With social distancing slowly becoming a normal part of our lives, it can be a challenge to think how you can fundraise virtually. Yet, there are so many ways to successfully fundraise during lockdown without even leaving your house!
He’re we’ve compiled our top five most effective ideas to kickstart your journey and get you well on your way to funding your remote internship with Think Pacific….
1. Easyfundraising
Social distancing has meant much more of our shopping is being done online and a bit of retail therapy is getting many of us through lockdown. Easyfundraising is an amazing and FREE way to raise money whilst we shop online. Over 4,000 online retailers give a small donation with every purchase when you shop via easyfundraising. These include Amazon, ASOS, Just Eat and many more! It’s super easy and at no extra cost! Your friends and family can get involved and help you raise money whilst they shop.
Online Tutoring can be a great way to raise money whilst helping others. With the current school closures, many young people could benefit more than ever from a bit of extra support. Tutors can earn around £20 an hour and the flexible and remote nature makes it a perfect way to raise money alongside your daily schedule. You can tutor in your strongest subject and it’s an amazing way to earn money whilst building valuable relationships and growing interpersonal skills in the process. Here’s a couple of examples we’ve found to help you get started:
Virtual events can be an amazing way to bring the community together and create fun activities to keep everyone entertained during lockdown, all whilst raising money at the same time! From virtual pub quizzes, online cooking lessons to community talent shows, there are many creative opportunities for you to host fun events for people whilst raising money for a good cause. You could even ask participants to give a small donation and hold a raffle or online auction during the event to raise some extra cash!
4. Sell Your Unwanted Things
Lockdown is a perfect time to have a clear out of your old clothes, games, books and any unwanted items you have lying around the house. There’s no surprise that EBAY and Depop have been around for a while but with a surge in conscious shoppers staying away from fast fashion, you could be doing your bit for the environment whilst raising money! You could even ask friends and family to donate their unwanted items for you to sell as well.
5. Sponsored Activities
We’ve all seen the viral lockdown challenges floating around on our social media pages so why not get involved and do one yourself? Whether it’s running 5k, completing a 24-hour movie marathon or shaving your head on a live stream, you can get people to sponsor you to complete these challenges and push yourself out of your comfort zone. Set up a GoFundMe page, share the info on social media and then watch the donations roll in. The more unique your activity, the more sponsors you will get so try and think of something that is a real personal challenge to you.
6. Just Giving
Did you know that over 50% of your project fee goes directly to provide support, resources and capacity building for rural communities? For example in summer 2020 we shall be building a hospital clinic for a rural community so local people can access medical services easily as well as running a programme to explain the importance of health intervention. With so much of your funding being donated to good causes, many students choose to fundraise for their project fee. For more information check out our specific blog here to learn more about our Health Clinic Build
Here is a link to Think Pacific on Just Giving, where you can create your very own fundraising page and all donations go directly to Think Pacific Foundation and can be taken off your final balance
7. University Or Local Grants
It’s worth researching for scholarships, bursaries or grants that may be available to you
If you are a university student, many universities provide support for taking part in global mobility, work experience or expanding your skills. Find out by sending emails to key university departments, these 3 should be at the top of your list:
1) Your course tutor or faculty
2) Your university careers centre
3) Your university study abroad team.
Share Think Pacific’s website page of the project that you are applying for and why you feel this will develop your skills and experience and ask if the university may have any scholarships or know of any funding you could apply for to achieve this. There may be alumni grants or bursaries available that you are not currently aware of.
But you don’t have to be at university to gain financial support! Many local companies, charities and organisations in the community provide support for young people to achieve charitable and/or self-development projects such as Think Pacific. Please download our fundraising guide below, where we provide lots more tips and advice.