Fundraising Methods

• Embedding Fundraising in your Outreach & Emails
• Activities and Events just for Fundraising
• Using donation tins and buckets
• Contactless/Card Payments
• Creating a crowdfunder
• Business cards to order or print

Embedding Fundraising in your Outreach & Emails

Fundraising during Outreach

Watch this video showing how to do outreach followed by a fundraising ask.

Then check out the Fundraising Methods pages for ideas on how to fundraise on the street.

You could also download this DONATE QR code which links to XRUK's crodfunder, that you can incorporate into your own posters, fliers etc.

How to ask for donations

Whether you are on the street doing outreach, speaking on a video or writing an email, asking for donations can feel difficult! Here are some words to help you communicate and encourage donations.

• 'It’s only thanks to small donations from individuals like you that we can continue to fund actions, outreach, equipment and more.'

• 'Every single donation helps us demand change. Together, we are unstoppable.'

• 'Extinction Rebellion runs on love, rage, and donations! Give now to keep the rebellion alive!'

• 'Thanks to donations from people like you, XR UK can continue to demand change.'

• 'The climate emergency is now! We need to take local grassroots direct action to make change happen. But we can’t do it without your support.'

Asks in the build-up to large-scale actions

• 'Without your help, there won’t be a rebellion. Your local XR group urgently needs your help to keep resisting and rebelling. Can you donate now or help organise a fundraiser?'

• 'We need your help to fund the rebellion! Support local volunteers' fund essentials and you’ll be directly helping to fight back against climate emergency inaction.'

If you're asked 'What does XR UK spend money on?'

'A monthly or one-off donation helps us:

• Support volunteers with essential costs
• Carefully plan attention-grabbing actions
• Pay for safe storage of equipment
• Maintain our website and communication tools
• Manage our finances with accounting software and professional bookkeeping
• And so much more'

Importance of our Action Network email lists

Our network of Local and Region/Nation email lists all build one big XRUK email list. As well as using it for emails about actions, training and ways to get involved, this list is very important for fundraising.

Regular donors from our XRUK list provide a steady income for the movement and campaigns, particularly leading up to big actions. The emails also bring in money from one-off donations.

The more people there are on our Action Network mailing list, the more successful our future fundraising will be.

It is important for fundraising that local groups are using Action Network (rather than their own systems like Mailchimp or other systems), so that new sign ups are also added to the overall XRUK list. More information about Action Network is here.

Promoting fundraising for your Local/Community Group through your emails

Tips on linking to fundraisers from Action Network emails (see 'Promoting your Chuffed Fundraiser')

Activities and Events just for Fundraising

Activities just for fundraising

You might have people in your group who are up for running fundraising activities outside the usual XR events. the following can be fun and successful ways of raising money and broadening the people we reach out to!

• Quizzes
• Sales of of plants/cakes/artworks/crafts
• Musical or poetry evenings
• Supper clubs
• Art Blocking for donations
• Auction of promises (eg ironing, cooking a meal etc)

Using donation tins and buckets

You can buy donation tins and buckets online, or make your own. Metal or plastic coffee or hot chocolate containers work well, with a slot in the top and some paper wrapped around and decorated.

If you buy a tin or bucket, it is best to get one with a chain and small carabiner (or add this yourself) so it can be anchored to a table.
These can then be used at all your events and meetings to collect cash.

When counting donations, you might prefer to count the cash in a pair so there are no misunderstandings about the amount collected and who has taken it to bank/to look after.

Lots of people do not carry cash these days so having a QR code printed on the donation tin can be very useful.

You can create one yourself for your own crowdfunder or use this QR code below that directs people to the XRUK crowdfunder:

• Either drag this image to your desktop or click to download
• Print it out and use it on donation tins/buckets or posters/flyers)

Note: Please take care not to use the XR logo (hourglass shape inside a circle) on fundraising kit as its designer has asked that it is not be used for commercial purposes. However we can use the name Extinction Rebellion and graphics other than the hourglass logo.

Contactless/Card Payments

Contactless/card payment devices are very helpful for fundraising, now that fewer people carry cash. People can make payments easily using their cards or their phone and the contactless/card payment devices are very easy to use.

Obviously you need a bank account to receive the funds taken via these devices.

Organisations like Zettle and SUMUP provide the interface platform between a bank account and the payment device. For this service, they take a fee deducted from your takings. Of course, they also sell you the payment device in the first place too! Some devices that are free up-front end up taking more in the long run via percentage revenues raised by you.

Cheaper devices (some cost as little as £20) do not have SIM cards built in, These need to be paired with the smart mobile phone of the person using the device. That person must have an account set up for them beforehand. If a different person uses it, then that all needs to be done again for the new phone. This is very fiddly and needs dedication! The drawback of these devices is they do not work so well when mobile phone coverage is less than perfect.

Our strong advice is to buy a contactless/card payment device with a SIM card already in.

Which Platform?

SUMUP is straightforward to set up with an online account. Their Solo device, which costs about £90, has a built in SIM so it can be used by anyone, anywhere.

Be aware that you do need to:

• answer questions about what you are taking payments for
• give the name of the person who is content to be named as being responsible for the group
• link to website, social media page, or other page, to show them that you are a real group

Presumably these actions deter criminals from using the platform, but also instill confidence in potential donors.

Other platforms can require a higher level of proof of your reason for collecting payments.

Raise Funds for XR UK with a Contactless/Card Device

If you want us to provide a contactless/card payment device that is set up to direct funds into the XR UK bank account, please contact the fundraising team.

Get in touch through the Mattermost Fundraising Reception channel or email fundraising@rebellion.earth

Creating a crowdfunder

Chuffed is a fantastic way to raise funds, as long as you have a bank account to receive the money.

Setting up a Chuffed fundraiser

Chuffed makes money by taking a cut of the money that is donated. You can either set up the fundraiser so the cut is taken as a percentage of the money donated, or you can set it up so that the donors can decide how much to give Chuffed in addition to their donation to XR (including an option to give nothing at all).

Setting up a Chuffed account and your first fundraiser takes about an hour and Chuffed guide you nicely through the process. If you are nervous about this, then consider doing the set up with someone else supporting.

You will need:

• a bank account,
• a named individual as the account contact
• an email account to link to the Chuffed account.

Have all this decided and ready before you start the set up.

Why do you need a Stripe account too?

As part of the setup process, you will be prompted to set up a Stripe account, as well as your Chuffed account. Stripe is a platform that processes payments from debit and credit cards, Paypal, ApplePay GooglePay, etc. Stripe sits invisibly behind Chuffed and manages the process that transfers the money from a donor’s account to your bank account.

This means that if you want to have a Chuffed fundraiser then you also need to set up an account with Stripe. You are prompted to do this as part of the Chuffed account set up process, so it is all made straightforward for you. It is Stripe, not Chuffed who will hold your bank account details, Stripe and Chuffed are separate organisations.

Promoting your Chuffed Fundraiser

QR codes linked to online fundraisers can be a great alternative to a card/contactless device. They enable people who don't carry cash to donate, without the need for the group to have a card/contactless device. Get more info here on creating QR codes to link to your fundraiser.

Here is some guidance if you want to use links or buttons to crowdfunders in Action Network emails.

Regular giving via Chuffed

You can also set up your Chuffed fundraiser to allow people to donate monthly. This can be a lot easier for people to set up than manually creating a Standing Order via their bank. Find out how to set this up here.

Further Support

If you need help with any of this - you can get support from the XRUK Fundraising team - contact us on our Mattermost reception or by emailing fundraising@rebellion.earth

Business cards to order or print

Business Cards

Little cards (the size of a business card) with a Sign-up QR code on one side and a Donate QR code on the other are very useful because:

• they are easy to carry and fit into a pocket/clipboard/purse/wallet for outreachers, stewards and fundraisers. You can even keep some in your wallet at all times to give to people when XR comes up!
• They are multi-purpose- for sign ups and donations
• If people are in a hurry, they can take them away to use later
• Our XR leaflets usually only have a QR code linking to the general website, the QR codes on the business cards are more specific
• They are very cheap!

Download artwork for the current XRUK business cards

These cards can be used by anyone for XRUK fundraising.

You can get some of these by contacting the fundraising team or downloading the artwork below and getting your own printed. Of course, you can also create your own artwork and QR codes and make your own cards!

• Download sign up side of business cards
• Download Donate side of business cards

Someone wants to donate, but you have no QR codes or materials...

The DONATE and JOIN OUR MAILING LIST buttons are always at the top of our website when accessed from a phone, so just ask people to search for XR UK if you do not have any cards!