Puzzle for a Cause

Let’s put our puzzles to good use for Puzzle Day on 29 January 2023.

I’m one half of @2puzzlepeople (aka SJ!). For Puzzle Day 2023, I’m planning to raise money for Samaritans on Instagram (see below).

Folks expressed an interest in participating so that they can raise money for their own selected cause.

This is an information page to help any #puzzlegram people who want to Puzzle for a Cause on 29 January.

 

On this page

Pick an option to skip to that section:

What it is

Puzzle for a Cause is an opportunity for our #puzzlegram community to do some good in the world by raising money for charitable organisations. We give a lot to each other already – it would be great to make that giving spirit go even further. 2023 is the first Puzzle for a Cause. Hopefully it will be successful enough to become an annual event. 

 

What I’m doing

My loose plan is to:

  • Set up a fundraiser via Instagram fundraising (see below) about a week before 29 January 2023.
  • Tell as many people that I can (friends, co-workers, etc) that I’m raising money and encourage donations.
  • On Puzzle Day (29 January): wake up, switch on Instagram live, and start my puzzling ‘marathon’.
  • Puzzle all day until bed time, with food and bathroom breaks (!). There may be music, movies and dancing. Tugboat the cat may make an appearance. Who knows!
  • Keep an eye on the Instagram live chat (on a second device) so I can chat with spectators.
  • Afterward, total up a) how many puzzles/pieces I did, and b) how much I raised with my fundraiser.

The charity I’m fundraising for is Samaritans, an organisation that gives emotional support for those in distress. ❤️

 

What you can do

Anything you want is the short answer! Feel free to do a similar ‘marathon’ style, or figure out your own thing – maybe a speed puzzling sprint, or doing a particularly large piece-count puzzle, or anything under the sun. But the key thing is that you raise money for a charitable organisation that’s near and dear to your heart.

 

When it’s happening

Puzzle Day is on 29 January every year, so that’s the day we’ve chosen for folks to collectively Puzzle for a Cause. 

Of course, you can Puzzle for a Cause whenever you want. This isn’t just limited to a single day – giving is good any time! But to give it a cohesiveness, we’ll focus on 29 January.

 

How to fundraise

I’m going to use Instagram fundraising. This is because the idea has grown out of the #puzzlegram community and, in my research, it seems the easiest fundraising platform to use. Also, it doesn’t charge the person donating any fees (even if they’re in a different country than you). So, it ticks the boxes for my purposes.

However, you may prefer another fundraising platform (or, even, Instagram fundraising may not be available in your country). So, there are many other fundraising tools you can use, for example:

Just keep in mind that some may charge extra fees to your donors, and some may skim comparatively more off the top before they deliver to the charity. This all varies quite a lot by country, too, so just do a little research to see which one you’re happiest with.

I’m not a fundraising wizard, but have done a few in the past. The two little lessons I’ve learned are:

  1. Donate to your own fundraiser (if you can). It helps break the ice and encourages others to donate.
  2. Set a reasonable goal. I’m aiming for £100 (as opposed to, say, £100,000!) because, knowing my friends, I think that’s achievable. This gives a better sense of momentum to your donors. 

Spread the word

It’s up to you how much you want to shout about the fundraising you’re doing. You can start with family and friends, or even ask co-workers, neighbours, or anyone else you know to considering giving to the cause you’re looking to help.

If you’d like, please let us know (via direct messages on Instagram @2puzzlepeople) if you’re raising funds. We’ll share any of your links/etc in our stories so folks know who’s raising for what cause (and maybe can give their spare pennies). We’ll also keep an overall tally of all the funds raised so we can see how much impact we make as a collective #puzzlegram group.

Also, feel free to use this hashtag so we can easily see what everyone is up to: #puzzleforacause2023

 

Ideas for the future

If this goes well, we can look to make it an annual event and push the boat out to get more people involved.

We’ve had the thought that it would be amazing if we could find a pledge-based fundraising platform. I.e., where a donor can pledge to donate one penny (or more!) for each puzzle piece you put together on Puzzle Day. (Fellow Americans my age may remember asking neighbours to pledge like this for Jump Rope for Heart.)

So, if you know anything about this – or have any other amazing ideas, please do drop a message on Instagram.