Your guide to fundraising
Where to start? Fundraising is a challenge in itself, but it can be fun and very rewarding if you plan it right. Before you start, think about How much can you raise? Set yourself a realistic fundraising target. Your supporters will be impressed by your determination and more likely to reward your efforts. Who will sponsor you? Think about all the people you know and split them into groups. For example: n Family immediate and wider, their friends. n Friends from school, university, clubs, other organisations, online social networks. n Work current and former colleagues, customers, suppliers. n Community pub, church, local shops. Then think about how likely all these people are to sponsor you, and how much they might donate you ll soon see if your sponsorship target is achievable. Why don t you use your friends as promoters to fundraise on your behalf? For example, a friend who plays in a band could organise a gig, or your local pub could organise a quiz for you. 2
An easy way to fundraise Fundraising Online Online fundraising is fast, easy, and safe. It lets you promote your challenge, contact all your supporters in one go (wherever they live), and raise funds securely. If you fundraise online, the money goes straight to Barnardo s so you won t have to handle it yourself. Sponsors are also more likely to Gift Aid their donations, and last but not least, online donors are likely to give more! You can set up your online fundraising page at www.barnardos.org.uk/ fundraise_online (or another provider if you prefer). Just follow these simple steps and you ll be up and running in no time. n Go to www.barnardos.org.uk/ challengeevents n Sign up and fill in your details n Follow the online instructions n E-mail your page s link to everyone you know and tell them about your challenge. Our system will notify you when somebody donates to your page, and will transfer the money to Barnardo s so it can be added to your fundraising target. Why don t you put the link for your page in the signature of your e-mails, telling everybody what you are up to? 3
Organise a fundraising event So, you want to boost your fundraising totals? Events are great to publicise your challenge as people will have fun while supporting you. Here are a few simple steps to a successful event: n Decide what type of event you want to organise (for ideas see the next page) n Choose where to do it and when (and remember to book the venue and any equipment you need) n Ask family, friends and colleagues to help you n Invite everyone you know to attend. Why don t you find out if your employer has a matched giving scheme and ask them to match all or part of what you have raised? 4
Fundraising activities Here are a few ideas from us for what could make a fun and lucrative event Sport n 5-a-side football tournament n Mini sports day Food and Drink n Barbecue charge your guests to attend n Cake bake make cakes and sell them at work n Dinner party host a dinner party and charge them to come. (Do this more than once with different groups of people) Music n Gigs if you know someone in a band ask them to play a gig and donate the proceeds n Carol singing General n Quiz night book an area in a pub, charge guests 10 to come along and have a cash prize n Guess my finish time sell finishing times and offer a prize to the person who gets closest n Car boot sale get friends together, and all gather up your old clothes, books, music etc, then sell them on and put the proceeds to your sponsorship total n Ask for donations instead of birthday/christmas presents. 5
Keep it safe and legal It is important that you ensure that any activity you run to fundraise in aid of Barnardo s is legal and safe for you and the public taking part. Here is some basic advice, but please get in touch with the Challenge Events team if you need any more information. Raffles and Lotteries small raffles held as part of a larger event are acceptable as long as ticket sales and the announcing of results take place during the event and there are no cash prizes. Raffles on their own have complex regulations, so please get in touch if you would like to hold a raffle. Licences to collect in any public place you will need a Barnardo s collectors licence. You will also need a licence from your local authority for any of the following activities: sale of alcohol, extended hours, provision of food and drink, copyright and royalties for drama or film shows, collecting money or selling goods in a public place. And remember: n Get parental permission if children are helping at your event n If your event is on private property, get permission from the owner/manager n Do not collect money from door to door this is illegal without a licence from your local authority n People collecting on your behalf must be aged 16 or over. We also have a check list of Health and Safety tips for an event if you would like a copy please get in touch with the Challenge Events Team. 6
Promoting your Challenge Promoting your challenge is key to maximising your fundraising efforts. First you need to decide who you want to tell, what you want to tell them, and how. Remember a few easy rules: n Be short, compelling and to the point n Say what you are doing, how much you want to raise and how they can help n Tell them why you re supporting Barnardo s, and where their money will go n No two audiences are the same think about how best to talk to them n If you get stuck, ask our PR team for help contact us at events@ barnardos.org.uk Online News travels faster on the net! Now you have set up an online fundraising page you can reach as many people as you like. To talk about your challenge you can: n Put the link to your fundraising page at the bottom of your personal and work e-mails (check with your employer if this is okay) n If you have a page on a social networking site (Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Bebo) add your link there and tell your friends to support you n Make use of other websites, such as your work intranet, your friends or your clubs pages. Ask them to write about you and promote your fundraising page n If you have your own website or blog, update people about your training and fundraising efforts. You could even film yourself training and put it on YouTube. 7
Press release If you want to contact your local newspaper to tell them your story, we ve already prepared a press release example you can use, so if you would like it just get in touch. n Decide what media might be interested in your story your local newspaper, radio station or maybe TV channel n Contact them and explain what you are looking for n Ask for the right contact and send them your press release (once you have made it more personal and relevant to your reader) n Keep the information short for those busy journalists keep it to one A4 side, and don t clog up their e-mail with attachments n Don t forget to mention your fundraising events n Follow up with a phone call a few days later, and find out where your story will appear. Offer to provide pictures and additional information if they need it. Remember if you are planning to use the media, it s a good idea to contact the Barnardo s team for help. Any fundraising materials you use should say: In aid of Barnardo s. Registered Charity Nos. 216250 and SC037605. 8
Collecting money Here are a few tips for collecting your sponsorship money: n Use your online fundraising page money paid via this route will come straight to Barnardo s, so you won t have to chase anybody for their donation n If you use paper sponsorship forms, ask your sponsors to pay upfront n Start your sponsorship forms with your highest donations those sponsoring you later on may look at the form for a guide of how much to give you. Gift Aid Thanks to Gift Aid, Barnardo s can claim back the tax on some donations, at no extra cost to the donor! Here s how: n Ensure that all sponsors who are UK taxpayers tick the Gift Aid columns next to their name on the sponsorship form (or when they donate online) n Make sure they write down their full name and their full home address (including their post code) n When you collect the money, fill in the amount given and date given boxes to confirm the amount you have actually received n Send the sponsorship forms to the Barnardo s Challenge Events Team, and they will claim the Gift Aid. If your sponsors are donating online, they just need to tick the appropriate box if their donation is eligible for Gift Aid, and everything else will be done for them! PLEASE NOTE: Gift Aid cannot be included in your fundraising pledge or minimum sponsorship target. 9
When can Gift Aid not be claimed? n On payments for which the donor receives something in return ie goods from a stall, raffle tickets, entrance tickets to an event n On deposits and registration fees n On donations made by the participant themselves or in certain circumstances donations made by people connected to the participant n Pay in your offline sponsorship either through our bank account if you ve been given a paying-in book (within 90 days of you receiving the money) or by sending a cheque made payable to Barnardo s n Send in your sponsorship forms so we can claim Gift Aid n Thank your donors and let them know how you got on. n On company donations. If you have any queries call us on 020 8498 7341. What to do after the event At this point you may be tired, but happy having completed your challenge. There are just a few more things to do: 10
All for a great cause: Believing in children We are so happy to have you on our team! Your efforts and support show that you, like us, believe in children, no matter what. By choosing Barnardo s you have signed up to a great and challenging cause. Barnardo s believes in children regardless of their circumstances, gender, race, disability or behaviour. We believe in the abused, the vulnerable, the forgotten and the neglected. We will support them, stand up for them and bring out the best in each and every child. We believe in children like Ingrid. After a childhood of being moved from care home to care home with no real support, at 16 Ingrid moved into supported accommodation provided by Barnardo s Belfast Leaving Care project in Northern Ireland. They helped me to move on gradually, Ingrid explains. For people that come from care, Barnardo s is like a normal family: they help, advise and support you and know you have to make mistakes, and keep on supporting you until you get there. The money you raise will help over 200,000 children like Ingrid across our vital local projects. So, thank you for taking on a challenge and supporting us. 11
Tell your sponsors how much their sponsorship money can achieve. 5 can provide books for 3-5 year olds, which are essential for early learning. 10 could supply materials for a healthy eating cookery session for young carers. 25 can pay for toys and games for play therapy sessions for a child who has been abused. 50 can allow a child to get involved in confidence-building activities such as sport, art or drama for a day. 130 could hire a minibus for a group of disabled children to go out for the day. 450 could pay for a year s supply of emergency toiletries like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and soap for a project working with homeless young people. 30 could pay for a young carer to enjoy a day out to the cinema or bowling. 12
www.barnardos.org.uk Head Office, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG Tel: 020 8550 8822 Barnardo s adheres to the Fundraising Promise and Fundraising Standards Board Guidelines. Barnardo s Registered Charity Nos. 216250 and SC037605 15476dos13