chat
The internet has opened a world of opportunities when it comes to fundraising and you now have the ability to turn almost anything into a fundraising event.
Fundraising with family and friends does not have to mean hiring out a venue and hoping that you can sell tickets. Now, with a few clicks you can set yourself a running challenge from home, run a virtual quiz or even host a family and friends bingo night – all without leaving the house.
We’ve suggested a few ideas below but the possibilities are truly endless. If you have an idea in mind but would like a hand in turning it into a virtual fundraising event, we’d love to hear from you.
Virtual fundraising ideas
Physical challenges
Did you know that popular app Strava now integrates with JustGiving? Whether you’re a runner, walker, swimmer or cyclist you can now use technology to track your miles for whatever challenge you set yourself.
You could set yourself challenges such as:
- Run a marathon every weekend for a month
- Walk 100 miles in a month
- 500 laps of the swimming pool in a month
- 100 miles cycled in a month
You may have a certain milestone or number in mind which correlates with an anniversary or date. This can be great inspiration for dreaming up your challenge. For example, you may have been diagnosed, or have a loved one, that was diagnosed at the age of 45. You could then use this to dream up a challenge such as running 45 miles across 48 hours, 45 laps at the swimming pool every week for a period of time or plan a 45 mile walking route to complete over a number of days. The possibilities are endless!
If you’re looking for information on how to connect your Strava account to Justgiving, they’ve published a handy guide here.
Online quizzes
Britain is obsessed with pub quizzes. Around 100,000 people a week take part in physical quizzes across the nation, all aiming to be recognised for their brain box knowledge.
Quizzes make brilliant fundraising events. You can hold them in a venue and invite friends and families to enter teams. However, organising a physical event isn’t a possibility for everyone – so why not hold a virtual one instead?
Using video conferencing platforms such as Skype, Zoom, Facetime, Google Hangouts or Facebook video chat, you could set a quiz for friends and family.
To turn it into a fundraising event, create an online giving page and ask people to make a suggested donation per person to take part in the quiz. The prize could be something physical – such as a bottle of something tasty or a meal voucher. Your participants might not even want a prize with the knowledge that they are the best quizzer amongst their friends being enough!
We suggest setting a picture round with a further four rounds of ten questions as a starter but you might want to hold a quiz marathon or just a quick fire session.
The team at Leukaemia Care are big fans of quizzes and if you’re struggling to write a quiz yourself, we have some ready-made questions to help you along.
If quizzes aren’t you thing, you could hold a virtual session of Bingo instead with people making a donation per game.
Host a virtual gig
If you’re a keen musician, you could hold your own virtual gig and encourage people to make donations via an online giving page if they are enjoying themselves.
This is a great fundraising page if you have lots and friends and family who have commitments which mean they can’t necessarily always attend events.
Headshave
Headshaves continue to be a super-popular way to fundraise for charities but there is no reason why they can’t be turned into an online event.
Let people know that you’ll be doing a charity headshave and open an online giving page where you can direct people to make directions. On the day of the shave let people know where they can see it being done live online – you may find a live stream on a social media platform the best way to do this. Make sure you take before and after photos too – your after photos may well encourage further donations after the event has happened.
How can Leukaemia Care support your virtual fundraising?
- Our in-house team can create on-brand graphics to help promote your event – how about an image you can share on social media?
- We can advise on the best online giving platforms to raise money on – and the tools to support the type of fundraising event you’re planning
- The world needs to know what you’re doing – and we’re there to shout about it. We can write press releases to your local newspaper about the brilliant thing you’re doing for charity, as well as social media posts across our channels to highlight the work you’re doing
- After the event we can supply thank you certificates which detail exactly what you have raised
We’d love to hear your virtual fundraising plans. Email the team on fundraising@leukaemiacare.org.uk or call us on 01905 755977