Insights
We explore how to engage children, with various tips and ideas to help them get involved
There are lots of ways to get children involved in your charity – and not only through sponsored events. Below we list different approaches to get the next generation involved in your cause.
Children love to get stuck in. Getting them to take part in research will not only help you out on a specific project, but give them an insight into what you do and why you do it.
Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic’s Big Plastic Count called on households to count the amount of plastic they got through in a week – resulting in the biggest ever investigation into plastic waste. While not solely aimed at children, this was a great one for families to do together. The materials provided were bright, bold, and easy for any age to use (for example, the checklist included pictures of types of plastic, making it easy for smaller children to help out).
The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is a fun one for families. Almost 700,000 people took part in 2022, marking down the birds spotted in their gardens during a specific week. This is a simple way to get children really noticing the nature right on their doorstep, wherever they live.
It’s likely your charity’s work can help to tell children a bigger story about the world around them, and in doing so, you’ll be raising awareness of your work.
UNICEF’s Paddington postcards are a good example. For a monthly subscription, Paddington sends a postcard, helping children to discover new countries and learn how others live. As well as raising money for the charity, the postcards, activities and fact sheets will get kids curious about the world, encourage empathy and open their eyes to different ways of living.
Save the Children’s Wonderbook subscription has a similar approach. For a monthly fee, children are sent a book about a child from a different country – along with a Grown-Ups Guide to support conversations around diversity and inclusion. And to bring the stories to life, children receive email updates about the real children who inspired the stories.
Your charity might be in a position to give kids a new experience or behind-the-scenes adventure.
ZSL is a prime example, with its Zoo Explorer and Keeper for a Day experiences. As well as mucking out animals (which is sure to bring kudos in the classroom), children get a hands-on experience of working in conservation, which may inspire them for years to come.
The National Trust holds events for children throughout the year, including nature trails and storytelling sessions. As well as raising money, these activities help to reconnect children with nature and the outdoors.
Showing young children how to make their voices heard will empower them for life. And by doing so they can learn about campaigning and grow into new ambassadors for your cause.
Barnardo’s Finding Your Voice toolkit has been put together to boost children’s voice in their schools and communities and put them at the centre of decisions that affect them. The kit includes sessions plans, guidance and resources to help children know their rights and how to get their messages across.
The Wildlife Trust Wales worked with children to call on council election candidates to take action on tackling wildlife extinction. As well as helping with this specific task, the young people involved will have learned how to use their voices to campaign about what matters to them.
There are so many ways that children can fundraise for your charity, from sponsored cycles to cake sales, or even gaming for older children.
This year, Children in Need raised £51 million. That’s no mean feat. Children in Need is a good intro for getting children to be charitable, because they instinctively want to help other kids (take a look at the below video for the Child Accident Prevention Trust, showing children happily handing over a fiver to help others).
There are a few rules and regulations around fundraising involving children. The Fundraising Regulator spells them out.
Working alongside schools means you get whole communities involved in raising money for, and awareness of, your cause. Comic Relief is a big player here. This summer, to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, it asked schools around the UK to raise money for the Sport Relief Lap of Hope.
Many charities create resources to support schools to fundraise in whatever way they choose. Take a look at NSPCC or Great Ormond Street Hospital Trust for inspiration. And other charities have created learning resources about their cause, for example Oxfam (which also has resources to support campaigning) and the Woodland Trust (which has ideas and resources to inspire memorable outdoor learning).
Join us on the 14th of May for our Q&A session. It will provide a whistlestop tour of Microsoft Copilot’s key capabilities, how they can help charities, and answer all your burning questions around Microsoft’s AI service.