Even fundraising events have felt the impact of the pandemic. Adapting quickly to restrictions and new working models, virtual fundraising is now a major part of the charity landscape. With Red Nose Day just around the corner, we thought a summary of the top five virtual fundraising ideas. as identified by Charity Digital, plus advice on how to make the most of them, might bring you delight, pleasure and a healthy dose of acute embarrassment, as summarised below.
- Dares for donations
Put a price tag on a range of dares such as shaving your head, skydiving and dressing up like a fluffy cloud for your full working week. Ask people to purchase their favourite dare and follow through heroically. The more outrageous the dare, the bigger the ticket price.
- Virtual auctions
Hosting a virtual auction requires a host (that’s you!), an audience (think friends, family and social media contacts), and some great things and experiences to sell. Pick a platform, such as eBay for Charity, and start hunting around for some auction items. BBQ accessories and jewellery are popular choices, but helicopter rides, a day shadowing the Big Boss, and even one-to-one poker lessons with the head of HR attract a lot of bids.
- Virtual bingo
Virtual bingo nights are a big crowd-pleaser. They’re easy and cheap to run and you can even personalise the night with a bingo sheet tailored to your audience and/or charity.
- Virtual karaoke
Virtual karaoke is like a virtual singing contest but without the talent. Gather your audience, ask them to send in their song requests and have their songs (sourced from YouTube) at the ready for the Big Day. When your colleague’s turn to shine arrives, make sure everyone else is muted, and then let them sing their embarrassing little hearts out.
You can ask people to donate in advance of the event or activate the ‘Donations by Pledge’ app on Zoom and encourage them to get trigger happy during the show.
- Virtual dance party
Follow the same steps as in Point 4 to set up your virtual dance party. All the host needs to do is play some songs and ask people to dance at the same time. Watching one person dance at a time is way too squirmy to even be considered, particularly for the merrier members of your party.
For more ideas and advice on virtual fundraising events, please visit the Charity Digital website.
Please get in touch with your trusted recruitment partners at ABL to let us know the shape and flavour of your fundraising activities this year. If you’d rather skip straight to a chat about your dream new job, we’re all ears too!
