It’s safe to say that Christmas 2020 will be unlike any other! On the one hand, we’re starting the festivities earlier than usual – maybe we’re deprived of shop window displays or just in need of some cheering up! – but our celebrations will also be smaller and perhaps quieter than other years too.
So what does a Covid Christmas mean for charities?!
The most obvious question is where can people fundraise? If we aren’t hosting office parties or school nativities, what are our options?
The answer is clearly online – but most of us can agree that Zoom meetings and virtual house parties wore us out during the first lockdown. So online fundraising is challenging – but like a lot of things this year, the challenge can actually inspire something better from us all. Rather than rolling out all the same ideas as last year, we can think again about how to really engage with each other. This year actually gives us the push to make online fundraising better and more accessible for everyone.
So the question isn’t just where, but how? There are some tried and tested online options – JustGiving has been around for 20 years and we would be silly to ignore these trusted platforms. Our supporters have happily turned to JustGiving this Christmas to help us raise vital funds.
But we also need to find new ways to make the most of our supporters’ creativity and enthusiasm. For starters we’ve taken our favourite fundraising tips and made them COVID-safe – there are heaps of them here that are just as fun at home or outside as in an office or school. Downloadable quizzes bring the office party to you, pay-along Christmas playlists help share the festive mood, and social challenges bring us all together looking silly for a serious cause. Instagram, Facebook or Twitter also mean we can share all of this with our family and friends – you can still admire your friend’s upcycling or marvel at your mum’s knitted triumph!
And to truly bring people together, we’ve created a fun fundraising day of virtual sessions and activities. Whether it’s jumping jacks in a jumper to kick-start the day, or an online quiz you don’t have to host yourself, there are loads of ways that virtual fundraising can be better, easier, and even more fun than what we may have done last year. It’s a chance for us to give more to our supporters, help bring them together this Christmas, and inspire them to join in.
Socially distanced doesn’t need to mean socially distant – we are still in this together and we are still looking to each other for support. If we can harness that spirit, at Christmas more than ever, we can pull together as a community to help change the future.
