Brave the Shave: Your ultimate guide
If you’ve ever considered shaving your head for charity, this guide is one for you. There’s an official fundraising campaign for doing just that. It’s called Brave the Shave and it kicks off every summer.
Brave the Shave in the UK is run by Macmillan Cancer Support, which is one of the UK’s leading cancer charities. The idea is that you shave your head in exchange for getting sponsorship. You can collect your sponsors on a GoFundMe fundraiser – and with our charity fundraising, all of the donations go directly to Macmillan, meaning an even easier process for you.
Keep reading to learn how you can start your own Brave the Shave journey with GoFundMe’s help.
What is Brave the Shave?
Brave the Shave in the UK is a fundraising campaign run by Macmillan Cancer Support, one of the UK’s leading cancer charities, that encourages people to shave their heads in exchange for sponsorship.
Macmillan’s aim is to make sure no one faces cancer alone. It launched in 2015 and has so far raised over £22.7 million to help people living with cancer and their families. This huge sum of money pays for 140 Macmillan nurses for three years. These nurses give vital care and support to people living with cancer and their families. When you’re shaving your head for charity, you’re helping Macmillan reach even more people.
GoFundMe is a popular and easy platform for raising money for Brave the Shave. Make it simple and fun to get donations for Macmillan before and after the event. You can quickly share your story and gain lots of support for Macmillan’s important work.
4 ways you can get involved
Getting involved with this fundraising event is easy, whether you plan to brave the shave yourself or support someone else.
1. Brave the Shave yourself
Shaving your head for charity is exactly what it sounds like. You volunteer to have your head shaved, and get friends and family to sponsor you for doing it. Simply pick a date to shave your head, set up a free charity fundraiser on GoFundMe, post your crowdfunder across your social platforms and let the donations roll in!
Take the time to tell your story. Why are you braving the shave? Maybe you have personal experience of cancer or want to support a friend or family member with the disease. Perhaps you had been toying with the idea of shaving your head – especially in the absence of hairdressers! – and have finally decided to take the plunge for charity.
Make sure you share before, during and after photos with your donors by updating your GoFundMe page. Better still, film the big shave so that everybody can watch it live.
Macmillan Cancer Support has some handy fundraising resources available to help amplify your fundraiser, including a downloadable invite, email signature and social media gifs.
The great thing about GoFundMe is that we send every penny of your funds directly to Macmillan Cancer Support. This means less time dealing with logistics and more time to focus on raising as much money as possible for a hugely worthy cause. Unlike our competitors, we also send 100% of Gift Aid straight to the charity, so make sure donors tick that box!
Be sure to tell your employer about your fundraising efforts as many workplaces run supportive matching schemes that double your donations.
2. Donate your hair
Before you shave your head, be sure to check out The Little Princess Trust, a brilliant charity that makes real hair wigs for children and young adults who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or an illness.
The Little Princess Trust always welcomes hair donations – particularly of 16-inches or longer – but there are guidelines for what they can and can’t accept, so take a look before you donate your hair.
If shaving your head feels like a step too far, you can chop off your locks and still do good
3. Promote a pal’s page
Got a friend who’s braving the shave? Give their GoFundMe fundraiser a boost by clicking the big ‘share’ button that makes it easy to post the link on Facebook, Twitter and more. Encourage everybody you know to donate to your friend’s cause.
Did you know that every time a GoFundMe fundraiser is shared online, an average of £43 is raised? Sharing really is caring!
4. Donate to other fundraisers
Not up for shaving your own head but keen to donate to someone else’s fundraiser? You can find Brave the Shave fundraisers by searching for ‘macmillan brave the shave’ on GoFundMe.
These examples of successful fundraisers, past and present, will inspire you to donate or start your own today:
Brave the shave by Chantelle
Chantelle and her mother-in-law are braving the shave this summer for Macmillan. They want to raise money to help people going through ‘the worst thing imaginable’.
Brave the Shave by Jackie
Jackie’s GoFundMe for Brave the Shave smashed her target. On it, she shared her son’s story about getting diagnosed with blood cancer and nearly being on his death bed. His body has bounced back and he’s set to start chemotherapy.
Brave the Shave by Melissa
Melissa’s mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer – so she decided to raise money braving the shave. She set an initial target of £500 but smashed it, raising more than £2,000. Well done Melissa!
How to raise money for a charity head shave
There are lots of ways you can raise money for a charity head shave.
- Start by asking friends and family if they would be willing to sponsor you.
- Expand your reach by promoting the event within your local community, or encouraging others to join you.
- Share posts on social media before, during, and after the shave, and share stories from other people who have gone before you.
- Use the handy fundraising resources from Macmillan Cancer Support to amplify your fundraiser, including a downloadable invite, email signature and social media gifs.
- Be sure to encourage your supporters to tick the Gift Aid box too, as that means 100% of their donation goes directly to Macmillan.
- It’s also worth speaking to your employer before you start fundraising. Many UK companies have a donation-matching scheme for employee fundraising, so you could double your target. If not, you may at least find you get a generous donation from your boss!
If shaving your own head doesn’t appeal, there are other ways you can get involved in Macmillan Brave the Shave. You can donate to another person’s fundraiser, or promote a fundraiser online to help friends raise more money.
Can I accept Gift Aid on donations for a charity head shave?
Yes – everyone who donates to your charity head shave will be given the option to tick the GiftAid box. This means that 100% of their donation will go directly to Macmillan, or your chosen charity.
How do I organise a charity head shave in the UK?
It’s easy to organise a charity head shave in the UK. Just sign up for Brave the Shave with Macmillan in three easy steps:
- Set the date for your shave.
- Set up your GoFundMe page.
- Start sharing your story. Don’t forget to add lots of photos and stories to encourage people to donate.
Brave the Shave for good today!
Brave the Shave has been helping raise millions for Macmillan Cancer Support since 2015. These funds help pay for Macmillan nurses, support helplines, and more. Shaving your head for charity can help raise awareness about cancer as well as money.
It takes minutes to set up a GoFundMe fundraiser. There are no hidden fees and our trusted GoFundMe Guarantee keeps your money safe.
Our experts are here to help you day and night and there are tons of fundraising tips on our free blog.