Christmas is coming: two opportunities for charities
Melanie May | 25 September 2024 | News
With less than 100 days to go before Santa visits, here’s some Christmas-related news of two different types of opportunity for good causes.
Charities can expect two donation spikes in week before Christmas, analysis suggests
There could be two donation spikes in the week before Christmas this year: Friday 20 and Monday 23 December, according to an analysis of festive giving by charity payments technology company goDonate.
The Online Donations December Insights Report 2024 was produced by collecting anonymised data from the online donation funnels of UK charities. It shows that the last Friday before Christmas Day is when the highest number of single donations are made online. This is also when the highest average one-off gifts were recorded in December 2023.
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In 2024, the final Friday before Christmas Day is 20 December, when many people will receive their salary. This year, however, goDonate is predicting a second donation spike: Monday 23 December, when many pension payments will be made, along with some final pre-Christmas salaries.
goDonate’s study also shows that in 2023, the third week of December accounted for 27% of all single donations made during the whole month, and that the time period between 10am and 6pm is the most popular for donating.
Accessible Winter Wishes event back at Hyde Park this festive season
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland has announced the return of Winter Wishes, an accessible experience that invites visitors from local charities, hospitals, and underserved schools to enjoy a festive day out. Limited spaces are still available and eligible groups can apply to join in here. The application deadline is 31 September.
Taking place on Wednesday 27 November, Winter Wonderland will close its doors to the public from 10am to 2pm, offering 6,000 guests free entry and unlimited access to over 100 rides and attractions.
It will operate at a reduced capacity to make it more accessible those with physical and sensory sensitivities, and will feature reduced lighting and sound levels, low-sensory skating on the open-air Ice Rink, audio guides in the Magical Ice Kingdom, as well as accessible facilities. There will also be a free 1pm performance of Zippos Christmas Circus.
Winter Wishes launched at Winter Wonderland last year, with the inaugural experience welcoming 5,000 guests from 23 charities and 48 schools. Over 50 organisations have confirmed their participation in the 2024 event so far, including Make-A-Wish UK, Scope, NSPCC, Shelter, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, Prince’s Trust, and Sense.
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.