5 easy ways to raise money for charity

In a world full of problems, with charitable organisations set up to tackle most of them, it is great if we can find time to raise some money for those that we support: even more so in these financially stretched times.  However, time is a valuable commodity, particularly if you work long hours, so here are five easy ways to raise money for charity that won’t cause you too much inconvenience.

1) Sponsored silence – let all your colleagues, business associates, friends and family know that you intend to spend a day completely silent and get them to sponsor you.  If you are normally a chatterbox, be prepared for everyone to put your silence to the test!!  If you don’t crack under the pressure, this is a very easy way to raise money for charity.

2) Wrapping gifts for charity – you can offer a gift wrapping service, either just for Christmas or the whole year round and the money you get for it can go to your chosen charity.  Make sure you charge enough so that you are not out of pocket on the wrapping paper, sticky tape, gift tags and decorations you will need to buy.

3) Sell clothes for cash – tell your friends and anyone else you know “I’m going to sell my clothes for cash and give the money to charity”.  You will probably find that your friends will give you some of their clothes to help with the fundraising.  There are websites where you can go online, sell your clothes and they will pay the money directly to the charity of your choice.  Simple!

4) Swear box - place the swear box in your local pub, at home or in your office.  Set a price such as 50p or a £1 for swearing and every time someone curses they have to put money in the box.  You could set a time period just for the day, or for an entire week, depending on how much money you want to get for your charity.

5) Dinner party: the ‘Come dine with me’ series on television is very popular and features up to six people visiting each other’s houses, with each one cooking a meal for the group during a week.  At the end of the week, the winner gets a prize of £1,000.  Whilst you don’t have to raise £1,000, you can do this with a group of friends and get them to pay for the meals each night.  It’s a great way to fundraise and means that you get several meals cooked for you during the week.  At the end of the week, the “prize fund” can be sent to a charity of your choice, or split between several charities depending on those that your friends want to support.