting with the kids for some extra fun and possible fundraising.
Egg My Yard
This idea comes from the Daviess County Animal Shelter which has been doing this event for 4 years as of 2021. The fundraisers features the shelter staff acting as “the Easter bunny” on Easter morning. They will fill plastic easter eggs for you and hide the eggs in your yard so the kiddos have something to look for on Easter morning.
The shelter estimates that approximately 40 yards are done each year and they can raise about $1,500-$2,000 each year with this event.
Related: Valentine’s Day Fundraisers
K-9 Eggstravaganza
This one is so cute and creative! The Red Door Animal Shelter in IL. runs an “Eggstravaganza” just for dogs as a fundraiser. It is basically an on-leash egg hunt for social, friendly dogs that takes place at their facility.
They charge an entry fee to participate and each dog will get to do an obstacle course where they can pick 12 eggs to put in their basket! The eggs can be filled with puppy treats or prizes for dogs or humans!
They work with a local training and doggie day care who is hosting the event for the shelter at their facility.
They also take the opportunity to do a photo fundraiser as well.
Spring Fling
Woofgang Rescue in WI. planned a big Spring kickoff called “Spring Fling” which really sounds like a fun family day! There day included so many fun things for kids and adults alike.
They had a suggested $2 donation per child to take part, offered raffles and we would imagine a portion of all sales from vendors would also be donated back.
So there are multiple opportunities to raise money with this idea. But we think the biggest asset to an event like this is the sense of “community” they are building.
Long-term this is a great way to really promote your rescue and show that you care about your community and want to give thanks for those that support the rescue.
They offered craft vendors, egg hunt, raffles, bake sale and of course had adoptable dogs on hand for visitors to meet!
Easter Pawrade
We love the beautifully design flyer for this one! The Friends of Palm Springs animal shelter held this event and we love this unique idea.
You probably have taken your kids all dressed up in their finest Easter bonnets and suits, so why not your pets!
The Easter Pawrade is a chance to show off your doggies fashion and style while supporting a great cause.
The event featured family photos with the Easter bunny, face painting, reduced adoptions, light snacks and more.
This is a great way to get the community together to have some fun!
Hoppy Hour
Although not specifically Easter related, it does benefit a bunny rescue – and we think this is a fantastic time of year to educate about bunnies – and raise funds for them!
The Colorado House Rabbit Society works with a local brewery – Wonderland Brewing to create a fun and unique fundraiser!
Their marketing for this event is awesome with their creative text and design elements.
The event requires a $10 donation – and then there are treats and merchandise you can also purchase. We would imagine that they also get a portion of the beer sold as well.
What is really cool is that they are allowing you to bring your bunny to this event to socialize with other bunnies! They also encourage people to bring a current shelter bunny to the event in the hopes they get some visibility to be adopted.
This is a great fundraiser for any time of year to help a bunny rescue!
Easter Bunny Pet Photos
Definitely one of the more popular options for a fundraiser! Pet photos with the Easter bunny are always a hit – people love their pets and for a small donation having that photo with the Easter bunny every year can be a sure fire way to keep the funds coming in.
It is important to think about the type of look and feel you want to have for the photo session – the more realistic the bunny and the prettier the background, the better the results you will have for raising funds.
Incorporating other things like a bake sale or selling t-shirts will help boost your fundraiser as well.
Easter Egg Decorating Contest
You can do this as a stand alone event – or as an add on to another event! Have each person decorate their eggs – create a diorama or any other unique thing to help them win!
You can charge an entry fee or ask them to bring their own supplies. Charge a nominal entry fee and ask a local vendor to sponsor it with a prize!
Easter Bonnet Pet Parade
A day of fun where the main focus is the pet parade – complete with bonnets! Get local vendors involved to donate prizes – charge a registration fee so pet parents can have their pets march in the parade and have a collection of prizes for various costumes.
- Most original
- Funniest
- Doggie-Owner Look Alike
- …and more!
We love what Paws of Coronado did by having it at a pub! They did the parade and ended at a pet friendly pub where proceeds from the bar and restaurant went to the rescue. So you can earn funds from the host – and entry fees for the parade.
Easter Basket Raffle
Host an Easter Basket Raffle event! Ask local businesses and supporters to create gift baskets with an Easter theme that you can raffle off. The gift baskets can feature Easter inspired candy, home decor, pet products and so much more!
Find a location – it can be indoors or outdoors and sell tickets that supporters can use to win the baskets!
Poochella Fest
A fun play on words for Coachella! The Poochella Fest was actually a partnership between the Local Boys and Girls Club and the Palm Springs Animal Shelter. Partnerships like this are a great way to increase exposure and get better results! They took this event and create a spring inspired fun event the whole family can enjoy.
The event featured an egg hunt, fashion show, dance pawty – and of course music, contests and food/drinks.
Easter Keg Hunt
Love the play on words on this one! A little different than many of the other events we have listed here – there is no cute doggies in Easter outfits or dog bones to be eaten!
This event is the perfect opportunity to bring the community together for a day to help animals. There can be so many different ways to do this, but one of our favorites is outlined below.
Here is a simple event plan to help you get started!
- Reach out to local businesses in our downtown area to make sure they are on board
- Participants can create teams to be a part of the event
- Make it a requirement to have each participant dress up like a bunny!
- Each team will be given an Easter egg with a clue to get their hunt going. Each clue will take them to a different business around town to collect more clues.
- The last clue for each team can be a message to bring them back to a local bar you have partnered with for some music, drinks and fun! Invite vendors – have a bake sale – options are endless.
You can also have this be more of a bar crawl for true adult fun!
Each team can pay an entry fee as part of the fundraiser and additional money can be collected at the final location. What is great about this is you are helping local businesses – which is a great way to build friendships that last a lifetime!
