All I want …is a donation to Full Fact

Jill Rutter is Full Fact's External Relations Adviser. Jill joined Full Fact in 2015. She divides her time between Full Fact and the Institute for Government, where she is Programme Director.

I had a significant birthday coming up – and wanted to invite all my friends to a big birthday party.

I knew lots of them would want/feel slightly obliged to bring a present.

I also knew that almost all of them would give me a copy of Ed Balls’ (or Ken Clarke’s) memoirs – what else do you give an ex-Treasury civil servant for her birthday?  But even though Ed’s Strictly appearances make him a national treasure, I was reluctant to see my birthday boost him up the bestseller chart.

So I decided to take preemptive action.   I asked Full Fact (along with two other charities set up by friends) if they would be prepared to be my birthday present of choice.  They had to sign up to Virgin Giving (more of a hassle than I expected) – and then I set up a charity website.   I ticked the boxes for special occasion – and I asked my friends to choose a song to play at the party – and make a donation.

The songs made a great playlist (even if some weren’t obvious dance material).  I had so many, we didn’t get through them in the hours on the dancefloor.

But even better, we raised a bunch of cash – all handily topped off with a dollop of gift aid from the Chancellor.

And even better still, now Full Fact has gone through the registration process, anyone else can fundraise for them through Virgin Giving.

So, if you have a birthday – from 18 to 100 , you want a sponsored Dry January, a Full Fact Xmas – or plan to run 5k to an ultramarathon, you can get the same pleasure as I did in watching your friends support Full Fact.

If Jill has inspired you to take action, you can make a donation to us, you can donate for Christmas on someone else's behalf, or you can use Virgin Giving to raise money for us through your friends and family.