Hints and tips about fundraising

Whether you’re thinking of organising your own fundraising event, or you would like to raise sponsorship for an established event, we’ve got all the advice you need to get started.

How to gain sponsorship

Keep it simple
The easiest, quickest and most effective way of gaining donations is to create your own Just Giving page. Go to www.justgiving.com and follow the simple instructions.
If you prefer to use traditional paper sponsorship forms, these are available from RAFT upon request.

Start early and aim high
Begin asking for sponsorship as early as you can to give yourself plenty of time before the event. Set a target for the amount you are going to raise – the higher the better!

Target your donors
Identify who you are going to ask (family, friends, colleagues, clubs etc). Find out if the company you work for will match your donations (the Matched Giving scheme) For further information, please call us on 01923 835815.

Don’t forget Gift Aid
Make sure any of your sponsors who are taxpayers Gift Aid their donation. This lets us claim a further 25p for every £1 (just remember that you’ll need to supply your donors’ full name & address)

How to organise your own event

Plan carefully
Research your venue. Is it suitable for the type of event you are planning? Is it situated in an ideal location? Will it be the right size? Does it have all the facilities you need e.g. disabled access and adequate parking? Do they offer a charity discount?

Choose your date and time. Is your venue available on the date? Make sure there are no similar events planned at that time in the area and that there are no big national events such as football finals.

Budget realistically. Identify all your costs and put together a budget
that you know you can stick to.

Estimate your fundraising. Establish how – and how much – money is going to be raised from ticket sales, raffles, auctions, bar, collections etc.  

Consider your guests. Who is going to attend your event? Family, friends, work colleagues and acquaintances? Make sure they invite people they know too, so that you have enough people attending to ensure that you make a profit.

Think about publicity. Posters and flyers are a good way to ensure people hear about your event – ask local shops to put them in their windows. Make sure they are clear, colourful, and carry all the correct information.

Find some volunteers. Identify others who can help you plan, organise and help out at your event.
 
Legal considerations
Insurance. Identify whether the venue has adequate insurance to cover your event. If not (and your event is open to the public) you will need Public Liability insurance.  

Collections. Public collections take place in public spaces. They are governed by legal requirements and must hold a Street Collection Licence from the Local Authority. Please contact RAFT before you consider holding a public collection. Private collections take place on private premises; you do not need the permission of the local authority, only the permission of the owner of the premises concerned e.g. supermarket or pub.

Licences (Alcohol & Entertainment). You will need a licence if your venue does not have a valid one. Please contact your local authority for more information.

Raffles. There are different types of raffles: Private raffles involve tickets sold to people within the workplace, school, university or club; they do not need a licence, as long as the draw takes place where the tickets are sold and on the same day. Tickets for private raffles are not to be sold to the general public. If a raffle is open to members of the public and tickets are sold over a period of time, it is termed a ‘public raffle’, and a licence needs to be obtained from the local Authority. One person must be named promoter and take responsibility for the raffle. Small raffles can only be sold at the event, there must be no monetary prizes and all prizes must not exceed the value of £250 (although donated prizes do not count). The raffle must be drawn at the event. Small raffles do not need a licence.
 
Health and Safety
It is of course a priority that everyone attending and helping at your event are safe, and are not exposed to major risks or hazards. Check with your venue to make sure they have an up-to-date risk assessment in place, and ensure that all eventualities are covered in the document.
 
Registered charity name and number
We ask that you contact us for prior approval whenever RAFT’s name or logo is used in written materials – for example in posters, leaflets, invitations advertising an event or letters to companies etc.

On all printed materials for the event you must have:

• The RAFT logo – please ask us to send you this in jpeg format
• Registered Charity No: 299811. This is a legal requirement under the Charities Act 1992 

Case study
Swim for skin
Woohoo – I did it! On Saturday 12th of September I took part in the Great North Swim 2009, a one mile, open water swim in England's largest lake. The water was a cool 16 degrees C but I completed the swim in 46 mins and 10 secs. And the best part is that I didn't need to be rescued by one of the life boats! I'm very pleased to have done it and am really proud to have been raising money for such a fantastic cause.

Felicity Edwards