With Christmas fast approaching (only 95 days to go!), it’s time to start thinking of how you can maximise fundraising during the season of goodwill. This time of year sees people embracing the festive spirit and offering their support to charities in many different ways, much more so than at other times of the year. December is the  month that fundraisers can expect to generate a higher amount of income through individual giving than any other month of the year.

If as a fundraiser, you are finding yourself thinking “Oh no, Christmas! I don’t want to dress up as Santa and stand in the town centre freezing with a bucket again!”, fear not! For here we have some alternative methods to fundraising at Christmas. While Christmas Markets and Carol Services are very effective and festive, there are other ways to maximise the Christmas spirit in terms of fundraising. Here are 5 Christmas tips for alternative fundraising methods:

  1. Corporate Partners – I know from my own experience in the Corporate Sector that December is often the month of ‘festive fun’ at work. This month see’s fundraising days and events such as ‘Christmas Jumper Day’. Having a relationship with a Corporate Partner can be very useful to charities at Christmas time. There are many ways they can help with fundraising, from fundraising events to asking their employees to donate their last hour of pay for the year. You could even ask that they have donating buckets at their Christmas parties, as we all know people are more charitable after a few drinks!
  1. Search Engines – The technology era is upon us, and we are spending more and more time online to do our shopping than we are actually going out to the shops. In the run-up to Christmas, the web is rife with Christmas bargain hunters searching far and wide! This is something that charities can take advantage of to maximise income. Search engines such as giveasyoulive.com offer the opportunity for shoppers to donate as they search online. Advertise these websites to your donors and local communities and ask that they choose you as their chosen charity.
  1. E-Cards – We all have that anxiety as Christmas approaches that we need to find time to sit and write out all those Christmas cards. People working in a large office will feel my pain of receiving a card and then knowing you have to go and buy an extra pack as you didn’t think of that colleague when writing yours! What better way to overcome this than sending an E-Card and donating the money you would spend on cards to charity! Why not create your own E-Card to send to members and donors and ask that they donate to you instead of sending cards this year!
  1. Winter Run – Over the last few years we have seen the rise of fundraising runs. Events such as Race for Life and The Mud Run are becoming more and more popular. Why not utilise this new craze and hold your own Winter Run? This can even be made fun for all the family as you ask runners to dress in fancy dress as they run through a winter wonderland. For those of us who prefer to run for fun than competition, these types of fun runs are a great day out while raising money for charity. They might even gain more sponsorship for being brave and taking part in the cold month of December!
  1. Those ‘in between’ days – The days in between Christmas and New Year can often be a little boring. The fun of Christmas is over and there are few days until the New Year’s Eve party! Why not take advantage of this and hold your fundraising events during this time? A lot of people are not at work and are looking for things to do. Ideas can range from holding a pre-New Year’s Eve Ball (those with children who don’t get to party like it’s 1999 every New Year may appreciate this event), to asking people to volunteer at a local homeless shelter. Encouraging people to get out and work off the last two days of Turkey can be a great way to maximise fundraising.

Whatever your Christmas approach to fundraising make the most of it and be creative! After all, tis the season to be jolly!