If you’re taking part in the marathon or a running event in 2012, it’s time to get fundraising! We have all the tools, expertise and support you need to beat your fundraising target. In fact, JustGiving pages have recently had a makeover, so they now work even harder to help you tell your fundraising story.

And to give you a little extra motivation, anyone who raises £250 by the end of February will be automatically entered into a draw to win another £250. So you could soon be well on the way to reaching your target!

If you haven’t decided on a cause or found a marathon place yet, there are still plenty of charities that would love your help. Check out our list of charities with places for more information.

Finally, a quick tip from us. People give a whopping 44% more when they can sponsor you without leaving Facebook – so try installing our Facebook app to get a boost from your supporters.

Good luck!

So you’ve eaten your way through Christmas, drunk your way through New Year and now you’re ready for a fitness challenge to kick start January.

Maybe you’ve decided to run the marathon in London – one of the world’s most iconic races.  You’re looking forward to the opportunity to challenge yourself and raise some money for charity at the same time.

Yet securing a marathon place can be tougher than it looks. Ballot places are announced in October and a lot of charities have already filled up their marathon teams. What next? Don’t despair! We’ve put together this list of charities who you may not have heard of who have told us they have spaces left.

Updated 27th January 2012

KIDS – has 3 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1500. To apply contact Gayle directly via email on gayle.kirkwood@kids.org.uk or for an informal chat on 0121 362 4576.

Rhino Ark – has 5 places left! Minimum fundraising target £750. To apply contact guy.tritton@btinternet.com.

Child Bereavement Charity – has 9 places left! Minimum fundraising target £2500 Please contact Emma Riley on 01494 568912 or emma.riley@childbereavement.org.uk to apply.

The Fire Fighters Charity – has 4 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1800 or nearest offer. To apply email lmacaulay@firefighterscharity.org.uk for a Marathon Pledge Form in support of the Fire Fighters Charity, and submit a simple fundraising plan of how you will go about reaching your target Charity figure.

Carers UK – has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £2,000. To apply contact Nicola on nicola.peake@carersuk.org.

Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster) – has  1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £1,500. To apply contact Elise Campbell-Hand on elisech@cathchild.org.uk.

St Catherine’s Hospice (Crawley) – has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £1,500. Contact Jen Wickham at jenwickham@stch.org.uk or by calling 01293 447364.

The Outward Bound Trust – has 24 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1,750. Please contact Danielle Britton on 020 3301 6481 or email danielle.britton@outwardbound.org.uk.

The Children’s Society – has 6 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1,750. To apply visit http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-you-can-do/fundraising-and-appeals/events-and-activities/marathons-and-runs/virgin-london-marathon.

RFU Injured Players Foundation – has 5 places left! Minimum fundraising target £2,200. Application form on www.rfuipf.org.uk/run .

VSO –has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £1,750. Visit http://www.vso.org.uk/event/20505/virgin-london-marathon-2012.

Caudwell Children – has 6 places left! Minimum fundraising target £2,000. Please contact mary.rose@caudwellchildren.com giving full contact details or call 01782 600433 before 17^th February.

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation – has 2 places left! Minimum fundraising target £2,000. Apply by contacting Rebecca Malcolm on Rebecca.Malcolm@laureus.com.

GOOD GRIEF APPEAL – has 2 places left! Minimum fundraising target £2,000. To apply ring John Taylor on 01623 625413.

Friends First – has 10 places left! Minimum fundraising target £500. To apply emailtania.pillay@friendsfirst.org.uk.

Neurocare – has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £1,500. To apply email emma@neurocare.org.uk.

The Migraine Trust – has 1 place left!  Minimum fundraising target £1,500. To apply an application pack via events@migrainetrust.org.

Blond McIndoe Research Foundation – has 4 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1,750. Please email debbie.finch@blondmcindoe.com or alternatively telephone 01342 414295.

Action Deafness – has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £2,500. To apply email Denise Hodgson on hodgsondenise@actiondeafness.org.uk.

David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation – has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £1,000. Please email natalie.archer@davidshepherd.org for an application form.

Young Epilepsy – has 4 places left! Minimum fundraising target £3000. Please email James Sommers at Young Epilepsy for an application form on jsommers@youngepilepsy.org.uk.

Make-A-Wish Foundation UK – has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £2,200. To apply please email andy.holland@make-a-wish.org.uk.

The Lesbian & Gay Foundation – has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target £2,200. Contact Claire at claire.taylor@lgf.org.uk for more information, find out more about the LGF at www.lgf.org.uk.

Updated 20th January 2012

Sense – has 5 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1500! Contact     events@sense.org.uk or visit  www.sense.org.uk/londonmarathon for more information.

Jeans for Genes – has 3 places left. Minimum fundraising target £2,000. Please contact lina@jeansforgenes.com to apply.

John Muir Trust – has 2 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1,000. To apply email Maggie at maggie.briggs@jmt.org or call 0131 554 0114.

Henshaws Society for Blind People – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £2000! Contact Hannah.saxon@henshaws.org.uk or call 01423 814501.

FSI – has 5 places left.  Minimum fundraising target £1,750. Please contact louise@thefsi.org or phone 0207 009 3543.

St John Ambulance – has 40 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1625. To apply please visit: www.sja.org.uk/vlm2012

Care for the Wild International – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £1625. Please contact nigel@careforthewild.com or call 01403 249832.

Disability Law Service – has 10 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1500.00. Visit www.dls.org.uk/marathon or email marathon@dls.org.uk we will then forward out details.

Framework – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £2,000. Please visit http://www.frameworkha.org/pages/virgin_london_marathon_2012.html

Action on Hearing Loss – has 4 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1750. To apply visit http://www.crunch.org.uk/charity.php?CharityID=51.

Leukaemia Busters – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £1,800.00. To apply contact www.leukaemiabusters.org.uk.

Task Brasil – has 10 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1000. To apply http://www.taskbrasil.org.uk/docs/LMQuestionnaire.doc.

Notting Hill Housing Trust – has 12 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1,250. To apply contact http://www.crunch.org.uk/notthill.

Hearing Link – has 2 places left. Minimum fundraising target £2,000. Contact sarah.smith@hearinglink.org to apply.

The Countryside Alliance Foundation – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £3000. Contact hester-abbatt@countryside-alliance.org or call 020 7840 9258 for more information.

Concern Universal – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £1,600. Contact annie.ransome@concern-universal.org or call 01432 355 111.

United Response – has 8 places left.  Minimum fundraising target £1,500. Email mark.schueler@unitedresponse.org.uk or visit http://www.unitedresponse.org.uk/london-marathon

Sparks – has 10 places left. Minimum fundraising target £2000. To apply email claire@sparks.org or visit www.sparks.org.uk.

RELATE WEST SURREY – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £1000. To apply email jill@relatewestsurrey.org.uk.

Trees for Cities – has 4 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1500. To apply email zoe@treesforcities.org.

WheelPower – British Wheelchair Sport – has 2 places left! Minimum fundraising target £2,000. If you would like to be part of the WheelPower 2012 London Marathon team and raise funds to help disabled children and adults take part in sport please email jo.hall@wheelpower.org.uk

Treloar Trust – has 2 places left! Minimum fundraising target £650. To apply email jon.colville@treloar.org.uk.

Shaw Trust – has 7 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1500. Visit www.crunch.org.uk/shawtrust for more details.

Crimestoppers – has 5 places left. Minimum fundraising target £1350. To apply email lucy.williams@crimestoppers-uk.org.

Rose Road Association – has 3 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1500. Email Beth Rogers on bethrogers@roseroad.org.uk for more information.

Herts MS Therapy Centre – has 2 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1500. Email  charleneredmond@hmstc.net.

World Jewish Relief – has 2 places left. Minimum fundraising target £2,500. To apply call Emma on 0208 736 1253 or email es@wjr.org.uk.

Rett UK – has 1 place left. Minimum fundraising target £1200! Please apply by emailing stephanie.mitchell@rettuk.org with a short paragraph of why you want to run for Rett UK and your fundraising target.

Friendship Works – has 4 places left! Minimum fundraising target £3000. To APPLY NOW please visit: www.friendshipworks.org.uk/news-and-updates/run-london-marathon-2012.html.

Chickenshed – has 11 places left! Minimum fundraising target £1,800. To find out more visit http://www.chickenshed.org.uk/891/events-and-challenges/virgin-london-marathon-2012.html

Royal Free Hospital Kidney Patients – has 4 places left! Minimum fundraising target £500. Contact by rfhkpa@gmail.com with your name, address, age and reasons why the competitor would be happy to run in support of Royal Free Hospital Kidney Patients to apply.

Updated 19th January 2012:

Anthony Nolan – Has 25 places left! Minimum fundraising target: £2,012. Apply at www.anthonynolan.org/londonmarathon

Thai Children’s Trust – Has 1 place left! Minimum fundraising target: £1,500. Contact Ruth Flanagan on rflanagan@thaichildrenstrust.org.uk

Action on pre-eclampsia – Has 15 places left! Minimum fundraising target: £1,000. Email marathon@apec.org.uk for more information or register via www.apec.org.uk/marathon_form.html

The PSP Association – Has 5 places left! Minimum fundraising target: £1,600. Email marathon@pspeur.org or phone 01327 322419

Updated 17th January 2012:

Health Poverty Action works to strengthen poor and marginalised people in their struggle for health. The charity has 11 places left in the London marathon – one of them could be yours! Find out about how to run for Healthy Poverty Action.

The Child Bereavement Charity (CBC) is the UK’s leading charity that supports families and educates professionals both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved. CBC has five marathon places remaining. If you’re interested in taking one of them, email emma.riley@childbereavement.org.uk.

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is the leading UK charity focusing on all muscle disease. It’s dedicated to improving the lives of all babies, children and adults affected by muscle disease. Apply to fill one of the charity’s three marathon spots today.

Action Deafness works with deaf, hard of hearing, deafened and deafblind children, young people, adults and older people across Leicestershire and the East Midlands. The charity has places available for this year’s marathons in Silverstone, Edinburgh and London. To apply, contact denisehodgson@actiondeafness.org.uk.

LOOK helps blind children and their families by listening, offering hope and finding new and creative ways to improve confidence and chances in life. The charity still has a few  marathon places left, so if you’d like one give them a call on 0121 4285038 or email jane@look-uk.org.

We’ll do our best to keep this information accurate but if you’re a charity with places to spare, or if the information above is now out of date, please let us know by filling in this form.

If just the idea of running a marathon leaves you gasping for air, don’t worry – you’re not alone. There are plenty of us at JustGiving who are awe-struck by some of the incredible athletic feats carried out by our community, which we read about as we tuck into another chocolate biscuit.

Thankfully, great fundraisers don’t have to be great athletes. There are plenty of things you can do to raise money for your favourite charity that don’t involve you breaking into a sweat.

Here are some brilliant ideas that we’ve seen from some expert fundraisers:

1. Strike a pose

Charlotte Solomon wanted to grab people’s attention. Not only was she raising awareness for molar pregnancies, but also the vital funds necessary for the research into this rare condition. That’s why she launched the Get Naked Calendar 2012. By recruiting 28 of her friends to pose, she has raised well over £50,000 for the Cancer Treatment and Research Trust. Charlotte raised such an incredible amount, not only through sales of the calendar, but also from sponsorship of people who wanted to support her fundraising campaign.

justgiving.com/calendar2012

2. Show off your creative side

Super-talented Jack Henderson turned his artistic skills (see above for his take on the JustGiving logo) into a fundraising triumph by drawing pictures for people and then asking them to donate to The Sick Kids Friends Foundation in return. The six-year-old started off his fundraising endeavour with the aim of raising £100. But as news of his talents spread, requests for a Jack Henderson original poured in and he’s now raised a staggering £28,000. Not only that, he’s won numerous awards and he even has his own book out.

justgiving.com/jackdrawsanything

3. Use your hobby to build a fundraising community

P/hop (pennies per hour of pleasure) is the brainchild of avid knitter, Natalie Fergie. It’s a website with fantastic patterns that fellow knitters can download and enjoy. In return, they make a donation to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), basing their donation on the hours of pleasure they get from knitting their p/hop pattern. The project has raised well over £30,000 for MSF and last year, Natalie and her knitting buddies took home the award for JustGiving’s Most Creative Fundraiser.

justgiving.com/theyarnyard

4. Throw a dinner party

Delicious food, great wine, interesting conversation… now that sounds like our kind of fundraising. So why not turn a dinner party into a fundraising venture? You can catch up with old friends, invite them over for dinner and ask them to rate your cooking skills by donating what they think the meal was worth to your favourite charity. Jack Sheldon, who looks after all things community-related at JustGiving, did just that. He smashed his £100 target, raising over £500 for Winston’s Wish.

justgiving.com/dinneratjacks

5. Do something new

Or rather, 52 new things – that’s the challenge Nick Thorpe gave himself. He made a resolution that for every week of 2010, he would try something completely new. With everything from watching a Bollywood film, to having a fish pedicure, and even releasing a Christmas single on his list, you name it, Nick tried it. And name it was exactly what he asked people to do. He asked people to show their support and suggest new things for him to do by making a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society.

justgiving.com/nick-thorpe

Do you have a fundraising idea?

If you have a great or original idea of how to raise money without putting on a pair of running shoes, we’d love to hear them. Comment on this blog post below, or let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

JustGiving Awards 2012 – nominations are now closed

The nominations deadline for the 2012 JustGiving Awards is now upon us. And what an incredible set of set of stories you’ve submitted! You’ve inspired us, astounded us and impressed us.

This year we’ve had over 800 entries – more than we’ve ever had before in three years of running theawards.  Whether you nominated a friend, relative, charity or even yourself, we’ve loved hearing from you.

What happens next?

We’ll be reading through each and every award entry over the next few weeks and will be holding an official judging day on Tuesday 31^st January. We’ll be releasing details of the full judging panel soon, so check back for updates.

Once our judges have made their (extremely tough) decisions, we’ll announce the finalists. All our finalists will be invited to our awards ceremony on Thursday 1^st March in London,where the winners will be announced.

Thanks to everyone who made a nomination, and good luck!

We’ll be performing vital site maintenance late this evening until tomorrow morning, in order to minimise disruption to those using the site.

This means that from 10:00PM on Friday evening (6 January) until 9am on Saturday morning (7 January), you won’t be able to access our site.

We are always investing in great technology to ensure reliability for our users, so we’ll be back up and cracking  first thing on Saturday.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy New Year everyone!

We hope that you’re as excited and geared up for 2012 as we are! Thanks to everyone who fundraised with us and all of their incredible supporters – 2011 was a fantastic year. Now we can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2012, and with our incredible community, we’re sure it’s set to be bigger and better than ever.

Whatever your plans for 2012, we hope that we can be a part of them. Maybe you’ve set yourself a new year’s resolution or two? Is 2012 the year that you achieve that lifelong ambition to climb Kilimanjaro? Or are you taking part in your first marathon? Maybe you’re ready to conquer that fear of heights with a skydive? Whatever your challenge for 2012, you can help make a difference to your favourite charity.

By setting up a fundraising page, letting your friends and family know just how you will be pushing yourself this year and asking them to donate, you’ll be ticking one more thing of that to-do list. All while raising those all-important funds for a great cause.

We’d love to hear all of the weird and wonderful ways you’ll be raising money for charity in 2012. Comment on the blog below, or let us know on Facebook or via Twitter.

Here’s to 2012!

When we introduced the new-look fundraising pages last month, we were really excited to tell you all about the new design. Now we’re equally excited to tell you about the brand new themes for your page, designed to help you tell your fundraising story better than ever.

As well as having your charity’s branding or one of four different colour schemes (there’s a blue, orange, green and purple option), there are now four great new images for you to choose from. It’s a background for your fundraising page that not only makes it stand out, but really shows off just what you’re doing for your favourite charity.

What are the new themes?

For all you runners, whether it’s the London marathon or a 5k around your local park, your page can really reflect your event with the Keep on running theme.

Or, if you’re taking part in a sponsored swim, why not give your page a watery feel with the Under the sea theme?

Maybe you’re delving into the world of mountaineering? Show off your efforts with the Climb every mountain theme.

Perhaps you’re looking for something a little less specific? Then how about the Little fluffy clouds theme, a theme for all occasions?

Update your fundraising page.

You can brighten up your fundraising page with a new theme from your account. Here’s a handy FAQ, giving you a step-by-step guide on changing your page theme.

We’d love to see your updated page! Why not take a screen shot and add it as a comment to this blog below or post it to our Facebook wall?

You can also let us know what you think about the new page themes. Do you like the designs? Do you think they’ll help tell your story? Is there a theme you’d really love to see? Is there a theme you would really love to see? We’d love your feedback, so do leave us a comment.

Merry Christmas from everyone at JustGiving!

We hope you’re having a fantastic day, you’re all set for dinner and putting those feet up with a mince pie.

It’s one of our favourite days of the year, and who can blame us? Time spent with your nearest and dearest, presents all round and all of that incredible food. It’s a very special day, one filled with cheer, laughter and of course, Christmas giving.

If you’re looking to spread some festive cheer this Christmas, here are a couple of ways to do just that.

SpreadTheGiving and become a charity angel.

This Christmas, we want to SpreadTheGiving and make sure that every one of the 8,000 amazing charities on JustGiving benefits from the season of goodwill. You can become one of our Christmas angels and help a charity receive the recognition and donations that they deserve by encouraging your friends and family to donate.

SpreadTheGiving and become a charity’s angel.

Make a donation to your favourite charity.

Perhaps you’d like to give to a charity in your area? Well, why not search for a charity by location? Or maybe you’d like to support one of the specific, grassroots projects, working in areas all over the world? You can then follow the project’s progress and see your support making a real difference.

Find a charity or project to support.

Enjoy the rest of your festive season!

Nominations for this year’s awards close on Friday 6^th January, so get yours in soon! This year we’re recognising more people than ever who have made a difference using JustGiving, with 13 award categories. There are awards for endurance, creativity, company fundraising, mobile fundraising and a fundraiser of the year.

Check out this video to find out from some of last year’s winners why you should nominate someone.

How to nominate

To nominate an individual, charity or workplace for a JustGiving award, go to justgivingawards.com and fill in the form online.

Nominate someone today and check out all 13 categories.

We’ve had over 500 entries so far and we’re really enjoying reading all the inspiring stories that have been sent in. So keep them coming!

Move over X Factor, a new show is in town just in time for Christmas. And we’re super excited that we’ve had the chance to be involved.

Text Santa is a new show that aims to raise awareness and money for those most vulnerable during the festive period, with viewers being asked to make a text donation (powered by our very own JustTextGiving by Vodafone).

Six charities, each with the ability to make a real difference to people’s lives over Christmas, will benefit from ITV’s first ever Text Santa appeal. Funds raised by Text Santa will be divided equally between the following charities:

1. Carers UK
2. Crisis UK
3. Samaritans
4. Help the Hospices
5. WRVS
6. With the sixth charity being comprised of four charities raising money for children’s hospitals.  These are Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Helping Hand Charity, The Noah’s Ark Appeal and the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation

The first show kicked off on Sunday night, with a surprise guest appearance from The Prime Minister announcing that the UK government will match £250,000 of Text Santa fundraising this week. The big finale show will take place live on Christmas Eve. Anyone else looking forward to TOWIE peeps performing Wham’s Last Christmas? No? Just me then.

You can get involved and send some joy this Christmas!

Choose to donate £1, £5 or £10 and text SANTA1, SANTA5 or SANTA10 to 70070 or donate online.
See here for terms and conditions.

Don’t forget you can fundraise with JustTextGiving too. Find out more about creating a text code and raising money via text donations here.