14 more fundraising ideas for Christmas 2015
Howard Lake | 14 December 2015 | News
We started with 10 ideas for fundraising at Christmas, but there are plenty more. Here is our second list of 10 fundraising ideas for this season of giving.
1. Christmas cards
Reject the trend towards instant messaging your Christmas greetings to friends and families on the day. Instead, buy, write and post a traditional printed Christmas card.
Need some stats to be convinced this is worthwhile? Here are some:
Good news for charities:7in10families plan to POST Xmas cards,chart https://t.co/fOrdkmBrQE down 1% on 2014,but above 2013 low of 70%
Advertisement
— fastmap (@fastmap) December 2, 2015
Which charity’s cards to choose? This one is a personal choice: it is International Children’s Trust, to recognise the 11 years’ work of Alison Sanderson there.
The designs include depictions of Christmas from the imaginations of children whom the charity is helping go to school in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and India.
The Theatres Trust has made good use of Twitter’s facility to post four images in one tweet to showcase some of its Christmas card designs:
Get into the #Christmasspirit with our Christmas Cards! Reduced prices this year https://t.co/8UIEHC1FFd pic.twitter.com/eSipcYNq4r
— Theatres Trust (@TheatresTrust) November 30, 2015
2. Putting the social into Christmas campaigns
Tis the season of lists, so here’s JustGiving’s list of Five social Christmas campaigns including this spoof advert for Save the Children by Harry Enfield:
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnqPMwuGEok[/youtube]
3. Use matched giving opportunities
The Big Give’s annual pre-Christmas campaign gives many charities that chance to double the value of some of their supporters’ donations, and that includes major gifts.
The Birmingham Hippodrome’s video tells a good story, with archive content and endorsements from well-known performers, together with a clear walk-through of what is involved:
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PTy9BZvbMs[/youtube]
4. More matched giving opportunities
LocalGiving is also running two matched giving opportunities in the run up to Christmas.
To mark this year’s #GivingTuesday, on December 1st 2015 Localgiving matched 1,000 £5 donations to Localgiving members in the #GiveMe5 campaign.
To find our more about #GiveMe5 and how you can get involved, click on the button below.
One week later it kicked off its Christmas Top 40 campaign. From 8 December it is awarding a £100 prize to the first 40 groups that raise £100 through their Localgiving Appeal page. Donations of any amount made after 10am on that date count towards the target. One overall winner will win a £1,000 prize.
5. Sell Christmas-themed items
Many charities sell products throughout the year but some, like CLIC Sargent, sell items with a clear Christmas theme.
Our new glittery Christmas pin badges are perfect for any festive outfit! Get yours now: https://t.co/fh5DN9s0NE pic.twitter.com/uCnHM0yGUI
— Young Lives vs Cancer (@YLvsCancer) December 7, 2015
6. A Christmas message
The Queen and church leaders used to be the only people to issue Christmas messages. Now anyone, including charities, can publish their seasonal video message. Here is The Trussell Trust reviewing 2015 and what it achieved. Think of it as a video Christmas card to supporters and the public.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDUcFOKcp1g[/youtube]
7. Partner with local shops and their Christmas events and displays
What are the big shops in your town doing for Christmas? Help Harry Help Others is benefiting from Santa’s Grotto at House of Fraser in Birmingham:
OPENS TOMORROW! Santa's Magical Grotto at House of Fraser, in aid of Help Harry Help Others! https://t.co/yDJ5giOD4M pic.twitter.com/8dB32W1tao
— Birmingham What's On (@WhatsOnBrum) November 27, 2015
8. Make the most of your venue
National Trust venues are encouraging members and the public to visit before and during the Christmas break, with the promise of Christmas events, decorations and treats. This is Wimpole Hall’s promotional video:
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCq7Rg4gcrY[/youtube]
9. Highlight the excitement in the run-up to Christmas
Everyone is busy as Christmas gets closer, so giving them a fundraising option that is quick, easy and relevant is essential. CLIC Sargent have done that with their #readyforXmas photo campaign, whey they invite the public to share a photo of their Christmas decoration progress and to text a donation of £5.
Have you put your tree up? Support our #ReadyforXmas appeal. Tweet your 🎄 pic and text READY to 70800 to donate £5. https://t.co/VunbrJoW9E
— Young Lives vs Cancer (@YLvsCancer) December 8, 2015
10. Say thank you
Saying thank you is important at any time of the year, but Christmas is a particularly apt time as we think of family and friends, and perhaps look back on the year as it draws to an end.
RNLI has published a festive thank you video:
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqy0K8b7QhE[/youtube]
11. Ask more than once
Even if you run a major Christmas appeal with nationwide media support such as the annual BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal for St Martin’s in the Fields, you still have to get your message across more than once, given all the other charity fundraising appeals running throughout December.
The launch may be over, but it’s worth sending out reminders via relevant media channels:
Missed the #R4XmasAppeal? Hear it on @BBCRadio4 at 3.25pm. Support via https://t.co/YGgCG1aHjJ or 0800 082 82 84 pic.twitter.com/eA5HiyHHwd
— St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity (@SMITFCharity) December 10, 2015
12. Make the most of the traditions
Many children write a letter to Santa Claus each Christmas. NSPCC has cleverly made the most of this tradition with its Letter from Santa which delivers a personalised letter, giving children (and parents) what they want. And it includes a fundraising element, with a suggested minimum donation of £5.
[youtube height=”450″ width=”800″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkvjtxiKCMs[/youtube]
13. Give your old car to charity for Christmas
A few years ago donating a goat (or rather the price of a goat) was all the rage. This year why not encourage supporters to donate their used car at Christmas?
That is what Giveacar is encouraging charities to consider. Even scrap cars can fetch between £35 and £55.
Set up in 2010, the social enterprise has raised £1.9 million for over 2,700 UK charities through the scrapping and auctioning of cars.
14. Announce your New Year fundraising campaign
Unwanted Christmas presents? Sell them for charity via eBay for Charity.
The PayPal Giving Fund is already encouraging charities to focus on January and inviting their supporters to raise funds for them by selling unwanted gifts and items via eBay, and donating some or all of the income. The eBay for Charity programme lets people sell items online and donate from 10% to 100% of the sale price.
eBay will waive its listing fee proportionately to the percentage that supporters choose to donate.
To be eligible a charity needs to be registered with PayPal Giving Fund.
• Don’t forget our first 10 fundraising ideas at Christmas 2015
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.