Guide to Fundraising Guide to Fundraising We believe that fundraising is something that anyone can get involved in. This guide aims to give you all the advice, tools and ideas you need to successfully raise money for MacIntyre. If you can’t find what you need, or you want to share your ideas for fundraising, the Marketing & Fundraising team are happy to help. They can also give assistance with fundraising ideas, you can contact them by e-mailing [email protected] or calling 01908 230100. Contents 10 steps to fundraising success Ideas for fundraising activities Templates • Letter templates o Request for donations o Request for prizes/auction lots o Request for other support (food; drinks; venue, etc.) • Sponsorship form 10 steps to fundraising success Step 1: Decide how much you want to raise and by what date. Step 2: Decide who will take responsibility for managing the fundraising event. You might think about having a small committee especially if you are raising money with a number of different events or if it’s a group of people raising money together. Step 3: Plan your event. Think about what you want to do, when and where you are going to do it, what you will need and who will take part. If it’s an outdoors event, consider what you will do if the weather is poor. If it is taking place over a few hours, break it down hour-by-hour so there are no surprises. Contact us if you would like any assistance in planning your event. Step 4: Make a list of people you are going to ask for prizes, food donations, etc. (if applicable) and send letters using the templates provided with this guide. Keep a record of responses and make sure that you are clear about what you will receive and when you will receive it so that you can fill in any gaps. Step 5: Prepare some publicity for the event. Design posters and flyers to advertise your event. Step 6: If you’re doing a sponsored event, get plenty of sponsor forms printed (there is a template included in the guide), and start getting people to sign up. If they are a UK taxpayer, don’t forget to ask them to include their full details so that we can reclaim Gift Aid. Gift Aid means that we can claim an extra 28p for every £1 they donate. Step 7: If you like you can set up a fundraising page on-line so people can sponsor you over the internet. Go to www.macintyrefundraising.org, click on Start Fundraising and follow the simple instructions. If you need any help with this, we’d be happy to talk you through it, just contact our fundraising team on 01908 230100. Step 8: Enjoy the event! Remember to take lots of photos and send them to us, we’d love to know how your event went. Step 9: Encourage people to gather sponsorship money and donations as soon as possible after the event.. Step 10: Contact us to let us know how the event went and how much you’ve raised. We might be able to feature you in our Ring Magazine or on our website, there’s lots of opportunities to share your success. We can then organise how best to get the money raised to us. Fundraising Events There are lots of different ways to raise money, here a few ideas: All day event Ask your local pub or sports club if they can arrange a 24-hour sponsored event such as darts, squash or bridge. Auction of Promises Try to get people to donate a gift, the promise of their time or use of their belongings. You can even ask people to donate themselves as 'slaves for the day'! Barbecue Hold a charity barbecue and charge people to come to your party. Book Sale Dig out all those old books and have a book sale at home or at work. Car Boot Sale Get all those unwanted items stashed in the back of cupboards or in your loft and sell them at a car boot sale. Coffee Morning Get all friends together and have a coffee morning, charge for the coffee and cake, plus it's a great way to catch up on all the gossip! Competition Hold a competition at work, at home or at a club. Dinner Dance Have a band, good food, organise a raffle and/or an auction. Disco Organise a disco or 70's night - with fancy dress! Fete gather friends/colleagues to run a stall each from pin the tail on the donkey to a cake sale Jumble Sale People love a good rummage and it's always a good fundraiser. Karaoke Evening Ask a local pub to host a Karaoke night for you and charge people to get in or take part. No Smoking Get people to sponsor you for giving up cigarettes. Open Day If you have a colourful garden, let all those garden lovers come and admire, for a charge. Photography competition Invite your friends to get their baby photos out and pay £1.00 a go to 'guess the baby'. Quiz Nights always a favourite whether it is at home at work, in a club or in your local. Charge people to take part. Race night Hold a race night in aid of the charity. Raffles are an easy and fun way to raise funds at or even before an event Shocking sock/tie day Those who take part are asked to donate £1, those who don't pay a forfeit of £2. Sponsored Events Bike Ride, walk, silence, swim, slim, run, head shave etc Swap Shop You may not like filing or doing those chores around the house. Ask your friends to pool the things they hate doing and get everyone to bid for the ones they would like to do. Treasure Hunt A challenge event for people, and a fun way to raise big money. Tombola Get some raffle tickets and persuade your friends and colleagues to donate prizes. Letter templates General Letter Your name Your address The date The name of your contact person Their job title (if you know it) Their address Dear – Re: your event (try to summarise in a few words) Then type the content of your letter here. Keep it brief, but remember to share your enthusiasm for what you are doing. Explain why it is important and what it will do Make it clear what you are asking for. If there is a timescale for your activity, mention that too. Remember to say what will happen next, will you follow up with a phone call? Yours sincerely, Your name Your contact telephone number Your email address Letter requesting prize Your name Your address Your contact telephone number Your email address The date The name of your contact person Their job title (if applicable) Their address Dear name Re: your event (try to summarise in a few words) Macintyre is a national charity providing support, care and learning for over 900 children and adults with learning disabilities. On day-date-month, I'll be helping to run a name of your event to raise money for MacIntyre. Members of the local community/ staff/ our group (delete as appropriate) have been invited to join in this fun day/evening and we hope to sell number tickets. We would be delighted if you could support us by providing us with one of your wonderful name of prize as what will it be used for? And of course we would be thrilled if you or any of your colleagues would like to join us at the event. I shall call later this week to follow this letter. In the meantime if you should require any additional information, do not hesitate to call me on your contact number. Kind regards, Your name Your contact telephone number Your email address Letter for food donations Your name Your address Your contact telephone number Your email address The date The name of your contact person Their job title (if applicable) Their address Dear name Re: your event (try to summarise in a few words) Macintyre is a national charity providing support, care and learning for over 900 children and adults with learning disabilities. On day-date-month, I'll be helping to run a name of your event to raise money for MacIntyre. Members of the local community/ staff/ our group (delete as appropriate) have been invited to join in this fun day/evening and we hope to sell number tickets. To boost our fundraising efforts we will be serving food at the name of your event. We would be delighted if you could support us by providing us with some of your delicious if you can, be specific about what you want to serve on the day/night. And of course we would be thrilled if you or any of your colleagues would like to join us at the event. I shall call later this week to follow this letter. In the meantime if you should require any additional information, do not hesitate to call me on your contact number. Kind regards, Your name Your contact telephone number Your email address Sponsorship Form I am undertaking a type of event on behalf of MacIntyre, a charity that supports children and adults with learning disabilities to raise funds. If you are a UK taxpayer and have paid enough tax, we can claim an extra 28p from the Inland Revenue for every £1 you donate at no cost or inconvenience to you - just tick the Gift Aid box. Name of participant: NAME ADDRESS & CONTACT NUMBER AMOUNT £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ GIFT AID PAID (!) (!)