Fundraising tips and ideas

• Self-donate

Kick-start your fundraising by self-donating to your fundraising page. It doesn’t have to be a large amount - £5 or £10 can show you are committed to the challenge and encourage others to donate too.

• Gift Aid

Raise 25% more funds simply by encouraging your supporters to Gift Aid their donation. If your donors are a UK taxpayer, their donations to your fundraising page could be eligible for Gift Aid. This means we can claim 25p from the government for every £1 donated to our fundraisers. So for every £100 you raise, your total could be £125 incl. Gift Aid! Read more here.

• Publicly thank you donors

Saying thank you is an easy one to forget but hugely important. Always say thank you publicly to your donors to let them know what a difference their support will make to The Salvation Army. Others will see this and it may prompt them to sponsor you as well.

• Add a video to your JustGiving page

It doesn't need to be anything fancy, simply use your smartphone to record something. It could be a video of you talking about what you're doing and why, or a live stream while you're out training for your event.

• Send a follow up email / repost on your socials

You know what it’s like – people mean to donate, but sometimes they don’t quite get round to it. Or perhaps when you first messaged them, maybe it wasn’t a great time, but now you’re catching them just after a pay day. 

• Put your page address in your email signatures

Adding your JustGiving URL or QR code to your email signature is a quick and easy win in terms of getting your page out there. It only takes doing it once and then every email you send out will be raising more awareness of your fundraising and attracting more donations.

• Keep everyone updated!

The highs, the lows, your successes, and your struggles. Inspire your supporters with your milestones but also don’t be afraid to show the challenging times too.

• Use your JustGiving QR code

QR codes get people to your page faster, especially if on a poster. Get yours by putting “/qrcode” at the end of your URL and pressing enter (eg: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jane-doe/qrcode) Having difficulties? Email us and we’ll get it for you.

• Mail-order treats

A previous fundraiser asked her friends to donate to her JustGiving page in exchange for yummy brownies or shortbread sent in the post! A great idea to reach friends all over the country.

• Offer your time for a donation

Does your neighbour's dog love to be walked? Is your friend's car in need of a wash? Do your in-laws need their lawn mowed? Make an appeal on your social media, or better yet, host an Auction of Promises event where you can gather your friends to bid on a selection of activities you are willing to do for them.

• Dedicate a mile

If you are doing a physical fundraiser such as walking, running or cycling, you could ask people to ‘buy the mile’ and for each mile you conquer, that mile is dedicated to that sponsor. If you are running a marathon, if each friend donates £10 per mile that’s £260!

• Guess my finishing time

You could suggest a £10 donation for a chance to guess your finishing time and the winner, who guesses the time or nearest to it, can receive a gift such as a baked cake or another homemade treat.

• Draw on your skills

This is a great one for both in person or online. Choose something you are good at and hold a class or demonstration for an entry fee. One of our previous fundraisers even made an event of it, hired their local corps’ hall for a Pilates class and sold homemade snacks after the event for the hungry participants!

• Guess the baby competition

Ask your colleagues to pay an optional donation to your JustGiving page and bring in a photo of themselves as a baby. Everyone taking part then tries to guess who each baby grew up to be. The winner gets a small gift of your choosing (maybe you could bring them in lunch the next day?).

• Host your own quiz, bingo, film or board game night

You could host this virtually by either livestreaming or pre-recording a video, or why not get in contact with your local corps/church to see if you can hire out their hall and charge for an evening of fun and games, or popcorn and blankets! We have a pre-prepared quiz available here for you to use.