Our friends across the pond in the US raise awareness for the American Heart Association every April with their Move More Month. The aim is to get more Americans to take part in some form of physical activity on a more regular basis – Encouraging them to make it a part of their everyday routine. 

We thought this was such a great initiative. April might be a bit wet for us here in the UK, but there are certainly some warm, sunny days dotted around too. (We’ll ignore the recent frosts and chilly temperatures we’ve enjoyed so far this April!). 

It’s a great time of year to kickstart a new hobby or type of exercise that gets you moving – Whether that’s a walk, a cycle or a swim. 

And what better motivator than have friends and family sponsor your efforts – Donating the money raised to a charity close to your heart! 

Physical fundraisers are super popular with all ages, offering a fun (and healthy!) way to raise money.

So here are some of our favourite physical fundraisers to help your donors move more this April!

Abseiling – There’s nothing like moving more when you’re scaling a tall building! There are plenty of people out there crazy and brave enough to abseil down all sorts of buildings to raise money for your cause – All you need to do is ask! 

Sponsored Cycle – Cycling is a great form of exercise, and can even be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home on an exercise bike (if the weather is really rotten!).

Danceathon – Dancing is such a feel good activity! Whether your supporters are dancing extraordinaire or just fancy a bit of a boogie, this could be a great way to get moving and fundraise.

Football Match – Run a football tournament – Maybe you could pitt local businesses against each other? Teams of school teachers, local postmen, get the whole town talking!

Lego Walk / Fire Walk – This is one not for the faint hearted, but would definitely grab people’s attention when fundraising and more likely to get donations! How many people do you know that have done fire walking? Exactly! And if your friend said they were, would you sponsor them? Absolutely! It would take a bit of organising, with an appropriate venue and the professionals there to train them and set it up, but could be very worth it. Another alternative is a similar idea but with Lego rather than hot embers!

Mountain Climbing – From completing the 3 peaks challenge, to climbing Mount Everest or Mount Kilimanjaro, these are the kind of things that really get people to sponsor! These activities take effort, many of them months of training and preparation, so there is lots of scope for encouraging their friends and family members to get behind them and raid their wallets. 

Marathons – A dead cert for sponsorships, and there are so many all over the country that people can get involved with in addition to the big London one!

Orienteering – Raise funds by charging entrance, along with additional fundraising activities along side.

Parachute Jump – Another one for the adrenaline junkies. 

Skydiving – Not one for the faint-hearted but definitely one that gets lots of sponsors! 

Sponsored Sports Day – Not just for schools! This would be a great way of bringing people together for a day of fun, getting people moving and most importantly raising money. 

Swimathon – Swimming is a great way to introduce some gentler exercise into your routine as well as raising sponsorship money! 

Walk, Jog or Run – Don’t underestimate the sponsored walk, jog or run! Family friendly, easy to theme and a popular choice for fundraising.

Zumbathon – Challenge all those Zumba dancers and exercise fanatics to come and join in a sponsored zumba. 

Encourage your supporters to celebrate their success! 

Why not encourage those who are taking part in your fundraisers to share their efforts – You can share them on your social media platforms! Not only does this give your hard-working supporters a great boost, it also helps raise awareness of your charity and mission. 

This is a great opportunity to build a community of people – Bringing your supporters together to share not only their fundraising success, but ideas and passion for your cause. These types of fundraisers are great for bringing together a local community, schools, businesses and other organisations – All with a common goal of raising money for you!

Digital Fundraising is easy to Integrate with Donater

Here at Donater we have a suite of fundraising tools specifically designed to make giving easier. Easier for the donor to make a donation, and easier for charitable organisations to receive that all-important fundraising.

Our suite of online fundraising tools include:

A dedicated online fundraising page, personalised to your charity or good cause. Supporters will immediately recognise your branding and thus, trust that they are in the right place to make a donation. Online fundraising pages are easy to share online via a handy link, and can be easily linked to your website with a ‘Donate Now’ button.

QR codes. We’ve all become more accustomed to QR codes with the NHS Covid app, so you’ll know how quick and easy it is to scan one with your smartphone. QR codes can be just as handy for taking donations. All your supporter has to do is scan the QR code with their smartphone, and it will take them to an online donation page. Once there, they can choose to donate with a tap via Google Pay or Apple Pay, or pay with their bank details. QR codes are a great addition to any physical marketing about your event, such as posters or newsletters as well as transforming a traditional donation box into a mobile way of taking digital donations.

NFC Tags. Our NFC tags take the above QR code concept a step further, and enable any supporter of yours with an NFC enabled smartphone to merely tap the tag or sticker. They will then be taken to an online donation page where they can make their donation quickly and simply. These work better with in-person events, but could easily be placed at the entrance to your charity or on collection boxes so visitors can donate to your cause if they wish.

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss how Donater could help your charitable cause to raise money digitally, https://donater.co.uk/contact-us/.

How will you be getting people to ‘move more’ whilst they fundraise? We’d love to hear your ideas too! You can tag us on Instagram or Facebook.