Moustache or grooming challenge (Movember style)

Raises money for a national charity

Participants grow a moustache or take on a fitness goal for a month and collect sponsorship for the campaign.

Typically raises

$3,000

$500–31,000 per campaignest.

About $300 per organiser hour

Based on one team for one month

Is it right for us?

Money: $2,000–10,000
Work: A few evenings
Helpers: 3–6 people
Lead time: 2–3 weeks
Red tape: None

Fairly common: Movember is well known; groups join less often

People: 1 captain plus team
Organiser time: 5-15 (estimate)
Lead time: 2-4 weeks
Up-front cost: Nothing up front. None.
Risk: None.

Can suit, but rarely run by: High school, Sports club or team, Charity, Community group, marae or service club

When: Spring (Sep–Nov)

How big a job: A few evenings, 3–6 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Sell at $50 a participant, keep $50, so 60 participants = $3,000. That’s about the typical result.

Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

Per team. Movember NZ lists a workplace that raised $31,000. Low and typical are estimates. No NZ national total was verified.

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 a team.
Set a team target.
Shave clean on day one and post photos.
Run weekly updates.
Hold a judging night.
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 campaign charity, not the club; follow its rules and brand guidelines.

Make more from it

Finale night with best-mo awards
often $500-1,500 (estimate)
gives the month a celebration and a reason to give at the end
Online sponsorship page per participant
often $50-300 per participant (estimate)
each participant brings in their own network

Stack it: on its own, about $3,000. With the 2 priced add-ons above, roughly

$4,200est.

What you can get donated

Prizes for best moustache, venue for a wrap party.

Tips

A wrap party with a raffle adds to the total (a club raffle's proceeds must still follow DIA rules).

Watch out for

Momentum fading mid-month.