Fundraising Target 2022

Our target this year is €300,000, which we can only achieve with your help! We are asking all participants to raise an individual fundraising amount of at least €120 from family, friends and colleagues.

Thank you for the support!

It is thanks to you that The Hope Foundation and the Peter McVerry Trust have been able to make a real difference to people’s lives. The Calcutta Run would not have become the great success it is today without your continued support.

How to raise that crucial €120 – asking 12 people for €10 each will make a big difference. It’s easy!

You can do this by simply creating and using your own online personal fundraising page on idonate.ie. All participants will collectively run from Dublin to Kolkata.  Once you create your page, share the link on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc., as well as copying and sending the link to all or selected contacts directly by email (simply copy the link from your fundraising page). Your sponsors can select an amount to sponsor you by. All funds raised will be received by The Hope Foundation and Peter McVerry Trust. 

We will also email a PDF sponsorship card to all participants. If you wish to print and use this to collect funds, you can then add the money raised to your idonate.ie account.

You can check out our fundraising tips and ideas below, as well as our many online resources.

Tax relief

Did you know that the Calcutta Run charities can avail of tax relief on your donations? In order to avail of the relief, a minimum of €250 must be donated to any one of the charities.

You can find out more details about the scheme and download a form to apply for relief by clicking here.

See the Fundraising Ideas page
Download the Fundraising Ideas

Personal online fundraising page

Your personal online fundraising page which will also track your distance to collectively have us reach Kolkata, is automatically set up after signing up to Virtual Calcutta Run.

There is no registration fee, but the homeless need your help to reach our 2022 target of €300,000. 100% of all participants’ funds raised goes directly to the homeless street children in Calcutta through The Hope Foundation and to young children experiencing homeless Dublin through the Peter McVerry Trust.

Pick your target! 

Dublin’s children affected by homelessness will benefit from the following:

  • €120 will provide a self-starter kit for someone entering one of the Trust’s residential services.
  • €125 will provide a self-starter kit as well as providing toiletries and basic clothing for someone coming off the street in to one of the Trust’s services.
  • €150 will provide a self-starter kit as well as safe and warm overnight accommodation for one person or lunches for 50 people in the drop-in centre located in Dublin.

Calcutta’s street children will benefit from these targets:

  • €120 will feed a girl in a HOPE Protection Home by giving 3 meals and 2 snacks a day for 117 days.
  • €125 will provide food packages to 35 people living in street communities in Calcutta.
  • €150 will provide medical treatment costs to 30 people living in street communities in Calcutta.

We have some great tips for fundraising…

  • Asking 12 people for €10 each will make a big difference. It’s easy!
  • Start your sponsorship cards with your highest donations – those sponsoring you later on may look at the form for a guide of how much to give.
  • Set up your personal online fundraising page for the Virtual Calcutta Run and send your personal link to everyone in your contacts, post it on Facebook, Twitter, and your LinkedIn accounts. You don’t have to meet people face to face to ask for sponsorship and you don’t have to keep track of cash as it is all done online!
  • Organise and online fundraising event (yoga, quizzes, bingo etc.). There are loads of ideas online.
  • If you have sponsorship to collect after the event, why not send an email to everyone thanking them for their sponsorship and telling them your finishing time; it may be the gentle reminder that people need.
  • Make sure and let any sponsors know that any donations over €250 are tax deductible!
  • Promise something different. We have had runners dressed in chicken suits and superman outfits, we also had a runner who ran the whole route backwards! Do this yourself for the virtual run.
  • Ask your employer for support. Many organisations have incentives in place whereby they commit to matching the money raised by an employee. Check with your employer and if there isn’t something official in place – ask your employer anyway!
  • And finally… fundraising is not as hard as you might think. It requires energy, a plan of action, and time. Our advice is to enjoy it; smile, be positive, and don’t forget to say thank you. If it starts to tail off, take a break and go back to it, re-invigorated and with new ideas.

Tax relief

Did you know that the Calcutta Run charities can avail of tax relief on your donations? In order to avail of the relief, a minimum of €250 must be donated to any one of the charities.

You can find out more details about the scheme and download a form to apply for relief by clicking here.