Charity advent calendar: 24 days of giving online

Build a charity advent calendar: 24 days, a story, goal or gift behind each door. With a plan, the Belgian tax certificate and the raffle rules.

In short A charity advent calendar is a page with 24 doors, from 1 to 24 December. Behind each door sits a story, a small goal or a gift someone can give. You need 4 to 6 weeks of preparation. No daily prizes without the raffle rules: in Belgium they are strict.

This article describes the rules in Belgium.

What is a charity advent calendar?

It is an online calendar where one door opens each day of December. Behind the door you find no chocolate, but a story from your organisation, a concrete goal or a gift a visitor can make straight away.

The format works because it gives people a reason to come back 24 times. You do not ask for money once, you tell people 24 times why it matters.

How do you structure the 24 days?

Do not start at day 1 but at day 24 and the Sundays. That way you know where to place your peaks and where to build in rest. A calendar with 24 equally heavy days wears out your team and your readers.

  • Day 1: the opening, with the reason for the action and your overall goal.
  • The four Sundays of Advent: your strongest story, with a clear request to give.
  • Day 24: a closing post with the current total and a word of thanks.

Spread the remaining days over three kinds of content: stories, goals and gifts. Alternate them, so that not every day asks for money.

What do you put behind each door?

Use three kinds of doors and let them take turns. A story makes it human, a goal makes it concrete and a gift makes it possible to act at once. Write 60 to 120 words for each door.

  • Story: a short scene from your work, with the permission of the people in it.
  • Goal: one thing a small amount can pay for, for example a meal or a toy parcel.
  • Gift: a fixed button to your donation page, single or monthly.

Do you work with children or vulnerable people? Show no recognisable faces without written consent and ask your organisation's privacy officer for advice.

How much time do you need?

Count on 4 to 6 weeks. Put most of the work before 1 December, because from then on something must be ready every day. If you only start in mid November, you end up making the calendar daily under time pressure.

  • Weeks 1 and 2: fix the goal, the amount, the team and the 24 topics.
  • Weeks 3 and 4: write the texts, photos and thank-you email.
  • Week 5: test the donation page and alert your supporters.
  • 1 to 24 December: one door a day, with 5 to 10 people sharing.

The schedule with all tasks per week is in the playbook for a Christmas fundraiser.

Prizes and chances to win: rules first

Giving away a prize every day seems a clever trick, but it is a lottery. Without the right permission, it is better to build nothing around it. The simplest and safest option is a calendar without prizes: the reward is the story and the feeling of helping.

If you still want to sell tickets, the Belgian law of 1851 on lotteries applies. According to the royal decree of 13 September 2023, a local raffle without a licence is only possible within strict limits:

  • at most €5 per ticket and 1,000 tickets per raffle;
  • prizes in kind only, with a market value of up to €500;
  • at least 70 percent of the proceeds go to the good cause;
  • your association is recognised by the college of mayor and aldermen, and you do this at most four times a year.

Selling tickets online on a donation page is another matter. According to our sources, that is not confirmed under the local arrangement and may require separate permission from the National Lottery (Nationale Loterij), with an application at least 13 weeks in advance. That does not suit a calendar that starts in a few weeks. Ask your municipality and the National Lottery, and read the explanation from the Gaming Commission (checked on 9 October 2026).

Bingo and other games of chance fall under the Gaming Commission. A daily Christmas bingo is no joke.

What about the tax certificate?

A fiscaal attest (tax certificate) is only possible if your organisation is recognised by the Minister of Finance or named in the law. So never promise the tax benefit as a given, not even behind a door.

According to FOD Financiën (the Belgian federal tax authority, checked on 9 October 2026), the tax reduction for gifts is 30 percent since 1 January 2025, with a minimum of €40 per year and per institution. The certificate requires the giver's national register number.

Two consequences for your calendar. The minimum applies per calendar year; ask FOD Financiën until when a gift counts for this year. And a gift with something in return earns no certificate, so do not attach a counter value to it.

How to do it with WeGlow.world

With WeGlow.world you set up the donation page in three steps: amount, personal details, summary. Givers choose single or monthly, and each amount can carry a label, such as "A warm meal". The page also works on a phone, including for people arriving through a link.

The four digital Christmas experiences from WeGlow.world suit this format well. Honestly, they are still a concept until the official launch, so do not make your plan depend on a confirmation.

  • Starry Sky: each gift becomes a star and you fly from star to star, ideal for growing the 24 days into a constellation.
  • Glow Room: a 3D living room with a tree where each gift becomes a decoration.

Let your supporters join in too: they start their own action page and share their door in their network. Prepare your thank-you texts, so that every giver gets a warm reply. You can start free with an account.

You can compare more formats in the Christmas fundraising ideas for a charity, and read about the digital variant in the article on the online Christmas fundraiser.

Which mistakes are best avoided?

Watch out for the middle stretch, around days 9 to 12, when the first energy has gone. So plan a stock of doors in advance and put the texts on a schedule, so you do not have to think about it every evening.

  • Asking for money every day, instead of alternating with stories.
  • Only starting to write on 1 December.
  • Hiding a lottery in a calendar without a licence.
  • Forgetting to say what happens with the money.

Frequently asked questions

How many doors should a charity advent calendar have?

Usually 24, from 1 to 24 December, but 31 doors or a short calendar of 12 days also works. Choose the number your team can sustain. A smaller calendar that is right every day beats a big one with gaps.

May I give away a prize every day?

Better not without checking. Prizes with chances to win are a lottery or raffle, with their own rules. A local raffle has limits of €5 per ticket and €500 in prizes. Online tickets may require permission from the National Lottery.

Can my donors get a tax certificate?

Only if your organisation is recognised. Then a 30 percent reduction applies from €40 per year and per institution (FOD Financiën, checked on 9 October 2026). If in doubt, ask FOD Financiën.

How do I make the calendar with WeGlow.world?

You set up a donation page in three steps and share a link to that door each day. Supporters start their own action page. The calendar itself, with the 24 doors, you build in your own channels or a Christmas experience.

When is the best time to start?

Four to six weeks before 1 December, so roughly mid October. That gives you time to prepare texts, images and thank-you emails and to test the page.

Sources

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