two fundraising volunteers wearing youngminds shirt smiling while giving out fundraising materials

Getting started with fundraising

Whether you want to hold a cake sale, organise a dress-up day or run a marathon, any way you choose to fundraise can help make a difference. For ideas on what to do and how to get started, follow these simple steps below.

YoungMinds staff cheering marathon runners on from the side line in YoungMinds t-shirts and with YoungMinds banners.

Step 1: Decide on a fundraising event

There are lots of ways you could fundraise for us. For some inspiration, take a look at some of our ideas for your charity fundraiser.

Fundraising ideas

• Take on an adventure challenge.
• Hold a charity car wash.
• Ask your friends to donate on your birthday.
• Host a jumble sale, a cake sale or a book sale.
• Have a dance-a-thon; who can last the longest on the dance floor?
• Get a place on one of our events.
• Host a fashion show.
• Have a themed dress-up day at work.
• Get sponsored to learn a new skill.
• Let anyone take to the stage in an open mic night.
• Host a quiz night.
• Try to beat a world record.
• Sign up for Hello Yellow on World Mental Health Day.

Looking for ideas for a school fundraiser? Find out more about how to get your school involved.

Fundraising at school

Still need some inspiration? Check out what some of our incredible fundraisers are doing already to raise money.

Meet our fundraisers

Step 2: Set up an online fundraising page

Now that you’ve got your idea and decided on a fundraiser, we recommend setting up your online fundraising page as soon as possible using JustGiving. This is a simple way to raise funds for us.

You can personalise your page with a story, images and details of your fundraising which can then be easily shared with everyone, and every penny comes directly to us – including Gift Aid!

Set up your JustGiving page

Step 3: Promote your charity fundraiser

To really make your fundraiser a success, it’s a great idea to promote it to as many people as possible. So tell friends and family, advertise it at work, school or on local notice boards in your community, and of course, share it on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.

We love to see what our fabulous fundraisers are up to, so make sure you mention us in your posts! You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @youngmindsuk. 

Step 4: Check out our resources

We want to make sure you have everything you need to make your fundraising as successful as it can be! Our Resources Hub has loads of free downloadable guides and materials to support your efforts in raising as much funds as possible for us. These include a downloadable collection box, posters, bunting, flyers and much more!

Resources hub

Step 5: On the day

With all the hard work and planning done, the only thing left is to enjoy the day!

Make sure to take plenty of photos, send them to us and post them on social media – it may help to bring in a few extra donations and our social media team might be able to help by reposting and retweeting them too.

Step 6: Paying in your donations

After your fundraising event, there are a number of different ways you can donate what you have raised to us. Please make sure to reference any donations and get in touch so that we are able to thank you for your wonderful efforts!

By post

Please make any cheques payable to ‘YoungMinds’ and send to us at: Fundraising, YoungMinds, 4th Floor India House, 45 Curlew St, London, SE1 2ND. Please note, we are unable to accept any cash donations sent by post.

By bank transfer

Please provide your name and email address on this form to access our bank account details. This allows us to identify your gift when it arrives in our account so we can confirm receipt of your donation and say thank you. If you add your name as a reference on the transfer, even better!

Through your fundraising page

If you’ve set up an online fundraising page, there’s nothing more you need to do – your supporters donate online and the platform sends it directly to us once your event is finished.

By credit/debit card

Call us on 020 7089 5050 or donate any funds raised securely online through our donate page.

Any questions?

If you have any questions or want to talk to us about your ideas and how we can help, just get in touch with the fundraising team.

Contact the team

Hear from our incredible fundraisers

Our fundraisers take on all sorts of incredible challenges to support us and help make our work possible.

Find out all about their fundraising journeys, what challenges they've taken on and why they chose to raise money for YoungMinds.

Meet our fundraisers
Our fundraiser, Michael Evans, standing on the mountainside in Spain next to a large sign reading: España.
On the 1 September 2022, I began a 4,500km circumnavigation of Spain, my adopted country, by foot. In doing this I aim to raise at least £10,000 for YoungMinds.
Michael Evans
David Nicholls walking with a hat on in yellow.
My daughter is suffering at the moment and I want to improve the awareness of the issues young minds have to deal with today. That's why I completed the Grand Route 20.
David Nicholls