Fundraising is a fantastic way to raise money for a cause you are passionate about, or to obtain the funds for something you or your business requires. Everyone knows the most traditional forms of fundraising - selling baking, car boot sales, and door-knocking are just a few of them - but it's often the more original efforts that stand out from the crowd.
Often, these alternative fundraisers achieve a whole lot more than they ever intended to. Here are three quirky fundraisers from around the world - why not use their success and originality as inspiration and organise your own corporate party or fundraiser at an AMF bowling alley?
'Movember'
This quirky fundraising event, held annually in November, aims to raise funds to support men's health programs that target prostate cancer and mental health problems by encouraging men to grow a moustache for the month. This homegrown event is now a worldwide phenomenon, and has raised $705 million for its cause so far.
'Charity Swear Box'
This slightly un-PC campaign aims to turn bad words into useful funds, with Twitter users asked to enter their username into a webpage. The page will then trawl past 'tweets' for any swear words or profanities, and use the amount of curse words found to generate a suggested total for users to donate to a favourite charity. So far, the concept, which was thought up by James Dow and Jay Gelardi, has raised more than $62,000 for various charities.
Water is Life 'First World Problems'
This heart-melting social media campaign aimed to raise money for people in need of fresh, clean water, and was created by non-profit organisation Water Is Life. A video entitled 'First World Problems' was spread across hundreds of social media campaigns, and depicted less fortunate people from third world countries reciting trivial problems such as "I hate when my phone charger won't reach my bed". The response was a trending 'hashtag' on Twitter and other platforms, and a wildly successful amount of donations, allowing the organisation to provide fresh water to people who need it.