Welcome to Zeffy’s blog

Choosing the right website builder helps your charity raise more and reach more supporters. This guide compares nine free or low-cost options, from Zeffy's all-in-one free fundraising platform to Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, and more, with UK pricing, Gift Aid considerations, and the trust signals donors expect.

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A well-designed donation page can make or break your fundraising campaign. This guide walks through 8 real examples from UK and international charities, the design elements that drive giving, the mistakes that quietly kill conversions, and how to build your own page free with Zeffy in five minutes.

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A complete guide to peer-to-peer fundraising for UK charities: how it works, the Gift Aid advantage, 7 fundraising ideas (including mass-participation events), a 7-step launch plan, common mistakes, and an opinionated comparison of the UK P2P platform landscape.

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Compare the best donation forms for UK charities in 2026. Learn 10 tips to optimise your form for more gifts, understand Gift Aid mechanics, and see how Zeffy, JustGiving, CAF Donate and Enthuse compare on fees and features.

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A practical, step-by-step guide to grant writing for UK charities and not-for-profit organisations. Covers the key components every proposal must include, how to find UK funders, how to research eligibility, and tips for crafting compelling narratives that win support.

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Grant writing is one of the most valuable skills a UK charity can develop. This guide covers the best bid writing and grant writing courses available to UK fundraisers in 2026, from Chartered Institute of Fundraising qualifications to free online resources, with honest guidance on who each option suits.

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Learn how UK charities can set up donations on Twitch, from registering with PayPal Giving Fund UK to adding a free donation page. Covers Gift Aid, eight donation methods, and proven strategies to engage supporters during live streams.

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Partnering with a company through a corporate grant is within reach for small UK charities, even without a dedicated grant writer. This guide covers six accessible grants to start with, nine larger corporate programmes worth a serious application, and practical tips to write proposals that stand out. Every grant listed is open to UK-registered charities.

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A practical guide to the 13 email marketing platforms UK charities compare in 2026. Covers the honest split between donor-communication tools and marketer-grade platforms, UK pricing, Gift Aid handling, UK GDPR and PECR compliance, nonprofit discounts, and how to switch without losing subscribers. Zeffy is the only 100% free option with unlimited contacts, unlimited sends, and Gift Aid on the supporter record.

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Five copy-paste Facebook post templates for Giving Tuesday 2026, written for the volunteer or one-person comms lead at a small UK charity. Includes a day-of posting cadence, Gift Aid guidance, UK charity verification steps, and a posting timeline you can schedule in one sitting.

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The Chief Executive role at a UK charity combines strategic leadership, financial stewardship, fundraising, and public representation. This guide covers what a charity CEO does, how the role differs from the Chair of Trustees, the seven core responsibilities, key skills to look for, and how to benchmark pay using NCVO and ACEVO surveys. Two free UK-adapted job description templates are included: one for standard charities and one for small organisations.

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A complete guide to running a reverse raffle in the UK: how the draw works, how to register as a small society lottery, the £20,000 single-draw cap, prize limits, setup steps, and best practices for charities, sports clubs, PTAs, and community groups.

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Searching for how to make a membership card? The card is rarely the real problem. This guide ranks four methods by what each one leaves you with after the card is made: renewal tracking, member emails, and a single list of current members, or just a pretty file. One method handles the card and the system behind it. Three do not.

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A practical guide to 67 free tools and discounts available to UK charities in 2026, covering fundraising software, CRM, event management, email marketing, templates, courses, networking, and more.

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Donor retention measures how well a charity maintains long-term relationships with its supporters. This guide covers the UK sector context, how to calculate your retention rate, Gift Aid as a retention multiplier, and ten practical strategies to keep supporters giving year after year.

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Twenty practical fundraising tips for UK charities and not-for-profits. Covers Gift Aid, optimising your donation form, multichannel fundraising, peer-to-peer, community events, regular giving, donor relations, and UK regulatory requirements. Fully updated for 2026.

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Game-based kid fundraisers for UK PTAs, PFAs, youth groups and small charities. Covers carnival games, raffles run legally under the Gambling Act 2005, trivia nights, sports days, esports tournaments, and virtual events. Includes UK raffle law, Gift Aid eligibility, age-group guide, and a six-step event setup checklist. All 46 ideas organised the way PTA committees actually run them.

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Hiring a fundraising consultant can give your charity fresh strategy, sharper donor engagement, and the capacity to launch a major appeal. But it is a significant investment. This guide walks UK charities through what a fundraising consultant actually does, the five steps to hire the right one, the UK-specific checks that matter (Gift Aid fluency, UK GDPR competence, Fundraising Regulator compliance), and the honest question many small charities skip: should you even hire one yet?

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Charity event planning is a systems challenge, not a creativity one. This 10-step guide takes UK charities from goal-setting to post-event ROI, covering Gift Aid modelling, small society lottery licensing, UK fee comparisons, and day-of logistics on one free platform.

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Planning a fundraising event when you're short on staff, budget, and time? This guide gives small UK charities, PTAs, village hall committees, and community groups 50+ proven fundraising ideas, from Macmillan-style coffee mornings to online quiz nights, all easy to run with volunteers and free to manage on Zeffy.

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Despite the rise of social media and other digital channels, email remains one of the most cost-effective ways for UK charities to engage donors and raise funds. This guide covers why email works for UK charities, the key benefits including Gift Aid and regular-giving support, 13 types of charity emails, 11 UK best practices including UK GDPR and PECR compliance, and the top email marketing tools used by UK charities in 2026.

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Funding a sports club or school sports programme in the UK means covering kit, pitch hire, travel, coaching qualifications, and league fees, often on a shoestring. This guide presents 28 practical, UK-tested fundraiser ideas for sports teams, from classic sponsored walks and bake sales to online silent auctions and viral video challenges. Each idea is adapted for UK community sports clubs, PTAs, CASCs, and unincorporated associations, with guidance on Gift Aid, small society lottery registration for raffles, and free fundraising tools so your club keeps every pound it raises.

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