There were some truly inspirational fundraising campaigns last year from Captain Tom Moore to the Ruth Strauss Foundation raising £289,000 through text giving in the summer with ‘Red for Ruth’.
DONATE share their top ten fundraising highlights of 2020:
London Marathon
Innovation knew no bounds with this year’s London Marathon, as 36,000 runners took part in the 40th race - from home! Runners from across the country took part from their homes, parks, and beaches, bringing us all together and raising an amazing £16.1m for charities.
The Intensive Care Society
Intensive Care was at the heart of the NHS response to the pandemic, with doctors and nurses going above and beyond for their patients. The Intensive Care Society recognised that this level of stress was causing psychological harm to staff, launching an urgent appeal to raise money to support, backed by several high profile stars, including Dame Helen Mirren, raising £161,000.
Big Issue North
With lockdown meaning vendors couldn’t be out selling the Big Issue as normal, Big Issue North set up an official hardship fund to help homeless vendors into accommodation, as well as support with rent, bills, and shopping. £22,300 raised through text and web giving.
Academy of Ancient Music
Lockdown for the Academy of Ancient Music meant that, with venues closed, the group, with a worldwide reputation for excellence in baroque and classical music, couldn’t work as normal. The AAM launched a support fund to provide direct financial support to their musicians and kept spirits up with ‘Streaming Sunday’ sessions on YouTube where they pushed their fundraiser and brought their music to new audiences. Just short of £18,000 raised through DONATE.
Packed With Smiles
Launched on World Children’s Day, Packed With Smiles hosted a big community text raffle on DONATE, with all 50 lots donated to the charity by local businesses. The raffle was set up to fundraise following a funding gap left by the pandemic and a determination to continue to support those in need.
Food 4 Heroes
Food 4 Heroes launched an epic online auction to raise funds to provide healthy and nutritious meals to frontline NHS staff across England, with money can’t buy experiences up for grabs. Bids were solely made online, with social media used to raise awareness. The auction raised £23,000 and for the last few hours was hosted by cricket legend Phil Tufnell during a live-streamed event.
The Ruth Strauss Foundation
Manchester turned ‘Red for Ruth’ this July with the Ruth Strauss Foundation Test Match. Played behind closed doors, the charity used a DONATE text code on screens in the stadium, match day announcements, and through celebrity interviews. The innovative use of the text code raised £289,000 for the charity which provides professional emotional support to families facing the death of a parent.
The Original Online Panto Company
Charities such as Mencap and Cancer Research are set to benefit from an online panto fundraising campaign this Christmas, with a percentage of the proceeds from the performance of Sleeping Beauty going to charities and UK arts organisations.
Grand Avenue Primary School (GASPA)
Parent Teacher Associations have had to be innovative with their fundraising this year, and GASPA led the way. With online auctions, The Grand Chop, and seasonal fundraisers, the school has shown that PTAs can continue to fundraise during lockdowns and beyond with digital fundraising.
Captain Sir Tom Moore
No fundraising campaigns of the year roundup is complete without mentioning the amazing work of Captain Sir Tom Moore and the morale boost it gave the nation. Captain Tom walked 100 laps of his garden by the time he turned 100, raising over £33m for NHS Charities Together whilst doing so.
This year has been like no other, and charities have turned innovative ideas into success stories across the board. We’d like to thank every charity that has used DONATE to fundraise this year. It's been a great year of innovative fundraising and we look forward to seeing it continue in 2021!
About the National Funding Scheme
The National Funding Scheme (NFS), operating under the DONATE brand, provides a range of mobile fundraising tools to maximise fundraising campaigns.
Launched in 2013, DONATE (www.easydonate.org) is a platform that allows the UK public to conveniently donate via touch, SMS text, or online. It is so simple to use that case studies show increases of 17x the amount raised. As a charity itself, all NFS’s costs are covered by the Government's Gift Aid scheme. When no Gift Aid is available NFS charges 4.5% to cover transaction and administration costs.
Organisations wishing to register with DONATE should go to www.nationalfundingscheme.org/become-a-partner-organisation/ or for further information see www.nationalfundingscheme.org/faqs-about-donate/ for full terms and fees.
