How to Bring In Charity Donations

In this blog post, we explore how to bring in charity donations using tried and tested formats.

When it comes to charity giving, we all choose to give to the charities that have some form of meaning to us personally. But sometimes, we might also feel compelled to give to a cause we haven’t given to before. Something that’s caught our attention, sparked our curiosity or in some way warmed our heart.

That’s why strong communications are so important. You never know when you might spark a connection that counts. No pressure then.

If you are feeling the pressure, or you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few tried and tested formats that will help you to bring in the donations.

1. Peer to Peer Fundraising

Let your supporters become your advocates. Peer-to-peer works brilliantly for charities with passionate communities or strong emotional stories. 

Inspiration:

Mind often empowers supporters to create personal fundraising pages linked to lived experience — simple messaging, strong supporter stories, big reach.

Local hospices frequently activate volunteer ambassadors to host mini challenges (walks, bake sales, memory events), showing how smaller charities can build intimacy and momentum. 

Try this:  Launch a “One Hour for Hope” challenge: ask supporters to turn one hour of their time into a fundraiser (that could mean they host a micro-event, run for an hour, volunteer, or donate an hour’s pay). 

2. Crowdfunding Campaigns

Perfect for specific, tangible goals such as a piece of equipment, a new service, or an urgent need.

Inspiration:

Dogs Trust-style appeals for enrichment kits or emergency foster packs. Tangibility wins every time.

Grassroots wildlife rescues often crowdfund for essentials such as new enclosures, medical supplies, or transport crates, making every donation feel directly impactful.

Try this:  Set a 24-hour target for a single piece of equipment or a programme cost, with a live progress bar and social countdowns. There’s lots of accessible crowd-funding tools out there. We recently used Crowdfunder UK with great success. 

3. Matched Giving and Pledges

Motivate action by doubling impact. This is one of the highest converting donation formats. 

Inspiration:

Large medical charities sometimes use corporate partners to match public donations for a 24-hour window.

Small community charities often secure a single major donor to match the first £1,000–£5,000. This approach is simple, powerful, credible, and encourages people to give.

Try this:
Run a “Power Hour Match” where for just 60 minutes, every pound is doubled. Highly shareable, high urgency.

4. Story-led Social Campaigns

You don’t have to directly fundraise. Some of the strongest donation campaigns build relationships rather than chase donations. 

Inspiration:

Shelter and Crisis focus on powerful human stories across social with clear calls to learn, share, or pledge support.

Small animal charities often spotlight before/after rescues, volunteer voices, or “a day in the life” content that warms audiences for future appeals.

Try this:
Post a Thread of Thanks: spotlight five people or animals transformed by your work this year. End with a soft CTA to sign up, volunteer, or donate.

5. Micro-Giving and Low-Lift Actions

A great entry point for new supporters, especially during the cost-of-living squeeze. (Are we still calling it that? I think we just don’t want to say the word recession!) 

Inspiration:

Foodbanks and community hubs often ask for £3–£5 “mini donations” to fund a specific item or meal.

Environmental charities encourage supporters to plant a tree, adopt a patch of habitat, or give £1 per mile walked that week.

Try this:
Create a “Give a Little, Change a Lot” menu: £3 for… £5 for… £10 for… and one free action (share/pledge/volunteer hour).

6. Corporate and Workplace Activations

A brilliant way to expand reach beyond your own channels. 

Inspiration:

Macmillan-style partnerships that encourage workplaces to host coffee mornings, dress-down days, or team challenges.

Smaller arts or community charities run “Sponsor a Seat/Brick/Book” drives with local businesses. This approach works because it’s simple, local, and relationship-driven.

Try this:
Offer plug-and-play workplace packs including posters, a micro-challenge, and a donation link that teams can use instantly.

7. Partnerships and Collaborations

Team up with organisations, creators, or community groups to amplify your reach.

Inspiration:

Large UK charities like British Red Cross frequently partner with brands for awareness boosts, in-store activations, or joint digital content on Giving Tuesday.

Smaller community charities often collaborate with local gyms, cafés, bookshops, or sports clubs—simple co-branded asks, collection tins, or “£1 from every latte” pledges can drive powerful local impact.

Charities with strong digital communities (e.g., wildlife rescues, mental health organisations) sometimes partner with micro-influencers who share their lived experiences or showcase behind-the-scenes content.

Try this:Create a “Neighbourhood for Good” mini-coalition: a local business, a school, and a community group working together on one Giving Tuesday goal, whether that’s donations, volunteering hours, or a matched fund pot.

Ready to plan your next low-level giving campaign?

A low-level giving campaign doesn’t need to be big, complicated, or resource-heavy. In fact I tend to find the simplest approaches are the most successful. Pick one strong idea, give it urgency, and make the impact ultra-clear.

If you’re looking for inspiration for a Giving Tuesday campaign specifically, you find more inspiration here.

If you want help refining a donations campaign, let me know.

I’m now offering ‘The Outside View’ – a 30 minute consultancy call with me, where you can get an outside perspective, pick my brain, or bounce ideas around with me.

The Outside View is priced at £50 per session and you can book in here. Please let me know (ellie@themarketingden.co.uk) in advance of your session what you’d like to cover so that I can prepare appropriately.