Whether you want to raise money to thank a charity for the help they gave you directly (advice, gift bags, a place to chat with others perhaps), or more indirectly (such as research into your specific cancer), there are heaps of ways to do it.
The easiest way is just a straight monetary donation to the charity of your choice. You don’t “do” anything, just give some cash, and perhaps ask family and friends to do so too.
You can raise money indirectly if you prefer, with no additional cost to yourself. If you use Amazon for example, they will donate a small percentage of the value of your orders if you use a special link when making your orders. You can choose from a wide range of charities for your contributions to go to. To get started, check out: https://smile.amazon.co.uk
Another way to raise funds for charity for “free” is to look through the Pocket money section of my blog. Some of the options mentioned there will allow you to donate any money earned directly to charity. With the ones which don’t allow direct donation, or don’t allow direct donation to your preferred charity, you could keep track of what you’ve saved/earned and then donate that amount directly to your preferred charity yourself. Or you could just donate part of it, if you really need the extra money for your own bills. Whatever works for you. 🙂
Then there are “events” to raise money. To start with it’s best to look at your chosen charity’s own website, or social media pages, as most charities run their own fundraising campaigns which you can participate in. A potential benefit of an organised event is that you might be more likely to meet other people with a similar cancer experience to your own during the event.
A few general cancer charity websites to start you off with ideas:
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/fundraise
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/find-an-event
https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/get-involved
https://www.youthcancertrust.org/support-us/challenges
A different way is to do something independently, and then send the money to charity afterwards. You can get really creative this way, and do something different, something which is more challenging for you.
You can either do something completely independently, or go via a company which organises events but lets you choose the charity to donate to. One such company is Global Adventure Challenges: https://www.globaladventurechallenges.com — they offer corporate, bespoke, and open challenges. The “open” challenges are open to anyone, and your sponsorship money goes to the charity of your choosing. You can also sometimes choose whether to use part of the sponsorship money to pay for you to participate, or you can “self-fund” your participation. In my opinion it’s better to self-fund, because then every penny people sponsor you goes to your chosen charity. If you can’t afford to self-fund, ask your potential sponsors if they’d be happy to pay for your participation too — some people might be happy to do so.
As well as or instead of registered charities, you could also raise money for the hospital you were treated at. Some might organise their own events, and you’d know that the money would benefit other patients in your local area. Perhaps the best way to find out about how to help in this way would be to contact the PALS (patient advice and liaison service) team for your hospital — contact information should be on your hospital’s website.
And finally, if you’re wanting to fundraise on behalf of a relative or a friend, and your first thought is a sponsored head shave — please, please talk it over with them first. It’s great that you’re willing to do something so publicly, but not everyone agrees with this specific event. Check out Brave the shave… in the “rants” section of my blog where I explain why!
RaspberryLimeMango — UK cancer tips and freebies 