Donate Your Birthday: Celebrate While Giving Back

Have you ever considered donating your birthday? Instead of receiving presents, you could make an enormous impact in your local community. This gifting concept is all about turning the joy of your special day into a source of happiness for others. It's about creating a meaningful celebration that goes beyond the traditional birthday party.

Donating Your Birthday: What Does It Mean?

Donating your birthday means redirecting the gifts and well wishes from your loved ones towards a cause that you are passionate about. Instead of gifts, you invite your friends and family to donate to your chosen charity or cause. It's a meaningful way to celebrate your birthday that creates a lasting impact.

Why You Should Consider It

There are many reasons to donate your birthday. Firstly, it's a unique way to celebrate your special day. Instead of the usual birthday party or dinner, you're doing something different that also benefits others. Secondly, it's an opportunity to raise awareness and support for a cause that you care about. Your birthday becomes a platform for advocating for change and making a difference. Finally, it's an enriching and fulfilling experience that combines celebration with generosity.

Many people are realising that material gifts may prompt a smile on the day they're given, but quickly become just another item lying around the house, collecting dust, filling space, a burden that has to be maintained. 

Joining together with your friends to make a true difference brings greater purpose and meaning to your gifts, and the benefits of the gift are felt long into the future by people who truly need and appreciate the support.

A £20 charitable donation in the right hands could turn somebody's life around. It could go towards a warm space that prevents somebody from sleeping on a cold street corner. It could pay for a coffee and conversation that prevents somebody from committing suicide.  It could afford food for some who haven't had a full meal all week. 

Setting Up A Birthday Fundraiser

Setting up a birthday fundraiser is straightforward. You can do it all here on our website. Start by creating a fundraising page. Our platform makes it easy to give towards a specific service that we run at Derby City Mission, i.e., our Safe Space or Community Shop, or you can simply choose to give towards our general needs, allowing our team to use the funds received wherever the needs are greatest.

1. Make it personal

- On this set up page, we encourage you to make it personal and add a photo or video of yourself so your friends and family can easily identify the page.

2. Fundraiser title

 - You can be as creative as you like here, but make it recognisable; a simple 'John Smith's Birthday Fundraiser' would do the trick. 

3. Share your story

There will then be a space for you to say why you specifically want to donate your special day. The more you say, the greater connection your friends and family will feel with the gift. Maybe there's a specific reason you wish to support our cause, share it here to inspire others. 

4. Set your donation target

Our best advice here is to be bold. Challenge yourself and your friends to make a great impact by selecting a large number to aim for collectively. A good formula would be to times your birthday by 100. Say you're celebrating your 37th birthday, so a good target could be (37x100) £3,700.

A significant goal will show your friends and family that you're passionate about helping people in need. And don't worry, if you don't reach your goal, any funds raised will still go towards the project and people you selected. 

Start Your Birthday Giving Page Here!

5. Share your Birthday Fundraiser

Once your page is live, you can then share this page with your friends and family, inviting them to make a donation in lieu of a birthday gift. You can do this via social media, as part of a gift list, or link to your party invite; the options for getting the word out are endless. 

For a full guide on sharing your fundraiser, take a look at our handy fundraising guide 

Maximise The Impact Of Your Special Day

Donating your birthday is a brilliant way to maximise the impact of your special day. Instead of receiving gifts, the money raised can go towards providing essential support to those who need it most. It's a powerful way to celebrate your birthday, creating a ripple effect of positivity and change. So this year, consider donating your birthday and discover the joy of giving back.

Bonus Challenge

Combine your birthday fundraiser with a unique challenge. Use the occasion to try something new, get out of your comfort zone and sign up for a significant event. A skydive, bungee, epic hike, marathon, daily litter pick, or something of that nature. Not only will linking the challenging occasion inspire your friends and family even further to donate, but it will also give you a fantastic memory that will remind you of your powerful choice to donate your birthday. 

Your next birthday is under 365 days away! So, start planning your next life-giving birthday today.

Complete this form to create your birthday giving page