This week we’ve seen the roadmap out of a very difficult year. It’s brought hope for people, businesses and charities across the UK. By the end of July, things could be back to more normality, but what does that mean for fundraising?
Online fundraising and digital donations were already on the horizon before the pandemic, and we don’t think they are going anywhere anytime soon. Covid has accelerated society towards being cashless, and donors want quick and easy ways of giving money.
Lockdown isn’t lifting just yet, so let’s revisit some ways you can fundraise online from the comfort of your living room.
Still not commuting?
For Donors: If you’re not a keyworker, then odds are you’re still working from home. If you’re still not currently commuting, then consider donating some of the money you’ve saved from petrol or public transport fares towards a good cause.
For Charities: Ask your supporters to donate some of the money they’ve saved due to working from home.
Where have you found yourself saving?
For Donors: There have been so many restrictions set upon us over the last 12 months – No coffees on the way into work, no perusing of new clothes on lunchbreaks, no beers on a Friday, no haircuts! That’s a lot of money potentially saved, and could be a huge help to charities who are still struggling so much. Perhaps you could donate what you would have spent on a haircut!
For Charities: Don’t be afraid to ask. People want to do good (and they generally love to show off to their peers that they’ve done something charitable too!). A social media post suggesting your supporters donate the price of a haircut towards your cause might be just the prompt they needed!
Lockdown birthdays are so hard to buy for!
For Donors: It’s not easy buying gifts for people in lockdown when they have to be posted. Often, a birthday just springs up on us and it’s already too late to send something! A great way to take the pressure off your friends and family is to donate your birthday to a charity. Instead of asking for gifts, ask you loved ones to make a donation on your behalf to a certain charity. Facebook birthday fundraisers make this particularly easy!
For Charities: Suggest to your supporters that they ask for donations as gifts if their birthday is going to fall in lockdown. They save their friends and family hunting for sendable gifts, and you gain donations to your worthy cause.
Challenges for Children
For Donors: Lockdown has been really rough on children (and their parents!). Whilst it looks like we’ve not got too much longer left in lockdown, some fun challenges that the whole family can get involved with might help get you through these last weeks. Challenge them to cook, clean or create to raise coins from friends and family that they then get to donate to a cause. Not only does it give them something to do (and help around the house!), it also teaches them about charitable giving from an early age.
For Charities: There’s a good chance that your supporters are looking for anything and everything to keep their children occupied at home. You could create a free printable with plenty of ideas – Challenges that help them keep busy whilst raising money for your charity.
A Quest for Coins
For Donors: When was the last time you paid for something with coins? Between people feeling wary about taking change in cash, and shops asking people to pay by card wherever possible, cash is definitely exchanging hands less and less. Why not give your family a quest to find coins around your home? Down the back of the sofa, zipped away in a purse, in a coin jar – Count it all up and donate it to a charity close to your heart.
For Charities: Give your supporters a quest – A quest for coins! With cash not changing hands much in shops currently, it’s a great chance to ask your supporters to donate any loose change that they’ve got laying around. Every little helps, after al!
Clear the Clutter
For Donors: There are so many things about the pandemic that have been mentally challenging, so the last thing we all need is our house clutter adding to the mental clutter. Use these last few weeks to have a clear out of anything that you’re not using or wearing to start afresh in the summer. If you start now, you’ll have everything ready to go when the charity shops re-open. Make sure that you only donate items that are in sellable condition.
For Charities: So many people have used the lockdowns and furloughed time to clear out their clutter and whittle out the unworn from the wardrobe. If you have a charity shop to find new homes for those pre-loved items, make sure you’re ready to take them when the time to re-open arrives.
Feed the Hungry
For Donors: One way of giving back to your local community is donating food (or money online) to your local foodbank. There are lots of families who have been furloughed or lost their jobs, struggling to make ends meet and stave off hunger. If you have the means to help, why not add a few extra items on to your weekly shop to donate to the foodbank.
For Charities: You could consider teaming up with your local foodbank to encourage donations for both of you. By helping to boost food donations to help local people, you’re also potentially reaching new supporters.
Amazon Smile
For Donors: Did you know you can link your Amazon account to a charity of your choice, so that they receive a donation every time you shop? It costs you nothing, but could really help a charity in need. Some charities also have Amazon Wish Lists which let you buy items and send them directly to their door.
For Charities: Did you know you can add your charity to Amazon Smile so that people can raise money for your worthy cause just by doing their shopping? There is no charge to register. If your charity asks for physical donations e.g. an animal shelter needing food or bedding, you can also build a Wish List that supporters can buy and send directly to you through Amazon.
Get Moving!
For Donors: There are probably two camps of people – Those who have turned to exercise to keep boredom at bay, and those who have struggled to find motivation to move much at all. Either are completely valid ways of coping with the crisis we’ve found ourselves in. So whether or not you’ve spent the last year of lockdowns running around your village and joining Joe Wickes for his PE lessons, now could be the perfect time to grab those trainers and start running, walking or cycling. And what’s more motivating than being held accountable for what you’re doing? If you know that people are sponsoring you to walk, run or cycle a certain distance each week, you’re probably more likely to stick to it!
For Charities: Now could be the perfect time to spur your supporters into sponsored fitness. There is nothing wrong with coming out of lockdown a little heavier than you went in. There’s also nothing wrong with wanting to up your fitness levels in readiness for getting back to normal life. Why not raise vital funds at the same time?
There are so many fantastic online fundraising ideas out there – These are just a few. You can find some more virtual fundraising tips here on our blog!