Make the ask
Most people raise money for charity without ever thinking about what their employer might add on top. That's a missed opportunity. Three routes are worth knowing: charity of the year partnerships, matched fundraising, and volunteering days — and any of them can transform what you raise.
For the charity it means a concentrated burst of income and profile
Charity of the year is the most visible route. A company nominates a charity partner for a fixed period, then the whole workplace fundraises together — bake sales, challenges, sweepstakes, payroll giving drives. For the charity it means a concentrated burst of income and profile. For you, it means institutional backing, a fundraising committee, and colleagues who are already primed to give. If your employer doesn't have a scheme, you can propose one: HR or the CSR lead is usually the right door to knock on.
Matched fundraising is simpler and often more immediately useful. You run a sponsored event or collect donations; your employer matches what you raise, pound for pound, up to a set ceiling. Some companies match two-to-one. The result is that every pound a colleague puts in the tin is worth two or three by the time it reaches the charity. Many large employers already have a matching policy sitting in an intranet page nobody has read — it's worth checking before you assume the option doesn't exist. If there's no policy, a single email to HR asking for a one-off match is often all it takes. Companies that say yes once frequently formalise it afterwards.
A word on Gift Aid: if any individual donations in your fundraiser come from UK taxpayers, those donors can authorise the charity to claim an extra 25p per pound from HMRC. This applies to sponsored events just as much as direct donations — make sure your fundraising page or sponsor form collects Gift Aid declarations so nothing is left unclaimed.
Volunteering days are the third lever. Many employers offer one or two paid days a year for staff to volunteer with a charity. If you're organising an event — a community clear-up, a charity shop sort, a fun run — a team of colleagues on volunteering days can replace dozens of hours of unpaid work. It's also a compelling pitch to your employer: the company gets to log the hours as community impact, staff get a genuinely different day, and the charity gets real hands-on help.
None of this requires a big budget or a formal programme. A conversation, an email, or a proposal on a single page is usually enough to get started. The employers who say no are fewer than you'd expect.