April is Stress Awareness Month. We all know how prevalent stress is in our society, and so much of the content we consume online, in print and via social media is about how to lower stress levels and boost our mood. 

But what we also noticed about these stress busters is how easily they could be transformed into a fundraiser! Some of us need a bit of motivation to usher us into proper self care. What if you were being sponsored to take better care of yourself, raising money for charity as you went? We’d say that would be pretty win-win, wouldn’t you agree?

Here are some of our favourite ways to help lower stress levels, whilst also giving you the opportunity to raise a bit of money for charity.

Here are some charities that are doing amazing work for mental health that you could consider raising money for:

• Mind
• CALM – Campaign Against Living Miserably
• Anxiety UK
• The Stress Management Society
• Mental Health Foundation
• Combat Stress for Veterans

Or perhaps, you are a charity yourself! Why not use the ideas below to help  encourage your supporters into a bit of stress-reduction and fundraising? 

Stress-Busting Fundraisers

Here are some fundraising ideas that could help lower stress levels as well as offering the opportunity to raise money. 

Exercise

Exercise is often the first thing a medical professional will suggest to someone suffering from stress, yet it’s often quite difficult to feel spurred into action. Feeling stressed can really zap us of energy, but exercise can actually help us feel better – What a vicious cycle! 

Choosing a type of exercise that would be enjoyable to you is a great place to start. Then, share with friends, family and colleagues your exercise plans so you have some accountability, and ask them to sponsor your efforts. 

It could be introducing a gentle jog into your weekly routine, committing to 3 times a week. Apps like Strava can make this easily shareable with those supporting and sponsoring you. 

Or perhaps something like Yoga or Pilates – There are so many classes that are accessible online, you could do it from the comfort of your own living room. Again, set a target of maybe 3 times a week and then start collecting those sponsors to keep the motivation up. 

Here are some more exercise ideas that could help lower stress levels, and also lend themselves well to sponsorships:

• Cycling
• Swimming
• Walking
• Running
• Weightlifting
• Zumba
• Tai Chi

Quit the Caffeine

What’s your caffeine intake like? Caffeine and stress are not friends, and those endless cups of tea or coffee could be heightening your feelings of stress even further. So why not swap your cup of builders tea for a cup of chamomile? Or that mug of coffee for a decaf? 

Giving up caffeine or even lowering your daily cups isn’t easy, so why not ask for a bit of encouragement from your friends, family and colleagues in the way of sponsorships? Commit to a month of coffee swaps and share your progress along with an online donation page. 

Sponsored Self Care

How often do you actually take some time for yourself? Here are some ways you can unwind which could also lend themselves well to fundraising opportunities. 

Readathon / Sponsored Book Club

Reading a good book is a great way to unwind, escape and avoid endless scrolling on a screen-based device. Why not host a weekly or fortnightly book club where you each donate a small amount of money to charity. You can host the Book Club in person or online – A great way to reconnect with friends as well as de-stress. 

Practise Gratitude Photo Challenge

It’s been said that the brain can’t be anxious and grateful at the same time. Taking time out of each day to be consciously grateful could be a great way to relieve stress – Perhaps every morning with a positive affirmation for the day ahead, or every evening focusing on the positive parts of your day. 

It’s a great way to shift your focus away from the cause of stress. And could be a great encouragement to others too! 

A charity hosted 30 Day Photo Challenge linked to gratitude is a great way to:

• Raise awareness for a worthy cause via hashtags and tags
• Bring focus to things you are grateful for and share those moments – big and small – with those closest to you, inspiring gratitude in them too
• Encouraging accountability to complete the challenge
• Make a donation to a chosen cause after completing the 30 day challenge

Rate My Bubble Bath

How many times have you quite fancied a bubble bath, but jumped in the shower instead because it’s quicker? Take the time to slow down and really put some thought into your next soak. 

Commit to a certain number of bubble baths – Perhaps 3 a week for a month or one every night for a week whilst on holiday! It might sound silly, but sometimes we need a real push to force ourselves to slow down. 

Put the effort in to make these baths a proper form of self care:

• Use the expensive bath foam you save for ‘special occasions’
• Light some candles
• Use aromatherapy
• Use face masks or other skin care products
• No phones allowed! 

Share your bath on social media and ask for sponsorships to help you reach your target of 3 per week. Encourage others to do the same! 

Cold Water Therapy

If a soothing bubble bath isn’t your form of self care and you like a bit more of a challenge then this could be the one for you. 

You might have heard of cold water therapy* – There are many people online with big followings that swear by this method to reduce stress. Check out the Wim Hof Method for a place to start – You can find him on Instagram. 

Why is cold water good for stress? The exposure to the ‘stress’ of immersing your body in cold water (either by swimming or even just a cold shower) is actually putting your body under ‘safe’ or ‘healthy’ stress which can help to reduce our stress baseline. 

And what could be more worthy of stress-busting sponsorships than immersing your body in cold water every day? You could do this with a cold water swim each morning (always check for safe swimming spots and don’t go alone). If that’s a bit tricky to get into your routine then why not stick to a simple 60 second blast of cold at the end of your daily shower or a plunge in your very own cold tub? 

*Disclaimer: There are certain health conditions where cold water therapy is not recommended. Always follow expert GP advice before starting something new. There is plenty of information on how to practise cold water therapy safely online. 

How Do You De-Stress?

What helps you to de-stress? Could you motivate yourself to do more of this by making it into a sponsored challenge, with the money going towards a mental health charity? We know how much ingenuity our community has – We’d love to hear your ideas on how you can turn your ways to unwind and de-stress into fundraising opportunities! You can tag us on Instagram or Facebook. 

Digital Fundraising is easy to Integrate with Donater

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, contact us.