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Glite Dictionary
to drum up funds

to drum up funds

4.4
To try to get money by asking people or holding events
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : recaudar fondos
  • She spent weeks trying to drum up funds to cover her medical expenses.

Examples

  • Community leaders are working hard to drum up funds for the renovation of the old library.

  • We need to drum up funds for the new project!

  • The charity hopes to drum up funds for its new housing initiative through a series of events.

  • Can you help us drum up funds for the charity?

  • The charity organized a concert to drum up funds for the local orphanage.

  • The team plans to drum up funds through a series of fundraising events this summer.

  • To support the new community project, volunteers are working hard to drum up funds from local businesses.

Synonyms

to fund-raise
vsto drum up funds
9 3.5

To collect money to help a cause or project

has identical meaning but is written with a hyphen
to fundraise
vsto drum up funds
5 3.5

To collect money for a charity by asking people or holding events

focuses on active effort to gather money in any way
to take up a collection
vsto drum up funds
5 3.6

Gather money from a group to give to a person in need or a charity

is more general, meaning any active effort to raise money
to fundraising
vsto drum up funds
3.1

To ask for money to support a cause

is broader and covers any active effort to raise money

How Much Funding

to drum up funds
4.4

Surface Forms

drum up funds infinitive
drummed up funds past
drummed up funds past participle
drumming up funds present participle
drums up funds third person singular

Morphology

drum + up + funds

The meaning 'to try to gather or raise money' comes from a metaphorical use of 'drum' (making noise to attract attention) combined with 'up' (increase) and the concrete noun 'funds', so there is a loose compositional link. However, the figurative shift from physical drumming to actively soliciting or generating money is not fully predictable for an average B1 learner, making the expression partially inferable but requiring prior exposure.

Etymology

Drum up funds may come from the old idea of beating a drum in a town square to call people together. When people came, organisers would ask for money, so drum up funds now means 'to try to gather or raise money'.