How kindness can continue in the age of coronavirus

Charities around the world need our help now more than ever – but with events postponed or cancelled and quarantines in place in many countries, how can you support them while staying safe?

Online fundraising brings ordinary people from around the world together to raise money for the causes they care about, regardless of travel restrictions or social distancing.

It also enables charities to keep going even without face-to-face donations, says Marius Maré, president of online fundraising platform GivenGain.

How do you raise money without leaving the house?

When Elisha Nochomovitz learned that France’s quarantine measures would be keeping him indoors, he didn’t get mad – he got active. The keen runner managed to complete a marathon without leaving his apartment, running a total distance of 42.2km back and forth along his balcony.

Elisha isn’t the only person to turn a quarantine into an opportunity. Pop music power couple Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes streamed an acoustic set on Instagram in partnership with the World Health Organization. Football teams from across Europe are taking part in the Ultimate QuaranTeam virtual tournament to raise money for the WHO’s fight against coronavirus. And all kinds of people have been sharing how they are spending their time indoors on social media using hashtags like #stayathomechallenge.

But while livestreaming has been key to a lot of online fundraising recently, you don’t need to be comfortable in front of a camera to help a charity. Online fundraisers have done things as diverse as offering to paint pictures or knit scarves in exchange for donations.

“Part of the power of online giving is that it’s very easy to turn almost anything into a fundraising opportunity,” explains GivenGain’s Marius Maré. “Whether you’re livestreaming an event or reaching out to friends and family on social media, simply include your donation link.”

Getting started with online fundraising

Aspiring fundraisers can sign up with online fundraising platforms like GivenGain in a couple of clicks and launch fundraising campaigns for charities of their choice within minutes. After that, it’s just about sharing your fundraising link with your network – over and over again, if necessary.

“So often I hear ‘Oh, I still need to donate, when does it close again?’,” says fundraiser and GivenGain user Troy Horrell, who recently ran a successful campaign for South African breast cancer charity ILoveBoobies. “More often than not, people really do want to get behind an initiative, but they forget. Following up on potential donors really benefited me.”

Who should I raise money for?

With thousands of charities accepting online donations through crowdfunding platforms like GivenGain, fundraisers are spoiled for choice.

But if you have been inspired by the growing need for donations under quarantine, why not choose a charity battling against coronavirus? Charities are already helping those most at risk worldwide – including the Imbumba Foundation’s Soap4Hope drive, which distributes hand sanitiser to underprivileged communities in South Africa; Keep Wildlife ACTive, which aims to keep conservation efforts going during the lockdown; and the UN Human Rights Commission’s campaign to protect refugees from coronavirus.

While so many aspects of normal life are disrupted at the moment, online fundraising means that kindness can continue.

Sign up with GivenGain now to start fundraising online for your favourite charity. And if you’re not sure which to choose, check out our list of charities fighting COVID-19.

About us

Founded in 2001, GivenGain is a non-profit foundation with offices in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and South Africa. We started with a simple idea: to enable global philanthropy by providing a platform that simplifies global giving and fundraising. Since 2001, the platform has assisted donors and fundraisers in 194 countries to assist charities in 70 countries. The platform enables public events like running and cycling races and their participants to fundraise together for charities of their choice. https://www.givengain.com/team/join/

GivenGain is part of the Humanstate Group, an international private technology services group that combines state-of-the-art Web-based applications with on-demand payment processing. Working from offices in the UK, Switzerland, Canada, the US and South Africa, we are inspired and united by the drive to create great user experiences and delightful digital products. We like complex challenges, we like to do new things, and we like people who are excited by their work. We’re a small team with big responsibilities – the Humanstate Group employs around 150 professionals in 5 countries and processes more than one billion Pounds Sterling annually.