Everyone has the power to make a difference for neurodivergent people.
Take on a fitness challenge, host a social event in your community, or turn your creativity into fundraising. Whatever you choose, you’ll be making a real difference!
How your support makes a difference
Around 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent. That could be you, your friends or family, your neighbours, or your colleagues at work.
You might choose to fundraise because of your own experiences, or because someone close to you is neurodivergent. Or you may simply want to do something meaningful. Whatever your reason, your support helps create real, lasting change for neurodivergent people.
Yet despite how many people are neurodivergent, too many still face misunderstanding and a lack of the right support. The Donaldson Trust is working to change that. Through specialist services, training, and sharing knowledge, we are helping build a society where neurodivergent people are better understood and supported.
However you choose to fundraise, and whatever you raise, your support helps us to:
- Support neurodivergent children, young people and adults to achieve their goals and live life to the full
- Bring the voices and experiences of neurodivergent people directly to decision-makers through our policy and influencing work
- Break down barriers in education, work and everyday life through training, consultancy and advisory services
Every pound you raise helps us reach more people, provide more support, and drive lasting change.
Get started by registering your fundraising activity
- A – Auction of promises
- B – Bike ride
- C – Coffee morning
- D – Dress Down (or Up) Day
- E – Exercise challenge
- F – Fashion show
- G – Give it up challenge
- H – Head shave
- I – Indoor games day
- J – Jumble sale
- K – Karaoke night
- L – Learn a new skill
- M – Mystery raffle
- N – (24-hr) Non-stop challenge
- O – Office olympics
- P – Potluck bake sale
- Q – Quiz night
- R – Run for Donaldsons
- S – Sweepstake
- T – Talent show
- U – Upcycle challenge
- V – Virtual challenge
- W – Walk to work week
- X – Xmas jumper day
- Y – Yoga session
- Z – Zumba party
Our fundraising top tips
- Plan ahead and get organised
Create a checklist of everything you’ll need – from venue to volunteers, a little preparation goes a long way in ensuring fundraising success! - Set a target
Having a fundraising goal helps motivate people to give and gets everyone working towards a shared achievement. - Make it easy for people to donate
Set up a JustGiving page so friends, family, and colleagues can donate quickly and easily. If you’re fundraising as a group, you can even create a team page to track everyone’s efforts. See how much you can raise together. - Tell your story
Do you have a special reason for supporting The Donaldson Trust? Sharing your story helps people understand why it matters and inspires them to get involved. - Boost your fundraising efforts
Ask if your work can match-fund what you raise. It’s a simple way to double your impact! - A big ‘thank you’ goes a long way
It shows people their support truly mattered and helps inspire them to get involved again.
Things to remember:
- Health and Safety
Don’t forget a risk assessment to keep everyone safe! You might also want to think about insurance and first aid depending on your event. - Raffles and lotteries
There are strict rules around prize draws, raffles and lotteries. Please check the latest information and advice at www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk.
How we’ll support you
When you fundraise for The Donaldson Trust, you’re not doing it alone – we’re here to support you every step of the way.
From your first idea to your final total, we’ll be on hand to help you make the most of your fundraising. Whether you need a bit of guidance or just a quick sanity check, we’re always happy to help.
We can support you with:
- ideas and advice to help shape your fundraising activity
- resources and materials to bring your plans to life
- tips on setting up and sharing your JustGiving page
- encouragement and check-ins along the way
- helping to celebrate and share your success where possible
However big or small your idea, we’ll help you make it a success, and we’d love to hear what you’re planning.
Ready to get started? Register your fundraising activity today!
Shout about it!
Let’s spread the word about your fundraising – the more people who know, the more impact you’ll make! Here are our top tips to get you started:
- Social media
Show off your fundraising journey on social media channels! Share updates, photos, and goals you’ve reached. Encourage your family, friends and colleagues to share your posts and get more people involved. - Press coverage
If you can get a shoutout in your local media or trade publications, you’ll be raising awareness and boosting your fundraising at the same time!
- Tag us
Don’t forget to tag us in your posts – we love featuring our fundraisers on our social media and website! Click the links below to find our channels:
Managing your donations
You’ve held your event, run your race, or survived your skydive – and it was a great success! We hope you enjoyed it – the hard part is done!
Any money that you have raised through JustGiving will come directly to us. If you collected money in any other way, you can send it to us by:
- Donating securely online
Visit www.donaldsons.org.uk and click on the Donate button at the top right corner of the page. Remember to tell us how the money was raised! - Donating by post
Please send a cheque payable to The Donaldson Trust with your name, your company, and how you raised the money to:
The Donaldson Trust
Preston Road
Linlithgow
EH49 6HZ
Please don’t send any cash via the post. - Pay directly in to our bank account
Email GetInvolved@donaldsons.org.uk to organise a bank transfer, so we can give you our account details and can identify your donation when it comes through.
