How to raise money for charity?
Discussion
One of my friends has taken a bit of a mid life crisis, split with the wife, got a flat and bought some stupid things. He's also decided he hasn't done enough for others so has signed up to go to Nepal to help build schools or something.
He needs to raise around £3k to get there and do it but is short on ideas, as am I.
Don't think he fancies the usual sponsored this and that. He's talking about putting on some music events but I can't see this coming off in the time frame. Any ideas?
I'd think something charity version of Kickstarter where he offers something for £1, £5, £10 etc but what and how?
Or should he try approaching businesses for bigger amounts to wear their T-shirt in photos or something?
I think any sensible suggestions would be appreciated.
He needs to raise around £3k to get there and do it but is short on ideas, as am I.
Don't think he fancies the usual sponsored this and that. He's talking about putting on some music events but I can't see this coming off in the time frame. Any ideas?
I'd think something charity version of Kickstarter where he offers something for £1, £5, £10 etc but what and how?
Or should he try approaching businesses for bigger amounts to wear their T-shirt in photos or something?
I think any sensible suggestions would be appreciated.
Find a charity he really cares about and ask them how he could help. If he doesn't feel really passionate about the cause it will be very hard to engage anyone else to participate.
Most of the stuff you have mentioned makes very little and is more about the person doing it than the charity.
Most of the stuff you have mentioned makes very little and is more about the person doing it than the charity.
I'm not a big fan of 'doing something for charity' and making others pay for it myself, which is why I'd rather contribute with an idea than cash.
The only charities I give to are animal ones anyway so he'll be getting f
k all from me. I'm just trying to help him make the best of it now he's committed seeing as he doesn't have £3k himself.
Like I said, mid life crisis.
The only charities I give to are animal ones anyway so he'll be getting f
k all from me. I'm just trying to help him make the best of it now he's committed seeing as he doesn't have £3k himself.Like I said, mid life crisis.
Music event could work depending on just how tight the time frame is. This hinges on him being friendly with some reasonably big acts and being able to talk them into playing for nothing / charity.
Hell of allot of work and allot to organise if it's not something he's done before.
Charity skydive or similar could work but those usually only raise a few hundred though have known tandems at the DZ to of raised that sort of cash. Usually when someone has died though.
Is he just looking to fund a feel good holiday?
Hell of allot of work and allot to organise if it's not something he's done before.
Charity skydive or similar could work but those usually only raise a few hundred though have known tandems at the DZ to of raised that sort of cash. Usually when someone has died though.
Is he just looking to fund a feel good holiday?
I wouldn't humour him myself. And if pressed I'd probably give him a verbal slap about.
The first condition of giving to others is having something to give in the first place. If he hasn't got anything to give, either materially or skills, there's his answer.
If he wants an extended holiday to Nepal then he should save up for it, not try to play on people's guilt to dupe them into sponsoring him to skydive, put on a concert or some other daft gimmick.
Nepal is a poor country which had a massive earth quake earlier in the year. It needs fresh water supplies, materials to build shelter and stuff like that. It needs medics and people who can fix damaged infrastructure. I doubt it needs berks with inflated egos trying to living out their mid-life crisis and post about it on Facebook.
The first condition of giving to others is having something to give in the first place. If he hasn't got anything to give, either materially or skills, there's his answer.
If he wants an extended holiday to Nepal then he should save up for it, not try to play on people's guilt to dupe them into sponsoring him to skydive, put on a concert or some other daft gimmick.
Nepal is a poor country which had a massive earth quake earlier in the year. It needs fresh water supplies, materials to build shelter and stuff like that. It needs medics and people who can fix damaged infrastructure. I doubt it needs berks with inflated egos trying to living out their mid-life crisis and post about it on Facebook.
If he is serious - then finding £3k wouldn't be a huge drama.
I'm going on a three month holiday on 6 days. Just around SE asia. I'm not going to save the world. I'm going to scuba dive, party, visit islands and have fun. Which in reality is what all "gap yearers" or "travellers" are doing. I perhaps have some skills to offer - but I can help the locals more be spending money than teaching english or building schools. They have manual workers - what they don't have is money.
I've funded it by saving up, and being really tight for the last few months. I've also taken on a second job tutoring in maths. I don't particularly enjoy coming home from work and going out again. But it's easy money and the hourly rate it quite good. I've also got savings - but want to keep those so have just made the cash rather than choosing to dip into those.
Other things I did:
- Look for semi valuable stuff to get rid off. I used to do some freelance photography. I had a mixture of decent l-series lenses. I sold the primes so now just have a nice set of f2.8 zoom lenses. Good enough for me, and made me a few grand.
- Quit smoking. Nearly off the e-cig now. Will take it with me, and bin it when it breaks or I run out of juice.
- Not eaten out. Not even starbucks. Made my own meals and drinks.
- Did my supermarket shopping at LIDL. And stopped buying all the brand goods that I used to use.
- Sold loads of other old stuff. iphone 5 and ipad that my old job didn't want back when I left.
- Looked at how I kept my money. Now I have santander 123 account. 3% interest and enough cashback to offset fee. I will use zero rate cards (halifax clarity) abroad. In the UK I've put bigger purchases on barcaycard which is 0%. I even went as far as to get the 0% cash advance offer from my Barclaycard Platinum. I did have to pay a fee (1.5% I think). But because I have a huge credit limit I am able to make money by doing this. Not a lot but some.
- Did things at work which meant I got extra money. Boss was looking for a photographer for head shots. I spoke to him and said I'd do it for less than the quote - 25% less, and said that if he wasn't happy they don't have to pay me a penny. Have also agree to work at weekends. This helps them by allowing me to clear work before I leave. I'm not getting a higher rate as most do for weekend work. But it's increased my take home.
- Reduced my phone package. Cancelled crap I didn't need. I don't use nexflix, so it's gone. I don't use prime so I cancelled the upgrade. I also chose to keep my old phone rather than getting the new iphone 6. I also didn't renew my gym membership. I enjoyed the gym but it's an annual package and my arms and legs are going to get small when travelling anyway.
So my honest advice to your mate - is to become as tight as he can. Assume his salary is 1k a month lower than it is. And live like that for a few months. Even on a low income you can make big savings. If all else fails and he is desperate to go away then get a loan or borrow the money. Life is too short to not live it for something as pathetic as money or a job. (I don't have kids so am allowed to be stupid like that). Even doing gardening at the weekend can take it £150 a day. I wouldn't be proud - a jobs a job and I've done plenty worst.
I'm going on a three month holiday on 6 days. Just around SE asia. I'm not going to save the world. I'm going to scuba dive, party, visit islands and have fun. Which in reality is what all "gap yearers" or "travellers" are doing. I perhaps have some skills to offer - but I can help the locals more be spending money than teaching english or building schools. They have manual workers - what they don't have is money.
I've funded it by saving up, and being really tight for the last few months. I've also taken on a second job tutoring in maths. I don't particularly enjoy coming home from work and going out again. But it's easy money and the hourly rate it quite good. I've also got savings - but want to keep those so have just made the cash rather than choosing to dip into those.
Other things I did:
- Look for semi valuable stuff to get rid off. I used to do some freelance photography. I had a mixture of decent l-series lenses. I sold the primes so now just have a nice set of f2.8 zoom lenses. Good enough for me, and made me a few grand.
- Quit smoking. Nearly off the e-cig now. Will take it with me, and bin it when it breaks or I run out of juice.
- Not eaten out. Not even starbucks. Made my own meals and drinks.
- Did my supermarket shopping at LIDL. And stopped buying all the brand goods that I used to use.
- Sold loads of other old stuff. iphone 5 and ipad that my old job didn't want back when I left.
- Looked at how I kept my money. Now I have santander 123 account. 3% interest and enough cashback to offset fee. I will use zero rate cards (halifax clarity) abroad. In the UK I've put bigger purchases on barcaycard which is 0%. I even went as far as to get the 0% cash advance offer from my Barclaycard Platinum. I did have to pay a fee (1.5% I think). But because I have a huge credit limit I am able to make money by doing this. Not a lot but some.
- Did things at work which meant I got extra money. Boss was looking for a photographer for head shots. I spoke to him and said I'd do it for less than the quote - 25% less, and said that if he wasn't happy they don't have to pay me a penny. Have also agree to work at weekends. This helps them by allowing me to clear work before I leave. I'm not getting a higher rate as most do for weekend work. But it's increased my take home.
- Reduced my phone package. Cancelled crap I didn't need. I don't use nexflix, so it's gone. I don't use prime so I cancelled the upgrade. I also chose to keep my old phone rather than getting the new iphone 6. I also didn't renew my gym membership. I enjoyed the gym but it's an annual package and my arms and legs are going to get small when travelling anyway.
So my honest advice to your mate - is to become as tight as he can. Assume his salary is 1k a month lower than it is. And live like that for a few months. Even on a low income you can make big savings. If all else fails and he is desperate to go away then get a loan or borrow the money. Life is too short to not live it for something as pathetic as money or a job. (I don't have kids so am allowed to be stupid like that). Even doing gardening at the weekend can take it £150 a day. I wouldn't be proud - a jobs a job and I've done plenty worst.
Well, you can "raise" money for charity simply by spreading the word out that Justgiving skim 5% off all donations. Then there's the paypal & credit card charges on top too/
Far better to request that donations are made directly to the charity without going through these wealthy middle-men.
Far better to request that donations are made directly to the charity without going through these wealthy middle-men.
People like this really get on my t*ts. The I-want-a-holiday-but-need-someone-else-to-pay-for-it brigade. Fell out with a bunch of people where I used to work 'cos they all wanted to climb Mt Kilimanjaro "for charity" but wanted the rest of us to pay them to "do their bit" for humanity and to "put something back". No it's not, it's an all expenses holiday and they got really defensive when I refused to pay their game. I even offered to come along and wait for them at "base camp", but they said I had the wrong attitude.
Tell you what, how about you sponsor me to spend a fortnight "looking after" the poor downtrodden drunken young ladies in Ibiza or Cyprus?
You want a holiday in Nepal, get a job and earn the money or as suggested earlier, sell some stuff.
Tell you what, how about you sponsor me to spend a fortnight "looking after" the poor downtrodden drunken young ladies in Ibiza or Cyprus?
You want a holiday in Nepal, get a job and earn the money or as suggested earlier, sell some stuff.
Tell him to sell some of his organs.
I believe they can fetch a really good price in the States. Or sell some blood in the same marketplace.
But does Nepal really need him when they've got Joanna Lumley?
Edit: It needn't cost £3k to get to Nepal anyway. All he needs is a few quid for the cross-channel ferry, and he can walk the rest of the way if he is determined and committed enough.
HTH.
I believe they can fetch a really good price in the States. Or sell some blood in the same marketplace.
But does Nepal really need him when they've got Joanna Lumley?
Edit: It needn't cost £3k to get to Nepal anyway. All he needs is a few quid for the cross-channel ferry, and he can walk the rest of the way if he is determined and committed enough.
HTH.
Edited by glenrobbo on Wednesday 14th October 10:57
Totally agree with comments above. It's a holiday paid for by others and the sales pitch being it's for 'charity' so you're evil if you don't pay.
As have been said before these business are as far from genuine charity as you could imagine. They even try and take a cut when I go to the bloody ATM now!
Anyway, tell your mate to pay for his own bloody trip and do the charity work for free. That would be a real contribution from him.
As have been said before these business are as far from genuine charity as you could imagine. They even try and take a cut when I go to the bloody ATM now!
Anyway, tell your mate to pay for his own bloody trip and do the charity work for free. That would be a real contribution from him.
ColinM50 said:
People like this really get on my t*ts. The I-want-a-holiday-but-need-someone-else-to-pay-for-it brigade. Fell out with a bunch of people where I used to work 'cos they all wanted to climb Mt Kilimanjaro "for charity" but wanted the rest of us to pay them to "do their bit" for humanity and to "put something back". No it's not, it's an all expenses holiday and they got really defensive when I refused to pay their game. I even offered to come along and wait for them at "base camp", but they said I had the wrong attitude.
Tell you what, how about you sponsor me to spend a fortnight "looking after" the poor downtrodden drunken young ladies in Ibiza or Cyprus?
You want a holiday in Nepal, get a job and earn the money or as suggested earlier, sell some stuff.
Absolutely thisTell you what, how about you sponsor me to spend a fortnight "looking after" the poor downtrodden drunken young ladies in Ibiza or Cyprus?
You want a holiday in Nepal, get a job and earn the money or as suggested earlier, sell some stuff.
If he REALLY wants to help, let him pay his own airfare; then I can put him in touch with someone who is already out there working with the Monks in Nepal and Tibet to rebuild following the earthquake.
A friend & fellow PHr climbed Kilimanjaro (and other mountains) to raise money after he survived Cancer. BUT he paid his own way there; so no one felt that they were sponsoring him to go on holiday.
One mate was asking for sponsorship for a different marathon event & charity every month! Unless they are doing it as a one off I'm not interested paying for them to indulge in their hobby.
Another (who did get sponsorship) actually acknowledged this in his pre-amble of the ‘please sponsor me’, he’s never asked before, never will again and was doing 3 Triathalons in a week or something equally as stupid! As he only started running last year, doesn't usually swim or cycle that's pretty impressive!
I raised over £8k for Marie Curie by shaving my hair off (there was a LOT of hair!). That paid for the local Hospice to run for 24 hours. At the time it was made very clear that it was a one time only thing following my Mum's death; with Dad following so quickly, I'd like to do something for Alzheimers/Britsh Heart Foundation but... I've no hair left and my friends and PH were exceedingly generous last year; I'll not take the piss.
I looked at this a few years ago (climb a mountain/walk the great wall of china ect, you raise £3000, £1500 pays for the trip and the charity gets £1500.
I couldn't bring myself to con people into paying a tenner knowing that it was paying for my trip, I tried to justify it by saying if I do nothing the charity gets nothing.
But when I asked myself would I be happy to pay a tenner for someone else doing this the answer was no I would rather just give the charity a tenner so they get the full amount.
I couldn't bring myself to con people into paying a tenner knowing that it was paying for my trip, I tried to justify it by saying if I do nothing the charity gets nothing.
But when I asked myself would I be happy to pay a tenner for someone else doing this the answer was no I would rather just give the charity a tenner so they get the full amount.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff