Fundraise for us
Are you interested in helping us to help our wonderful native animals?
One of the most enjoyable ways of giving money to a cause that you love is to start fundraising. You can raise money by taking part in an existing event or you can create your own. Either way, you can have a lot of fun and give yourself a pat on the back for helping our wildlife.
We have plenty of ideas and useful tools to make your fundraising efforts go smoothly with minimal effort.
Join an existing event
There are hundreds of events around the country to get involved in for all levels, although the tougher the event, the more money you’re likely to raise. Just print out our sponsorship form for your friends to fill out, smash the world record at whichever event you’re involved in and then send us the money. Details on how to get your money to us can be found on the last page of our fundraising step-by-step guide or on our donations page.
For those of you who are looking for the ULTIMATE CHALLENGE to undertake, we are delighted to announce that Wildwood Trust has now partnered up with Global Adventure Challenges.
Whether it’s trekking the Great Wall of China, conquering Mount Kilimanjaro, cycling from London to Paris or even sledding the Lapland Husky Trail, you can choose your challenge of a lifetime and get to see some of the most spectacular environments the earth has to offer.
Or, if you’d prefer to stay a little closer to home to take on your challenge, there’s lots in the UK to choose from too. Maybe you’ve always wanted to complete the 3 Peaks Challenge, trek Snowden at Night or take on the Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle.
Find your ULTIMATE CHALLENGE here.
The challenges vary in difficulty, so there’s something to suit everyone, just choose the perfect challenge for you, register to take part and make sure to choose Wildwood as the charity you wish to support.
Set up your own event
If you want to raise money through your own event or idea, then grab some inspiration from our ideas list below. Don’t forget that we’re always on hand for advice, just give us a call.
As a member of the Fundraising Regulator, Wildwood Trust has made a public promise to adhere to best practice, honesty, transparency, clarity, and accountability in all fundraising activity, enabling you to support us with confidence. We will ensure that all of our fundraising activities are legal, open, honest and respectful.
- Tea and coffee meet – Invite your neighbours and friends for tea, coffee and how about a little bit of cake? Try exotic teas and coffees to make it a special experience and charge a minimal fee.
- Cake time – Bake a few cakes and sell each slice for a £1. You can take cakes into work as well as selling them to friends and relatives.
- Book sales – Ask your friends to clear out their book shelves and donate the books to you to sell.
- Bridge evening – Try to get as many friends as possible for a bridge tournament. The entrance fee could include some snacks and a glass of wine.
- Dog walking – Bored on a Sunday? Why not offer to walk your neighbours’ dogs and donate your fee.
- Fancy dress days – Pay to wear fancy dress at work or school and fine those that don’t make the effort. If fancy dress is a step too far, try bad hat, Christmas jumper or wacky tie day.
- Office day – Talk to the boss about the possibility of having a gift day or donating by pledges, an hour’s pay or payroll giving.
- Sweet eating competition – Great fun for the kids and also quite nice for adults.
- Grow a beard or moustache – Get sponsored to grow a beard or moustache. Not advisable for kids or women.
- Knit – Create bespoke garments to be sold at fetes, boot sales etc.
- Knockout darts, pool or snooker tournament – Get some friends and pub regulars together, charge an entrance fee and reward the winner.
- Car washing – Get the kids involved and charge a fiver per wash. Wear fancy dress for tips.
- Underwear out – Go Superman and wear your best underwear on the outside for a day and get sponsored for your idiocy.
- Walk – Take part in a sponsored walk or arrange your own. Any distance will do, but good to have a 5 mile minimum in beautiful surroundings.
- Abseil – Contact your local abseiling centre to organise a spine tingling abseil. Get sponsored and remember the higher you go, the more you’ll get!
- Skydive – Earn instant respect and lots of sponsorship by jumping out of a plane at 10,000 ft.
- Paintball – Gather friends, neighbours and relatives and shoot each other with paint. Charge everyone an entrance fee on top of the cost to the paintball centre, and award prizes to the most kills/deaths.
- eBay – Join up to eBay.co.uk or another auction site and auction off your old, unwanted items. You’ll be amazed at how much your cast-offs can earn, and all from the comfort of your own home.
- Dry times – Give up drinking alcohol for however long you can last and get sponsored for the effort. This DOES include wine.
- BBQ – Ask guests to pay an entrance fee to your dressed garden, then provide them with char-grilled food and drink for free.
- Bike rides – Join an existing bike ride or organise your own. You can charge and entrance fee and/or get sponsored per mile. Don’t forget to be safe!
- Football match – Organise a football match with an entrance fee for viewers. Take collections at half time and sell cakes/slices of orange.
- Fun runs – Organise your own or join an existing event. Wear a wacky outfit and show as many people as you can a photo before you run. The sillier and more uncomfortable you are, the more money you’ll get.
- Go-karting – Charge entry fee with prizes for the winner, or go on your own and sponsor per lap. Try and break your local record, but take a nice pillow to sit on!
- Head and tails auction – This is good for any existing event as a bonus money spinner. Get everyone to stand up and pass around a bucket around collecting people’s change. Everyone picks heads or tails by putting a hand on their head or their rear. Flip a coin on stage and announce the results. Those who get it wrong sit down. Continue until only one person is left. Winner gets a prize.
- Jumble/boot sales – Organise your own or get a pitch at an organised event. A great way of getting rid of unwanted clutter, wowing people with your baking skills and meeting people.
- Karaoke night – Everyone loves a singsong. Either purchase or hire a machine, plug it in and charge people entry fee and a pound for each song they sing.
- Local races and marathons – There are hundreds of races every year in your local area. Book a place at any that you fancy and ask friends for sponsorship.
- Masterclasses – If you have a particular skill, then why not organise a small class to teach other people?
- Matched giving – Many employers will match some or all of the sponsorship you raise. It’s a great way to increase your fundraising so check with your company.
- Time meal – Use any decade as inspiration. Prawn cocktail and flares anyone?
- Quiz night – Host your own quiz night at a pub, meeting hall or even at home. You can download a variety of quizzes or while away some learning hours researching your own.
- Patriot day – Get out the bunting and celebrate being British. Ask people to dress up, supply tea, scones and cider, and play the national anthem. This works really well as a street party.
- Race night – Organise an event at your local dog or horse racing stadium or build your own race track in the garden using your own pets or even wind-up toys.
- Raffles – A great way of raising money. Offer some good prizes and sell tickets to all and sundry. You may want to do discounted tickets in bulk.
- Stand up bingo – Put each number available on separate bingo cards and sell them to your friends. Spin the balls and when a number is called that person has to sit down. The last one standing scoops the prize. This works well at existing events.
- Slimathon – If you are planning on shedding the pounds, why not get sponsored to give you that extra motivation and reward?
- Swimathon – Get sponsored per length of the pool. Tell everyone how bad you are and then smash the record!
- Talent competition – You can hold this at home or use a school hall if you have a lot of interest. Works really well with younger performers and you can charge the parents to come marvel at their offspring.
- Treasure hunt – Get some prizes donated from local companies and place clues leading people from one location to the next. This works really well in summer and can be topped off with a BBQ.
- Wine tasting evening – Is there ever a reason not to spend an evening tasting fine wines? Ask attendees to pay an entry fee, provide the wine and cheese free of charge. It’s always a good idea to try and get the wine donated.
- Meal of the world – Cook up a meal celebrating a culinary region at your home for your friends and family. Get everyone to wear that nation’s traditional garb, play music, dress up the home and charge an entrance fee.
- Yoga marathon – This could last up to 8 minutes for most of us, how may downward dogs can you do?
- Yes day – Say yes to everyone’s demands and ask people to sponsor you to do so. Dangerous, but rewarding!
- Artwork auction – Are you an artist or do you have a bunch of talented friends? Ask them to donate to your cause and hold an auction.
- Children’s fun day – Arrange magic, face painting, competitions and whatever else kids love to do. Charge the parents an entry fee and supply drinks and snacks.
- Concerts – Not for the faint hearted. This involves booking venue, equipment hire, bands and ticket selling. Publicity is key and don’t aim too high!
- Dances – Organise a disco, ballroom, salsa or 70’s night at your local hall. All you need is a DJ and a temporary drinks licence which might be already available at the venue.
- Exhibition – Get local arts groups (painters, sculptors, crafters etc.) to exhibit their work. Charge people a small amount to visit, and ask exhibitors to pay a fee for their pitch. You can even include an auction.
- Expeditions – Desperate to walk across the Sahara, climb Everest or swim to the North Pole? You can undertake your dream expedition and raise money for good causes. It takes a lot of organising, but it is so satisfying.
- Festivals – You’ll need a team of volunteers to do this properly. A small festival will involve a number of stalls, refreshments and entertainment which you can normally get donated. Charge entry and make commission on each sale.
- It’s a Knock Out – Dress up, and play silly games. There are a number of inflatable fun websites to hire equipment. Don’t forget to get sumo suits and big heads!
- £5 into £50 – Give friends or volunteer fundraisers £5 and a time limit to increase this by devising a money-generating activity. Award prizes for the most ingenious idea and hope they all manage to make £50. Those who lose money will get fined.
- Garden party – A mini-festival with stalls, games, refreshments and raffles in your own garden. Make sure that you tell the neighbours.
- Golf days – Try and get a golf club to sponsor an event for you. You’ll have to promote like crazy to fill up the tournament and get the viewers in. Try to get a celebrity to play, and always take this chance to hold a raffle and auction in the evening.
- Lose the hair – Ladies…shave your head. Men…all over body wax.
- No smoking week – It’s for your own good, and will give you a real incentive.
- Triathlon – Difficult to organise your own, so best to get a place in your local triathlon or experts can book a place in the London Triathlon. Ask friends to sponsor you.