Recent research including nearly 250 charities conducted by Pro Bono Economics (PBE), the Charity Finance Group, and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising found that in the weeks leading up to Christmas charities lost out on more than £200m of fundraising income. Nearly 50% of charities polled raised less in November and December of 2020 than they did during the same period in 2019. The main reason behind this large decrease in income is due to fundraising events being cancelled and charity shops being forced to close for long periods during the lockdown.
Whilst the COVID-19 safety rules have caused many physical fundraising events to be cancelled, there are still fundraising activities that can be done in lockdown for charities to raise money. The research suggests that running and cycling fundraisers have proved particularly popular – provided they are done in isolation and as long as you stick to the government’s social distancing guidelines. For example, the virtual London Marathon managed to raise £16.1m for charities last year. Although this is well below the 2019 London Marathon total of £66.4m raised.
Other virtual fundraising events have included:
- Online classes
- Virtual raffles
- Online auctions
These are undoubtedly difficult times for everyone. Charities play such a vital role in society particularly during unprecedented scenarios like Covid-19 and it’s important they consider ways to innovate to ensure they can continue to provide much-needed support until hopefully some degree of normality returns later on in the year.
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