Fundraise for VSO

Whether you’re a runner, cyclist, climber or just a plain daredevil, get your friends, family and colleagues to sponsor you in a challenge event. From marathons and parachute jumps to sponsored walks, there’s challenge events to fit everybody’s ability. If your part of a sports team, try swapping your team’s strip for fancy dress and hold a novelty match to raise funds. Utilise tools such as JustGiving, GoFundMe or the Toucan app to boost your fundraising efforts. You can even set up your own challenge event fundraiser using Facebook. 

Social media fundraising

Social media is something that most of us are using every day, so why shouldn’t we use it for the power of good? Whether you’re on Facebook or Instagram, within the click of just a few buttons, you really can raise vital funds for VSO projects across the world. The best part? It couldn’t be simpler. Below, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on the different ways you can use social media for your fundraising activities. 

Everyday Facebook fundraising ​​

1. Make sure you’re logged into your Facebook account and visit: https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers/explore
2. From here, click ‘Select’ charity and search for VSO or Voluntary Service Overseas. 
3. Now it’s time to get creative and build your personal fundraising campaign. Start with how much you want to raise – the more the ambitious the better! Whether you want to donate £50 or £500, every little makes a difference. 
4. Select your currency. 
5. It’s time to set your end date – when do you want your fundraiser to end and the money to be sent to VSO? Make sure you give yourself enough time to drum up excitement around your fundraising activities. 
6. This is your opportunity to get creative – pick a title that will capture the attention of all your friends on Facebook. The catchier the better – make it clear what you’re doing! 
7. For the next step, you will need to work on your description. This will automatically be generated for you, but feel free to edit and make it more personal. 

Birthday fundraising

Your birthday is the perfect way to do some extra fundraising throughout the year and is a great way to get your friends involved too. Instead of being flourished with gifts, ask your friends and family to donate to your cause instead. 

Create a birthday fundraiser on Facebook

Clothes swaps and sales

Do some good for the planet while also raising money for VSO. Sell some of your unwanted clothes on Vinted or eBay in the name of charity. You could also host a clothes swap and encourage people at your university, workplace or school to bring a bag of clothes, and have your own pop-up charity shop for the day! You could charge people via a weigh and pay, or just charge for entry to your shop. Any leftover items can be sold in a car boot sale – double whammy!

Give a talk to your local community

Ask your local church, rotary club, WI or Soroptimists if they will make a donation to your fundraising target, in exchange for you giving them a talk about the work that we do. Check out the videos and stories on our why support VSO page, for help with your fundraising. 

Coffee morning 

Bake some cakes, bring out the coffee beans and they will come. Remember to charge them for the privilege.

Hold a themed fancy dress day

Everyone loves a dress up day! Why not take it one step further, by picking a theme and awarding a prize for the best outfit? There are plenty of significant and quirky days to mark everything from World Book Day to Puppy Day. Find one that resonates with you and use it as a theme for your fundraising. 

Community events: Fairs and sports days

Ask your head teacher, student union or boss if you can use a hall, a field or even a car park and let your imagination run wild. Go old school and set up a coconut shy, apple bobbing stand, egg-and-spoon race and a jumble sale. 

Host a film night

Stage a film screening. See if you can borrow a projector from your school or workplace, hang a sheet, choose your film, make some posters and away you go – provide popcorn and ice cream and ask people to pay a small amount to view a blockbuster. Why not choose a film based in one of the countries VSO works in? 

Talent showcase

Celebrate your friends' hidden talents by putting on a talent show, and charge a small donation for family and friends to come and watch or even perform via a livestream on Facebook or Instagram. Where you stage it is up to you - whether it's online, at school, down the pub or in your garden. You'll have a laugh and raise money at the same time! 

Themed dinner party 

Grab your pans and a few ingredients and prepare to tantalise tastebuds with a themed menu fundraiser.  Try your hands at making an Ethiopian injera, some Nigerian efo riro, some Nepalese momos or whatever is your favourite cuisine. Charge your guests a fee for the pleasure. 

Quiz night 

Fingers on buzzers, it’s time for a quiz! Get the competitive juices flowing and raise a chunk of money in the process by hosting a charity quiz.  

Bake sale 

Victoria sponge, brownies, cupcakes and more! Bake sales always go down a treat. Add a competitive element by asking colleagues to bake their favourite sponge for the title of ‘star baker’.   

Raffle 

Gather some prizes from your friends, family or local businesses, and host a raffle. If you can find 10 prizes and charge £2 per ticket or £5 for three and you could easily make £150.

In memory giving

Lisa Marie David

That knowing look. That morning cup of tea. That ‘how are you, really?’ text. It’s those little moments that you miss so much when someone you love dies. And those memories will never be forgotten. 

You can honour your loved one’s memory by supporting VSO and help make this world fair for everyone.

Give in their memory

Remember someone special by donating to VSO in their name. We’d love to hear their story and what giving for them means to you. Simply donate using the donate button below and share their name.

And, if you’d like to share their story with us, you can do so by emailing Heidi & Rosie at legacies@vsoint.org

You can also use the online donation form to pay in a funeral collection.

Donate now

Let us know about your fundraiser 

Whatever you end up doing, please let us know! Share photos or highlights from your event on social media with the hashtag #VSOFundraisers and tag VSO using our handles below: 

• Facebook: @vso.international (https://www.facebook.com/vso.international/) 
• Twitter: @VSO_Intl (https://twitter.com/VSO_Intl) 
• Instagram: @vsointernational (https://www.instagram.com/vsointernational) 
• LinkedIn: @VSO (www.linkedin.com/company/vso)

Need some help? Get in touch!

Thank you so much for choosing to fundraise for VSO! Your dedication to making a positive impact is truly inspiring. As a small charity with limited resources, we’re currently not able to provide direct support or materials for fundraisers. We hope you understand that this decision is down to capacity and resources, and certainly not a reflection of the wonderful efforts of people like you.

We love to hear about your fundraisers, so please do keep us up to date, and please know that you are making such a difference to the lives of so many. 

Contact us