Virtual fundraising
The Fundraising Team have been working hard to create some fantastic virtual fundraising events and resources that will help to keep you, your family and friends busy and having fun – all while helping to support the Down’s Syndrome Association. And remember, you don’t need to leave your house and garden to take on these fundraisers.
What’s not to love?
Please let us know WHO you are and WHAT you’re doing so we can cheer you on and of course congratulate you when you finish. You can do this by emailing: fundraising@downs-syndrome.org.uk or phoning 0333 121 300.
Thank you to everyone for their amazing support of the DSA.
We really couldn’t run this amazing charity without all of you.
Jump To Section
Community Fundraising At Home
It’s going to be a while before we can start enjoying fairs, dinner dances or charity days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t host an event at home for your family and others to enjoy!
You’ll find all sorts of ideas below that you can take on and share with others while you support the DSA.
We can also send virtual certificates out to people as well as DSA prizes (subject to agreements).
Please let us know WHO you are and WHAT you’re doing so we can cheer you on and of course congratulate you when you finish. You can do this my downloading and filling out our Fundraising Form and then sending it over to the team via email: events@downs-syndrome.org.uk
Who are you at home with?
You may be surprised how many members of your household want to get involved in your fundraising. What event could you set up for everyone to enjoy?
- Could you host a family Olympic Games? Get your family friends involved too and spend a few weeks taking part in different virtual events. Facebook fundraiser anyone?
- Need to share out the housework? Why not make it a competition or a reward process? All while helping the DSA!
- What about a ‘Great Household Bake Off’? In true Paul Hollywood style, set yourself different baking challenges and whoever wins can choose the amount donated by the other contestants?
- Board Game Bonanza…who will come out as the winner?
Get your furry friends involved
Your pets are probably incredibly happy to have you at home…why not get them involved with your fundraising?
- Set up a pet agility course and ask your friends to do the same along with a donation. Whose pet will win?
- Are your animals not that agile? How about a tortoise race, hamster wheel run or a parrot singing competition?
- Who can take the best photo of their pet in a pair of our #LotsOfSocks? Share them with us on social media! We could even judge if you’d like.
- Do a voice-over video of your pet talking about how people can support the DSA?
Creative Competitions
Ask people entering the competition to donate to your fundraising page, explain when the deadline is and what the prize is. The DSA can send out a virtual certificate too and help judge online.
- How many sweets in the jar?
- Guess the name of the teddy bear?
- Colouring competition?
- Photography competition—who can take the best photo of…?
- Who can blow the biggest bubble gum bubble?
- Virtual ‘Chubby Bunny’?
- Who can write the best short story?
Other ideas
Here are some slightly random ideas from the Fundraising Team which might help to get your fundraising brain in gear…
- Do you have a skill that you can share with people? Could you ask for donations so teach your family, friends or even people online?
- Start making products that you can sell at a future fair or fete? Just because we can’t enjoy these now, doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead!
- Knit your own #LotsOfSocks and you may be able to get donations for them?
- More time to focus on getting fit and losing weight? Take on the £1 for a 1lb challenge!
Community fundraising resources
Stay at home challenge events
It’s been a difficult year for big, communal challenge events…and there’s still uncertainty as we head into 2021.
However, you can still complete your own challenge from home!
Please let us know WHO you are and WHAT you’re doing so we can cheer you on and of course congratulate you when you finish. You can do this my downloading and filling out our Fundraising Form and then sending it over to the team via email: events@downs-syndrome.org.uk
Using equipment
Just like organised events, you can set yourself one of our suggested challenges and ask your friends and family to sponsor your efforts.
- Treadmill: Run a 5k, 10k, half marathon or marathon. You could even take on a trek by setting the machine to different gradients? Why not do it in fancy dress?
- Static Bike: Similar to the treadmill, cycle different distances for sponsorship. Why not challenge yourself to 100 miles (like Prudential RideLondon) over a set amount of days?
- Bosu Balance Ball: How long can you balance on either side for?
- Skipping Rope: Take on 500 skips a day for 5 days?
- Hula-hoop: How long can you keep hula-hooping for? Get your friends and family to put money against their guess and we’ll send the winner a virtual certificate!
No equipment
Set yourself one, some or all of the below challenges and set up a fundraising page for your family and friends to donate to. Keep them updated on your progress and share photos and videos too.
- How many star jumps can you do in a minute?
- Do the 1,000 sit up challenge, start at 10 sit ups and increase it by 10 every day. Can you keep it up and complete the challenge?
- How quickly can you do 10 press-ups?
- Take on 50 flights of stairs?
- Try and hit 50,000 steps in a day? Or try and hit 10,000 for 5 consecutive days?
- Host a dance competition with your friends and family?
Our friends over at Run for Charity have partnered with ‘My Race’ to offer our supporters the chance to take on a number of virtual fundraising challenges.
You can find these on our special DSA page on their website. There really are some great challenges you can take on while at home! Click on the image below and find your Virtual Fundraising Challenge!
Setting up your own fundraising page
Do you need to know how to set up an online fundraising page?
We’ve put this information together to explain how you can set up online fundraising pages to help you with your virtual fundraising events. We have taken the direct instructions on each provider’s website and have supplied the web address for the information too.
If you have any questions about the below, please do not hesitate to get in contact with the Events Team on events@downs-syndrome.org.uk or contact the providers.
JustGiving
Go to JustGiving.com.
Log into your account and click ‘Start Fundraising’.
When asked ‘Are you fundraising for a registered charity?’, select ‘Yes, continue’.
Search for the cause you want to support. If they’re not listed, nominate them to join and we’ll drop them an email with instructions on how to sign up.
Let us know whether you’re taking part in an event, celebrating an occasion, fundraising in memory or doing your own thing.
If you can’t see your event listed, select ‘Add your own’ at the bottom of the page and tell us a bit more about your activity.
Choose your web address – this is the link you’ll be sharing with friends and family when asking them to donate.
Tick ‘Yes’ if you’re running a bake sale, or selling tickets to an event, raffle or auction. Donations to your Page won’t be eligible for Gift Aid.
Click ‘Create your page’.
Job done! Your Fundraising Page is now set up and ready to accept donations. JustGiving will send the money that you raise to your charity on a weekly basis.
Login to your Facebook Profile. To create a fundraiser for a charitable organisation follow these steps:
- Click Fundraisers in the left menu of your News Feed.
- Click Raise Money.
- Select Nonprofit or Charity.
- Select a charitable organisation, choose a cover photo and fill in the
fundraiser details. - Click Create.
There’s more help and information on the Facebook help center.
Host a virtual charity pub quiz
We’re all looking for ways to stay connected at the moment and have fun with those we love. Why not combine a get together with a virtual quiz and support the DSA at the same time?
Pop a bottle of your favourite drink in the fridge and pour some snacks in a bowl (or two)…you won’t be able to tell the difference between home and your local!
How to set up a virtual pub quiz
Step 1
Invite your family and friends to join you and tell them how much it’ll cost per person to take part. You can hold your virtual pub quiz using the following tools: FaceTime, WhatsApp Video, Facebook/Instagram Live, Houseparty app or you could even do one via email or text.
Step 2
Ask each team to choose a team name in advance and send them over to you before the quiz. This way you can keep tabs on their answers as they are sent to you.
Step 3
Have your questions and a score card ready. You’ll find one we’ve designed in the link above. Have a set start time and let your teams know how many questions/rounds there will be. Perhaps you could even tempt them with some sort of prize? The Fundraising Team at the DSA will be happy to share any winners on our Twitter page too.
Step 4
Once you have finished the quiz, you’ll need to take some time to go through the answers and score card. This is a great opportunity for the quizzers to grab another drink, enjoy some snacks and chat with the other teams.
Step 5
Share the results! You could even make it a regular virtual get together? Why not create a Facebook Group or Event that you keep updating with any results.
FAQS
How do I tell the DSA?
Get in touch with us via social media or email (events@downs-syndrome.org.uk) and let us know your plans. We’ll need your details so we can add you to our system so that any money raised can be linked to your record.
How much should people donate?
We suggest at least a £1 per person, but you can charge whatever you like. You can ask those playing to pay you directly, set up a Facebook Fundraiser where they can donate to, or even donate directly to the DSA. If you do the latter, make sure you tell them to use a special reference so that we know its from your fundraiser (and don’t forget to share this reference with us too)!
Prize?
Winning is a prize itself, but if you do want to award prizes, their are lots of options. We would be more than happy to send out some DSA goodies. Your teams can also send us photos that we can share on social media to congratulate them on their win!
Questions?
Why not have a few different rounds of questions? History, sport, general knowledge, music, films and even some questions on Down’s syndrome and also the DSA itself? You’ll find some potential questions and answers here.
How do I get the team’s answers?
You don’t want your teams shouting out the answers for each other to hear! Get each team/participant to have a piece of paper and a pen so they can note down their answers. After each round or section of questions, ask them to send these to you. Or you can wait until the end of the quiz to receive all of the answers at the same time.
Don’t forget to call last orders before you share the results… They really won’t know that they’re in their homes and not their local pub!