Whilst dogs are one of the most popular domestic pets across Europe, there are a number of countries across the continent that have significant numbers of stray dogs. One such country is Bosnia, where it is estimated there are more than 12,000 street dogs in the city of Sarajevo alone. One lady’s mission has seen her rescue thousands of these dogs over recent years, and rehome them here in the UK. Svetlana Scredic is the founder of Ceca’s Rescued Paws and one of her biggest UK supporters, Victoria, got in touch to tell us all about her remarkable work and why she feels so strongly about the charity.

Tell us all about Ceca’s Rescued Paws

Svetlana runs CECA’s Rescued Paws single handedly, while I am responsible for fundraising for her mission here in the UK. I first met Svetlana when I adopted my dog Beni (Shown above in his bow tie!), one of her rescues – he is my absolute pride and joy and brings so much happiness to my life. I do all I can to give him the best life possible now but he was previously a stray in Prejedor, Bosnia, trying to survive each day in awful conditions and with a lack of food and water. CECA’s is life saving for dogs like my Beni. An organisation dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming dogs who deserve a second chance at life in a country where stray dogs are a huge problem.

Why is funding needed?

As explained, Bosnia is a country where stray dogs are a real issue. While there are big animal welfare charities that try and support this in some of the bigger towns such as Sarajevo, in smaller areas like Prejedor CECA’s is working hard to meet the demand of rescuing the unfortunate dogs. Funding is needed to cover medical treatment, food, resources and cover the admin costs of rehoming the dogs.

Why did you register CECA’s with easyfundraising?

I chose to set us up on easyfundraising because it provides a great way for a number of people to get behind our mission without it costing them an extra penny. All the biggest retailers are on there which proves just how credible and trustworthy a platform it is and causes like ours have the potential to raise so much so easily.

What has the money raised to date made possible?

We have raised just under £200 so far and this has been used to fund flea treatment and food for the dogs.

Is there something in particular you are fundraising towards at the moment?

The most frequent bill for the charity is food provision. So we are constantly fundraising towards this.

How do you encourage supporters to get behind you?

The subject of our charity is hugely emotive, so many beautiful dogs who are being given a second chance. The most important way of promoting our work is social media and promoting easyfundraising fits easily with this. We regularly post updates on our latest rescues, lots of photos and accompany that with links to our easyfundraising page. We regularly update with information on how much has been raised, what it will go towards and of course thank yous! All our wonderful families and individuals in the UK who adopt one of our dogs are told all about easyfundraising too.

How you can support CECA’s Rescued Paws

Svetlana is a remarkable woman and it’s fantastic that Victoria is working so hard to help fundraise for the charity here in the UK. If you would like to support CECA’s every time you shop, you can sign up to support them here.

Connected to a cause that could use some extra free funding? Register your cause.

For more than 50 years, Contact Hostel has been providing sanctuary for young women facing homelessness. It is estimated that just over 7,000 people (1 in 74) across the city of Manchester are homeless according to the Manchester Homelessness Partnership, with many of these female and as a result of, or driven to, prostitution, escaping abusive relationships and more. With such frightening statistics, charities like Contact Hostel are working hard to meet demand for their services. We spoke to Victoria, the Admin and Fundraising Assistant from Contact to learn more about their history, work, and their fundraising.

Tell us all about Contact Hostel

Contact was founded in 1970 by Brigid Murphy, a former Nun who realised the particular concerns related to young girls facing homelessness. Many girls leaving care or facing relationship breakdowns with family were vulnerable to abuse, being encouraged into drug talking or ending up entangled in the world of prostitution. Brigid became increasingly troubled with the lack of provision and established a home for them, which came to be known as Contact. Eventually, after using her own savings and launching appeals, she purchased our current site in South Manchester.

Contact is run by a small team of females, admin staff, and Trustees. Our experienced support staff are on site 24/7 to offer personalised one-to-one intervention including employment and education support, advice and guidance. We aim to provide ‘what any good parent would do’ for our girls.

What do you need funding for?

Though more than 50 years have passed, and whilst Contact has 1000s girls in that time, the problems Brigid identified in the 70’s are sadly still as much of an issue for girls today. We obviously need to fund the upkeep of our hostel and the meals for our guests but our service goes far beyond that. Each resident is supported to pursue education, training or employment, empowering them to realise their full potential and build a brighter future. Our mission is to ensure these women lead healthier, more positive lives. We need funding to ensure we can complete this mission and meet the demand for our services so that no woman has to continue to suffer on the streets.

Why did you join easyfundraising?

We love easyfundraising here at Contact, it’s a great formula, it provides a free and effortless way to raise funds for us and we get great feedback from supporters sharing how easy it is to use. It’s a super straightforward process for both charities and supporters, we love how people can continuously support us without making direct donations out of their own pocket. We see regularly through our service users the impact of the cost of living crisis, so we know that it isn’t easy for our community to donate – easyfundraising makes it possible for them without any extra cost.

How has the money raised helped?

We have raised just over £400 and recently had a service user starting college, she required some stationary and some specific uniform. As she didn’t have the support from family outside of the hostel to provide her with such things, we took it upon ourselves to provide her with the tools and uniform she required. This is a massive moment for this resident as she’d been out of mainstream education from a very early age. You can only imagine how supported she felt in this moment and the gratitude on her face said it all!

What projects are you fundraising for at the moment?

We are continuously fundraising towards the running costs of our space. The ‘hostel’ is a very homely space, we provide everything from bedding to shower gel to everyone that lives here and everything in between. All the money raised is essential to the general running costs of Contact.

How do you promote easyfundraising to people in your community?

We regularly post about easyfundraising on Facebook and Instagram, including using hashtags like #easyfundraising #SupportOurCause #FreeFundraising to build up the conversation and awareness. We send a friendly, personal message to our donor community with the sign-up link. Also regularly mentioning it in our monthly newsletter. We find digital channels are the most effective, trying to get in front of supporters when they are about to shop so they take that extra step to support us.

What advice would you give to other easyfundraising causes?

For many of our supporters, the app and donation reminder are vital parts in remembering to collect those free funds each time they shop. The more convenient and easy it is for them, the more they will use it and the more we will benefit. We can’t thank all our supporters enough.

How you can support Contact Hostel

What a remarkable cause, not just solving the short term issue their local women face of homelessness, the hostel also provides them with support and advice to improve their lives and turn their situation around for good. If you would like to support Contact every time you shop online, sign up as a supporter here.

Connected with a cause that could use some free funding? Register your good cause today.

It may not get the coverage that traditional rugby gets outside of the paralympics, but for the members of the Cardiff Blue Dragons Wheelchair Rugby League Club, wheelchair rugby deserves top billing. A young club, catering for players of a wide range of ages and ability, in just over 18 months they have raised more than £400 with easyfundraising. We spoke to team manager, Karen, to find out more.

Tell us all about your team and the sport of Wheelchair Rugby League

We set up the team 4 years ago to introduce one of the most inclusive sports to South Wales. We’re one of only a handful of teams playing wheelchair rugby league in Wales, although it’s played more widely in England and Australia. Wheelchair rugby league is a closer relative of the running game than the other form of wheelchair rugby also known as murderball. It’s played with a size 4 rugby ball, requires backwards passes, and tries and conversions are scored. Tackles are made by removing tags from the shoulders of opponents.

It allows people of all ages, gender identification, disabilities (including mental health and neurodiversity) as well as able bodied to play on one team as long as they can self propel a wheelchair. This makes it one of the most inclusive sports available and allows families and others to play on one team with others around them. We have gone from an initial 3 players to 22 players now and are still growing. We believe strongly in not only physical health and putting the best team into fixtures, bit it’s also about mental health and wellbeing and enjoying the sport. We have some people attend that struggle even leaving their house day-to-day but they do come along regularly.

Currently our youngest member is 8 years old and oldest is 60. We have members who are able bodied, diabetics, neurodiverse, ME, hypermobility, amputees, loss of movement in lower limbs, asthma, COPD, anxiety, depression and other lesser known disabilities. The fact that we have whole families involved in the team as well as couples and individuals means it has allowed them to find things they can do together bridging the gap between ability and disability.

What do you need funding for?

Our estimated running costs based on all the thing we would like to do for the team are in the region of £16,500 per year. But as we currently don’t have access to anything like this amount it’s important we raise enough to get by and do the bare essentials as we currently are. We also need to raise funds in the future to purchase our own team wheelchairs at a total predicted cost of £25000. We fundraise in many ways on a small scale to keep the club running and do all we can to promote ourselves and do what grant applications we can in the hope of accessing funding. Annual runnings costs at the moment include:

• Hall hire alone is over £6,000 per year
• We offer reduced sub rates for children, students, couple and families
• Specialist wheelchairs for hire, on loan from Wales Rugby at a cost of £2,500 each
• Maintenance of the chairs is over £150 each year for tyres, bearings etc.
• Travel to fixtures – with limited teams playing the sport we have to travel quite far for matches, including van hire and fuel

Why did you join easyfundraising?

We train all year round to offer continuity and routine for those who find these things challenging, but we find accessing grants challenging due to the fact many don’t support hall hire costs and others only offer it to those clubs/teams catering to specific areas of need i.e. one age group or disability type. Therefore being inclusive hinders that access. We also are in one of the most deprived areas of Wales as well as working with some people depending on benefits.

I have personally used easyfundraising for many years, previously for a PTA I was part of. It provides a free source of income for us with minimal effort. We do all we can to promote it to get more people shopping in support of us.

What have the funds raised to date made possible?

To date our money raised has helped towards hall hire, our largest overhead. It has helped us be able to continue to offer sessions over the winter months at a time when many people find them dark and isolating. This has allowed them to access a source of physical and mental wellbeing to be accessed by people who may otherwise not have that vital support.

Is there a project or fundraising target you are raising towards currently?

Our next big project is to raise funds to start purchasing our own team specialist wheelchairs so we are not dependent on the loan equipment. At £2,500 each this is a big requirement as we can’t train or play without them but we will start trying to purchase one initially and work from there.

How do you promote easyfundraising around your team community?

We promote on our social media accounts. We have made use of the easyfundraising provided QR code to our cause page and have it on our exhibition boards and flyers. We also have wallet size cards made purely to promote easyfundraising. We find the best way to get people signed up though is word of mouth, we make sure we talk about how easy it is when at publicity events and networking sessions. We try and keep people updated with how much we have raised to keep them motivated.

What advice would you give other causes using easyfundraising?

Be open about what you offer and the challenges you face. Speak about how easy it is to sign up and use easyfundraising and promote regularly on social media using various different posts that are a mix of sharing from that which easyfundraising provide and posts specifically about the club and what the funding is going towards.

How you can support Cardiff Blue Dragons

What an incredible team, providing such an important activity and sense of community for all members and families. If you would like to get behind the team, you can support them every time you shop online by signing up to support them.

Connected to a cause that could use some extra funding? Register a good cause.

If you have a local beauty spot or outdoor space, it’s easy to just presume that it is maintained by the local council or perhaps privately owned. But Quarry Park in Dunsville is maintained by a group of committed volunteers who work tirelessly to maintain their local park so it can be enjoyed by people of all ages. We spoke to Tina from The Friends of Quarry Park to find out a bit more about what they do, and how they have raised over £350 with easyfundraising.

Tell us about the Friends of Quarry Park

The Friends of Quarry Park, Dunsville, Doncaster is a local community group, formed in 1996, with a core of around 20 committed volunteers/40 members who support Doncaster Council in their vision to ‘provide a safe clean Park/Local Nature Reserve with high quality facilities to give well-being, health benefits and enjoyment for all in the local communities surrounding Quarry Park and in the wider city area of Doncaster’.

Our group of feisty volunteers was set up to help Doncaster Council maintain our beautiful local green space – Quarry Park. We meet at least once a month on the park to keep the footpaths clear of debris in the woods, clear the brambles from the play areas, litter pick, plant spring bulbs, new trees and buy and install new benches and picnic tables among other things! Our group helps to keep the park litter free, tidy and safe for all our local residents and visitors from afar to enjoy, including local ramblers, dog walkers, elderly, families and children. We also improve the parks’ wildlife. Visitors love to walk through the woods filled with daffodils and bluebells, watch the summer wildflowers bloom, use the outdoor gym and zipwire, play ball games or watch the wildlife from the numerous seats we have installed.

Our volunteers love the social side of getting together after their hard work for a cuppa and a biscuit. We also help to keep the prestigious Green Flag flying, awarded for the last 8 years running.

What do you need funding for?

We fundraise to buy equipment for our volunteers to use when maintaining the site, including hedge clippers, litter pickers, paint etc. We also need protective equipment. We also invest in promotion/recruitment to the volunteer numbers, including polo shirts, caps and beanie hats with our logos on. We also fundraise for extra spring bulbs, extra trees and more benches and storage sheds to store our equipment securely and safely.

Why did you sign up to easyfundraising?

We signed up to get free donations so we can purchase more equipment for our volunteers and more things for the park like seats and trees. It was a real no brainer. I’ve used it for another charity that I supported for years so I knew all about it and thought we should share the joy with The Friends of Quarry Park members too. We need to buy the equipment so when we can, we buy via easyfundraising therefore receiving free donations so it’s an easy win win situation and we love it. It really is free money that we can put to great use!

What has the free funding made possible?

We’ve raised over £350 in such a short time! We have bought an endless list of items; extra long litter pickers to get into the bushes, hundreds of spring bulbs like daffodils, crocuses, anemones and bluebells, secateurs, gloves, plus bulbs and bedding plants for our Community Planter on the High Street in our village which we sponsor.

Do you do any other fundraising outside of easyfundraising?

Our main source of income is applying for grants but we hold Coffee Mornings in our local library, selling cakes and do raffles and help out our local coffee shop by weeding their forecourt for a donation. We also held a 25th Anniversary Scarecrow Festival on the park in 2021 and charged a small entry fee.

What would be your top tip for someone using easyfundraising?

For those supporting a cause, my best tip would be to get the Donation Reminder so you don’t have to rely on your memory, if it’s bad like mine! For causes, I don’t think you can beat speaking about easyfundraising as much as possible. Across social channels, face to face, keep telling everyone about a recent purchase that lead to a donation, update them on the total raised so far.

We would definitely recommend easyfundraising to anyone and we thank everyone there for being so helpful.

How you can get behind the Friends of Quarry Park

The passion that Tina and the rest of the Friends of Quarry Park show for their local area is nothing short of inspiring! If you would like to support them in their mission to maintain the park for their local community, you can support them with every shop from today. Sign up here!

Connected to a cause that could use some extra funding? Register a good cause.

In the village of Barnoldby le Beck in Grimsby, stands St Helen’s Church – but in 2024, it almost didn’t. Under real threat of closure due to dwindling attendance, local residents, including Sarah, now chair person of the Friends of St Helen’s group, have united to raise funds to save the church and community hub. We sat down with Sarah to learn more about their cause, the church itself and their fundraising efforts to date.

Tell us all about your cause

The church itself is more than 900 years old and a beautiful, iconic part of our small community. I moved to the area in 2024 and was immediately made aware of the plight of the building. With less people in the community, there isn’t a consistent local group the building can rely upon for donations. It’s meant the church has fallen into a bit of bad place, the roof needs repairing, and the graveyard is completely overgrown. We don’t know the full extent of the repairs yet but our mantra is ‘Not on our watch!’ – as current residents of Barnoldby, we don’t want the building, which has such a rich history, fall – we are determined to bring it back to its former glory and be a source of pride, worship and community.

We currently host a number of community events and fundraisers at the church, including cake sales as shown below.

What do you need funding for?

Just to run the church costs about £4,000 each year including the insurance. The Friends of St Helens are currently fundraising for a new survey to do a deep dive on the total amount of repairs needed before we step up our fundraising efforts to make them happen.

Why did you join easyfundraising?

As explained, the size of our village is a little prohibitive when it comes to fundraising. We have a small community of potential donors and in the current climate it isn’t easy for people to give. We searched for fundraising ideas and found easyfundraising – an opportunity for people to support us without any out of pocket costs. It has become a big revenue stream for us, with Amazon, eBay, Tesco, and those kind of retailers, a little can go a long way. We’ve raised over £362 in free donations in a matter of months – all at no extra cost. Through using social media we have been able to connect with former residents from the area who can support wherever they are, whenever they shop!

What has the easyfundraising income made possible?

So far all the funds raised have gone towards our quinquennial survey, still a way to go but from a standing start, this income is a fantastic help! We will complete the survey and then continue raising towards roof repair and the update of the church grounds.

How do you recruit supporters?

Our Facebook page has been huge for us. Social media and easyfundraising have been a lifeline for us – it’s reconnected people to our small rural community through the internet. We’ve had people from around the country with some connection to our village reach out, whether they had grandparents here or simply passed through, it’s really taken off. We also promote it at our fundraising events, village newsletters and put posters and flyers up in popular areas around the village. Of course we all promote it to family and friends every chance we get too!

What advice would you give to other causes like yours?

The most important part of easyfundraising is finding supporters. Their team help you do this with ready made materials you can share that explain how easy it is, and that it’s free! Keep everyone updated with how well you are doing. I often share our supporter leaderboard to build up the competition side – makes it fun, too!

How you can support Friends of St Helen’s

This is a cause that epitomises community spirit. Sarah’s commitment to the church, despite her being a recent resident in the village is inspiring and we wish the group every success in the restoration and maintenance of the church. If you would like to get behind them, you can support them with every shop by joining as a supporter here.

Connected to a cause that could use some extra free funding? Register your cause.

They’re cute, prickly and highly regarded by fans of the Sonic videogame franchise. But sadly, hedgehogs are also a species in decline. For the ‘lucky’ ones who are in need, organisations like Lucky Hedgehog Rescue in Hull are a literal life saver. We spoke to Lucky’s founder, Lucy, to learn more about the charity and their fundraising.

Tell us all about Lucky Hedgehog Rescue

We believe every hedgehog deserves a second chance at life. So we rescue, rear and rehabilitate, sick, injured and orphaned wild UK Hedgehogs 24/7. Hedgehogs are in serious decline, as is their natural food source of Beetles and other insects/grubs, so we also educate the public and schools on how to help save these iconic creatures and discourage the use of pesticides which are killing their food chain, which is inadvertently killing the hedgehogs. We have volunteers of all ages assisting us in their daily care and we offer students both Duke of Edinburgh and work experience positions.

What do you need funding for?

We need to fundraise to cover the expenses of overhead running costs, vet bills and medication costs, food, specialist equipment etc. which runs into thousands of pounds each month. Without donations we simply could not function. Wildlife and hedgehog rescues cannot gain grants or government help, so rely totally on our generous supporters’ donations.

Why did you join easyfundraising?

We rely on donations but realise that in the current climate especially, people don’t have a lot of spare income to give away. We saw easyfundraising as a way to generate extra funding, which our community could still get behind, without it costing them anything extra. It’s fabulous – we’ve raised just short of £1,000 so far.

What have you spent the funds on?

Every penny donated helps with so many costs, last month we received a quarterly payment of £89.46 which paid for approx. 5 days of our hedgehog food bill, which makes a huge difference for us.

Is there a particular project or mission you are fundraising for at the moment?

We are always fundraising, however, we are in desperate need of upgrading our three hospital sheds. The cages are now worn out and breaking, which means we could have to reduce the number of patients we take in- we must provide hygienic & spacious containment for each hedgehog patient, so donations at this time are needed so much more to be in a position to replace the broken units and be ready for more patients. We currently have 60 in care.

How do you promote easyfundraising to your current and potential supporters?

We currently use our Facebook page and website to advertise easyfundraising, which has been hugely beneficial. All of our volunteers help spread the word too whenever we are attending any events or visiting schools.

What advice would you give to other causes to help them raise as well as you have?

The primary advice would be to keep on promoting it as much as possible. There are lots of resources available to help share your cause page and it’s important to do this at various times over the months to spread the word. Keeping followers updated on how much has been raised is a good idea too, to keep them motivated and prove that it really is making a big difference!

Get behind the Lucky Hedgehog Rescue

You can help the Lucy and her team continue to be there for hedgehogs in need every time you shop online. Become a supporter.

Connected to a cause that could use some additional free funding? Register your good cause.

St Giles Animal Welfare is one of many animal causes using easyfundraising, playing a vital role for animals and pet owners across their county. Like other such causes, there is huge expense to cover, including vet bills, food, facilities and human resources to rescue and provide care for their furry residents. The (just short of) £2,000 raised from supporters shopping online to date has certainly helped, but the charity continues to fight to meet the high demand for their services to ensure no animal has to suffer and no owner has to surrender their pet to a shelter due to financial hardship. We caught up with Mel, the marketing and fundraising co-ordinator from the charity to learn more about their work and their fundraising efforts.

Tell us all about St Giles Animal Welfare

Our charity was set up to help all strays, abandoned and mis treated animals across Somerset. We are responsible for caring and rehoming stray and unwanted dogs, cats and small animals. A lot of the animals arrive neglected, injured or with ongoing medical conditions that require extensive veterinary treatment. We are also involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of puppy farm dogs. We are a small organisation doing a huge job to make sure all animals are looked after, rehabilitated and find them their perfect forever homes. We’re not just there for the animals however, we also run a food bank for anyone struggling to feed their animals. We would rather help with food than for people to have to surrender them to shelters!

What do you need to fundraise for?

We receive no additional funding, and we rely 100% on donations from our kind supporters and donors. Quite simply, we need funding to be able to deliver our care! Each year we invest thousands of pounds into vet treatment and medication, food, toys, blankets etc for the animals in our care. Without the funds, we cannot carry on doing what we love to do.

Why did you choose to join easyfundraising?

As explained, we are a small organisation and don’t have the resources to run a series of big fundraising events each year. We’re a localised charity too so we don’t have a huge wealth of donors we can call upon regularly. Easyfundraising provides us with extra funds with little effort from ourselves and no extra cost to our supporters. In our eyes it’s a no brainer!

What have the funds raised to date made possible?

We spend the majority of our easyfundraising income on food. It’s the one ongoing cost we have every single week, having a good supply is vital.

How have you promoted easyfundraising to your supporters?

Facebook has been the best channel for us. We have a really good following on there and being able to share our cause page link on there regularly has helped us get in front of people on the device they actually shop online with. We also make sure that if we are attending any local events where we have a stall etc. we make sure we talk about easyfundraising as a way to support us for free – we can demonstrate it live as well by showing the app etc. We currently have over 200 supporters who are contributing towards our work just by shopping and we can’t thank them enough.

What advice would you give to other causes like yours?

You have to keep banging the drum. You need to regularly post about your total and what a difference the funds make. Also share a ‘thank you’ every chance you get. We always try to get behind any big competitions or incentives easyfundraising are doing around events like Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas for example.

How you can support St Giles Animal Welfare

They may be small, but the charity is having a huge impact on pets and pet owners in their local area. If you would like to get behind them every time you shop, sign up to support them here.

Connected with a cause that could benefit from extra funding? Register a cause.

For residents across much of the UK, emergency medical services are stretched. For lucky residents of South and West Wales, MedServe Wales is there as back up when ambulance services are at full capacity. Now in its 31st year of operation, the charity has a team of practitioners that delivers enhanced and critical care year round. We spoke with Tim, one of their volunteer practitioners and quartermaster, to tell us more about the charity and the fundraising efforts, having raised over £1,300 with our help to date.

Tell us all about MedServe Wales

MedServe Wales was set up in 1994 to bridge the gap between Ambulance Service Care and Hospital Care for the most critically sick and injured across South and West Wales by a group of Doctors. Since then the charity has developed into a multi-disciplinary team of paramedics, nurses and doctors that support the Welsh Ambulance Service in the delivery of Enhanced and Critical Care. Our Volunteer Medics are available 24/7, 365 days a year to respond to 999 emergencies. I personally volunteer for the charity alongside my day job within the Welsh Ambulance Service. As well as being a volunteer practitioner, I also manage the stock of supplies and equipment we have access to.

What do MedServe need to raise many for?

As I’m sure you can imagine the cost of running a medical charity is high. Each case that we attend requires us to use medications and equipment that can only be used once. As such it is vital that we can replace equipment and medications so that we can deliver care at the side of the road, place of work, sporting venue or at the patient’s address.

Why did you sign up to easyfundraising?

We saw it as a great opportunity for our community to support us without it having to cost them anything, while being simple to administer. Easyfundraising has now become a vital tool in our fundraising arsenal as it provides a steady stream of income year round without any extra effort or resources required from our side.

What has the extra funding received made possible?

The funds that we receive via EasyFundraising activities go towards the medications and equipment used by our volunteers in the management of the critically ill and injured. From simple pain relief to sedation, antibiotics to anesthetic and from defibrillator pads to surgical equipment, everything that we deliver above that of the standard ambulance response is funded by the donations we receive. Every penny raised really does make a difference to our ability to fund equipment and deploy our team (Callsign DR01 ‘Delta Romeo Zero One’) and our solo responders (who respond in their personal ‘Blue lit’ cars) to some of the sickest across South and West Wales. To have raised an extra £1,200 for our charity has been fantastic, we’re so grateful to our supporters!

Is there a project or target for your fundraising this year?

We have a number of requirements that are ongoing:

– PPE for our 12 new volunteers

– Medication

– Medical Equipment

– Blue Light Insurance for DR01

– Tyres for DR01

How do you promote easyfundraising to your community?

We utilise Social Media to spread the word, as well as highlighting this fundraising method at all of our charity engagement events. These are great as along with explaining how it works, we can actually show potential supporters how much we’ve raised so far and show examples of what we’ve purchased with the money.

What advice would you give to other causes like yours to help them raise as well as you have?

Don’t give up – it can take a while for the total to grow but it’s worth it. The more supporters you get the more you will raise. We find it really valuable to share with supporters what the funds have been used for, to motivate supporters to keep on using easyfundraising. Utilise Social Media as much as possible too – get in front of people when they are about to shop.

How you can get behind MedServe Wales

For their local residence, MedServe is providing a vital service which is all made possible through funding and the commitment of practitioners like Tim, who give up their free time to be on call to those in need. If you would like to support MedServe Wales with every online shop, sign up to support them.

Are you connected to a cause that could use some extra funding? Register your cause.

For those who have experienced trauma in their life, being able to find a distraction or hobby can help them find peace and be a really important step in helping them overcome their ordeal. Talitha Arts is a small organisation which helps such individuals undertake creative pursuits to help them support their mental health and make a positive impact on their daily life. We spoke to Jenny, a primary fundraiser to learn more about the cause and the work they do.

Tell us all about Talitha Arts

Talitha was set up primarily to help trafficked women deal with their mental health by providing therapeutic arts workshops and creative experiences. It has grown to include many groups who have undergone trauma including survivors of domestic abuse and rape, refugees and migrants and those recovering from addiction. We have now developed our service to also help people living with dementia. We are a very small team of 3 with 14 practitioners who are art therapists or artists and actors.

What do you need funding for?

We need to buy resources for the workshops so that participants have high quality materials to work with and can create something special as a group, and for themselves. We would also like to grow our team, so it’s important we have the funds to be able to promote our service to ultimately help more people in need through the arts.

Why did you sign up to easyfundraising?

As explained we are a small operation and we can’t devote a lot of time or expense to fundraising. Easyfundraising provides us with a really simple method of fundraising that is completely free for our supporters, who are just doing what they would be doing anyway – shopping!

How has the money raised helped?

We have been able to buy many craft resources which help our attendees to light up a memory, for example beautiful ribbons for our ‘make a kite’ sessions and balloons galore for improving muscle memory. We have also been able to replace some musical instruments that we use for introductions at the beginning of workshops which the participants love as they can use their own style and take back their identity.

What are you currently fundraising towards?

We are specifically raising money to extend our work in dementia care settings as the demand for this work increases. We are developing our classes so that we can use more creative ways to trigger memories and feelings, muscle memory and empower our visitors to be their true selves through creative passions.

How have you promoted easyfundraising to your supporters?

We post about it regularly on social media and in our newsletters. We use the ready-made promotional materials that easyfundraising provide for us. We have it prominently on our website and mention it at all events and encourage our Trustees to spread the word wherever they go.

What advice would you give other causes to help them raise?

Take advantage of the support the easyfundraising offer, including their referral incentives and competitions – these are a great way to engage people and grow your donations. Most importantly, just continue to remind people that it’s free – and that the money does make a huge difference!

How you can support Talitha Arts

Talitha is providing a very important service to their visitors. From such a small team, they are making a huge difference to the lives of women in need. If you would like to support them with every online shop, you can sign up to support them.

Connected to a good cause that could use some extra funding? Register a cause with us.

Professional sport is a dream career for many. But with the mental pressures and physical toll that comes with first class sport, for some it can become a nightmare. For professional rugby players, should their career be forced to end early, or they hit any form of hardship post playing, they are fortunate enough to have Restart Rugby there to support them. Having raised over £1,000 through our platform, we spoke to Eden from Restart to learn a bit more about the charity and fundraising.

Tell us all about Restart Rugby

Restart is the official charity of the Rugby Players Association (RPA), founded in 2001. Our mission is to support professional rugby players who are forced to confront serious challenges, whether due to illness, injury, or mental health struggles, often resulting in early retirement from the sport they love. We provide financial and practical support to players and their families during difficult times, including help with the cost of medical treatment, rehabilitation equipment and disability support. We’re also there when players need emotional support to help with mental health issues, by providing a 24/7 Confidential Counselling Service. 

What do Restart need funding for?

We are currently fundraising to expand our mental health support services, ensuring every player has access to confidential and professional counselling. Every pound raised brings us closer to providing these critical resources.

Why did you join easyfundraising?

We signed up to easyfundraising because it’s a simple, cost-free way for our supporters to help raise essential funds for Restart. With the hectic lives many of our supporter’s lead, easyfundraising allows them to contribute while doing their everyday online shopping, making a huge difference without any additional effort. 

How have you promoted easyfundraising to your community and encouraged them to support you?

Mainly through social media posts highlighting how easy it is to sign up and support Restart while shopping online. Alongside dedicated email campaigns explaining the impact supporters can make by simply using the platform. 

The referral tools, such as social media templates and banners, have been incredibly helpful in driving engagement!

How will the funds raised be used (or how have they been used)?

We’ve raised over £1,300 to date which has been a great help. Funds raised through easyfundraising go directly toward supporting players in need, providing mental health counselling for players struggling with their mental wellbeing. Whilst supporting financial needs for players facing unexpected crises, such as severe injuries. 

These funds are vital to ensuring that Restart can continue to be there for players when they need us most. 

What other fundraising do you do?

One of our flagship fundraising initiatives is Restart Round, an annual campaign where a dedicated round of the Gallagher Premiership focuses on raising vital awareness and funds for Restart Rugby. This impactful event features activities such as online auctions of exclusive rugby memorabilia, onsite activations, and raffles at matches. 

Beyond the Restart Round, we organise a variety of engaging fundraising activities throughout the year. These include charity treks alongside retired rugby legends, the prestigious Rugby Awards, and fundraising efforts surrounding the Gallagher Premiership Final. We also encourage supporters to get involved by running, walking, or cycling to raise money for the charity. 

These events are integral to our mission of providing critical support for rugby players facing serious injury, illness, or hardship. Join us in making a difference by participating or donating! 

What advice would you give other causes to help them raise as well as you have?

Our advice to other charities would be to engage with your community. Rugby is all about teamwork, and your supporters are part of that team. Make it easy for them to join your efforts. All whilst using the tools available. Leverage Easy fundraising’s templates and incentives are fundamental in simplifying the process for your audience. 

What would you like to say to those who support you?

o everyone who supports Restart: thank you for being part of our team. Your generosity helps us provide life-changing support to players who have given so much to the game. Whether you shop via easyfundraising, donate directly, or volunteer, you are helping us ensure that no player faces their toughest challenges alone. We are deeply grateful for your continued support. 

You can get behind them!

There you have it. Restart is like that caring friend who’s always ready to help out and make things better for rugby players and their families during the roughest patches.

If you want to support their work with players, you can sign up to support them when you shop here.

Connected to a sports club or other good cause that could use extra funding? Register your cause here.