David is a long-time supporter of Brain Research UK. He has been involved with the charity since 2023 and has since completed two TCS London Marathons, and Swim Serpentine 2024 as part of Team #BrainResearchUK. How he got involved with the Brain Research UK makes for a great read, and we get his top tips for fundraising ahead of his third year as a supporter.
Running the London Marathon was something I had always wanted to do. So, after the 2023 event I decided to finally commit to it. I entered the ballot, but didn’t receive a place so, I decided to apply for via a charity. I was really worried about being able to raise the minimum amount, but I decided it was a one off and hoped that somehow it would come together.
I was lucky enough to get a spot on Team #BrainResearchUK, and the rest is history!
At that time, I thought the only way to get donations was by asking for them and was a bit embarrassed to be asking people to pay for something that I wanted to do. However, as I had been donating to other people’s charity events over the years, I was hopeful that a good few of them would reciprocate.
Fundraising through other means hadn’t even crossed my mind until I got signed up with Brain Research UK and started seeing what other people were doing: bake sales, quiz nights, parties – lots more than I had originally set out to do.
I started considering my options. Working for myself, things like bake sales were not going to work. I’m also quite a shy person, so knew that a big event really wasn’t my thing so, I knew I had to find something else that worked for me.
I put in a couple of sentences along the lines of:
“I'm doing London Marathon in support of Brain Research UK! Follow my journey here. Any donations or sponsorship will be gratefully received and go towards funding life-changing research. Please click here for more details.”
I then include a link that goes directly to my fundraising page.
I have found fundraising to be a really good discussion point. I have found that people will happily donate when I start talking about Brain Research UK’s impact.
Knowing some key facts about the charity, the research they are funding, and the fact that so many people either suffer from or know someone who suffers from a neurological condition really helps. You can then make the discussion personal to them, which then increases the chances of a donation, or increases the amount of the donation!!
As a lawyer, the other thing I can do (which probably accounts for most of my fundraising) is offering free advice. Very often people will want a quick piece of advice, and then reluctantly ask how much they owe me. Before I started fundraising, I would just say, “No, that’s fine, no charge this time.”
But now, instead of waiving my fee, I say “I’m happy to waive my fee on this occasion, but you may have seen from my email footer that I’m fundraising for Brain Research UK. How about you pop a donation on my fundraising page?” 9 times out of 10 they are delighted to donate, and often they donate more than I would have charged them!
David’s story is a brilliant reminder that fundraising works best when it’s done in a way that feels right to you. By simply leaning into what worked for him, he has had a huge impact on the lives of those with neurological conditions, all while staying true to himself.
Inspired by David’s approach? Why not try out one of his top tips – whether it’s a quick update to your email signature, a conversation with someone from your network, or offering your skills in exchange for a donation. You might be surprised by just how effective these seemingly little things can be.
However you choose to fundraise, we’re here to support you every step of the way, and are so grateful to have you on Team #BrainResearchUK. For more information or ideas on how to support us, please see our website here.
You can also get in touch with us to discuss your fundraising ideas via email to sophie.hopkins@brainresearchuk.org.uk or by calling us on 020 7404 9982.
