Abstain to Raise Funds for a Cause

One great way to raise funds and awareness for your chosen cause is to abstain from a particular food, drink or activity for a set period of time. Many people aim to abstain for a month, giving their friends, family and followers ample time to donate to their charity of choice. 

Abstain for Animal Welfare

Best friends Zita and Chardi decided to use dry July to raise funds for animal welfare - a cause close to both of their hearts. 

The friends asked their networks to “please support our month of sobriety and therefore our furry friends by donating to this cause.”

“All money will go to our nominated charity, Animals Australia, to assist them with the amazing work they are doing, bringing awareness to the strife of our animals and giving them the voice they deserve.”

Thanks to the kindness and support of friends, family and their wider networks, Zita and Chardi quit drinking for charity and raised $1700 for Animals Australia. 

Abstain for Mental Health

After losing both her father and younger sister to suicide, Stefanie was determined to raise funds for headspace. For 24 hours, Stef would refrain from speaking on the first day of Mental Health week to raise the volume on mental health. 

The self-imposed challenge gave Stef an opportunity to raise awareness about mental health and encourage her friends and family to consider what they are doing to care for their own mental health. 

For Stef, the tragic loss of loved ones is something which can be avoided through support an education. “The rates of all mental health issues that affect our population can be reduced if we intervene early and provide the right tools for resilience to our young adults."

Over $5000 was raised to support headspace, with Stef absolutely smashing her initial goal of $2500. 

Abstain for Multiple Charities

Sophie and her friends all decided to pick their own cause - no sugar, alcohol, social media and more - to fundraise for Black Dog Institute and Cystic Fibrosis Australia. 

Each member of the Feb Fast team opted to “pause for a cause but with a bit of a twist”, and abstain from something which would be particularly challenging for them over the entire month. 

The fundraising campaign has over 130 social shares and $1245 raised for the charities.
 

Abstain for a personal cause

Adorable 7 year-old Owen promised to not have chocolate for a whole month - in exchange, all Owen asked was for his friends and family to donate to his cause. 

The playground at Owen’s school was old, small and broken, leaving the children without monkey bars or a fun place to play. 

Owen was able to avoid eating chocolate for an entire month, raising $1200 for his school playground as a result of the support shown by his wonderful family. 

The key with any abstinence fundraising campaign, whether it is alone or in a group, is raising awareness. Let your friends, family, colleagues and wider network know that you’re abstaining from an activity for a day, week or month for a good cause. Give the people around you an opportunity to support your efforts, both in person and through your social media account, by creating an abstinence fundraising campaign with mycause.