Date published: 25 September 2015 by Anna Jackson
Whether you’re taking on a challenge by yourself, supporting your colleagues or are holding an event in your community, we all know that planning is key in ensuring your event is a huge success. Take a look at our top tips to help ensure the money starts rolling in!
Set up a fundraising page
Online fundraising sites are a great tool and help manage and measure any donations given towards your chosen event or fundraising activity. Not only do they save the task of counting every penny, your profile is made accessible around the clock. We recommend using either Virgin Money Giving or Just Giving which directly transfers all proceeds to us, with a note of who is funding so you can sit back, or rather spend time on more important matters of planning your challenge!
Share the impact of donations
Sharing the impact every donation makes to families with a seriously ill child really helps to give your supporters perspective and allows people to see exactly how their money is making a difference. e.g. £9 could pay for a sensory toy to help entertain a terminally ill child with special needs, £22 - about the cost of an annual magazine subscription - could pay one of our special Family Support Workers to support a family for an hour. Make use of our donation shopping list to add impact to your challenge.
Fundraising materials
Decided on a challenge, but don’t know how to spread the word? Posters are a great way of attracting attention and reaching a wider audience. Our Online Toolkit allows you to create beautiful posters, flyers, postcards and invitations to help you get the word out about your event. Just register your details and you will be contacted within 48 hours. Be sure to ask your work, local shops and noticeboards and anywhere else that may allow you to advertise!
Social media and press
Social media is a great way of letting people know about your fundraising event and can give your fundraising efforts a boost. Best of all, it’s completely free! Use it to share your fundraising page link or videos and pictures of your challenge and don’t forget to ask family and friends to share your updates with their friends too!
Local media such as hospital radio stations or local newsletters are usually more than happy to help promote your fundraising event. If you would like to reach out to even more people, we have ready-made template press releases that you can use and send off to your local press. Just fill in your event or fundraiser details and away you go!
“Fundraising doesn’t have to be a long, hard process. Pick something that you and your friends enjoy whilst raising money for a good cause. Once you’ve put in all the hard work, don’t forget to take a second to enjoy it and remember the difference that you’re making!” Katherine Brooks, Regional Fundraiser at Rainbow Trust.