Fundraising Idea: Santa Dash

It is November and although I am sure you don’t want to start thinking about Christmas (the television advertisements and the Christmas light arrivals may disagree), it is probably the BEST opportunity to fundraise and to make a big dent in your fundraising target! So over the next seven weeks we will be bringing you a Christmas related fundraising idea (don’t hate us!)…

Get in to the Christmas Spirit; Run, Jog or Walk 5km

This week we are bringing you THE SANTA DASH – a great opportunity to run around town dressed as/pretending to be Santa!

Why do a Santa dash?

• Well for one it will get you into the Christmas spirit!
• Five kilometers isn’t that far! And if you do a couple of practice runs in November you will be able to walk/run/jog the five kilometers fairly easily by December!
• You could get a group of your friends to do it with you, give yourself a team name (Santa’s Helpers, Santa’s Elves – your probably more inventive than me!) and then ask them to put all their donations towards your target and/or create a group fundraising page on Just Giving.
• You have about a month to raise sponsorship before the run

How?

Some events you will have to pay an entrance fee for (sometimes this will include your Santa costume sometimes it won’t, so make sure you check!). Check out http://www.santadash.co.uk to find an event near you (NB: some events are for specific charities so be sure to check). Once you have found an event in your area click the link on the site and check how you sign up. Keep an eye out for locally advertised fun runs too that may not be on that website.

Sunday 2nd and Sunday 9th December are popular dates for different events. If you start your fundraising now that gives you plenty of time to raise money before the event!

How do I raise money?

Set up your Just Giving page and start circulating (email, Facebook, twitter) it to your friends, family, colleagues – anyone you can think of… Say you will send photographs of you dressed up as Santa as a reward for sponsorship!

Check out our blog post on ‘how to socialise your fundraising strategy’ for some great tips on making the most of your Just Giving page and how to publicise it among friends and family.

So all that is left to be said is enjoy being Santa for a day!