We’re currently running our second annual online fundraising event as partners of the global Giving Tuesday campaign. We’re sure that you’ve seen us posting about our #GivingTuesday campaign across all of our social media channels, newsletters and websites, asking you to donate and support our work.
But what is Giving Tuesday, and why have we joined the movement?
Giving Tuesday is a global movement that takes place on the first Tuesday after the U.S’s Thanksgiving, and subsequent Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. It is a day to give back after an indulgent weekend, and this year, takes place on December the 3rd. In the UK, it is led by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). They partner with charities, small businesses and other organisations across the UK, who use the day to run their own fundraising campaigns. These campaigns can either take place on the official day, December 3rd, or can begin earlier. For the past two years, we’ve chosen to run our campaign during the build-up to Giving Tuesday, with that particular day as the final day to reach our target.
As a small charity, it’s a great opportunity to be a part of a global choice to give back to others. Suddenly, people all across the world want to show their support, and it’s really important that our charity gets to be a part of that.
We first joined the campaign last year, and used it to raise over £2000 in just two weeks, towards the launch of our Second Ship, The Haringey Pirates. We ran an online campaign based on our social media channels, asking everyone we knew to help us meet our ambitious target of £2000. Everything we raised went towards The Haringey Pirates, and helped us to attract further funding from other organisations.
This was our first time running the campaign, and we were blown away by the level of support we received. Financially, we were really pleased to reach our target, as it was instrumental in helping us open our second Ship less than two months later. However, more broadly, the support we received was also a tremendous boost for all of our staff during a brand new time for The Literacy Pirates. We received donations from people who’d known of our work for years, to those who simply wanted to welcome us to the area. Each donation symbolised a pat on the back, and belief in our desire to open our second Ship and support even more children.
So, what are we doing this year?
A year on from our momentous campaign, we couldn’t be prouder of what we have achieved. We are now running two learning centres, our flagship in Hackney, and our second Ship, in Tottenham, Haringey, which is now almost a year old. This September, we began our Learning Programme from both Ships for a full academic year, a brilliant achievement which we were only planning and dreaming of this time last year.
But we are a charity, and it must be acknowledged that we are constantly fundraising to keep our Ships sailing smoothly. This year, we want to raise £4000, double the amount of last year, by December the 3rd. To get there, we’re asking everyone we know to donate, and then nominate a mate to match your donation. This effectively doubles your donation, without you having to spend any extra money. So far, we’ve had people nominate their work colleagues, partners and friends. We’re really pleased with the donations so far, but we are still a way from our target, and we really need your help to get there by December 3rd.
Everything raised will go directly towards our work across both learning centres, and support the 285 children we’re currently working with to develop their literacy, confidence and perseverance, getting them back on track with age related expectations.
If you’d like to donate or share our campaign, just click here.
