How I Increased My Charity Fundraising Without It Costing Me More

Hi, I’m Michelle. I’m a mum of two with a part-time job, who enjoys supporting my favourite charities however I can. I’ve organised a Macmillan coffee morning for the last few years. I wish I had the time, opportunity and spare money to do more, but… life is busy, you know how it is!

I discovered Give as you Live Online about a year ago and it’s been a bit of a revelation! I can now help Macmillan with ongoing donations throughout the year, while getting on with the day-to-day, on top of our fantastic coffee mornings.

But, like anything, you have to get the hang of it. I hope I can help you get up to speed with some charity fundraising ideas to use the platform and donate to good causes more easily.

Tip 1: Make it easy to remember!

Quick practical tip. The first thing I found helped me raise more was to think about how I shop online and make sure I was set up to raise as easily as possible. I tend to do my weekly supermarket shopping order from my iPad in the evening, so I use the free app. My partner likes to buy for their hobbies from our PC using the Donation Reminder. The point is, have that easy reminder for however you normally shop online.

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Tip 2: Spotting the big wins

Once I’d made a couple of small purchases and seen how it works, I felt confident to try something that would raise more. We were planning a weekend away, I didn’t really mind who I booked it through so I had a look at the travel stores and saw a 3% donation rate from Expedia for hotels. That’s a donation of over £10 raised from that one booking, for the budget I was looking to spend. Just wait till we start flying again, even more donations to come!

Tip 3: Being “switched on”

I can keep a list of when my insurances and utilities come up for renewal via my Give as you Live Online account, so I don’t forget to look to switch for a better deal. I like to use comparison sites to save time, but you can compare and buy through them using Give as you Live Online. My chosen car insurance policy via Money Supermarket raised another £14.25. And if you need help choosing, an annual digital Which? subscription raises another £18.52. See how this is all mounting up? Not costing me a penny extra!

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Tip 4: Make it work via work

My partner has their own business. I had a lightbulb moment that we could be fundraising from work-related purchases as well. Office supplies, computer software, printing services… you name it, you can raise from it!

Tip 5: Getting friends involved

My last tip is simply: there’s only so much any of us can do on our own. I’ve got friends coming to my charity coffee mornings, but have their own favourite charities, and the same shopping to get! There are over 200,000 charities to support. Plus, Give as you Live Online themselves donate a bonus £5 for every friend I get to sign up and spend £5.

So, what are you waiting for? Start using the shopping you already do each week, those annual renewals, and your business purchases to make a really valuable contribution. Last year I raised over £50 for Macmillan. In truth, I doubt I would have found that money out of my own budget without Give as you Live Online. But it’s been raised and it’s doing good. You can too, anyone can.

Fundraising doesn’t need to be extraordinary. Just give as you live your ordinary life.

What is Give as you Live Online?

Give as you Live Online is a FREE online fundraising platform that has raised over £31 million for UK charities just through online shopping. There are over 6,000 stores listed and over 200,000 charities available to support. Sign up, click through Give as you Live Online and raise free donations whenever you shop!

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Offers, donation rates and participating stores are correct at the time of writing and are subject to change. Please visit the Give as you Live Online website for the most up to date information.