A comedy night for the Zoological Society of London, Crisis' e-card Christmas campaign and a new fund from the Santander Foundation. Here's civilsociety.co.uk's pick of the best partnerships and campaigns from the last month.

 

 

 

• Traidcraft has launched a mobile phone version of its charity shop in a bid to increase sales over the Christmas period. Paul Oliver, head of supporter development, said it “was the natural next step for our multi-channel offering” and aimed to engage existing and new customers. The charity is expecting a 10 per cent growth in sales over autumn, which in 2011 amounted to “just under £3.5m”. The site was developed by the charity’s existing web-developer, Maginus.
• Barnardo’s has clinched a Christmas corporate partnership deal with Argos, which aims to encourage people to donate their unwanted toys for Barnardo’s to sell in its charity shops. In return for depositing their unwanted toys at ‘donation stations’ within 740 Argos stores and 500 Barnardo’s shops, shoppers will receive a £5 voucher that they can redeem against £35 purchases of new toys at Argos.
• The Santander Foundation has launched a £1.23m fund to support local charities with grants of up to £5,000. Community Plus is open to small charities and local projects of large charities that help disadvantaged people. The launch of the national programme has been brought forward following a successful pilot in the South West in September. Charities can apply in branches of Santander by filling out a nomination form.
• Crisis hopes to raise more than £600,000 from businesses through its Christmas e-card scheme. Creative agency Knife-edge has designed eight e-cards featuring beneficiaries singing Christmas songs and the cards can be customised to include company logos. The campaign is being promoted with adverts in the FT and companies that sign up will be thanked in future ads.
• The Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) comedy evening, Roar with Laughter, was held on Saturday 6 October and raised over £50,000 through tickets sales, bucket collections and text-to-donate. Over 2,000 people came to the HMV Hammersmith Apollo to see comedians put on a show in aid of saving the Sumatran tiger.
• Celebrities including Danny from The Script and Loose Women’s Lynda Bellingham have pledged their support for the second annual Hospice Care Week (8 to 14 October). The theme this year is ‘Be surprised, hospice care is for everyone,’ to raise awareness that hospice care is about people and communities, not buildings. Last year’s week raised an estimated £60,000.
• An alcohol-free charity ball has raised more than £5,000 for rehabilitation charity Double Impact. The charity sold around 120 tickets at £35 per head and raised £1,500 through an auction and raffle. The three-course dinner, including mocktails, was provided by a local restaurant with support from local producers. Other local businesses donated auction and raffle prizes.
• Malaria No More has partnered with the Future Shorts Festival to encourage its supporters to organise film screenings to raise money for the charity. Event organisers can book the five short films for screening through the Movies for Malaria website, and both organisations offer support in publicising their events. The film license costs between £80 and £250. Screening attendees will be encouraged to donate more funds through quizzes, fancy dress competitions and text donations at the events. 
• London’s Lyric theatre is just £500,000 short of a £16.5m fundraising target for its refurbishment and extension – the first such work in 30 years. To raise the remaining sum, it is now appealing to the public to purchase the items it needs, from a list that ranges from Baby Changing Boards to a motorised cinema screen curtain.