Check out this Eventbrite guide and get inspired by event organizers and their breast cancer awareness activities and event ideas.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and it’s the perfect time to make an impact with your event. Whether you’re planning breast cancer awareness events, fundraisers for breast cancer charities or nonprofits, or simply a fun social space for survivors, your events can make a positive and life-changing impact on many families — now and in the future.
In 2023, Eventbrite supported over 30,000 nonprofit organizations (and 800,000 event organizers worldwide) to plan and execute amazing and impactful events. Now it’s your turn.
Read on for 25 unique breast cancer awareness ideas for engaging events, and see how real event organizers are executing these ideas to create meaningful experiences.
Breast cancer awareness ideas for your next event
Breast cancer awareness ideas for community events
Breast cancer fundraising event ideas
Breast cancer awareness activities for virtual events
Why you should organize breast cancer awareness events
The chances are you know someone who’s been touched by breast cancer.
Women have a one in eight chance of developing breast cancer — and it’s the second leading cancer in women after lung cancer.
The American Cancer Society forecasts that, in 2024, there will be 310,720 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed, and 42,250 women’s lives will be lost to breast cancer.
By raising breast cancer awareness through events, the hope is to educate women on the signs and symptoms of this cancer and empower families with information about the medical and mental support and screening available to reduce these numbers.
Breast cancer awareness activities and events are also important spaces for survivors to raise money to support charities to kickstart new medical research to fight breast cancer. \
Breast cancer awareness ideas for community events
Because breast cancer affects so many people, awareness events will appeal to a wide range of groups across your community. Think festivals, concerts, fundraisers, or get-togethers.
Need some breast cancer awareness ideas to inspire you? Here are some absolute gems we love:
1. Bake sale and competition
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Host a baking workshop or encourage bakers to create works of pastry art to sell on a stall at a local event, such as a food festival or fête.
Encourage participants to get competitive and pay a small fee to enter their bakes into tasting and presentation contests.
💡Pro tip: Don’t forget to give prizes! Then share on social media tagging all of your winners to expand your reach and create extra exposure for your cause.
2. Pink parties
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
This year, October 18 is officially ‘Wear it Pink Day’ (Breast Cancer Now’s day to raise awareness), but you can choose any day to raise funds for breast cancer care by throwing a pink party at a social club. For anybody who loves the movie Grease, this is the perfect opportunity for a ‘Pink Ladies’ throwback party.
Encourage participants to wear pink and bring only pink food. You can also decorate your venue with pink decorations. You can even curate a pink-themed soundtrack — think Beyoncé’s ‘Check Up on It’ from the Pink Panther soundtrack, ‘Pretty in Pink’ by The Psychedelic Furs, and, of course, hits by P!nk.
Want to take your Pink Ladies party to the next level? You can even incorporate 1950s dancing like Duet Dance Studio planned for their Grease-Inspired Summer Night Dance Party. You could even hire a professional dance instructor to transform the party into a dancercise event.
3. Survivor bra swap
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Save the planet — and keep bras out of the trash — by hosting a bra swap, during which women can exchange perfectly good bras (even if they’re lightly worn).
Not only does this fundraiser highlight the importance of well-fitting bras and women’s health, but it can also raise some funds when you charge a small admission price.
💡Pro tip: Approach local clothing stores to appeal for donated bras and other items. You might be surprised how many stores are willing to give away new clothing items for a great cause — and you could even create a basket full of new bras as a raffle prize.
4. Haircut parties
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Show solidarity with cancer patients, and host an event where professional hairdressers volunteer their time and skills to raise money.
You could ask participants to get sponsored to have their hair snipped, colored (we suggest pink, obviously), or shaved off completely. Alternatively, hire a hairdresser to chop their locks and raise funds that way.
Either option is an excellent way to drive donations and raise awareness.
5. Doctor/nurse appreciation breakfast
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Amazing doctors and nurses help the fight against breast cancer, providing treatment and support to patients.
Set them up for a busy day of life-saving by hosting a special breakfast at a hospital café or nearby location. Healthcare professionals can eat free, while supporters pay a small amount to have breakfast and show their appreciation for the work of cancer doctors and nurses.
For lessons in best practice, Life & Libations Networking Mixer is hosting their Medical Provider Appreciation Event at a sushi bar. This appreciation event will include sushi, vendor demonstrations, a fun photo booth, and a chance for both medical professionals and survivors to network and unwind.
For top marks, include a theme throughout the entire event, including the cuisine choice and decorations.
6. Breast cancer awareness golf tournament
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Raise some greens on the green with a golf tournament. Entice sponsorships by emphasizing the pleasure of spending a day in the sun for a good cause — and hand out visors or T-shirts in the signature pink hue.
For extra fun, ask your local club to donate a month or year’s membership and hold a raffle to announce at the end of the day.
You can also create a range of fun and unique golf challenges to add to the fun.
That’s what Donna’s Warriors benefiting GAABC has lined up as part of its 6th Annual Drive Out — with awards for achievements like the longest drive and getting a hole-in-one. All proceeds go to Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer.
7. Empowering craft workshops
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Know any expert crafters or proficient enthusiasts? Reach out and ask experts to host a craft workshop that you can advertise to the community.
Think bath products, gift hampers, homemade jewelry, tote bags, and cushions. A craft workshop is a great opportunity to unite survivors for a fun nonprofit event to raise money for a breast cancer charity.
Many people love crafting, from knitting to painting to pottery. Expand your fundraising efforts by hosting a sale or auction where friends and family can buy participants’ creations.
💡Pro tip: Ask local businesses to donate materials in exchange for a shout-out on flyers and posters or buy them from a wholesaler to cut costs.
8. Survivor coffee mornings
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Consider hosting a coffee morning where friends, relatives, and current patients can learn from breast cancer survivors by chatting with them in an informal setting.
Sell tea, coffee, and yummy baked goods for attendees to enjoy and bring in some cash. Some survivors may want to raise awareness and money for other patients coping with treatment.
For inspiration, look at Eventbrite organizer Catch the Promise and their 1st Annual Pink Brunch: Healthy Conversations about Breast Cancer event.
This tasty-looking afternoon brunch gives survivors a safe and welcoming space to network, chat, and share their personal stories while providing awareness and education for members of the wider community. Tickets also include a pink mimosa, and you can add an extra donation when purchasing your ticket.
Breast cancer fundraising event ideas
There are so many incredible local, regional, and national charities whose sole focus is breast cancer prevention — whether it’s providing community awareness programs, promoting regular screenings, improving breast cancer diagnosis rates, or anything in between.
As an event organizer, you can create unique and impactful events that raise money for those amazing projects. And if you need to concoct some breast cancer awareness ideas, here are some we love:
9. Breast cancer charity fun runs and walks
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
One of the most popular ways to fundraise for breast cancer is charity runs and walks, as these can reach a broad audience through sponsorship and their ability to draw a big crowd.
If you want to see what a charity 5K should look like, look no further than Janel Moreland’s Pink Divas & Gents 7th Annual Break Cancer 5K Walk Run. This charity event also includes vendor stalls, food, drinks, and music for participants and spectators to enjoy. For a $30 registration fee, participants receive an event t-shirt, backpack, towel, and unlimited refreshments.
Larger events can be complex to organize, but with a little help, it doesn’t have to be hard. Get yourself an event planning checklist, and take it step by step. The bigger the event, the earlier you’ll need to start planning, particularly if you need to get permits or rent a venue, so get going as soon as possible.
Make charity event organizing simple.
10. Charity silent auction
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Give your guests a chance to dress up while bidding on the down low!
These events usually feature a dinner or cocktail party, with tables at one end of the room where guests can bid on various items by writing down the offer on bidding sheets. Charge an entrance fee, and ask local businesses to donate prizes to maximize profits.
You can even combine your charity auction with themed catering like at T Rose International Management Group’s Hat’s Tea and Fashion 2024 event. It’s packed with entertainment and elegantly decorated tables.
💡Pro tip: Besides a silent auction, you can plan lavish afternoon tea and include pink vendor stalls, swag bags, and a live DJ.
11. Fashion and catwalk shows
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Give breast cancer survivors an opportunity to strut down a catwalk wearing something fabulous.
That’s what Kay’s Vision Association lined up for their Colors of Cancer Fashion Show. With all of the displayed items set to pay tribute to the ‘strength and resilience of those affected by cancer,’ we’re totally here for it.
Fashion shows are a proven way to raise funds, and this fun event idea can be an important occasion for building women’s self-esteem in your community. As well as proceeds from entry fees you can sell the clothing after the show for extra profits.
12. Breast cancer charity bazaar
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Second-hand treasures are now more popular than ever, thanks to the upcycling trend.
Ask people to donate unwanted items by marketing your event as a chance to declutter homes, and create a charity bazaar like Cultural Survival with their Tiverton Bazaar, which provides artists the chance to represent their homemade work to the public.
It’s also worth placing donation buckets around the venue and selling leftovers on digital marketplaces so nothing goes to waste.
13. Awareness trivia night
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Everyone loves a quiz night. Charge an entrance fee per team or person, and make money from refreshments by holding your event in a community hall instead of a bar and selling drinks and snacks directly (subject to licensing laws).
You can even sneak in a pink-themed round to further raise awareness of your cause.
For lessons in best practice, check out Creative Healing Connections and their Trivia Night Fundraiser. The team event charged $15 per person, and all the proceeds went to fund scholarships for women living with cancer or other chronic illnesses.
💡Pro tip: Expand your reach with a virtual trivia night, and include a raffle ticket sale to increase proceeds. Prizes could include a massage for one, cinema tickets, or a gift card.
14. Outdoor karaoke night
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Partner with a bar or pub to host a karaoke night to raise funds and awareness of breast cancer.
It’s always worth negotiating with the manager to get as much proceeds as possible toward your fundraiser. Ask the venue to place flyers on tables to attract attendees from its existing customer base and charge songsters a dollar a tune.
That’s what The City of Miami Gardens did for their Karaoke in the Gardens: Breast Cancer Awareness Edition event. They hosted the event outdoors and asked guests to bring chairs to reduce venue costs.
Featuring multiple live DJs, food trucks, and loads of dancing, this is how outdoor karaoke is meant to be done.
15. Breast cancer Zumbathon
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Whether there’s a particular interest in Zumba, aerobics, or even hula-hooping in your community, many instructors are willing to give up an hour to host a class to raise money for breast cancer. Don’t forget to organize an appropriate venue and provide the right equipment.
Want to see how it’s done? Look at Pink Carpet Event’s recent National Cancer Survivor Day Party in Pink Zumbathon. In addition to Zumba sessions with five different professional instructors, they also added indoor prizes and a raffle to raise extra cash for charity.
16. Breast cancer benefit concert
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
You can adapt the same organizational model from the karaoke night idea and apply it to hosting a battle of the bands, open mic night, or even a full-blown benefit concert.
That’s what Swan Olivera is doing for their 13th C.P Breast Cancer Charity Music Festival.
With a full day of live music, carnival games, raffles, and tasty food, this is a fantastic way to raise money, raise awareness, and create memorable experiences for guests all at the same time.
💡Pro tip: Some local acts may already have a dedicated fanbase, so reach out to them on social media to ask them to promote your event. That makes event promotion simple, and the tickets may well sell themselves.
17. Paint and sip party
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Invite a local artist to host a paint-and-sip night — an art class with added wine!
You could even make it a live drawing event if you find a brave volunteer to strip off for charity. Ensure you have the model’s consent beforehand if you plan to do this. Go the extra mile for awareness and exhibit the attendees’ works of art in a local exhibition space.
Thirsty Brushes and their recent Paint and Sip: Benefiting the American Cancer Society event can offer some lessons in best practice. Not only did they include complimentary snacks and wine, but guests received one-on-one instruction from a professional artist.
18. Burlesque brunch
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️💁🏽♀️
Burlesque is an empowering art form and, as with the fashion show idea, an excellent platform for women to boost their body confidence.
All things pink and fluffy are strongly encouraged. You can also decorate your venue to reflect the risqué outfits, and use low lighting and tasseled blankets to create a vintage atmosphere. Friends and family will be eager to cheer on brave volunteers.
Want to see how this one works in practice? Take a look at Ginger Lee Belle Productions.
Their upcoming Foodies and Boobies Burlesque Brunch ticks all the boxes: A long list of amazing performers, yummy food on the menu, and a portion of the proceeds going directly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Breast cancer awareness activities for virtual events
Spread your event and message worldwide with these virtual event ideas for breast cancer awareness.
Online events are still hugely popular and offer event creators the chance to reach a wider audience, including those who otherwise couldn’t attend an in-person event.
19. Charity video game stream
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Gamers can earn unbelievable money by playing online video games.
If you’re familiar with this community, tap into your valuable resource and host a charity video game stream. Use an online fundraising platform like GoFundMe, and encourage participants to ask friends and family for sponsors and post about it on their social media.
Stream your gaming session live on video streaming platforms, such as Twitch or YouTube. For example, On Par Entertainment’s Super Smash Bros Ultimate Tournament includes a $5 entry fee and welcomes skills of all levels.
💡Pro tip: Make life easier by partnering with an event management platform that also supports live streaming. For example, Eventbrite lets you live stream your events thanks to our seamless integrations with Vimeo, Zoom, and YouTube.
20. Cancer awareness webinars
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Online webinars allow attendees to learn about the disease, breast cancer treatments, and how it affects patients and caregivers from the comfort of their own homes. It also provides a safe space for attendees to ask any questions anonymously.
Life Service Center of America, LLC has totally nailed the brief on its upcoming Global Breast Cancer Event 2024. The two-hour online event is free and aims to unite different communities and educate people about breast cancer.
Ready to start planning your own event?
21. Online silent auction
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Online silent auctions are a brilliant way to raise money and engage users from all over the world without hiring a huge event space.
Join us for our 24 Hours of Giving online-only auction starting Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 8 pm through Friday, August 23, 2024, till 8 pm. For more information about the event, please contact Maida Millan at [email protected] or visit https://t.co/g4wspq3nsH pic.twitter.com/a9AHAc0yUq
— Easterseals Florida (@EasterSealsFL) March 27, 2024
That’s what Easterseals Florida did for their 24 Hours of Giving Online Auction. This day-long fundraiser allows bidders to compete for great items — all while raising money for charity.
Platforms like OneCause provide online silent auctions and fundraising services tailored to fit your needs.
They include do-it-yourself minimalist packages, fundraising software, payment processing, and more. Full-service gets you year-round fundraising programs and event logistics planning.
22. Virtual breast cancer quiz night
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Take the quiz night idea online and reach an even wider audience. You can charge attendees a small fee, with all proceeds going to charity.
Trival Adventures’s Virtual Friends Trivia has a theme to keep the quiz night fun and relatable. They also offer two ticket tiers — which you could replicate based on how much attendees want to donate.
💡Pro tip: Be sure to send out any supplementary materials participants may need well in advance. That might include any props or score sheets required — or you could even go the extra mile and send each participant a snack to eat in between rounds.
23. Virtual poker tournament fundraiser
Difficulty: 🎗️
Budget: 💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Poker tournaments like Leo Valentino’s Dream Machine Charity Poker Event are excellent ways to raise money for charity. However, you can also hold your tournament online for virtual players.
Online poker is incredibly popular, so take advantage of this and host a charity tournament.
Set a small buy-in fee and offer a modest prize for the winner, with the proceeds going toward your cause (check your local regulations on gambling). If poker isn’t your thing, this idea can work with various card games and platforms.
24. Virtual breast cancer survivor retreat
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
Gain inner peace and reinvigorate the spirit with virtual yoga and sound therapy sessions, meditations, and self-care clinics for survivors.
Schedule break-out sessions where attendees can share their stories and connect with others. You might also want to send care packages to attendees, filled with bath and beauty products.
It doesn’t have to be a beauty retreat, though. Even something like SurvivingBreastCancer.org’s Breast Cancer Book Club is a simple way to give survivors a safe place to relax and chat about reading.
25. Virtual crafting workshops
Difficulty: 🎗️🎗️
Budget: 💰💰
Staff requirement: 💁🏽♀️
This idea takes the craft workshop online. To prepare for the event, send materials to ticket holders in advance.
Shelly’s Artspace’s upcoming Virtual Dot Mandala Party includes a bring-a-friend ticket pass to increase ticket sales and provide attendees with a discount compared to purchasing two single tickets.
Eventbrite has a curated collection of crafting workshop providers, which is a source of inspiration for events for cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones.
💡Pro tip: If you’re hosting a crafting workshop with everyday items, ask guests to collect their own items. If it’s a specialist craft, you’ll probably need to arrange to have supplies sent out to your virtual crafters ahead of time.
Plan your breast cancer fundraiser today
When considering various breast cancer awareness ideas for fundraisers, ensure you have the correct licenses and permissions for your event to go ahead. But don’t forget to have fun!
This is your chance to create an event that has a lasting impact on a ton of different people. Whether you’re raising money to support charities or medical research, educating people, or helping cancer survivors build a sense of community, breast cancer awareness events are essential — and we’re here to help.
With Eventbrite, you can discover breast cancer events to inspire you, reach out and collaborate with like-minded groups, and plan, organize, and promote your own breast cancer awareness activities.
