Christmas fundraising ideas

The 12 Days of Fundraising

Here are some fundraising ideas for your charity or good cause to do throughout the festive season.

Lights are twinkling, decorations are going up, drinks are being mulled. People are starting to get in the festive spirit – And it’s the time of year for giving.

Fundraising doesn’t stop for Christmas. So, here are 12 Festive Fundraising Ideas to help you continue to raise money through the festive period.

Christmas Bake Off

The Great British Bake Off might have finished for another year, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to put down our whisks and wooden spoons. Cake sales tend to be popular, especially at this time of year when it’s all about the food! Whether you’re a charity, a church, a school or another organisation raising money for a worthy cause, a bake sale with a festive theme is always a winner. You could even make it into a competition – A donation to enter, and a donation to eat the delicious treats on offer.          

Donater Smart Stickers would be a great addition to a fundraiser like this, while also helping to keep things Covid-Safe with contactless, cashless payments. Those wishing to buy a cake and make a donation could simply scan the QR code or tap the tag with their smartphone and donate via Apple Pay, Google Pay or with their bank details.

Christmas Jumper Day

This is a hugely popular one, and very easy too. All people have to do is turn up to work, school or just go about their daily life donning a Christmassy jumper. And make a donation for the privilege.

If you sign up to Donater’s suite of fundraising tools, then you could even add a Donate button to your company / church / school website that people can use to make a donation. Or create your own Donater online donation page and circulate the link on your social media platforms along with advertising the fundraiser and the date.

Carol Singing

We don’t tend to see this very much nowadays, but think how much a spot of Carol singing could lift people’s spirits. There’s nothing quite like singing or listening to Christmas songs to get you in the spirit of things. Whilst it may not be particularly pandemic-friendly to go door-to-door currently, there’s no reason why you couldn’t host a live Christmas Carol concert on Facebook or Instagram.

Donater’s online donation pages are social media friendly and would be a quick and easy way of encouraging your online audience to donate. You could also charge a small fee for emailing out a song sheet with the words on prior to the event. Which also happens to be a great way of collecting contact details to use for marketing at a later date.

Gift Wrapping

You either love it or hate it. Offering a gift wrapping service for a small fee would be a great way of fundraising whilst helping those who just don’t have the time or the will to wrap. It would also provide a great opportunity to team up with businesses in your local community. Independent shops and other High Street retailers have been hit hard this year. Now that lockdown has been lifted and shops have been allowed to open, it’s a great time to team up and make a difference. Reach out to some local gift shops and ask if you could pitch up a gift wrap station in their store so that customers can buy their Christmas gifts and get them wrapped there and then.

This is another situation where Donater Smart Stickers would work really well. Customers simply tap or scan the Smart Sticker with their smartphone and make their donation before the ribbon’s even been tied. Contactless, cashless and Covid-Safe.

Virtual Santa Fun Run

It wouldn’t surprise us if the nation suddenly had a rush of runners. With daily exercise being one of the few reasons we’ve been allowed out of the house during some periods of this year, we reckon there are loads of new runners in your vicinity eager to see what they can do. Whilst it might not be permissible to host a run of hundred of people right now, there’s no reason why individuals wanting to take part couldn’t do their Santa run from home on a treadmill or out and about in their local area. You could even host it virtually on Zoom! All they have to do is ask for sponsors! You could even make it a social media challenge – We seen some with huge success this year.

Donater online donation pages and website buttons could help your charity raise money through a virtual Santa Fun Run. It’s easy to share with your audience, and easy for donors to use via mobile, tablet or computer.

Personalised Candy Canes

This year there are a lot of unsung heroes. People that have looked in on elderly neighbours, got a friends shopping for them, helped their local book bank and generally just did great things for their community. A lovely way of saying Thank You whilst raising some money for your cause could be to team up with your local village(s) and offer personalised candy canes for a small donation. People could make a donation in exchange for a dedicated candy cane with a personalised gift tag – Raising money for charity whilst showing their gratitude.

Deck The Desk

We know some people are back in the office, but many are still working from home. Decking your desk out with Christmas decorations is the perfect fundraiser whether you’re in the office or working from home! Ask for donations to enter, and the best decked desk wins a bottle of mulled wine (or a festive treat of your choice). Get them to share their creations on social media with a specific hashtag and donation details (a Donater online link would work well) and you might even get more than just your employees joining in!

Online Quiz

2020 has well and truly been the year of the online quiz! Were you even in lockdown if you didn’t partake in a quiz over Zoom? Why not end the year with just one more, but this time make it festive! Hosts could ask every team to make a donation to enter, give prizes for the best festive fancy dress and enjoy a mulled wine with friends even though you can’t invite them over. You could also charge a small fee in the way of a donation to provide all the quiz questions!

Swap The Christmas Cards for a Donation

Many people do this already, so it’s merely a case of suggesting your supporters consider donating the money they would usually spend on Christmas cards to your good cause instead. And then telling their friends all about it! A Donater online donation page would be an easy way for supporters to share a link to your cause.

Twixtmas Traditions

Ahh that week between Christmas and New Year, affectionately named Twixtmas. Many people have this week off work, but don’t always have plans to fill it with. Why not encourage your supports to spend the days of this week raising money and doing good deeds? Create some new Twixtmas Traditions this year and drum up some donations.

Tis The Season To Be Social

We might have had the least social year ever, but many have spent much more time online. Social media, Zoom work meetings, working on Teams, making video calls with family over Wi-Fi. You may or may not be surprised to know that people spend rather a lot of time scrolling social media on Christmas Day, and this year will likely be no different. This would be a great time to say Thank You to all your followers for their continued support, especially after this tough year. These messages can all be pre-scheduled, and you never know, they might encourage a few more festive online donations.

Go Digital

If you haven’t already, then take your fundraising online. This year has hit charities hard, highlighting the need for resilience and innovative thinking in tough situations. Online tools have been a lifeline for all sorts of businesses to try and survive this pandemic, and charitable organisations are no exception. There are many online fundraising tools at your disposal. To learn more about how Donater’s suite of online fundraising tools could help your charity to boost donations, get in touch with us today. You can also find plenty of online fundraising ideas over on our blog.

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