Guess2Give is a brand new fundraising tool for UK charities that taps into Britain’s love of a good ol’sweepstake.
Free for charities to use, Guess2Give, is a new spin on an age-old fundraising idea: the sweepstake. But by taking the concept online, more people can participate in a single fundraising event by guessing the result, e.g. how long it will take a friend to complete a run, triathlon, cycle or even how many steps it will take to reach the top of Kilimanjaro. Whatever the event, people can now raise money for charity by guessing the outcome.
It costs £3 to make a guess with a fixed 50p going into the winner’s prize fund and up to £2.50 (including Gift Aid) going to the charity. Everyone who makes a guess is kept up to date on the progress of their chosen event via facebook, twitter and email. The winner is then notified by email and the prize money transferred directly to their bank account.
Anything that can be measured can now become a fundraising event using Guess2Give. Whether it’s guessing the length of a best-man’s speech, the weight of all the fish on a fishing weekend or how far a paper plane will fly. The possibilities are endless and we’re looking forward to seeing how inventive people will be.
Research by Third Sector in 2010 showed 79% of large charities were feeling the impact of the downturn and 28% were anticipating a drop in funds. That’s why we are so proud of Guess2Give and the opportunity it presents to our charity partners; it’s a brand new way to raise money, interact with supporters and boost the number of events and activities that can now have a fundraising element to them.
Parkinson’s UK was the first of ten leading UK charities to sign up to Guess2Give. The charity’s fundraising director, Paul Jackson-Clark, said:
“For me being part of Guess2Give was a simple decision to make as it will provide a new income stream without any cost or risk to the charity. It also provides a new, fun- and slightly competitive -element to fundraising and enables supporters not just participants to be really involved in an event.” Paul Jackson-Clark, Fundraising Director at Parkinson’s UK
Our other charity partners can be viewed here.
Any UK registered charity can sign-up to Guess2Give for free by completing the short online registration here.
Guess2Give was also a top 3 finalist in a Barclays competition for entrepreneurial businesses in August 2011. Naguib Kheraj, Vice Chairman of Barclays Bank said:
“Guess2Give was selected as a finalist in the ‘Take One Small Step Challenge’ due to its innovative, social enterprise approach to raising funds for UK charities” Naguib Kheraj, Vice Chairman of Barclays Bank
How did the idea come about?
In 2009, Mark (Co-founder of Guess2Give) had 3 triathlons lined up and wanted to raise money for the charity he was working for, BUT a charity is a tough place to raise money. Really tough, there must be a request to sponsor someone almost every day.
Mark came up with the novel idea of running a sweepstake on each event. He asked his colleagues, friends and family to guess how long it would take to complete each triathlon (ultimately Ironman), and it worked. It really worked, raising £300+ for his charity.
We’ve taken that simple winning idea online so that it’s available for everyone.
How much is donated to the charity?
Click here to see how much goes to charity.
It works alongside existing online donation channels…
Guess2Give has been designed to be a bit of fun, to work alongside existing online donation channels to engage a fundraisers wider social network and help them raise more money!
A Guess2Give page should be set-up 3 to 4 weeks before an event, when the majority of online donations have already been made. Or for an event or occasion where online donations are unlikely to be made like a smaller event or challenge.
Guess2Give will provide a significant boost to fundraising and will help further engage friends around the event or activity. They’ll really want to know how preparation is going when they make their guesses and the final result to see if the’vey won.
Mark Chandler
Co-founder and Director
- Has 16 years charity, commercial (manufacturing, retail), sales and business start-up experience
- Ex-Marketing and Fundraising Director, Beating Bowel Cancer
- Ex-Head of Marketing & Digital Development, Marie Curie Cancer Care
- Has an MBA
- Climbed Kilimanjaro (see photo)
- And is a keen triathelete, runner and ironman
Tim Parkman
Co-founder and Director
- Has 20 years advertising, direct marketing, digital and business start-up experience
- Ex-Business Director, TulloMarshallWarren
- Ex-Business Director, Leo Burnett/Arc
- Stopped at a BSc (Hons)
- Climbed Roseberry Topping
- And is a keen mountain biker, runner and tinman (half-ironman).
Our mission
Guess2Give has been set-up as a social enterprise and is profit making. Our company mission is to create new income streams for charities by utilising online gaming to attract new donors and fundraisers.
Guess2Give is committed to being open and honest in all our dealings.
We are members of:
- The Fundraising Standards Board
- The Institute of Fundraising
As members of these institutes, we follow their Codes of Fundraising Practice and comply with the key principles embodied in the Codes.
Visit the Fundraising Standards Board or Institute of Fundraising websites for more information.
We’re also licensed and regulated by:
And we’re independently audited by:
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