little book of FUNDRAISING

Transcription

1 little book of FUNDRAISING 1

2 contents Introduction 3 Planning 4-7 Marketing your events 8 Individual Fundraisers 9-12 Team Fundraiser Sponsored Events 15 Which fundraiser is right for you? Online fundraising 18 Support and Advice 19 Success Stories Useful Websites 23 A-Z of Fundraising 23 2

3 let s get started! From Bake Sales to Fun Runs, part-time jobs to Bag Packing, there s plenty of ways to raise money for your expedition, so many in fact it can be hard to know where to start! Fundraising for your expedition probably feels a little daunting but having watched many young people do it we know it is most definitely achievable! 3

4 planning It is important to have a plan when it comes to fundraising. Remember, taking the first step is often the hardest, so take a deep breath, pick up that pen, open that notebook and use our top tips and advice gathered from the experience of past participants to help you get started. 1. First, get a grasp of the figures and the timescale. A good way to do this is to divide the total cost of your expedition by the number of months between now and your final payment. This gives you an idea of what needs to be raised each month. This is where our fundraising calendar can come in handy; mark your payment dates onto the calendar and also fill in how much your target is for each month. This will help you properly track your progress. You can check when your payments are due by logging in to your Basecamp account. 2. Work out an achievable and realistic plan of how you are going to raise your money. You could start by putting an amount against a certain type of fundraising e.g. part-time job, individual events, team events. You can then break things down further; for example, 600 from individual fundraising = 300 from selling old dvd s and video games online, 100 from a restaurant night and 50 x 4 from smaller events. 4

5 3. Think about when you are going to do your fundraising. (Use your fundraising calendar!) Start by thinking about individual fundraising and plan regular meetings with your team to discuss and add group events. Make sure you consider any exams and coursework deadlines you may have, as well as commitments that you need to keep mark these out on your fundraising calendar so you know when you won t be available. Think about how these things will affect your fundraising activity, during exam months your target for the month should be lower than over the summer holiday. 4. Revisit your plan regularly. If you fall behind your target one month then make an addition to your fundraising plan later on. If your entrepreneurial efforts bring you more money than you expected then additional funds can go towards kit or be donated to a project that you may be visiting on expedition. 5. Tell people what you are doing! If you are planning events of selling a service such as gardening, dog walking etc, then you need to think about promotion and advertising. (see our Marketing page for tips) Don t feel constrained by these steps. Everyone works in their own way, whether it is writing lists or drawing mind maps, reading everything twice or sitting back and reflecting. Create your plan your way. Planning Resources Your fundraising calendar is a helpful way to make sure that you keep track of the events you have planned, the amount of time you have and how well you are doing with achieving your fundraising targets. We ve already highlighted specific days on your calendar throughout the year which may inspire a fundraiser (e.g. a Halloween Ball). We ve also jotted down a few additional ideas, to help you along the way. Use the stickers provided in your pack to help you visualise your fundraising plan! Use different colours to mark planned individual events, team events and payment due dates. In your pack you ll also find some event planning templates and sponsorship forms. You can download more of these from the fundraising library on Basecamp. 5

6 Legal & Safety When fundraising it s important to make sure that you are aware of the legal restrictions which govern how you can raise money from the public. This includes ensuring a venue holds any permits or licences that you may need to run your event. There are some guidelines on Basecamp, but if you would like further advice, perhaps on a specific event, you should contact your local authority who will be able to advise you. You can also visit the institute of Fundraising website: Individual or Team Fundraising? Both types of fundraising have their advantages and disadvantages. Depending on your plan, one type of fundraising may earn you more but more often than not it makes sense to partake in both. With individual fundraising you have to organise it all yourself, this can mean a lot of work, but you do get to keep all of the profits! Talk to friends, family, shopkeepers, the postman, absolutely anyone you know in the local area! Explain what you are doing and ask for ideas, you may be surprised with the suggestions you get and the offers of help you receive. Remember to be savvy with your choice of individual fundraisers so your time is spent as wisely and profitably as possible. Selling tickets to a restaurant night, homemade cakes at a parent s workplace or a car boot sale are perfect individual fundraisers. However, an auction night complete with raffle and refreshments would be a better team fundraiser, where you can share the workload and 6

7 maximise profits by having designated members working on donations, marketing, catering, ticket sales etc. With all hands on deck and a variety of skills to utilise, there is no end to team fundraising possibilities and the fun that can be had along the way! Regular team meetings are very important as this will be where ideas are raised, debated, agreed, planned and reviewed. You need to make sure everyone is allowed to express their opinion, listen to each other considerately and be prepared to come to a compromise. When fundraising as a team it is important to detail how the money will be divided if someone is unable to contribute to a particular event due to other commitments do they get a share of the profits? There is no right or wrong answer, but an understanding from the start will avoid difficult conversations later on. You may want to get a member of the team to take notes during the meeting and send them out afterwards so that everyone can remember what has been agreed, and so that those who couldn t attend can catch up. By putting these ideas and suggestions into practice, you will soon be part of a strong team doing some great fundraising. You will also be building team bonds that will stand you in good stead for facing the challenges of your expedition. Seasonal Fundraising Sometimes if you re stuck for a fundraising idea having a look at what else is happening in that month. Themed fundraising events can be easier to plan and organise because you already have a starting point (e.g. a hot dog stall at a local bonfire event, or an Easter egg hunt). Similarly, certain times of the year are best for specific types of fundraising events; it will be cold washing cars in the winter, but the first weeks of January would be a great time to do a raffle of unwanted Christmas gifts! 7

8 marketing your events Marketing is about making sure as many people as possible know about your event and making it as appealing as possible so that they want to join in. It s easy to have your head down, busy planning your event but if you don t let people know about it then all of your hard work will go to waste! Some fundraising events will require more marketing than others, and a lot can go a long way from simply word of mouth but it s always good practice to make sure you ve advertised your fundraiser too. Tips Design a flyer and posters (there are posters included in your pack that you could use) to promote your event. Get them in as many local outlets as possible shops, libraries, cafes, social and sports clubs, local offices. Make sure your promotional materials provide details about the event; venue, date, time of the event, cost and how and where to buy tickets. Make sure you re aware of any deadlines for school publications/media in which you want to advertise. The best promotion is via your own networks, such as family, friends, clubs, churches, and work networks. Create a page on a social networking website (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube). They are all quick, free and easy to set up. You ll be able to generate a lot of interest and excitement about your event, whilst promoting it quickly. Brainstorm with your team other ways your event can be promoted. Local newspapers are constantly looking for interesting stories and they know that stories with a personal, and inspirational touch, are the most interesting to their readers which means you re in luck! You can download a press release template from Basecamp which will help you in contacting them. 8

9 individual fundraiser restaurant night Raising money through a restaurant night is a popular choice because it s really easy, can make you a good amount of money and your family and friends get a night out! The idea is simple; most restaurants get quiet periods when they re willing to put on good deals to bring in customers. Approach a local restaurant, tell them about your fundraising and ask if they would put on a set menu on a certain night. Negotiate a price based on the number of tickets you will sell - if you promise to fill the restaurant they should do you a great deal! All you then need to do is sell tickets at a higher price and keep the profits. Hosting a Restaurant Night will require a good amount of planning and promoting. First off you ll need to find a restaurant. It s best to avoid chains or franchises as they will have a lot less flexibility to help you, even if they want to. A locally run restaurant is much more likely to work with you. Think about all the cuisines available, there may be a local Indian, Italian or Chinese that you could approach. One way to initially approach a restaurant would be to write a letter or to the manager explaining what you re doing, why you would like to work with them and how it could benefit their business don t forget to add your contact details! You could send out a few letters to different local restaurants and follow them up with phone calls or visits to see the owner or manager. 9

10 Once a restaurant has agreed to work with you and you have met to discuss the date, time, menu and price you need to make sure that you promote your night. The restaurant may be prepared to help you out with this, they ll want it to be a success as much as you! The first port of call for selling your tickets to the event could be your friends and family. Once you ve sold to them you ll know how many more tickets you have to sell. Don t forget to advertise why you are running the event and tell people about your expedition. individual fundraiser auction of promises Raffles and tombola s can be great but sometimes you end up spending a lot of your profits on prizes. An Auction of Promises, on the other hand, won t cost you anything! Promises are normally services that people would usually have to pay for, like a nights babysitting, cutting grass or business advice. Businesses will sometimes offer one of their products, services or use of facilities such as a free gym session, hair cut or spa day. Rather than selling these promises at a set price, an auction allows people to offer what they think it is worth and bid against each other to win. An auction 10

11 can be held as part of an event such as a restaurant night or can be held online. Just set up a group on Facebook, invite people to join and then advertise each promise. People can post their bids and the highest wins. Don t forget to let everyone know the date and time that the auction will end! An Auction of Promises can be as big or as little as you like - you may only want to invite family and friends, perhaps donating all the promises yourself, or you can make it bigger by securing some star prizes. Many local businesses and family members want to support your fundraising but are unable to donate money, they are however very keen to get involved by offering a promise for your auction. Consider people in your network who may have something they can offer, ask your family if they know people they could ask on your behalf a personal contact can go a long way! You can also write to local businesses, explain what you are doing and offer to give something back such as mentioning their support in your press release for the local paper about your event. individual fundraiser part time job One of the best ways to raise money for your expedition, whilst gaining some great experience, is to get a part-time job. A job will require time and commitment but in return you will have a regular and reliable income. You may not be able to get a year round job due to other commitments so a summer job can be ideal. A number of Outlook participants have got part time jobs to help fund their expedition and have continued with them way after their return. So how exactly do you go about getting a job? The first step is putting together a CV so that you can show prospective employers the benefits of hiring you. Typically your CV would include; your education (where you go to school or college and any qualifications GCSE, A-Level etc that you have or are working towards), any previous employment (include unpaid work experience or voluntary work), skills (things that would be beneficial in a work place e.g. organisation skills, punctuality, customer service, computer skills) and often hobbies (employers like to know a little more about you - this could be a good place to tell them about your expedition). 11

12 With every good CV comes an even better covering letter. This is a way to introduce yourself to the prospective employer, briefly tell them why you would like the job and why you think you re a good fit for it. Whilst you may be sending out copies of your CV to anyone who may be hiring, it s good practice to make your cover letter a little more personal and tailored to the job in particular that you are applying for. You can find templates for a CV and covering letter in Basecamp. When looking for jobs, local businesses are a good place to start. Put some time aside to visit places you think you could work (local shops, cafes, restaurants, hairdressers, florists, supermarkets) and ask to speak to the manager. Even if they are not currently hiring, you can leave your CV and ask for them to keep you in mind for the future. Tell them about your expedition and how you re working really hard to raise the funds for it - hopefully you ll be their first thought when they are looking to recruit! Look out for posters and adverts in windows and on notice boards and let friends and family know you are looking so they can keep an eye out for you. If family members work in an office they may need someone over the summer to help with basic admin. Looking for a job can be very competitive and it s easy to feel disappointed and want to give up if you feel like you re getting nowhere, so persevere. A common mistake when looking for part time jobs can be being too fussy and only applying for the jobs you would prefer. Whilst it s important that you enjoy your job in some way you should apply for as many jobs as possible, keeping an open mind. You never know, the job you didn t think you wanted could end up being brilliant! team fundraiser bag packing Bag packing may not sound a great fundraising event but it s surprising just how much money you can raise on a Saturday morning in your local supermarket. Organising a bag packing fundraiser can be relatively easy, as you don t need to promote it, you just need to get a team of willing bag packers together and head down to the local supermarket. Bear in mind that you may have to wait for a slot at your chosen supermarket (as a number of charities use it as a 12

13 fundraiser these days) so start planning early. You need to contact your local supermarket to ask if you can come in and raise money for your expedition. In the last few years the bigger supermarket chains have made a real effort to give back to the community and often have dedicated people who, as part of their role in the store, focus on working with the community this person or the store manager will be your best point of contact. If you can t get in touch with the relevant person at the store, whether that s by phone or in person, you could send in a letter - sometimes they may ask you to do this anyway as a follow up to a conversation. Some supermarkets only usually allow charities to raise money in their store so you will need to convince them that your expedition is a worthwhile cause - tell them the skills you are developing through the expedition and the project you will be contributing to. Try and organise your event on a Saturday morning which is a supermarket s busiest time and when people will most likely want help with packing their bags. On the day of your event wear your Outlook Expeditions t-shirts so that people can see that you are from an organisation and what you are raising money for. You can print bucket sticker posters from Basecamp. Don t forget to be friendly and willing to talk with the customers in the store - you may find they are willing to donate more to you if you take the time to tell them about your expedition. 13

14 team fundraiser cookbook Many of our expedition teams have raised money by designing and producing their own unique product and selling it to the public. One of the most popular products has been a recipe book. Recipe books are great as many people can contribute recipes and you could quickly have enough to produce a cookbook. Ask family, friends, and teachers, you could even contact some famous people via Twitter to make your book really exciting and unique. You could choose to do a general book or you could give it a theme such as biscuits, chocolates or comfort foods. Why not link it to your expedition with a round the world or camp cookery theme? Once you ve got your recipe list together you need to think about making it look great! Is there someone in the team or do you know someone who is great at graphic design or photography? Remember, whilst people may not be able to donate money, many are happy to support you by giving you some time or sharing a skill. Before you start laying out and designing your book, talk to the company who will be printing it for you, they will be able to give you guidelines to ensure it comes out looking great! When searching for someone to print your cookbook 14

15 make sure to shop around and get the best price. You may, especially with a local company, be able to get them to print it at a reduced rate for you if you explain that you are fundraising for your expedition. Make sure your book is available to buy at all your other fundraising events; people attending will already be invested in your expedition and keen to support you. You could also ask family to take some books in to their work place and at local businesses to see if they would allow you to leave a number of books for sale at their establishment. Think about peak times of the year when the book may sell well such as Mother s Day or Christmas. It could be a good idea to try and get orders for the book before you get it printed so that you can make sure you order the right amount - you don t want to end up having too many and you definitely don t want to have too little! If you re selling the book at an event then maybe you could cook up some of the recipes for people to sample and entice them into getting their hands on a copy! If you don t fancy producing a cookbook, there are plenty of other options how about a calendar, keying s or jewellery? sponsored events Sponsored events have to be challenging but they also have to be fun! You can take part as an individual or as a team, you can even get friends and family to join you and help raise funds towards your expedition! Over the years many participants have contributed large amounts to their fundraising through partaking in sponsored events including climbing, abseiling, swimming, hill walking and triathlons. 15

16 WHICH FUNDRAISER IS RIGHT FOR YOU? - In our recent survey, parent, Lyn told us that fundraising could be made easier if we provided participants with an idea on which fundraisers would produce the best return. That s why we ve put together this guide full of donut graphs on a range of fundraising events. We ve rated each event on a few different categories, to help you understand just how much you ll need to put into these fundraisers and how much you could expect to get back from it. Preparation refers to the amount of time that will be put into the fundraiser beforehand - this could include organising a venue, selling tickets, marketing the event etc. Time is how much time will be spent at the actual event and people tells whether a high number of people will be needed to make the event a success - or whether it s suitable to do as an individual fundraiser! This is just a selection of fundraising events that you could organise and each person s event is not guaranteed to have the same results as another s. CAR WASH Reward Preparation Cost Time People RAFFLE Reward Preparation Cost Time People Between you and the rest of your team you could make a decent amount of money on a Saturday morning washing cars. All you need is a small amount of equipment, a venue and to let people know it s happening! Raffles can be brilliant fundraisers but you need to be prepared to work hard getting local businesses to donate prizes - otherwise your cost may outweight the reward! Reward Reward Preparation Preparation Cost Cost DISCO Time People BAG PACK Time People Your school is a great resource when it comes to hosting a big event like a disco. If you work together well as a team you could organise a really great event but you ll need to put a lot of time and effort into organising and hosting. Bag Packs can be difficult to organise as a lot of supermarkets will only allow people raising for charity - you ll have to explain all about the project you will be working with. You ll also need a good amount of people but will have to split the profit between you all.

17 ODD JOBS Reward Preparation Cost Time People PART TIME JOB Reward Preparation Cost Time People Why not make a few flyers and deliver them around the neighbourhood offering to do jobs such as dog walking, lawnmowing and car washing? Getting a part-time job can often help you raised all of your fundraising target, plus it ll help you learn tonnes of new skills. It can take time to find one though so you ll need to be prepared to put in a lot of effort. SPONSORED EVENT Reward Preparation Cost Time People BAKE SALE Reward Preparation Cost Time People Why not do a sponsored run and improve your expedition fitness whilst fundraising? Be aware some events have quite high entry fees and people are unlikely to keep sponsoring you if you do more than one event. With a couple more members of your team you could buy some ingredients relatively cheap and bake some goodies - selling them at breaktime or at other events. You could even theme bake sales around christmas and easter etc. BUSINESS SPONSORSHIP Reward Preparation Cost Time People EASYFUNDRAISING Reward Preparation Cost Time People If you are prepared to put time and effort into approaching a number of businesses you may be able to secure some business sponsorship which could bring in a heft amount for your fundraising. NON UNIFORM DAY Sign up through outlookexpeditions.easyfundraising.org.uk to register your expedition, and everytime you, your friends or your family shop online through the site you will receive a donation! Reward Preparation Cost Time OUR FAVOURITE! - Who doesn t love a non-uniform day? Not only do you get to spend the day at school wearing what you want but you can also make a lot of money for your expedition! All you ll have to do is get the school to agree to it and then let people know when it s happening. If everyone in the school pays 1 to take part then that can potentially be a lot of funds towards your expedition. Though you will have to share it with the rest of your team - perhaps not the highest rewarding fundraiser if your school has a few teams going on expedition! People 17

18 online fundraising These days the internet seems to be the first stop for pretty much everything, so why should fundraising be any different? Social Media It may sound ridiculously simple but a lot of our participants have actually raised money for their expedition just by telling people on their social media sites about their expedition and their fundraising. You could also use social media as a powerful tool to advertise any fundraising events, to keep people up to date and to thank those who have helped you. Maybe you could start a blog? easyfundraising We ve teamed up with easyfundraising to help you easily raise even more money for your expedition. It s free and simple, every time you, a friend or family member shop online, easyfundraising donate a little bit of what is spent to your expedition fund. The key is to get started straight away so you raise as much money as possible. 1. Register - Head to the Outlook Expeditions page to register your expedition: outlookexpeditions.easyfundraising.org.uk 2. Shop - Once you re registered, search for a retailer you d like to shop with. There are over 2700 to choose from, including Amazon, Asos, Cotswold Outdoor (where you will get your 15% discount too) and ebay. 3. Get support - Use word of mouth, social media posts or s to ask for help from family and friends, letting them know about the great work you ll be doing on your expedition. They can sign up to support you, and when they do their shopping online through easyfundraising they ll be raising money towards your expedition too! Or sell unwanted things on ebay or music magpie 18

19 SUPPORT & ADVICE We ve been helping expedition participants with fundraising for years now, and we know there are times when you can just feel a bit stuck. Whether you re trying to get started or you ve run out of momentum our Customer Support Team are expert advisors! If you have any worries or questions they re available 8am until 8pm and you can get hold of them on the phone, via or through our website. Your Basecamp account is jam-packed with loads of great fundraising information and resources to help you. We re continually adding to this so if there s anything you feel would be helpful then please let us know. Our Facebook and Twitter pages are also followed by thousands of people who have fundraised for an expedition. Why not post a question or ask for some ideas? We re always posting ideas, competitions and new success stories too, so keep an eye out! 19

20 success stories will sloan & ben trundley Will and Ben teamed up with a local butcher to develop their own sausage recipe, with a plan to sell them at a number of different events. Due to food hygiene regulations the boys had to get trained up and even had to submit a business plan to the local council so that they could sell on council property! Once this was all done they started running bbq s, selling hot dogs, running bangers and mash nights, attending a number of local events and sports dates and due to the popularity they even ended up selling packets of the sausages! They were able to raise the funds for their expedition to Ecuador and they even learnt a number of valuable business and catering skills in the process! ben shepherd Ben contacted Outlook to ask for a presentation on Malawi that he could use in a fundraising quiz he had planned. Ben raised just over 800 for his expedition with the first quiz night by selling tickets and drinks and nibbles on the night. He raised a further 1000 in the second. Over the summer he did some gardening, dog walking, cake sales and applied 20

21 for a grant from a local church educational fund to make up the rest of his expedition fund. This just proves how hard work can pay off and if like Ben, you think we can provide you with any materials that would help a fundraising event you have planned, don t be afraid to pick up the phone and ask! anna, elin & laura In order to raise money for their expedition to China, the three girls decided to team up with one another and host a fashion show event for their friends and family. It was a fantastic evening from which the girl s raised 1005, with a turnout of over 80 people. They struck up a partnership with both M&Co and New Look who both agreed to provide clothes to be modelled at the show (with M&Co also offering a discount for the next week to all those who attended). Some brilliant entrepreneurship! The girls, and some of their friends modelled the clothes from New Look, and also convinced their parents and some of the teachers to model the other clothes! They also held a raffle with donated prizes to raise a bit more cash! 21

22 macclesfield academy Students from Macclesfield arranged an exotic animal evening Animalmania, getting to grips with the creatures they might meet on expedition and inviting others to buy tickets to come along and join in! A local Animal Man brought in his collection of wild and wonderful creatures and educated the audience, explaining the origins of creepy crawley fear and helping people overcome it by holding and stroking the animals. Hundreds of tickets were sold and the team held a raffle and cake sale on the night to further up the profits. The media were also informed and did a great article in the local paper! 22

23 useful websites outlookexpeditions.com/expeditions/fundraising outlookexpeditions.easyfundraising.org.uk better-fundraising-ideas.com cookinabook.com bakerross.co.uk recyclingforcash.co.uk institute-of-fundraising.org.uk a-z of fundraising a - auction of promises b - bake sale c - car wash d - dog show e - easyfundraising f - film night g - gran fondo bach h - huntsman triathlon i - ice cream stall j - jewellery making k - karaoke l - lawn mowing m - music event n - nuts challenge o - online donations p - pancake race q - quiz night r - restaurant night s - sponsored silence t - talent show u - (non) uniform day v - vegetable growing w - sponsored walk x - x marks the spot (treasure hunt) y - young enterprise z - zipwire challenge 23

24 OUTLOOKEXPEDITIONS.COM 24