What Is Community Service?

Community service has many definitions, but the general gist is that it is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people to benefit others. It’s typically organized by a larger organization such as a nonprofit, and people usually perform community service in the area where they live, allowing them to give back and help their local community.

The goal of community service is to help people or places in need and it doesn’t have to be a large planned event (though it can be). For example, you could drive senior citizens to doctor’s appointments or you could pick up litter from a local park.

It’s important to note that community service is not the same as volunteering. While very similar, volunteering is completely voluntary, whereas community service is sometimes compulsory. For example, some high schools may require students to perform a certain number of hours of community service to graduate.

What Makes a Great Community Service Project?

If you’re thinking of hosting a community service project, you need to understand what makes a service idea great. Your community service project should be:

• Relevant: For example, if your neighborhood doesn’t have any green spaces, a park litter cleanup project isn’t very relevant. However, you can make this idea relevant by asking participants to pick up trash from sidewalks and parking lots instead. If you’re organizing a community service project on behalf of an organization like a nonprofit, make sure it’s directly related to that organization’s mission.
• Meaningful: If you want people to volunteer and participate in any activity, it should be something that they’re interested in and care about. The same is true for community service projects. Choose an idea that’s meaningful to your community members so that they’ll be excited to help out. For example, if you have several young kids in your neighborhood, you might decide to host a youth sports camp that engages them and gives their families a break.
• Necessary: Ideally, your idea should address a real need in the community and allow participants to make a difference. There are always people, businesses, and causes that require help. For example, if the public school has been wanting to replace their old playground equipment, you could start a crowdfunding campaign and ask for donations.
• Engaging. Not all community service projects are fun, and that’s normal—after all, helping others isn’t always easy. However, the best community service ideas are engaging and fulfill a real need, as those are the ones that people want to participate in where they can experience a sense of purpose.

Although these are the main four components of a great community service project, we can’t overlook the importance of being well-organized. If you want to host a project of your own, you need to establish a team dedicated to it and map out all the details, including when and where the project will take place. Then, you can provide this information to potential community service participants, ensuring that they know everything they need about your project upfront.

Who Can Participate in Community Service?

Almost anyone can participate in community service—after all, helping others isn’t limited to any particular group. However, when your organization considers which programs to implement, you’ll need to consider what groups of people those projects would most appeal to.

For example, a community service project where participants donate new or used baby clothes and baby supplies would probably attract families with young children. This is great if you know there are many parents in need in your community, if not then it’s time to brainstorm other opportunities.

As you read through all of our community service ideas below, keep in mind which groups of people would be most interested in them. Ask yourself, does this align with my community’s interests and does it fulfill a relevant need? The answer to that question will help you determine if that’s a good community service idea for your unique community.

Crowdfunding: The #1 Community Service Idea
General Ideas	Ideas to Address Housing or Food Insecurity
Ideas to Help Schools and Kids	Ideas to Reduce Crime or Improve Safety
Ideas to Help Senior Citizens	Ideas to Help People with Special Needs
Ideas to Help Animals and the Environment	Ideas for Community Improvement

Crowdfunding: The #1 Community Service Idea

Crowdfunding is a method of fundraising that allows individuals to raise money by reaching out and asking for donations from their friends, family, acquaintances, and broader network.

With crowdfunding, individuals and organizations can quickly set up an online donation page through a platform and secure funding for a range of causes: special projects, financial expenses, charity, events, and more.

Why Is Crowdfunding Our #1 Community Service Idea?

Crowdfunding is our top community service idea because it is quick, easy, and effective. In a matter of minutes, you can have your campaign page up and running and raising money for your cause.

Whether you want to fund a program to help the elderly or need money to build a playground, crowdfunding is a great model to get you the money you need for your community service project.

Successful crowdfunding campaigns are built around community, just like your service project is going to be.

General Community Service Ideas

Participate in a charity walk or run	Clean up your local park or playground
Volunteer at a local nonprofit	Plant trees, flowers, or other plants
Organize a clothing drive	Volunteer at your local library
Participate in a national giving or remembrance day	Repair broken household items or appliances for neighbors
Ask for charitable donations instead of birthday or Christmas gifts	Write and send letters to soldiers and veterans
Host a fundraising event and donate the money	Adopt a stretch of highway and clean it regularly
Teach classes for a skill you have	Babysit for local families

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

Some community service ideas require more than hard work and dedication.

Sometimes, you need to raise money to see your community service project through to completion.

If that’s the case, you should set up a crowdfunding campaign to supplement your community service efforts. Crowdfunding campaigns are easy to set up, and you can start raising money from your friends and family members almost instantly.

All you have to do is tell your story, upload photos, and videos, and share the campaign on social media and via email. Consider expanding your campaign to include direct mail as well to truly reach the largest audience possible. By partnering with a direct mail provider like GivingMail, you can jumpstart your crowdfunding campaign through personal letters to each and every one of your supporters without any of the hassle.

It’s that simple!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for General Community Service

This campaign is the Dalat Junior Class of 2019’s Servathon. It is designed to raise money so that the class has the funding to participate in a servathon and support the community outside their school’s walls.

This community service project was successful because they reached their $7,500 goal with time to spare. The students running the campaign were able to make that goal because they were straightforward and transparent about why they needed the funding and how it would be used.

Community Service Ideas to Help Schools and Kids

Hold an egg hunt for school kids	Start a coat drive
Host a book party for kids in your neighborhood	Help teach a child to read
Help walk kids home from school	Offer tutoring services
Host an after-school program	Take a child Christmas shopping
Coach a youth sports team	Become a field trip chaperone
Start up a pen pal program for kids	Donate baby clothes and supplies
Teach kids a valuable life skill	Teach a child how to play an instrument
Volunteer at a youth shelter	Become a teen counselor
Become a field trip chaperone	Create a summer reading program
Donate used books to a children’s library	Join a group like Big Brothers, Big Sisters
Knit caps or scarfs for babies or children	Donate stuffed animals to kids in hospitals
Help build a playground for disabled children	Do demonstrations about health and exercise at schools
Donate your used electronics to a school	Organize a safe Halloween outing for kids in your neighborhood

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

Whether you’re trying to improve your local after-school program or want to start teaching kids a valuable life skill, you’ll likely need money to help fund your endeavors.

Many community service ideas that help children, babies, and schools are much more effective when you get your friends, family, and community members on board with your idea! 

One of the easiest ways to recruit others to help you with your community service project is to set up a crowdfunding campaign and ask people for donations.

Your crowdfunding campaign can serve as the hub of your community service project; you can use it to upload photos and videos of your progress and write updates about how your project is coming along. 

Not only will your friends and family members enjoy seeing how you’re improving the lives of kids, but they can also support your efforts with monetary donations and words of encouragement!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Schools and Kids

This campaign was designed to benefit the TandemED program. It’s called “Communities at the Lead of Youth Education,” and its goal is to help fund the TandemED program that “supports local communities to self-design and deliver educational content that will instill youth with purpose and motivation as they engage in learning in public schools.

This community service project is professional, targeted, and managed to raise more than double their goal for a program that helps both kids and schools.

Community Service Ideas to Help Senior Citizens

Take flowers to nursing home residents	Offer to pick up a neighbor’s medicine
Help elderly neighbors with chores	Offer to write letters for a senior
Cook a meal for a senior	Deliver cookies or snacks to elderly neighbors
Decorate doors at a nursing home for the holidays	Organize a senior citizen “field trip”
Host a holiday meal at a nursing home	Be “Santa” to a senior
Do a musical performance at a nursing home	Organize a “Senior Prom” at a nursing home
Start a grocery delivery service for the elderly	Organize a senior garden
Host regular game nights at a nursing home	Hold a clothing or food drive for a nursing home
Do a “Skills Swap” with an elderly neighbor	Help a senior citizen with a genealogy project
Teach an elderly person a card game or trick	Make quilts or blankets for senior citizens
Teach an elderly neighbor computer skills	Honor elderly veterans on Memorial and Veterans Day
Help senior citizens find companion animals	Help a senior citizen renovate their home
Adopt a grandparent	Start a walking or exercise program for seniors

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

There are tons of community service ideas to help senior citizens in your area. But some of them require a bit more work than others.

If you’re planning a more involved community service project to serve the elderly in your community, you should set up a crowdfunding campaign page to supplement your service efforts!

When you center your community service project around a crowdfunding campaign, you can raise money and awareness at the same time.

A crowdfunding page can help you rally others around your undertaking and keep them updated about the progress of your project.

Your friends and family members can demonstrate their support of your community service idea by making a donation or posting a comment on your crowdfunding campaign’s wall.

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Senior Citizens

This is a crowdfunding campaign designed to raise money for a senior citizen in the West Palm Beach community. Karen, the recipient of the funds, had to undergo multiple surgeries on her leg and didn’t have the funds to cover her care.

Smartly, this campaign’s organizer focused on Karen’s contributions to the community and what an impact she had made when she was healthy. That technique worked and enabled the campaign to exceed its goal, raising a total of $27,640.

Community Service Ideas to Help Animals and the Environment

Volunteer at an animal shelter	Plant trees in a local park
Raise money for retired police dogs	Clean up a stretch of highway
Offer a dog-walking service	Organize a riverbed or stream cleanup
Organize a spay and neuter program	Set up and maintain a butterfly garden
Sponsor an animal in your city’s zoo	Help train service dogs
Host a Puppy Day at a school	Adopt an acre of a forest or park
Build birdhouses for your neighborhood	Host an Earth Day event
Host an equine skills clinic	Spruce up a park trail or hiking area
Raise money for a local animal shelter	Bike to work or school
Encourage and promote conservationism	Create eco-friendly policies at home, work, or school
Foster dogs and cats that don’t have homes	Make purses and jewelry out of recycled materials
Collect pet food and supplies for a shelter	Get involved in local conservation activities
Volunteer at a local national or state park

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

Are you planning a community service project to help animals or the environment? Did you know that you can use crowdfunding to supplement your charitable efforts?

In fact, crowdfunding is one of the best ways to raise money for your animal-related or environmental community service idea!

First, you’ll need to set up a crowdfunding page. Most crowdfunding platforms, like GoFundMe, require that you upload a few images and write a description that outlines why you’re raising money.

Then, you can share the crowdfunding campaign with your friends and family members via social media and email. The more you share your fundraiser with others, the more likely they’ll be to donate to your community service project.

Whether you’re trying to help out a local animal shelter or want to adopt a highway, you can use crowdfunding to give your community service ideas a boost!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Animals

This animal-based community service project popped up after the devastation brought on by Harvey. It’s a fundraiser to raise the money necessary to transport shelter animals out of Houston and into safe shelters.

This project succeeded because it is tied into the work of an established animal rescue, and the organizer was highly detailed and specific about exactly what needed to be accomplished.

Community Service Ideas to Address Housing or Food Insecurity

Collect household items for a homeless family	Volunteer at and donate to your local food bank
Volunteer with a charity like Habitat for Humanity	Organize a health fair that offers free checkups
Give grocery coupons to a local food bank	Host a holiday meal for those without a home
Create care packages with essential items	Host free resume workshops for homeless job seekers
Donate toys and school supplies to a homeless shelter	Create portable first aid kits for the homeless
Organize a coat and mitten drive	Donate gently used clothing and shoes
Donate blankets to a homeless shelter	Spend time at a soup kitchen

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If you’re organizing a community service effort to help individuals and families who are homeless or hungry, you might discover that you need some extra funds to help you pay for your project.

You can set up a crowdfunding campaign and ask for donations from your friends, family members, and people in your community! Crowdfunding is one of the quickest and easiest ways to raise money for a community service project.

Simply set up an account, upload images and videos, write a description that explains why you’re raising money, and share your page via social media and email. It’s that easy!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign to Address Housing or Food Insecurity

This crowdfunding campaign is tied into the Christmas event hosted by Swords to Plowshares. The event is a night where homeless veterans are able to come and receive a warm meal, as well as a backpack filled with gear to help them endure the cold winter months.

“Cold Nights, Warm Hearts” did a great job of including compelling images that put community and service first. Its “More Info” section was also filled with helpful information that surely inspired a number of donors to contribute to their $11,615 fundraising total.

Community Service Ideas to Reduce Crime or Improve Safety

Teach kids about safety and first aid	Volunteer as a lifeguard
Volunteer at or donate to a battered women or youth shelter	Become CPR certified
Volunteer at a fire station	Join an organization like DARE
Teach self-defense lessons	Paint over graffiti in your neighborhood
Host seminars about drug and alcohol use	Help develop safety procedures for schools
Volunteer to be a crossing guard at a school	Help teach safe driving by becoming a driver’s ed instructor
Become part of your neighborhood watch group	Start a violence protection group in your community

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If your community service idea is focused on reducing crime and promoting safety in your local neighborhood, you may find that you need more help to accomplish your goals.

For instance, you might want to help renovate a battered women’s shelter in your area, but you don’t have enough funds to finish the project.

Crowdfunding can help! Set up a crowdfunding campaign, tell your story, add visuals, and share it with your friends and family members to raise money and awareness for your community service project.

You can also use your crowdfunding page to keep people in the loop about your project’s progress.

Example Crowdfunding Campaign to Reduce Crime

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Police Department coordinated a fundraiser leading up to the annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” charity walk that is geared around raising awareness of and preventing sexual assault.

The organizer of this campaign more than doubled his campaign goal by foregrounding the cause, preventing sexual assault and domestic violence, above all else.

Community Service Ideas to Help People with Special Needs

Host free reading sessions at the local library	Work with children with special needs on an art project
Volunteer with a local care center	Hold a crayon and marker drive
Volunteer with the Special Olympics	Collect school supplies for special needs classrooms
Volunteer with a Hippotherapy program	Help make sure your neighborhood is handicap accessible
Create materials to teach people in your community about respecting and supporting those with special needs	Raise money to donate to a care center in your community
Set up a buddy program through the special needs program at the school	Set up a library at the local children’s hospital

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If your community service idea is based around serving individuals with special needs, there’s a good chance a portion of your project will involve raising money.

For example, you might want to volunteer with the Special Olympics athletes but also need money to travel to the competitions.

Crowdfunding will help with your fundraising needs! Design a campaign around the individuals you’re serving, and emphasize exactly what the money will accomplish.

Make sure your campaign features compelling copy and visuals and is promoted heavily, and you’ll be in good shape!

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for People with Special Needs

“A Ray of Hope” is a fundraiser organized by Lee Morgan in order to fund the construction of an educational and therapy center for special needs children in Tiruvannamalai, India.

This project has succeeded and will continue to succeed for a number of reasons, including: updates with photos, a well-written description, customized giving levels, and a worthwhile cause at its core.

Community Service Ideas for Community Improvement

Get speed bumps added to residential streets	Pick up trash around the neighborhood
Assist with home painting	Start a community garden
Work with neighbors on modest home repair	Raise money to build a playground
Offer a lawn mowing service	Collect supplies for families who have lost their homes in fires
Teach a class at the community center	Rake leaves in the fall
Campaign for more bike lanes and sidewalks	Join your neighborhood watch group
Reach out to local government about lighting streets better	Help people clean their gutters

How to Incorporate Crowdfunding

If you’re looking to organize a community service project around bettering your neighborhood, it is likely that you’re going to need to raise money. Simply put, more community improvement projects require funding.

Crowdfunding can get you the money you need. You can leverage your online fundraising page to reach members of your community who would have otherwise never known about your project. 

For instance, you might be looking to launch a community garden in your local park. While it will eventually sustain itself, you’ll need the initial investment of funds to prepare the land and plant the seeds.

With a successful crowdfunding campaign, you can get the money you need and more.

Example Crowdfunding Campaign for Neighborhood Betterment

The “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Garden” was a simple project designed to raise $150 and build a fence around the garden.

This campaign proves that projects don’t have to have massive goals to be considered a success. The organizer smartly created a campaign that would meet her community service needs and was able to reach her goal with just four donations.

Additional Resources

• Top Crowdfunding Websites to Raise Support for Any Cause. Ready to make a difference by launching an engaging crowdfunding campaign? Explore the best websites to fundraise on.
• Crowdfunding Tips: Quick and Easy Ways to Raise More Money. Learn how to boost your crowdfunding results by applying the tips in this guide.
• Easy and Fresh Fundraising Ideas for Any Cause. No matter your reason for fundraising, use this list of 200+ fundraising ideas to inspire your planning.