As a business, it’s essential to highlight the importance of your corporate social responsibilities and giving back to the community.
One of the best and most common ways to do this is by raising awareness and money for charities. Many businesses pick one charity annually to focus on, engaging in various activities to help raise funds.
Charity fundraising helps companies contribute to important social causes, fosters a positive corporate image, strengthens employee morale and builds a connection with teams and the wider community.
Yet in today's world of corporate giving, fundraising isn't just about the office anymore. For companies hosting national events and aiming for a big public turnout, it's all about telling stories that connect with everyone.
In this blog article, we’ll cover:
- The Top 10 Charity Fundraising Ideas
- How to Market Your Charity Event
- How to Promote Your Event
- Nail Your Newsletter
The Top 10 Charity Fundraising Ideas
Picking your charity is one thing. Rallying the team to get on board with activities is another.
Offering various activities throughout the year to accommodate everyone is the best way to make the most out of your fundraising efforts – whether that is hosting in the office or as a corporate-wide charity event.
We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 charity events that you can convince your colleagues to get involved in:
- Sponsored fun run — A fun run is the ultimate challenge for the athletic competitors in the office. Join an already existing challenge or host your own.
- Bake sale — Everyone loves a sweet treat now and then. An office bake-off sells the goods to raise even more money.
- Silent auction — Hire out a venue for the night and unleash your inner bidder.
- Car wash — If you have a private car park, why not treat the team to a car wash?
- Sponsored silence — We all know one chatterbox in the company, so why not task them to a sponsored silence for a good cause?
- Treadmill marathons or bike rides — Many offices now incorporate treadmills into the office space to make it a healthier environment. Why not set a goal for the team to walk the same length as Mount Everest?
- Sponsored skydive — This one is for thrillseekers. You could have a team afternoon out to support those daredevils.
- Charity golf — Find out who the Tiger Woods of the office is and raise money with some healthy competition.
- A company ball — Get your fancy dancing shoes on before the clock strikes midnight for a gala night.
- Raffles — One ticket, an entire row, or the whole book? Raffles are a tried and tested way to raise money for charity.
How to Market Your Charity Event
Identify Your Target Audience
For most fundraising events, your target audience will be the people in the business. Still, you can go further than that and involve family, friends, the wider community and other companies.
Why not go head-to-head with other businesses when hosting an event like a charity golf game? People in the local town or village may want to watch and support their favourites too.
Not sure who your audience is? Look at previous events and see what kind of audience attended them.
Once you've identified your audience, you should start working on the fun part — how to persuade them to come and participate.
Prepare the Marketing Message
Your marketing message is crucial for persuading people to attend your event. It should include:
- A catchy slogan — Something that will stick in somebody’s head, and they’ll instantly remember your event. Use a slogan generator or have an office competition to help develop the perfect slogan.
- The appeal of the event — Give a little glimpse of what the event's about and how your attendees would benefit from coming along. People are more willing to attend and donate if the cause affects them directly.
- Persuade to participate — By mentioning the charity you’re raising money for and a target of what you’re hoping to reach, people will attend if they have ties with the charity through a loved one or friend.
Your marketing message should be spread over a variety of different mediums. That way, it has the best chance of reaching a broader audience and maximising potential returns.
Use digital and traditional printed methods to communicate your message as effectively as possible.
How to Promote Your Event
Communicate to Your Team
Many businesses use communication channels like Slack, Teams or even emails. Get the whole team involved by sending a company-wide message through these channels and drum up some excitement.
Signage
Leading up to your event, ask shops and restaurants if you can display posters or flyers in their shop windows.
This is a free way of displaying your signage so passersby can take note. Make sure it stands out and grabs the audience's eye by nailing your layout.
Website Announcements and Justgiving Donation Pages
Create a page dedicated to promoting your event on your website. This will act as a one-stop page where all the relevant information about your event is provided.
Consider selling tickets from this page for the ease and convenience of the viewer.
You could also sell tickets from a third-party site, promoting your event to their wider audience. Consider popular platforms such as JustGiving.
Social Media
Use the company's social media accounts to reach your followers and inform them about events.
Social media is one of the most important marketing mediums, so you must utilise it. It’s also a great place for interaction, so you can contact local businesses or radio stations to ask for sponsorship or coverage of your event. Collaborate with influencers and communities for enhanced impact.
Utilise Print Marketing
Acknowledge the value of print materials, using well-designed posters and leaflets to reinforce your brand and create tangible connections.
By combining digital and print strategies, your national event can resonate widely, fostering a collective spirit of giving and participation.
Company Newsletter
Does your company have a newsletter they send out? This could be a great way to spread the word far and wide.
Have wide coverage of your event in the newsletter and offer a ticket special offer if they present a voucher out of it on the day.
Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust embraces the power of print through their monthly magazine, Kingfisher, which serves as a vibrant platform for connecting with their audience and sharing the latest updates and initiatives in the realm of wildlife conservation.
Nail Your Newsletter
As you’ve just read, newsletters are a great way of getting messages out there about various topics. So, you must nail them.
Not sure how to create the best newsletter? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Download our free guide to find out more.
