The Covid-19 crisis has left charities with a massive drop in income, general donations are down as everyone is tightening their belts and countless fundraising events have been cancelled. But as Dr Richard Simcock has said: “It seems that the whole world has stopped for Covid – but we can be sure that one thing that hasn’t stopped is cancer”.
According to Public Health England, in 2014 there were estimated to be around 101,000 people in Surrey and Sussex either living with cancer or beyond their diagnosis and treatment for cancer, with around 17, 700 new cancer cases being diagnosed. The number of people living with and beyond cancer is estimated to increase significantly in the next 20 years. This is partly because of the ageing population and increasing incidence, but also because of increasing survival from cancer. By 2030, it is estimated there will be as many as 168,600 people in Surrey and Sussex living with and beyond cancer, a potential increase of approximately 67% (67,600 cases).
So the support that the Sussex Cancer Fund provides will need to increase if we are going to continue to provide the best possible cancer care for patients in Sussex. The immediate loss of income followed by an unknown period of economic downturn will make fundraising a challenge even when the immediate crisis has passed. So the Sussex Cancer Fund has to look for alternative revenue streams that won’t cost our supporters but help to bring invaluable funds.
Online Shopping
We are registered with 3 popular online shopping portals that donate funds to your chosen charity while you shop online at no extra cost to yourselves. Easy Fundraising, Give as You Live and Amazon Smile. There are thousands of retailers listed, so whether you are buying something for the house, booking a holiday or buying craft supplies you can raise money for the Sussex Cancer Fund. There are lots of comparison websites listed too, so you could save money by switching your insurance policies or energy providers and still raise us valuable funds.
Donate A Car
Get rid of your unwanted car. Fast, free and for charity.
Giveacar is a not-for-profit social enterprise that can turn your old car into cash for any UK charity. They arrange free collection, and then either sell your car at auction or scrap it with the proceeds (minus service fees) raised going to your chosen charity.
The UK’s first car donation scheme, Giveacar has won several awards, supporting over 1600 charities with the money raised from old cars. Using 10 years of experience, their expertise allows them to maximise the value of your car so you can guarantee your donation will raise the most it can and do the most good for charity.
Find out more at https://giveacar.co.uk or call 020 7736 4242
Recycle Your Ink Cartridges
You can now recycle your empty printer ink cartridges through www.recycle4charity.co.uk and raise money for the Sussex Cancer Fund at no cost to yourselves or your business.
Recycle4Charity is a free, easy to use inkjet recycling programme and also a simple way to help the environment whilst raising money for the charity of your choice, we hope you choose us!
Sussex Cancer Fund will earn £1 for each wanted list cartridge sent to Recycle4Charity in their Freepost bags and collection boxes. It is very simple, you register on their website and order their Freepost bags or for larger businesses their collection boxes. When your bags are full, pop them in the post (postage is taken care of), or if you are using one of their boxes contact Recycle4Charity to arrange for free collection. The Sussex Cancer Fund will receive a £1 for every cartridge received from their wanted list. See more
Donate your old clothes to charity
We are too small a charity to run a charity shop but luckily we have signed up to Thrift+.Thrift+ is an online portal that allows charity supporters to recycle their unwanted clothes in a really simple hassle-free way. So if you have had a sort out of your wardrobe and have some clothes you no longer want signup and raise some money for the Sussex Cancer Fund. Read more.
Tax & Gift Aid
Gift Aid allows charities to reclaim the basic rate of income tax on single donations from UK taxpayers. This enables us to increase the value of your kind donation by 25% at no extra cost to yourself. If you are happy for your donation to be made using Gift Aid, please contact us.
Engaging with our Social Media
The Sussex Cancer Fund can be found on Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Google My Business and Facebook. Liking, Sharing and commenting on our posts really helps us to increase our digital footprint and raise awareness of cancer and the work we do in Sussex.
Tell A Friend
One of the best ways to help raise our profile is to literally tell people about us. So whether you are networking for your business, chatting to friends and family or waiting at the bus stop and making polite conversation, tell people about the work we do. A lot of people aren’t aware that the Sussex Cancer Fund does all the things the larger Cancer Charities do but the difference is we have very low overheads, so more of the money goes directly to helping cancer patients and of course the money we raise in Sussex stays in Sussex!
Volunteer
These strange time will eventually pass and we will be able to slowly start holding events again. So supporting our events is a great way to help us, whether just attending or volunteering to help. We are always short of help, so volunteering is a great way to help us and be part of a community.
If you have any more ideas for raising awareness or fundraising at little or no cost, we would love to hear your ideas, so please do get in touch.
