Movember ideas: fundraising events that raise more than a moustache

Most Movember ideas start and stop at the moustache. Grow one, post a photo, ask for a fiver. That works, but the teams that raise the most every November turn the month into a run of small events that build to one big night at the end.

I’m Kevin Durham, a charity auctioneer and event host. My job is that big night, so this guide is built around it: how Movember fundraising works, the rules to follow, the ideas that suit workplaces and sports clubs, and a Mo party with an auction lot and a short live pledge in it.

What is Movember, and when does it run?

Movember is a men’s health charity campaign that runs every November. It started in 2003 as a bit of fun between friends in Melbourne, according to Movember’s fundraising guide, and it now funds work on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

In September 2026, Movember said its moustaches had funded more than AUD $1.8 billion of prevention-focused work. Its 2026 campaign asks supporters to make a Growmitment, a commitment to change men’s health, and to bring their crew along.

There are four ways to take part:

• Grow: start clean-shaven at the beginning of the month and grow a moustache.
• Move: walk or run 60km over the month, one kilometre for each of the 60 men Movember says are lost to suicide every hour worldwide.
• Host: put on an event, or a Mo-ment as Movember calls it, from an office lunch to a black-tie party.
• Mo Your Own Way: set your own challenge.

What is a Mo Bro, and can women take part?

A Mo Bro is a man who takes part in Movember, and a Mo Sista is a woman who takes part. Prostate Cancer UK, whose research Movember supporters have helped fund, calls them Mo Bros and Mo Sistas.

Movember’s guide says you don’t need to grow to save a bro. Moving, hosting and setting your own challenge are open to everyone.

How does Movember fundraising work?

Movember fundraising works through your Mo Space, the personal page you get when you sign up on Movember’s site or app. Set a target, say why you’re doing it, and share the link or QR code.

A few rules from Movember’s UK guide are worth knowing before you plan anything:

• Money goes to Movember. Online donations land in your Mo Space. Send cash, cheques and transfers on through its “Submit cash donations” section. After an event, that is your job.
• Name it properly. Call it something like “Community Ball supporting Movember”. Don’t call it an “Official” Movember event.
• Don’t sell branded goods without a written agreement with Movember.
• No street collections and no door-to-door.
• Insurance and permits are yours. Movember’s insurance only covers events it organises itself.

Movember ideas for the workplace

A workplace already has a team, a calendar and a bit of rivalry between departments. Movember lets you set up a workplace team from your Mo Space, and suggests asking your employer about gift matching and payroll giving.

• Shave-down on 1 November. A barber on hand, before-and-after photos, and a donation to watch the boss go first.
• Mo-gress Mondays. A weekly photo wall of the growers. The worse the moustache, the better the conversation.
• Lunchtime Move. A group walk each lunch break soon adds up to 60km.
• Mo trivia. Movember offers a free quiz pack. Ask for a donation to enter.
• Department league. Departments compete on totals, with the leaderboard on the kitchen wall.

There are more office ideas in my corporate fundraising and easy fundraising guides.

Which Movember ideas work for sports clubs?

The Movember ideas that work best for sports clubs are team challenges: a squad Move, a moustache league and a paid-entry tournament.

• Squad Move. Everyone in the club takes on 60km. Movember’s guide suggests asking people to pledge per kilometre: five people giving £1 per km comes to £300.
• Charity tournament. Five-a-side, tag rugby or netball. Paid entry makes sure teams turn up.
• Mo of the season. Players vote for the best and worst moustache at the end of the month, and the worst pays a forfeit to the Mo Space.
• Shave-down at training on the first session of November.

Movember event ideas for the end of the month

The best Movember event ideas give the month a finish line. Movember’s own guide suggests a “Stache Bash”: an end-of-Movember party where guests make a donation as a cover charge and you thank everyone who backed you.

Make it a dinner or party in the last week of November. Book the date before 1 November, sell tickets through the month, and put the leaderboard up on the night.

Don’t let the night drift. I like to open with a quick game such as Heads and Tails: everyone stands, it takes about four minutes, and the room is warm before the main course. There are more in my fundraising games guide.

Then save the moustache lot and the pledge for when the room is listening. Never ask anyone for money with food going into their mouth. Whoever holds the room holds the total.

How do you run a Movember auction lot?

The simplest Movember auction lot is the moustache itself. Movember’s guide suggests auctioning off the style of your Mo to the highest bidder, and asking for donations to shave it off if you threaten to keep it.

At a finale, that becomes a live auction moment. The winning bidder decides what happens to the club captain’s moustache: shaved off on stage, dyed, or kept until Christmas. This is where the banter comes in. Is the finance team really going to let sales outbid them on their own manager’s top lip?

One or two of these lots is plenty. I would rather see ten great lots than fifty average ones, and a moustache lot should be the fun one, not the whole auction.

Take payment on the night and send it on through the Mo Space.

Why end a Movember fundraiser with a live pledge?

A live pledge is where guests give a set amount, in tiers, with no lot in return. It is often the highest-earning part of a charity event. The pledge is where the real money lives.

The Jigsaw Trust expected £14,000 from their live auction. The auction made £27,000, and a live pledge they hadn’t even planned for raised another £30,600. That was a powerful team behind a powerful charity. A Movember night doesn’t need to be that big, but the principle holds. Here is how a live pledge works.

For Movember, keep it to five minutes. Someone with a personal reason says a few words, you put the Mo Space QR code on the screen, and you ask for £100, then £50, then £20. The tone shifts here, from banter to the cause, but it’s not a funeral. Let the excitement build as the total climbs.

What men’s health facts should you share at a Movember event?

Share a few facts from Movember or the NHS, and point people to the NHS for advice.

• Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in men worldwide, with more than 1.4 million men diagnosed each year.
• The NHS says it often has no symptoms at first, and you can ask a GP about a PSA blood test even without symptoms.
• Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men, with a survival rate of more than 95%.
• The NHS advises men to check regularly so they know what is normal for them.

Is a Movember event worth a professional host?

A Movember event is worth a professional host when the month ends with a gala, auction or live pledge. The host keeps the humour and the cause in balance, runs the auction and leads a pledge once the room is warm. Smaller office Movember ideas can be run by the team.

A simple office challenge needs no host. Have ready the date, venue, guest numbers, the men’s health charity you support, any lots you have and what you would like the evening to raise.

Where I come in

Most of a Movember month belongs to your team. The part I can help with is the finale: hosting the night, running the moustache lot, and the live pledge. If you’re planning one, call 07596 851647. I’d rather talk it through than swap emails.