New Year, New You, And New Ways
To Raise Funds For Our Cats In Need
The new year is a great time to try new things, so why not resolve to make this the year that you raise funds to help our charity and our cats in need?
We’ve been helping cats in need, and their owners, across Sheffield and beyond since 1897, making us one of the oldest pet charities in the UK. In that time we’ve found new homes and better lives for tens of thousands of cats and kittens – and we couldn’t have done it without your help. Our costs are rising and we’re facing an unprecedented demand for our services – but we remain determined to help as many cats as possible, and we never give up on a cat or put a healthy cat down. That’s why we are more reliant on donations than ever before, and why fundraising can be so vital to us and our cats.
Fundraising Ideas
There are lots of ways that you can raise funds for our shelter and our cats, so take a look at our suggestions below or follow your own fundraising idea – and don’t forget to have fun while you’re doing it!
Sponsored Run or Walk
Organising a sponsored run or walk is a great way to raise money while keeping fit, and there are lots of opportunities for these activities in and around Sheffield. In 2022 we had runners representing The Sheffield Cats Shelter in the Sheffield 10k road race, so if you’re interested in participating in this year’s event (or in the Sheffield Half Marathon) please email us via info@thesheffieldcatsshelter.org.uk and we may be able to gain you a place at no cost to yourself.
The Peak District is on Sheffield’s doorstep, and it’s a great place for walking and sponsored challenges. Organise your own, or take a look at websites such as https://www.peak-district-challenge.com/ or https://www.ultrachallenge.com/peak-district-challenge
Baking Cakes and Coffee Mornings
Everyone loves cake, and you don’t have to be a potential Great British Bake Off winner to raise money for our cats from your cakes, scones and buns. Simply sell your baked goodies among colleagues, family and friends, or organise a coffee morning with the proceeds going to our charity. You’ll find details of how we can help you publicise your event or sale later on in this fundraising pack.
Try Something New
Trying something new is at the heart of our ‘new year, new you’ campaign – trying something new can not only be a great way to learn new skills, it can also be a great way to earn money for our charity. This could include getting a tattoo, learning to paint or play a musical instrument or adopting a healthy, happy lifestyle by changing your diet or ceasing smoking.
Some of these ideas lend themselves to sponsorship, but alternatively you could simply set yourself a goal and then make a donation to us when you’ve achieved it. Donations can be made directly to our JustGiving fundraiser at this link: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/2023cats. Don’t forget to let us know when you’ve completed your task or reached your goal, and then we can congratulate you!
Setting Up A JustGiving Page
You can make it as easy as possible for yourself and your sponsors by creating a JustGiving page and then linking it to our own!
You can also set up your own JustGiving page which will allow people to sponsor you online, and link it directly to our own JustGiving appeal page. Here are the simple steps to follow to enable this:
- Head to our campaign page https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/2023cats
- Click the orange ‘Start Fundraising’ button
- There are 8 pre-made options to choose from or simply select ‘Doing Your Own Thing’
- Next, type in your target amount (don’t worry if you don’t hit this amount, we’ll still receive all the money raised) and click ‘Next: Personalise’
- The page title and story are already filled in, but you can change and personalise this with details of your activity, if you wish, before clicking ‘Next: Page cover’
- Our suggested photo will already be present, but you can change this to a photo of your own before clicking ‘Next: Finalise’
- Simply choose whether we can claim Gift Aid (if you’re a UK tax payer) and whether to opt in or out of further communications, and click ‘Launch Page’.
It’s as simple as that – your fundraising page is now live and linked to our campaign! Alternatively you can fundraise among your family, friends and colleagues by using a traditional paper sponsorship form. You can download and then print a sponsorship form by clicking here. If you use this method you can email us at info@thesheffieldcatsshelter.org.uk for details of how to send the funds to us. Thank you!
Promoting Your Fundraising
So you’ve decided how you want to raise money for The Sheffield Cats Shelter, and set up a way for people to donate or sponsor you – thank you! The next step is promoting your fundraising to as many people as possible – and we’ll do all we can to help you! Word of mouth is important, so please let family, friends and colleagues know what you’re doing. If you use social media then please use that to publicise your activity, and if you’ve set up a JustGiving page using the directions above you can add a link directly to that page.
Please email us with details of your fundraising activity (via info@thesheffieldcatsshelter.org.uk), and we will publicise it on our social media channels and on our website. We may also have some promotional items that could help your fundraising, from branded pens and car stickers to The Sheffield Cats Shelter t-shirts, so please do get in touch and together we can boost your total.
