JustGiving blog

If just the idea of running a marathon leaves you gasping for air, don’t worry – you’re not alone. There are plenty of us at JustGiving who are awe-struck by some of the incredible athletic feats carried out by our community, which we read about as we tuck into another chocolate biscuit.

Thankfully, great fundraisers don’t have to be great athletes. There are plenty of things you can do to raise money for your favourite charity that don’t involve you breaking into a sweat.

Here are some brilliant ideas that we’ve seen from some expert fundraisers:

1. Strike a pose

Charlotte Solomon wanted to grab people’s attention. Not only was she raising awareness for molar pregnancies, but also the vital funds necessary for the research into this rare condition. That’s why she launched the Get Naked Calendar 2012. By recruiting 28 of her friends to pose, she has raised well over £50,000 for the Cancer Treatment and Research Trust. Charlotte raised such an incredible amount, not only through sales of the calendar, but also from sponsorship of people who wanted to support her fundraising campaign.

justgiving.com/calendar2012

2. Show off your creative side

Super-talented Jack Henderson turned his artistic skills (see above for his take on the JustGiving logo) into a fundraising triumph by drawing pictures for people and then asking them to donate to The Sick Kids Friends Foundation in return. The six-year-old started off his fundraising endeavour with the aim of raising £100. But as news of his talents spread, requests for a Jack Henderson original poured in and he’s now raised a staggering £28,000. Not only that, he’s won numerous awards and he even has his own book out.

justgiving.com/jackdrawsanything

3. Use your hobby to build a fundraising community

P/hop (pennies per hour of pleasure) is the brainchild of avid knitter, Natalie Fergie. It’s a website with fantastic patterns that fellow knitters can download and enjoy. In return, they make a donation to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), basing their donation on the hours of pleasure they get from knitting their p/hop pattern. The project has raised well over £30,000 for MSF and last year, Natalie and her knitting buddies took home the award for JustGiving’s Most Creative Fundraiser.

justgiving.com/theyarnyard

4. Throw a dinner party

Delicious food, great wine, interesting conversation… now that sounds like our kind of fundraising. So why not turn a dinner party into a fundraising venture? You can catch up with old friends, invite them over for dinner and ask them to rate your cooking skills by donating what they think the meal was worth to your favourite charity. Jack Sheldon, who looks after all things community-related at JustGiving, did just that. He smashed his £100 target, raising over £500 for Winston’s Wish.

justgiving.com/dinneratjacks

5. Do something new

Or rather, 52 new things – that’s the challenge Nick Thorpe gave himself. He made a resolution that for every week of 2010, he would try something completely new. With everything from watching a Bollywood film, to having a fish pedicure, and even releasing a Christmas single on his list, you name it, Nick tried it. And name it was exactly what he asked people to do. He asked people to show their support and suggest new things for him to do by making a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society.

justgiving.com/nick-thorpe

Do you have a fundraising idea?

If you have a great or original idea of how to raise money without putting on a pair of running shoes, we’d love to hear them. Comment on this blog post below, or let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

Tags: creative, Fundraising, fundraising ideas, inspiration, non-sporty