Five Spring Fundraising Ideas for 2021

Each year, the spring equinox marks a moment of renewal, breathing a sense of opportunity into the air. For many people, this feeling is tangible and met with fresh resolve. So why not choose a particular goal this spring to invest in yourself and the world around you?

The Cancer Research Institute’s ’21 Challenge for Cancer Research is the perfect conduit for personal change and advancing cancer research. This fundraising event runs throughout 2021 (you can start and finish anytime you like) and allows you to set an individual or team commitment and raise money to support our research programs. Registration is free and there is no fundraising minimum—although we do suggest a goal of $2,021.

Here are five fun challenges for inspiration and consideration.

Get Fit

Spring into a healthier you with a new workout regimen. Whether you want to run a 5k, host weekly Zumba classes with your friends, or commit to a yoga routine, you can do it with the ’21 Challenge. Find that missing motivation with a sense of purpose—helping cancer patients today or honoring loved ones lost—and a fundraising goal. Create your fundraising page or team, and ask your friends and family to donate for each milestone achieved. The options are endless, and the physical and scientific gains are real!

Perfect Your Pitch

Discover or fine-tune your musical talents with a personal commitment to learning or practicing an instrument. ’21 Challenger Marla has challenged herself to practice piano, one of her favorite hobbies, for 21 minutes a day in 2021. Join Marla by committing to your own goal.

Stop to Smell the Roses

Take your commitment to the streets like ’21 Challenger Alice, who is visiting 21 New York City landmarks this year and asking for donations at each stop. She posts photos and brief histories of each landmark to keep her followers informed of progress and bring them along for the journey, No matter where you are, there’s beauty in the world around you and you can discover it while giving back. Create your list of places to visit, act as tour guide for your network of friends and family, and solicit crucial funds for cancer research.

Go Green

There are many ways to make a better world for all of us. Why not combine your commitment to a healthier planet with our commitment to a healthier future for cancer patients?

Celebrate Earth Day on April 22 with an environmentally conscious goal—doing good for the planet and cancer research. Contact a local parks association and volunteer 21 hours or days this month. Plant 21 trees. Find 21 ways to reduce waste at work or at home. Inspire your family and friends to make changes in their own lives as well as make donations to your fundraiser for the lives of all people with cancer.

Choose Your Own Adventure

With the ongoing pandemic, travel plans are still limited, but the adventure does not have to stop. Read 21 books in honor of World Book Day on April 23. Sign up for the ’21 Challenge, start on your list of 21 books (any genre!), and see where the words on the page take you. Ask for small donations for every chapter or book you finish. Post regular updates—percentage progress in a lengthy tome, book reviews, reaction videos, etc.—to your fundraising page to encourage your supporters.

Join the ’21 Challenge

With your support, we can fund more breakthrough research and more cures for all kinds of cancer. Together, we can create a future immune to cancer.