1. Open an online cocktail bar
Birthday coming up and wishing you could have a party? Well, you can… sort of. Instead of inviting your nearest and dearest to a big IRL bash, ask them to donate the cost of a drink to your chosen cause instead.
Get creative with your UK virtual fundraising invite by emailing guests a colourful ‘menu’ of wittily-named cocktails at different prices, with a link to your GoFundMe fundraiser. Don’t forget to organise a Zoom call and raise an actual glass from home!
2. Run a weekly photography competition
Thanks to smartphones, everyone can be a photographer, or have a go, anyway, making virtual photo competitions popular . Set a new theme each week and ask everyone to post their entry on Instagram using a designated hashtag.
Share the entries and ask everyone to vote for their winner (Instagram ‘likes’ work well for this), who then gets a prize sent to them in the post (tip: ask local businesses if they would be willing to donate a small gift or voucher). Entrants must donate £5 to your GoFundMe fundraiser to be in with a shot at winning.
3. Cosy up for a synced movie night
Host a long distance movie night for you and your friends using the Netflix Party extension. It’s easy – everybody logs onto Netflix from their respective sofas and watches the same TV show or film together.
Playback is synchronised and there’s even a group chat for making silly comments when everybody wants you to be quiet. Suggest that viewers donate the cost of a cinema ticket to your GoFundMe fundraiser, and don’t forget the popcorn.
4. Let’s get quizzical
It was the lockdown classic with good reason. Everybody loves a pub quiz, and they work surprisingly well virtually. Offer to come up with a multi-round quiz, with one round themed around the cause you’re raising money for, and act as the quiz master for the night. Get those taking part to put the £2 they would normally pay your local, plus the price of a drink or two, towards your GoFundMe fundraiser. Glory is a prize in itself, but you could also offer your services for free, be that babysitting, cleaning the bathroom, acting as a chauffeur or cooking the lucky winner dinner.
5. Put on a live show from home
If you’re a DJ or musician, now’s your time to shine, albeit not in the way you imagined! In the absence of a physical audience, consider taking to social media and livestreaming a performance in exchange for donations to your GoFundMe fundraiser. Not musically gifted?
Maybe you have another talent to share, such as comedy or spoken word poetry, or could teach an online class such as yoga, painting or cooking. Online tutoring has also been hugely in demand with so many children falling behind at school.
6. Read a bedtime story to children (and adults!)
Got lots of friends with excitable kids who simply will not go to sleep? Volunteer to do everybody a favour and read them all a bedtime story over Zoom. Parents can pop a laptop up in their child’s bedroom and let your dulcit tones send their little darlings straight to the Land of Nod. If only it was that easy! They’ll appreciate the effort, anyway – and cough up generously, no doubt.
7. Livestream a 24-hour challenge
The 24-hour challenge has always been popular among fundraisers but if you livestream it Big Brother style, there’ll be nowhere to hide – everybody will see if you slack off! Ideas include non-stop trampolining, exercise biking and gaming. Kids could try a ‘stay in your bedroom’ challenge, like little Leni and Archie did in May. If doing something for 24 hours straight seems too daunting, why not make it a joint effort with friends, like awesome basketball players Charlotte, Alice and Holly? Make sure everybody has your GoFundMe link for cheering you on with donations, particularly over those last gruelling few hours.
8. Throw a tea party…for your pet!
Yes, a pet tea party is an excuse to show off your furry friend and ‘aww’ at everybody else’s. But that’s OK – we’re all in need of some light relief this year! Invite animal lovers to pour themselves a cuppa and grab a slice of cake before tuning into a Zoom call with their pet. Introduce your cause and pop a link to your GoFundMe fundraiser in the chat, then let the barkfest commence! Pet tea parties are a particularly great idea if you are fundraising for an animal charity or your local rescue shelter.
9. Set up a virtual book club
The Big Nights In afforded to many of us during lockdown led to one thing above all else: reading. Nestling into bed with a good book never gets old, but chatting about the story with friends who have read it too is always the best bit. Set up a virtual book club and decide on the book you will read that month – consider giving attendees a shortlist of three to vote on. Join a Zoom call on a pre-decided date and let your inner bookworm go wild! Encourage book clubbers to donate the money they would have spent on drinks and snacks to your GoFundMe fundraiser. If it’s successful, make it a monthly event. If you’re more into singing than reading, try a similar approach with a virtual choir and indulge in some mass Zoom singalongs.
10. Dress up for a virtual black tie dinner party
The Big Nights In afforded to many of us during lockdown led to one thing above all else: reading. Nestling into bed with a good book never gets old, but chatting about the story with friends who have read it too is always the best bit. Set up a virtual book club and decide on the book you will read that month – consider giving attendees a shortlist of three to vote on. Join a Zoom call on a pre-decided date and let your inner bookworm go wild! Encourage book clubbers to donate the money they would have spent on drinks and snacks to your GoFundMe fundraiser. If it’s successful, make it a monthly event. If you’re more into singing than reading, try a similar approach with a virtual choir and indulge in some mass Zoom singalongs.
