If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s the value of giving and being kind to others. People from all walks of life banded together like never before during the pandemic, and if those altruistic values carry through to 2022, we can make a difference to more people’s lives than ever before.
There are countless people and causes around the world that need charity support, including our appeals here at ILM. From Fighting Hunger and Orphan Sponsorship to Livelihoods and Water for Palestine, we use your generous donations to make a difference to people in many different ways. With so many appeals to donate to, you can support a cause that is close to your heart and make a real difference to those in need.
For those who want to go one step further than a one-off donation, making the decision to fundraise for charity is a great New Year’s resolution. The great thing about fundraising is that it not only supports a valuable cause, but it’s fun, too! You can group together with friends, family, and colleagues and take on a challenge.
If you’re looking to do some fundraising in the new year and need some inspiration on what you can do to raise money to give to charity, we’ve put together some ideas you can try, many of which can benefit you as well as the cause you’re fundraising for.
One of the best ways you can fundraise for charity is to do a physical challenge that requires you to get active. There are lots of activities and organised challenges you can do, ranging from fun runs and half marathons to obstacle courses and long hikes. Training for such activities will encourage you to get fit and healthy, allowing you to reap the rewards associated with a healthier lifestyle.
On top of this, you may find that you get lots of support and donations from your nearest and dearest as a result of setting yourself up for such a big challenge, and this means you should hit your fundraising target and make a big difference to the cause you’ve selected.
Another great way you can fundraise for charity is to set a sponsored challenge for the new year. This could be anything, such as walking a mile a day for the whole year in order to raise money for a specified cause, or cycling the equivalent of Land’s End to John o’ Groats across a certain time frame. If you don’t want to or can’t do something as physical, you could always set a challenge such as going vegan for a month or fasting for a set number of days each month to raise money for your chosen appeal.
Rather than setting a specific challenge, you might find it easier to set a target amount of money you want to raise across the duration of the year. By doing this, you can complete a myriad of smaller challenges and fundraising activities throughout the year, such as washing cars, hosting a bake sale, or doing small acts of kindness to encourage donations from friends and family.
The benefit of setting a target amount of money rather than a specific challenge is that there’s no pressure on just one event to raise money, giving you ample time to raise the money in any way you can.
If you’re thinking ‘how do I start a fundraiser for charity when I don’t have much time?’, one of the easiest ways you can do it is to ditch the car and start walking or cycling to work. Not only will you get fitter and improve your cardio, but you can also save a lot more money. With the funds you save, you can donate them to charity. You’d be surprised at how much money you raise over the course of a year simply by choosing to walk or cycle to work one day a week rather than drive.
Looking for challenging but fun ways to fundraise for charity? If so, consider a ‘give it up’ challenge. This means choosing something to give up for a set period of time. It could be refraining from eating a certain food like chocolate, or it might be giving up talking for a day. It’s a good idea to give up something attainable yet challenging at the same time. To help you raise more money, you might choose to do it as part of a group, so you could ask your colleagues to get involved.
Here at ILM, we run a number of appeals to support a wide range of vulnerable people and communities across the world, but we wouldn’t be able to carry out the life-saving work we do without people like you fundraising for us. Whether you raise £10 or £100, it all makes a difference and will be gratefully received by both us and the people we work with.
Please consider fundraising for one of our appeals in 2022. If you do, we hope the ideas above give you inspiration on how you can raise much needed funds for a worthy cause.
