If you gave the average person 60 seconds to come up with ways to raise money for charity, you would undoubtedly see the same themes appear.

The first is likely to be a bake sale, a coffee morning, a raffle or even running a marathon. Of course, these are all fantastic ideas to raise money for a cause, but as times have moved on, there are now more innovative approaches that can be taken to raise money for charity without having to buy a pair of racing shoes or join a gym.

This article seeks to explore those in a bit more depth to help you see the newer ways to raise money for a cause that you care about.

Themed Campaigns

Macmillan and other charities often recommend that fundraisers come up with themes around which to base their fundraising. 

For example, if you feel passionately about raising money to save butterflies, having a craft fair with a butterfly theme can be inspiring. Or, if you want to raise funds to help end illiteracy, you could base a book fair around a theme like Harry Potter. Keep it simple and keep it fun, and you will be sure to attract a lot of engagement.

Peer-Based Fundraising

Most people have heard of fundraising platforms like GoFundMe or JustGiving. So, why not use this, paired with viral challenges, to raise money for charity?

This is usually most effective when paired with social media, and you could even start a tagging chain. This could be you tagging a friend to take part who, once they have uploaded the video and collected funds, tags one of their friends, and so on. 

Try Different Event Types

OK, so everyone knows that a marathon is going to attract and appeal to a lot of people. However, in the age of live streaming, it can be worth mixing in-person events with virtual ones. This could look like people paying to watch a live-streamed gala or hosting an event like a themed dinner, all to raise money for charity. Remember, keep it fun and base the event types around things that people like, as this will attract more attention and more donations. 

Subscription and Membership 

This is a new one that encourages people to make recurring donations, which will give them access to behind-the-scenes content, merchandise from the charity and updates. You could even send out small subscription boxes filled with goodies linked to the cause, such as pollinating seeds to save the butterflies or plastic-free drinking items to reduce plastic pollution.

You can even offer different levels of subscription or membership based on how much someone is able to donate each month. So, for those lucky souls who are able to donate around £20 or $20 a month, you could give them more backstage access to the cause or send them goodie boxes with more treats in. You will be amazed at how effective this is when it comes to raising funds for charities.

Author Bio
Lizzie Reynell-O’Brien graduated with an MSc in clinical psychology from Goldsmiths University and started her small writing company, Just Write, in 2018, writing solely about mental health diagnostics in the NHS. She is passionate about writing as an art form, and when she’s not typing, you will find her walking her two rescue Jack Russells or in her garden planting wildflowers.