October has to be one of our favourite times of year. Chillier mornings, cosier evenings and the smell of bonfires on the air. The scent of Autumn!
It’s also only a couple of weeks to go until Bonfire Night – The 5th November is just one of those dates us Brits don’t forget! Remember, remember…
Bonfire Night celebrations and firework shows are a great way of bringing a community of people together – Whether you’re a church, a school, a charity or other charitable organisation. Plus what with last years events having to be significantly altered or cancelled, this year is bound to really go off with a bang!
There are so many great ways you can use Bonfire Night as a successful fundraiser. Let’s have a look at a few ideas!
Fundraising Ideas for Bonfire and Firework Night
- Host a Ticketed Event
As we said above, hosting a Bonfire and Firework event is a brilliant way of bringing your community together for an evening of oohs and aahs!
Charge a fee per ticket, and sell them in advance of the event itself with remaining tickets available on the door.
Contact local organisations and see if any of them would like to sponsor your event. Many companies look for opportunities to build their corporate social responsibility involvement, and covering the costs of the firework display is a great way of doing this in their local community.
- Sell Food and Drink
Again, see if a local farm shop or supermarket would like to sponsor your event by providing the food or wine for the evening for free or at a subsidised price. That way any money you make from selling it can go directly to the worthy cause you are fundraising for. - Provide Entertainment
Make your fireworks event a night to remember with some excellent entertainment. Make sure the atmosphere is electric – A local band or DJ – Perhaps from a local radio station – Are great ways to get the crowd buzzing as well as providing a countdown. You could also hire a fire juggler to wow your guests! A photographer is also a great idea – Not only can they take photos of your event for ready-to-use marketing imagery for next year, you can also offer your guests to purchase photos of them from the evening after the event. - Create a Hashtag for Your Fireworks Event
There’s nothing quite like that feeling of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Create a hashtag for your event so that people can share their photos online. Their friends and family will see how much fun they are having and make sure they don’t miss out when it comes to the next event! You could even offer a prize for the best photo of the fireworks!
- Offer Opportunities to Make Donations
Don’t forget that this event is also to raise awareness of the worthy cause you’re fundraising for. Bring your community together and show off the amazing work you do! Demonstrate the incredible things all their donations go towards, and the very meaningful difference they make to the many people your cause helps.
Make it easy for people to make donations with accessible donation buckets. It’s important to be able to take cash donations, but it’s also vital that you enable people to donate digitally too. Less people are carrying cash nowadays – But that doesn’t mean that they are unwilling to make donations to charitable causes. Give them the opportunity to donate digitally to your cause by updating your donation bucket. No cash? No problem! With Donater Smart Sticker, donors can simply tap the sticker with their smartphone or scan the QR code. They are then taken to an online donation page for your charity, where they can quickly make a donation of their choice via Google Pay, Apple Pay or with their bank details. Easy!
How to Use Digital Tools to Fundraise Online this Bonfire Night
- Donater Smart Stickers
A classic fundraising idea for Autumn is ‘Guess the weight of the pumpkin’ – A great option for a bonfire and firework event! Our Smart Stickers offer a great way of taking donations digitally from people who would like to enter the competition.
Our Smart Stickers are really versatile and can be put almost anywhere. Stick one to the donation jar, and parents can donate simply by:
– Scanning the QR code on their smartphone. This will take them to your Donater donation page, where they can make a quick, easy online payment.
– Tapping their phone on the NFC tag embedded in the Smart Sticker. If they have NFC enabled on their phone, they can just tap it on the Smart Sticker and they will be taken to your Donater donation page where they can make their donation online.
Easy peasy!
- Printable QR Codes
Our QR codes are easy to print on paper, so lend themselves well to any marketing communication you might be displaying or sending out about your Bonfire and Firework event. Simply add it to your promotional poster, and make it easy for people to find your donation page where they can make a donation or even pay for a ticket!
You could also use them at the various stalls at your event, making it simple for donors to make donations and payments online.
- Social Media Platforms
We all know how important a role social media plays when trying to raise awareness, communicate with donors and boost fundraising. It’s a great place to share fundraising ideas for your charitable organisation.
A fundraising page on Facebook is also the perfect place to share your Donater donation page link. Pin it to the top, and it will be easily accessible to all your supporters so they know exactly where to go should they wish to make a donation or encourage friends to do so.
Your Donater donation page link can also be shared on your website and via online newsletters.
- Stream a Live Feed of Your Event
Unfortunately during these times, it’s inevitable that people may not be able to make it, or even buy tickets only to fall ill on the day. Luckily for them, we live in digital times! Setting up a live stream enables you to bring your event into people’s living rooms, where they can enjoy the atmosphere and firework display from the comfort of their own home.
The live stream can also have reminders of how to donate online via your online donation page so they can choose to make an online donation if they enjoy the show.
- Donate Now Button
Donater can help your charitable organisation raise vital funds online for those in need using your own website traffic. Add a Donate button on your webpage to enable website visitors to donate online, there and then.
Potential donors visiting your webpage can simply click the ‘Donate Now’ button via computer or mobile, which would take them to a Donater donation page where they could then choose the amount they wanted to donate and easily pay. Those doing so from a mobile could choose to pay via Apple Pay or Google Pay – A simple and speedy way to make donations online within 20 seconds.
The link to your online Donater donation page, uniquely on-brand to your styling so your donor knows they’ve landed in the right place, can also be easily shared digitally on social media platforms and email campaigns.
Want to Know More About Donater and How We Can Help You Fundraise Online?
more information on Donater’s suite of online fundraising tools such as our Smart stickers, QR codes, NFC tags and donation pages head to our website.
If it’s online fundraising hints and tips you’re after to boost donations then follow along on our social media platforms where we share our latest blogs, full of fundraising ideas.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to see how we can help your charity to bring your fundraising online this Bonfire Night and beyond.