When it comes to inspirational fundraisers, you don’t have to look much further than our founding father.

Dr Graham was a famously voracious campaigner. In the 1890s, he visited more than 200 Scottish towns and villages in his efforts to drum up support for the Homes. (He was pretty successful too!)

Although DGHUK runs a number of official fundraising events, like the annual Curry Lunch in Edinburgh, and the Great British Tea Party that was held in 2021, we love it when friends and supporters organise their own fundraisers too. In fact it’s an essential part of our work to bring more sponsored children to the Homes.

So if you wanted to get involved yourself, how would you go about it? Here’s a quick primer.

Do a brainstorm!

Experience is no barrier to fundraising events. All it takes is a good idea. According to Cancer Research UK, the top 3 most popular activities are: walks, bake sales and… head shaves. If you don’t have an immediate idea in mind, it’s worth combing some charity internet lists for inspiration. Have a look at the Past Successes page on our website to see what DGHUK supporters have been doing - the list ranges from craft fairs and raffles to music soirees and open garden events. Or do a quick google (“ideas for charity fundraisers” or similar) to bring up some helpful A-Z lists from well-known British charities.

Set up a fundraising page

To maximise the reach of your campaign, you’ll probably want to set up an online page to publicise it and securely receive donations. The easiest way to do that is through DGHUK’s official JustGiving page. From there, click on the Fundraise for us button (top right). This will walk you through the creation process. You can select the category that best suits your fundraiser (eg: “Doing your own thing”), then add details about the event, when it’s happening, and so on. Adding a “Page cover” and photo to your profile - you do this later in the process - will help to personalise your page.

Explain the value

Some of your sponsors will know about DGH already. But many won’t. So it’s important to write a story telling them more about the charity and where their donations will be going. It doesn’t have to be long. But it’s a chance to tell them about the Homes and how their funds will make a real difference to real lives. JustGiving adds a suggested paragraph that you may like to include with your profile. You might also consider adding a link to the Sponsor a Child section of the DGHUK website, which explains how we help children who come to the Homes.

Consider setting a target

Charities often encourage fundraisers to set a target amount for their campaign. The main reason for doing this is psychological. It can help to give the project momentum - a goal that motivates you, and encourages your supporters to help you across the line (and maybe even beyond it!). For JustGiving, the default suggestion is £500. But of course it’s completely up to you, and the funds will still go through whether or not you hit your target. JustGiving also gives you the ability to update the page with any offline donations you receive from other sources. This then goes towards your target total.

Spread the word

The beauty of an online fundraiser is that it’s very easy to get the message out to potential sponsors. You can add your JustGiving web link to emails, Facebook updates, social media posts, text messages, posters and so on. And that really does make a huge difference to the awareness and donations you’re able to raise through the campaign. Writing regular updates as you get closer to the event, or the target, or some other milestone, can really help to boost interest in your fundraiser too.

Interested in finding out more about fundraising for the Homes? You may like to visit our Fundraise page for more detail - or drop our Sponsorship Secretaries a line if you have questions. For more fundraising inspiration from Dr Graham himself, head to the Our Story section and discover more about his amazing campaigns!