7 great Valentine’s fundraising ideas
Melanie May | 9 February 2016 | News
It’s that time of year again, but calendar events like Valentine’s Day can provide some great inspiration for fundraising ideas, and a welcome opportunity to attract more donations.
Here are seven of the 14th February-inspired fundraisers that are happening this year.
1) Cats Protection Lonely Hearts Day
Cats Protection in East Grinstead is holding a Lonely Hearts Day on 13th February to try and home some of the 150 cats in its care. Visitors will be able to meet the many cats currently at the centre, including those that are finding it particularly difficult to find a new owner. Staff will hand out pink lemonade and chocolate hearts, and there is also the chance to win a Valentine-themed Love Hamper.
Will Flynn find true love this Valentine’s Day?
2) Dogs Trust MicroChippy
Dogs Trust is opening the MicroChippy for Valentine’s weekend, a pop-up café giving dogs and their owners the chance to eat together on 13th and 14th February. The charity has partnered with Sandia Chang, chef and co-owner of gourmet hotdog and champagne bar Bubbledogs, to develop a bespoke menu of both dog and human friendly recipes. The MicroChippy will look like a 1950 diner and will be located at Printworks Kitchen in Clerkenwell, London. The price is £12 per person, which includes a hotdog, side and a glass of champagne or soft drink, and dogs go free. All profits will go to the charity.
There will be four 45-minute sittings on both days and the aim is to raise awareness of the upcoming change in microchipping legislation, which from April will require dog owners to have their pets microchipped and their registered address kept up to date.
Not such a dog’s dinner: MicroChippy’s romantic meals for two
Advertisement
3) Chocolates for Charity
The Children’s Centre on the Isle of Man is targeting local businesses with its Chocolates for Charity campaign. The charity will be visiting offices including PokerStars and Old Mutual to give employees the chance to decorate their own chocolate heart for a £5 donation. Money raised will support the organisation’s charitable services which include: The Community Farm, Out 2 Play, Mobex, and Saturday Contact Centre. The event takes place between the 8th and 11th of Feb. The event has been running since 2013 and last year raised £2,000.
4) Chocs for Chance
A ten-day online auction, Chocs for Chance gives people the opportunity to bid for a box of luxury chocolates created by top chefs and journalists and delivered in time for the big day. Participating chefs include Raymond Blanc, Marcus Wareing and Michel Roux Jr. The proceeds go to Galvin’s Chance, a programme that helps disadvantaged young people aged 18-24 into work through training and work placements at top restaurants in London. Galvin’s Chance is an initiative of DM Thomas Foundation.
https://twitter.com/paul_a_young/status/696690657411342336
5) Living Streets’ Most Romantic Urban Walk competition
Living Streets has shortlisted its five most romantic UK city strolls in a competition asking people to vote for their favourite in time for Valentine’s Day. The shortlisted walks are in Glasgow, Chester, London, Oxford and Scarborough. The competition aims to build awareness of the health benefits of regular walking and asked 15,000 people to nominate their favourite UK town or city romantic walk and say why they had chosen it. The winning entry will be featured on the Living Streets website in time for Valentine’s Day.
#Oxford currently leading our #romanticwalks poll. Read the nomination to find out why https://t.co/4ua4Va9JqV pic.twitter.com/qxjIVfnWoC
— Living Streets (@livingstreets) February 3, 2016
6) DontSendMeACard.com
E-card site DontSendMeACard.com is inviting people to send their Valentine’s cards online and donate the cost equivalent of buying and posting a paper card to one of 48 UK charities, including Jessie’s Fund, KIDS, Trees for Cities, and The Muscle Help Foundation. Users of the site compose an e-card and message for £1 to £10, and the recipient will see that the sender donated instead of buying a card. Users of the site can also opt to donate more.
DO send me a card, but make it a charity-friendly e-card
7) Everydayhero #ilovebeCAUSE16
Everydayhero is inviting people to enter a social media competition to win a cash prize for their favourite charity. Entrants have to post a picture of themselves using their hands to create a heart on Twitter or Instagram or on everydayhero UK’s Facebook wall, with a caption stating ‘I love [charity name] beCAUSE [reason why they love them]’. They need to tag @everydayhero and their charity, and use the tag #ilovebeCAUSE16.
There are three categories: Most creative and heartfelt entry, Most creative way to show your heart, and Most creative location to show your heart. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 donation for their chosen charity and a £100 voucher to Amazon for themselves. The competition runs until midnight on 15th February.
Blue Cross rescue and care for sick, abandoned & unwanted pets #ilovebeCAUSE16 💙 @everydayheroUK @BlueCrossEvents pic.twitter.com/YsKvt6T6gy
— Victoria (@vicvolunteering) February 4, 2016
- Need even more ideas for Valentine’s Day fundraising campaigns? Delve back through our coverage over the years.
£3000 in prizes from @everydayheroUK in Valentine's competition. No 7 at https://t.co/Y5tyhrUhnU #ilovebeCAUSE16 pic.twitter.com/FJ7xuH5AO8
— Howard Lake (@howardlake) February 10, 2016
Related posts
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.