I'm hoping to do a macmillan coffee morning? Aibu to think that this will be harder as nobody carries cash?

[whatthehellnpw]

Anyone hosted a macmillan coffee morning before and able to give me any tips? How do you actually charge for items etc? I'm a total novice but really want to do my bit.

Don't waste your time raising money for them. The money just funds more well paid charity executives who are all chums of the other bosses.

surely people who are coming will bring cash

You could ask attendees to donate money to MacMillan online? One of my colleagues did a MacMillan coffee morning a while ago and no one had cash on them for it, but it was a big success.

Get izettle? I’ve only used it on someone else’s account to take donations at a big event, so haven’t set it up myself, but super super easy to use.

I organise the coffee morning at work. For the last couple of years they've sent a QR code thing so that people can pay with their phone.
But, yes, as PP says, lots of people will probably take cash with them.

Everyone I know still carries a small amount of cash (one of my friends does not even have a debit card and pays for everything in cash). I think anyone would expect to bring cash with them to a MacMillan coffee morning.

Tell that to my dead dad who was watched over a MacMillan nurse all night when he was terminally ill with cancer.

You get a QR code with the pack now

I've done a few Macmillan Coffee Mornings at home, quite low key, just invited neighbours and friends/family who are available in the day. I'm sure anyone planning to come along to a fundraising event in someone's home would bring a bit of cash along, but anyone who really never uses cash at all could make a donation to Macmillan online.
Sorry if this is telling you something really obvious but when you register to do a coffee morning they send you a pack with all sorts of stuff in it from bunting to cake toppers to balloons and there's bound to be up to date guidance there about gathering donations.
Good luck!

A neighbour does one every year. She doesn't expect anyone to give her money on the day. She posts it on our street WhatsApp (and presumably her FB or whatever) and gives her link to the MacMillan fund thing. In fact I think that donating to that encourages bigger donations (no one is going to donate less the £5, and most give at least £10). Most of us bring something along to share. She gets about 10-12 people on the day and about the same again or more who can't come but donate anyway, raising about £200 a time.
I think when you sign up they give you a pack of how to do it and tips.

I'd promote it pretty heavily, and the day before sending out an email saying please bring cash tomorrow for the cakes.
I'm presuming you've got plenty of willing bakers? Some people charge a flat fee of a fiver or a tenner, and people can have as many cakes as they want, or some charge between £2-5 per slice/cake. It's for a good cause so people won't mind paying a bit more than they would for a snack from a shop. You could do a raffle maybe as well to be announced at the coffee morning.
Maybe your firm will donate a couple of prizes, or give you a small budget for prizes?

I did used to hold these coffee mornings and they give you bank details for paying in the money you raise, so I should think you could just pass this one for people to donate.
I never priced items like the coffee and the cakes but my friends made donations [like a fiver].
It was always a rather hectic morning, I never really got to speak to any of my friends, but always fun and good to help raise funds.

I will just add that one year Macmillan invited me to an event for the 'best' fund raisers in the area and we all went to a nice local hotel and were given coffee and biscuits and a presentation about the charity's work.
This was fine, but it was followed by a really pushy session from their reps, asking us how we intended to raise even more funds for them.
Many of us fund raisers were bereaved friends or relations, my mum died of cancer, and many of us were upset and felt used.

I haven't held a coffee morning since Covid....

When we do bake sales and similar at work there's always a QR code to scan. Very handy. From PPs, it sounds like Macmillan provide these for you.

I never have cash anymore! Pain in the bum when I need it - e.g. DDs school summer fair. I have to take out cash especially, spend a tiny amount somewhere and ask for change.

@whatthehellnpw I do this at my work, they give you a QR code unique to your event that people can scan and donate by phone if they have no cash.

As above they give you a QR code. I think its quite good as people who might slip small change into the pot often round up to a fiver or tenner when they donate online (though they can donate any amount). We certainly took more the last few years.

And as above Macmillan nurses are fantastic and Macmillan have been struggling with lower donations over the last few years and are laying off staff - not clinical staff, so please hold your coffee morning as it could really help someone.

@BobbyBiscuits £2 - £5 a slice? Every cake sale I donate to ends up charging between 30 - 50p and the takings are less than the cakes cost to make 😫. I don't think anyone would pay £2 and certainly not £5 unless they were getting a whole cake for it.

Sell tickets upfront, payment by bank transfer

In my experience people will pay what they would pay in a shop. Probably depends on area.

Don't most people use Revolut now (or is this just in Ireland)?

Lots pre warning so people have cash on them

PayPal fundraiser, very easy

I’ve done this for various charities so I just set up a PayPal account with xx coffee morning as the name and people scan a qr code to send money to that. Plenty of people also donate cash and that’s handy as they will usually give you a note and not expect change (MacMillan give you a little cardboard donation box which I tape up securely so that it’s very difficult to get money back out!)

@DrCoconut yeah, that was the higher end that I saw. I'm coming to your cake sale!! Much more in my budget.
The ones I've been to seem to price it similar to a cake in a cafe, or pay a set fee and eat as many as you like. A whole cake from a bakery round here would be about fifty quid! This was in a very expensive area, in an office..so maybe that's why? But I'd pay two quid for a nice bit of cake easily.
You could just have people pay what they can afford.
I've a feeling I've been ripped off by several charity bake sales now!! 😂

I used to work for a charity.
I will never donate, except to tiny, local ones.