8 Great Funding Ideas for a Charity – Give with confidence

Have you recently set up a charity of your own? You’ll already be aware that necessary to the success of any charity is the amount of funds available to be able to execute your work. Even if you have been successfully operating for a while, you’ll know that it’s important to have fresh fundraising ideas to keep funds coming in. It is also recommended that you have multiple streams of income for your charity, so you don’t become too reliant on one.

Read on for some inspiration on how to raise more funds. Here’s our list 8 funding ideas that can help your charity raise lots of cash for your cause:

  1. Organise a fundraising event

A tried and tested method that has worked for many organisations over the years is a fundraising event. The scale of the event really depends on the size of your organisation and the funds you have available to put into the organisation of it. It could range from a fancy gala dinner to a small funfair. You need to ensure that if you are investing a lot into the venue, entertainment, and food, as you’ll be making a healthy return on your investment to justify the time that you’ll have to spend planning it.

Organise an event that you know that the majority of your target audience will be likely to attend and enjoy. An event is also a great way for new people to learn about your charity’s work, and for you to potentially grow your donor base.

  1. Physical and sporty challenges

As people are becoming more and more obsessed with health and sport, it is a great idea to combine our passion for fitness with our desire to raise funds for our charity. You can either organise a sponsored run, marathon or hike and encourage your employees and volunteers to run for it. Or you can encourage your donor base to get involved in running for your charity through social media campaigns and email marketing.

  1. Apply for grants

It is a great idea for charities to train someone within their team who is effective at writing grant proposals. There are a plethora of trusts and foundations out there that are looking to donate to causes in the UK. Yes, it is competitive as they receive thousands of applications for funding. However, a well written grant application really stands out as many charities don’t spend enough time writing these to a high standard. Pick a select list of trusts and foundations that you know will be interested in your cause, rather than applying to hundreds and then really take your time drafting the applications for a higher chance of success.

  1. Create an innovative social media marketing campaign

The ALS ice bucket challenge is a fantastic example of how a social media campaign managed to raise awareness of an issue while also raising a huge amount of money for the charity. Have a brainstorm session to come up with an innovative idea of how you can garner more interest using social media channels. This could be a campaign based around user generated content (UGC) by asking your donors to contribute their own stories. Humanising an issue makes it a lot easier for people to relate to and they are more likely to donate if they hear stories about those suffering from the issue in question.

  1.  Engage your local community

Often the easiest way for a smaller charity to begin fundraising is by focussing on the local community where they are based. You could bring the community together by holding a bake sale in the neighbourhood, or you could engage the younger members of your community by holding an event at the local school or church. It is always better to start off small so you can test and learn ideas before embarking upon a huge fundraising venture.

  1. Implement a monthly donation model

Once you have interested donors, then it is much easier to keep up consistent funding by asking them to donate on a monthly basis. When you ask for small amounts on a monthly basis, you’re more likely to have people sign up rather than asking for a larger lump sum. You could keep your donors engaged by sharing stories of how and where their donations are making a difference.

  1. Give up something/try something for a month

This idea has successfully been executed by The Movember Foundation, and Macmillan Cancer Support for Sober October. You can encourage people to give something small up or try something new for a month to raise funds for your charity. They could set up an online JustGiving page where their friends and family can easily donate as they share their progress.

  1. Consider partnering with relevant brands

Most brands these days have a corporate social responsibility department and are looking to give back and support a cause of their choice. Brand partnerships are a great way for your charity to try and raise some extra funds. Make a list of brands that it would make sense for your organisation to partner with, and reach out with some ideas on how they could help you raise funds for your cause. The incentive for them would be that it could encourage brand love among their customers and improve their image.

Follow some of the above ideas to get your charity kickstarted with a fundraising effort, and you’ll soon be making a great contribution to your chosen cause.