29 ways to fundraise this Leap Day

29 ways to fundraise this Leap Day

Rainbow Trust
29 ways to fundraise this Leap Day image

Date published: 03 February 2020 by Claire Coussins

Leap Year comes only once every four years, making them rarer than a partial solar eclipse. They provide us with a whole extra day in the year; and with busy lives where time is short, this extra day is special - so why not use it for good?

At Rainbow Trust, we support families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness. Our Family Support Workers provide a lifeline to these families. They bring the support and help so desperately needed at home, in hospital and in the community.

This care costs £8,709 per day to provide, and in a Leap Year, we need to find funding for an extra day, 29 February. To achieve this, we are asking you to join the Big Leap to help us raise the additional £8,709. By giving a little of your time, you can make a real impact!

Here are 29 fun-filled fundraising ideas to show how you could do something meaningful and memorable on 29 February, by using your extra day to help us to reach our target. For companies and schools, how about fundraising on Friday 28 February instead?

1. Why not have a Bake Sale? A Friday treat for the classroom or office. We favour rainbow baking (not that we are biased!) - the baking options are endless.

2. Ask your employer about raffling off an extra days’ annual leave and turn an extra day into a bonus days’ holiday for one lucky colleague.

3. A rainbow coloured dress-down day can bring back the colour to a dull February.

4. Quizzes are a classic and a lot of fun; choose your location, decide on the theme and charge an entry fee. You could even offer the winning team a prize.

5. Enjoy a Games Night with friends and family and charge a small entry fee for each game.

6. Take on a Virtual Challenge! In a location that suits you, why not walk from London to Paris (the equivalent of 300 miles) between your colleagues or classmates?

7. Pick your favourite sport; choose any activity and get people to pay an entry fee to take part. From 5-a-Side football to tennis to a running club.

8. Take the Big Leap (literally) and skydive for Rainbow Trust! Imagine feeling the rush as you free fall at 125mph from 10,000 feet above the ground – it’s a once in a lifetime experience!

9. How about enjoying a peaceful afternoon with a Sponsored Silence? At work, in the classroom or at home.

10. Have a flutter on your favourite sports events or reality TV shows with a sweepstake. We can provide the sweepstake sheet - you provide a prize, or the winner could take half of the entry money.

11. Give friends, family or colleagues an empty Smarties tube and ask them to fill it with 20p coins or (better still) £1 coins. Put the Smarties you’ve emptied out into a jar and run a ‘Guess How Many Smarties’ in the jar competition.

12. Pay Day Pizza – Ask your employer to pay for and then sell the slices to colleagues for a donation?

13. Get active! If you have access to a local park or open space, you could sponsor colleagues, staff or pupils for the number of laps they complete. Download our sponsorship form.

14. Who knows what secret talents lurk within your fellow colleagues or pupils? Hold a lunchtime time Talent Show and pay to watch the fun!

15. At this time of year, cars can look less than their shiny best. Grab your sponge and offer a Car Washing service in the car park; all for a donation of course!

16. Bet you never realised that your boss was once a cheeky cherub? Get a baby photo from your colleagues and pin them up or circulate a sheet with them all on. Pay to enter and try to match the correct photo to the office character.

17. Hold a Garage Sale. As spring approaches, why not clear out the old to make room for the new, with a Car Boot or Garage Sale? You could even join with your neighbours and make it a street event.

18. Why not hold a Gaming Tournament? If it’s a battle to get the kids off their consoles, then why not encourage them to hold a gaming livestream?

19. Dog Walking- an easy way to fundraise for those who love canines. Offer a dog walking service to friends and neighbours this Leap Day, for a small donation.

20. What could be more civilised than a spot of afternoon tea? Get baking, sandwich making and tea-brewing. With your friends, family or community group, hold a tea party and ask for a donation to attend.

21. Offer your time to Saturday supermarket shoppers. By arrangement with your local supermarket, ask customers for a donation in exchange for your speedy bag-packing services.

22. Matched Giving - if your company offers a matched giving programme, your donation to Rainbow Trust can be doubled. Ask your employer for more information.

23. Your school class could take part in a Read-a-Thon this Leap Day. Put down your game controllers and see how many books you can read and be sponsored to take part.

24. An indoor Sponsored Swim is a great fundraising option for the unpredictable February weather.

25. Host a Craft Afternoon; grab paper, glue, scissors and glitter and let your creativity run free. There are lots of resources online if you need inspiration. Ask for donations to attend.

26. Rainbow Trust was born in the eighties - and, arguably, so were some of the best movies, music and fashions! Host an Eighties party night and ask for donations to attend.

27. A game of Bingo is brilliant fun and can be played in the classroom or office. It can be adapted to suit different themes and played out in one session or numbers called randomly over the day. Pay to play and offer a prize to the first to call ‘house’!

28. Set up Shop - what is in demand at your school or office? Are your colleagues crazy for cake or barmy for biscuits? Are your pupils potty for scented pens or cuckoo for collector cards? Buy some wholesale and sell for a fair donation so that your costs are covered, and the proceeds can be donated.

29. Show a movie at lunchtime; charge a small fee and offer popcorn to those who would want to come along and watch.

For families living with a serious childhood illness, time is everything. Please use your extra time this Leap Day to help them make the most of theirs.

Contact our friendly regional fundraising team if you have any questions or would like to fundraise for us - call 01372 363438.