Christmas Carol Fundraiser 

Posted by Emily Clare on 22 November 2022

Possibly the most traditional way to raise money over the festive period is to go Christmas caroling. People have been doing it for centuries, albeit it began as a simple way to entertain friends and neighbors in the town. Nowadays, we recognize that people of talent deserve to be paid for their entertainment. So, if you’ve decided to host a Christmas carol fundraiser, you’re joining a long line of history in one of the nation’s favorite spectacles.

However, if you’ve made your decision and then led yourself into a spiraling thought of ‘what do i do now? You wouldn’t be alone. Having an idea is one thing, executing one is another. We’ll talk you through each step so you can make this the festive success you’ve always dreamed of.

How to spread the word about your fundraiser

Get the word out fast for your fundraiser. There’s going to be plenty of events going on during the festive season, don’t delay. Pick a date and go for it. You might host it in your local church or in your town square. But once decided, flood every communication outlet with news of your event. 

Litter the hallways of local schools, churches, community buildings, streets with posters of your event. Have the date and location in a large font, don’t make it small to look good. You want this to catch people’s eyes as they’re walking by.

If you have the budget, place advertisements in local newspapers, and magazines and even speak with a local delivery person to pop flyers into peoples postboxes. It can be a relatively inexpensive way to spread the word.

Don’t forget about the digital world too. Whatever poster you create, make sure you send it out via email to all your connections. Not just your charity or organization’s email list, but your personal one too. Every person who is involved in this Christmas carol fundraiser should be emailing their contacts.

Collectively, you’ve got a huge network of people that you can use to help get free publicity of your fundraiser. Make the most of it and don’t be shy at asking local businesses to help out too. Everyone gets generous at this time of year.

How to organize a Christmas carol fundraiser

Practice makes perfect! Or as the term is being coined lately – practice makes patterns. And what you want at your Christmas carol fundraiser is a pattern of beautiful harmonies where everyone knows what they’re doing. That being said, we are all human and we must account for human error. Forgetting words, harmonies, pitches, it’s only natural. 

So, how can you account for these human errors? It’s simple, provide the information. The best thing about Christmas caroling is that having a hymn sheet in front of you is a very normal prop. Allow your singers to have the information in front of them, edited with handwritten notes that they can understand. That way, you can carry out the perfect fundraiser each night.

Yes, that’s right we said each night. Of course, you will need a headline event that you advertise. But we recommend that you also try and get your foot in the door to other events. Perhaps there is a festive market, a light switching-on ceremony, or even a Christmas parade. You can sing rehearsal songs at these events and earn some extra cash on your journey to the main event.

Taking donations at your fundraiser

We just mentioned the word cash. Mainly because they are the types of donations you will receive for in-person events. But they don’t have to be. You can take donations in many different forms. If you set yourself up with a portable card machine, all you need is an internet connection to take card donations. A simple hotspot will suffice. Don’t restrict the amount of donations you can receive because you don’t have the right equipment. Here at Givergy, we can provide you with the ability to take card donations.

Speaking of equipment. You could even use technology to host an online fundraiser. With the online world being far more accessible than attending an event in person, you can expect to receive more donations if you host a virtual Christmas carol fundraiser. You can sell tickets to multiple nights. Have the entire show pre-recorded so that people can purchase tickets and enjoy the beautiful sounds whenever they please. It’s a great way to bring the century-old tradition of Christmas caroling into the 21st Century.

Safety in Christmas caroling

Of course, there is an element of safety needed in Christmas caroling. Going round neighborhoods and knocking on stranger’s doors can be daunting. Make sure you always travel in a large group, never leave children alone and always have some form of light, communication and safety on you. Don’t walk around carrying all your donations at once, put them somewhere safe in a vehicle as you go around.

Emily Clare

Campaign Success Team Manager – North America

Emily is an experienced and passionate fundraising and events consultant, working with and supporting clients on their special events and fundraising campaigns all over the world.