Concept

Marathons for Mustard Seed is a fundraising initiative based on online sponsorship.

In short, the volunteer/ fundraiser commits to running a marathon in 7 days (42kms) and asks for Sponsorship.

How does it work?

This initiative could be done across groups, families, individuals, corporates, teams and can be done in any location around the world.

The distance can be covered on a treadmill, in your garden, within 2 kms from your home or whatever your current restrictions dictate.   You can run, walk, cycle, crawl, hop the kms!!!

Post your commitment on your social media platforms along with your start date and include your personalised link where people can donate.  You can make a general request for sponsorship or you can be more specific for example, set an amount per km. If you ‘sold’ each kilometre for €24 you would raise just over €1000.00

Each day track your distance on your phone, watch etc screenshot it at the end of the day and post it.

Extras

• You could also choose to set a fundraising target and give daily updates on how you’re doing.
• You can allocate each kilometre to individual sponsors and tag them in your posts at the end of the day – eg today I ran for my Granny, John Smith, Mary Byrne etc etc
• Use the hashtags #marathonformustardseed #m4msc #marathonformsc
• Nominate others to run the marathon, or portions of it, with you and ask them to get sponsorship too

Groups and Teams

With any of these things they always pack more punch if they are undertaken by a number of people at the same time.

Agree amongst the team or group on a start date.  Post about the group undertaking, name your team mates, like their pictures and updates etc, tag them and keep each other motivated.  Who’ll finish first?  Who will raise the largest amount?  Could you find a corporate sponsor who will match the group total???

There is also an opportunity for Corporate Sponsorship, ask local businesses to sponsor the group and tag them in all the posts.

The sky is the limit.  What’s important is that you are undertaking something that is going to benefit you and your group physically and mentally and is also going to raise funds for a charity that really needs your help right now.

Holding an event in your community is an effective and rewarding way to raise money for Mustard Seed Communities. Not only is holding an event a way to raise money for MSC but it is also an opportunity to spread the message to new people who may not know about MSC!

Fundraising events that MSC volunteers have held in the past include bake sales, yard sales, dinner events, and more. To get more information, please contact our office at  info@mustardseedireland.ie or 01 2930819.

Utilising social media is one of the best ways to fundraise! Facebook has a built-in fundraising feature that allows you to create a fundraiser for the charity of your choice. Your Facebook friends will be able to directly view our page and gain more information about Mustard Seed. Facebook makes it very simple to create your own fundraiser. Here are instructions from Facebook on how to create one:

• Click Fundraisers in the left menu of your News Feed.
• Click Raise Money.
• Select Charity.
• Search for Mustard Seed Ireland, choose a cover photo and fill in the fundraiser details, including the end date.
• In your description, please include information about why MSC is important to you. 
• Click Create.

Find Mustard Seed on Facebook here.

Sharing your favorite MSC photos on your Instagram page and tagging us in your posts will direct your followers to our page where they can learn more about Mustard Seed and donate if they chose. Instagram has added a “Donate Now” sticker that can be applied in your Instagram story. This feature allows users to donate directly just by clicking the button.

Our instagram handle is @MustardSeedIreland.

MSC supporters have the option of creating a personalised donation page that they can share in order to collect donations. Creating this page gives you the option to share your personal connection to MSC and any other information that you may want family and friends to know.

To create a donation page, please contact our office via email at info@mustardseedireland.ie or at 01 2930819