- Auction
of Promises
Try to get people to donate a promise of their
time, use of their belongings, or to donate a gift. You can even ask
people to donate themselves and auction them as ‘slaves for the day’.
- Bungee
Jump
Sponsor a friend or colleague to take a jump
of a lifetime, or better still, do it yourself!
- Bring
a pound to work day
Simply ask all your colleagues to bring just a pound to work in aid of
the charity, then collect together the money and send it to us.
- Football Match
Have a knockout contest and charge people to join a team. Charge
admission to all your spectators and sell refreshments.
- Dinner
dance
Have a good band and good food and charge a good price. Organise a
raffle and/or an auction.
- Expert
Seminar
Use an expert or well known personality, who is prepared to donate
their time to give a talk or performance. Charge admission, have a
break to sell refreshments and an auction of a signed book or autograph.
- Fashion
Show
Ask a local store to put on a show in conjunction with your company.
- Gladiators
Have a company fun day and charge teams to take part in a competition
Gladiators-style knockout league.
- Halloween
Ball
Sell tickets to a fancy dress Halloween Ball.
- It’s
a Knockout
Challenge your clients and other companies to a friendly ‘It’s a
Knockout’ Competition.
- Just
a Minute
Have a sponsored game show with – no repeating, hesitating or
deviating. This could double up as a presentation training exercise!
- Karaoke
Evening
Ask a local pub to host one for you and charge people to get in or take
part.
- Lunch
Money
Ask all your colleagues to bring in sandwiches for their lunch and
donate the money saved to the charity.
- Masked
Ball
Everybody wear a mask of their choice. Have a competition to guess
who’s who.
- Night
in for the charity
Stay in for an evening and donate the money saved to the charity.
- Outward
bound weekends
This is the perfect way to promote team work within your company while
raising money for the charity.
- Publicity
Send a press release to all your local papers asking for sponsorship
from the companies and individuals.
- Quiz
Night
Challenge different departments or branches to a friendly inter-company
quiz, with prizes for the best team, most inventive answer, wooden
spoon etc..
- Race
Night
Hold a race night in aid of the charity (ring us for further details).
- Sponsored
Event
Swim, slim, headshave – ask your colleagues and friends to raise
sponsorship money for you in a fun way.
- Treasure
Hunt
A challenging and fun way to raise big money.
- University
Challenge
Collect together teams who attended the same or nearby universities and
hold a challenge to see which university comes top.
- Variety
Show
Round up your talented friends and tread the boards, charging for
admission of course.
- Wine
Tasting
Invite an ‘expert’ or local wine dealer to bring along a few cases of
wine and donate some of the proceeds of his sales to the charity.
- X-files
Party …or any other themed evening with fundraising top of the menu of
course.
- Your
own Lottery
Works exactly the same way as the National Lottery, only you have a
better chance of winning!
- Z…
Your own fundraising idea beginning with Z!
Who will help me raise funds ?
TIPS FROM A SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER
“Don’t be put off by the prospect of raising 3'500 €.
Set your sights high and go for as much as possible! ”
TRY TO BE PROFESSIONAL IN ALL YOUR
FUNDRAISING REQUESTS AND LETTERS.
1. Think about where you work. Is there a staff
magazine or newsletter? If so, get an article put into it to encourage
others to help you. If you are part of a national organisation, spread
the word and see what your colleagues across the country can do. Write
to the Chairman/General Manager and ask for their support. If you work
for a large organisation, don’t just try one person, try different
departments, all have budgets.
2. Does your organisation have e-mail?
Draft up a memo and network to those who you think may be willing to
help you. Get a sponsorship form made up and attached to the memo,
perhaps get the charity logo scanned onto a word processing document to
professionally present your communications.
3. List all the organisations or people
with which you have had contact over the last year or so, bizarre
things such as shops you have used for framing pictures, private
specialists you have seen, local shops (travel agents, tanning shop,
supermarkets etc.) you use or producers of shows you have seen many
times. Write to them sending them copies of charities leaflets so they
know what you are doing with the money. Ask them to make cheques out to
charity direct, not to you personally.
4. Consider writing to suppliers of the
company you work for, explaining what you are planning to do. It’s
amazing what some letters sent cold can deliver.
5. Don’t be afraid to be too pushy! Try
to get the money immediately from people who say they will sponsor you.
If they go away, you’ll have to try even harder to secure the funds.
You have to speculate to accumulate, don’t worry about all the postage
you spend, claim it back from the sponsorship you actually receive.
6. Consider contacting organisations that
you may be involved with – banks, building societies, credit card
companies etc. If you don’t ask you don’t get!
7. If you have had any bad experiences
with companies, suppliers or organisations and you have not been
satisfied with their response, play on their conscience and ask, as a
gesture of goodwill, that they sponsor you in aid of a very good cause.
8. Local newspapers are often keen to
fill the paper with information about events within their immediate
community. If you are organising a fundraising event with a difference,
for example, this may help persuade the editor to publicise your
activity.
9. Contact your local radio, not only to
gain publicity for yourself but to plug the charity too.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FUNDRAISING!
