At Charlie House, we’re on a mission to build a dedicated support centre in Aberdeen so that families in the north-east of Scotland don't have to travel more than 100 miles to get vital support, services, respite and end of life care their children need.
Of course, we simply can’t make it possible without your generous donations, which is where our Buy a Brick campaign comes in.
To build our very own Charlie House, we need 4,000 virtual bricks - each costing £250. When you buy a brick, your generosity will help lay the physical foundations of this wonderful facility and allow us to move closer to opening for those who are in desperate need of it.
If you’re keen to make a difference to the local community, we’ve shared 8 creative fundraising ideas to help you to buy a brick. Whether you’re looking to fundraise yourself, with a work team, through your school or with family and friends, these are sure to give you some inspiration on how you can help buy a virtual brick!
1. Make a calendar
Creating a wall or desk calendar is a great way to get a number of people involved in your fundraising efforts and with the end of the year fast approaching, there’s no better time to put one together and sell to colleagues, clients, family and friends.
Whether you collect 12 funny photos from the year, cute photos of everyone’s pets, or challenge your team to take beautiful photos in your local area. There are so many options to personalise it for your group.
Top tip: Make this a photo competition with a small charge per entry to double up on your fundraising efforts!
2. Fancy dress or dress down days
If you want a technique that requires little planning and resources, why not incorporate fancy dress days. These are a simple way to raise money and work well across many environments such as corporate offices, workspaces with uniforms, recreational clubs and sporting teams.
Put your creativity to the test and make it themed or open to everyone’s interpretation and see what kind of costume they come up with. Make sure to charge a small fee for each person who takes part!
Not keen on fancy dress? You can make it a dress down Friday for environments with a dress code, with the option to make this a regular event to add more to your Buy a Brick funds.
3. Host a quiz night
Looking to make a night of your fundraising efforts? Host a quiz night! Combining a social occasion with fundraising is perfect for involving a large group of people and helps spread awareness of the cause.
There are plenty of themed or general knowledge quiz questions to be found online, so they’re relatively easy to organise and it’s a good way of mixing friends, family and work teams together to gather a big crowd.
If you’re limited with venues and want to open up the quiz wider than your local area, bring back Zoom quizzes! Not only can people log on from anywhere, but they can enjoy the fun from the comfort of their own home.
Bonus points: Arrange a raffle for an extra bit of fundraising in addition to quiz ticket sales. It’s a great way to generate buzz throughout the quiz as people anticipate what they might win.
4. Organise a bake sale
Bake sales are a simple yet effective way of raising money as people are always willing to part with some change for a fine piece!
If you know of some keen bakers, or anyone willing to follow a recipe and give it a go, get the group together and set a date to sell the goods - this is a fun way to get involved regardless of baking ability.
From cupcakes and pastries, to cookies, fudge and brownies, there are so many ways to get involved even if you’re a complete beginner. To maximise your fundraising efforts, drop some hints of what baked goods people can expect and make sure everyone knows when you’ll be selling to boost attendance and sales.
5. Sponsored sporting events
Even if you’re not the most athletic person, why not challenge yourself to something new and take part in sponsored runs, walks, cycles or even triathlons! If you’ve got a lot of training to do in preparation, log your progress on social media to help build excitement and show off your efforts to encourage others to donate towards your Charlie House brick.
Although these can be done alone, it’s even better to put a team together so you feel a shared sense of accomplishment and get even more money raised through everyone’s family and friends sponsoring your group.
Keep an eye out for local races and events on websites such as Time Outdoors and Let’s Do This, and get a team fundraising page set up quickly and easily through Enthuse.
6. Take to the skies!
For the adrenaline junkies and those who are really looking to push themselves, a challenge involving heights is a great incentive for people to sponsor and raise money for buying your brick.
There are so many options, from abseils and zip wires to something more extreme such as bungee jumps and skydives - the sky really is the limit! As it’s something outwith the norm of everyday life, this inspirational activity can help conquer fears and show dedication to the cause you’re raising money for.
Again, if you pull a team together, it will allow you to encourage each other and raise even more money through sponsorships.
7. Donate your coffee money
If you, your colleagues and your friends are often spending money on a daily caffeine fix, choosing to swap the barista coffee order for an own-made cuppa is a quick and effective way to contribute to your fundraising plan. Simply add your usual coffee order spend to a jar or set up a daily reminder to donate money to an Enthuse page and watch it mount up quickly.
This technique is even better in a work environment as whether you’re a small agency or a huge company, getting as many team members involved as possible will allow you to raise funds for your Charlie House brick sooner.
Top tip: Make sure to keep each other accountable and have a supply of your favourite coffee in the work kitchen to help curb those caffeine cravings!
8. Host or take part in a charity tournament
Host a charity tournament! This one is ideal for sports teams or clubs as most of the equipment is in place, but it’s also a hilarious challenge for work teams - or industry competitors - to compete against each other.
While you’re guaranteed to get some laughs between training nights and game day, it can also encourage team bonding, ignite a passion for the sport with newcomers and it can also boost morale as it's supporting a good cause.
There’s a little more to plan if you’re team doesn’t already have the facilities or equipment, but by seeking support from other members of the community and collaborating, you’re naturally advertising the tournament through word of mouth, raising awareness of the cause and involving a diverse group of people and businesses, which really adds to the community spirit.
Make sure you create some posters, graphics and some fun social media updates along the way to keep people inspired and involved with your team’s training journey.
Top tip: To ensure your tournament is extra fun to get involved in, make it fancy dress and organise a raffle with locally sourced prizes!
Feeling inspired? If you’re looking to help local families in need, find out more about our Buy a Brick campaign and what your money will contribute towards if you get involved.
