Head shave event (Shave for a Cure style)
- Raises money for a national charity
People commit to shaving or colouring their hair in public and collect sponsorship for a charity.
Typically raises
$9,000
$2,800–59,000 per event
About $600 per organiser hour
Based on one secondary school shave day
Is it right for us?
- Money
- $2,000–10,000
- Work
- A few evenings
- Helpers
- 3–6 people
- Lead time
- 1–2 months
- Red tape
- None
Fairly common: Shave for a Cure made it familiar
- People
- 2-10 plus a hairdresser
- Organiser time
- 10-20 (estimate)
- Lead time
- 3-6 weeks
- Up-front cost
- $0–$100. Clippers or a donated hairdresser.
- Risk
- Very low.
How it works
The money, as an example sum
Sell at $50 a shavee, keep $50, so 181 shavees = $9,050, or about $9,000 after about $50 of costs. That’s about the typical result.
Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.
Where the money figure comes from
Western Springs College raised $2,800 in a previous year; St Peter's College about $9,000; Hornby High $13,700; teacher Aaron's students raised over $59,000 (Shave for a Cure site). An individual, Rocket, raised $7,735.
Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.
Step by step
- Register with the charity's campaign.
- Recruit shavees with a personal goal each.
- Set a public shave date and venue.
- Promote pages; run a leaderboard.
- Shave in public with a crowd.
- Close pages and thank donors.
Getting the word out
Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.
- Ask for help
- Participants to sign up and collect sponsors.
- Ask people to buy
- Family, friends and workmates to sponsor them.
- When to start
- Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 3–4 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.
Where to put it
- School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
- Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.
- Facebook events and what’s-on listingsMake a Facebook event people can say they’re going to, and list it on your council’s or town’s what’s-on page.
- Community newsletters and magazinesResidents’ newsletters, village magazines and other churches’ bulletins often run community notices free. Small ones close early.
- Other groups sharing itAsk the school, kindy, church, sports club or marae down the road to share it in their newsletter or page. Offer to share theirs back.
The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.
What you’ll need
- Place
- Not neededNone needed
- Landowner’s permission
- Not needed
- Council permit
- Not needed
- Food rules
- Not neededNo food sold
- Alcohol
- Not neededNo alcohol sold
- Gambling rules
- Not neededNot gambling
Money goes to the national charity through its platform; follow its brand rules. Get parental consent for students.
Make more from it
Online sponsorship page per participant
often $50-300 per participant (estimate)
each participant brings in their own network
Auction who shaves the teacher or coach
often $200-1,000 (estimate)
a crowd pays to choose who does the shave
Stack it: on its own, about $9,000. With the 2 priced add-ons above, roughly
$9,800est.
What you can get donated
Hairdresser time, venue (a mall or school assembly).
Tips
- A staff member or a principal shaving drives the biggest total.
Watch out for
- Shavees who stop promoting their page after the day.
Head shave event (Shave for a Cure style): checklist
0 of 10 done
Before
On the day
After
Money goes to the national charity through its platform; follow its brand rules. Get parental consent for students.
Also pairs with: School assembly, Online page
* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide