10 Christmas fundraising ideas for 2015
Howard Lake | 23 November 2015 | News
According to JustGiving, more people give online in the week before Christmas than at any other time in the year. To help you make the most of this opportunity, here is our first collection of 10 seasonal fundraising ideas and campaigns to inspire you.
First, the stats from JustGiving:
1. Raffle a day off work
Cancer charity Marie Curie is encouraging employers to raffle an extra day (or days) off at the Christmas party, and help pay for Marie Curie nursing care at Christmas.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w9flBvbL6k[/youtube]
2. Show the impact from one Christmas to the next
Crisis has shown the impact it can make in one year to one person. In 2012, Tony was one of the charity’s guests at Crisis at Christmas. In 2013, he returned as a volunteer.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpo2NovUxQ[/youtube]
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3. Process your Direct Debits on time
Don’t miss processing your regular gifts by Direct Debit around the Christmas break. Bacs have published the Christmas and New Year dates for Direct Debit processing.
4. Set an extra space at the table
Here’s an idea from last year. Hunger charity Mary’s Meals encouraged people to set an extra place at a virtual Christmas table and donate £12.20, which will feed a needy child in a place of learning in some of the 13 countries it works in for up to a year.
The charity is running the OneMoreForChristmas campaign again this year.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJEw3nlM8XY[/youtube]
5. Make sure you’re getting the most from your Christmas card partnerships
The Scrooge Awards may be no more, but their work is not quite done it seems. Some commercial ‘charity’ Christmas card publishers are not giving as much of their proceeds to charity as one might hope.
According to Civil Society, “A Which? investigation into the percentage of Christmas card pack prices that major retailers donate to charity has found that the Co-Operative and Lidl give the least – 7 and 8 per cent respectively”.
6. Auction a unique hand-crafted Advent calendar
Parcelhero is auctioning a “unique advent calendar” on eBay in aid of Oxfam. The company gave a handful of our favourite artists and bloggers a chance to turn a plain wooden box into a beautiful hand-made Advent calendar. The auction closes on 26 November.
7. Secure a supermarket partnership
This year Sainsbury’s has partnered with Save the Children and John Lewis with Age UK for their Christmas TV adverts. John Lewis produced two films – one its corporate Christmas ad in partnership with Age UK but with no charity branding or logo, and a second one which was a direct appeal on behalf of the charity.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5_t65fjU_I[/youtube]
8. Sell branded merchandise
Christmas is a sales bonanza of course. Help for Heroes is selling its branded his and hers Onesie to help its supporters stay warm this Winter.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZjDjLHNEGk[/youtube]
9. Advent – multiply the opportunities to get involved
Advent is used by plenty of charities to issue multiple or different asks, or invitations to get involved. The Advent calendar is a common hook.
But there are others. The Church Urban Fund is inviting supporters to organise a sponsored Advent Sleepout – in a church, community hall, school or garden shed; and to invite lots of others to join them. That’s just one night of discomfort in the period of Advent.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhxo4pkv7VU[/youtube]
10. Produce a Christmas single
You might not reach number one but a Christmas single can generate income and interest. St Martin’s in the Fields in London is well known as a home of fine music and of a project that supports homeless and vulnerable people. This year it is promoting its Christmas appeal with a song.
Of course, it helps that the charity is the perennial subject of the Radio 4 Christmas appeal. Here is actress Felicity Finch announcing the Christmas Appeal song, ‘I See You’.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK6309EFVKE[/youtube]
Main image: Christmas collecting tin by Chris Brignell on Shutterstock.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.