A guide to successful fundraising

All our supporters are valuable to us so we have prepared this guide to aid you. We hope that you find it useful for whatever degree of fundraising you are planning.

We are always at hand to complement you efforts and will endeavor to advise you or offer support. Please contact us should you require any of the following:

• Posters
• Tickets
• Sponsorship forms
• Collecting tins
• A press release
• Someone to attend your event

To help your event have a Compton Hospice feel to it we can also supply you:

• Raffle Prizes
• Balloons
• Quizes
• Hospice badges
• T-shirts

Contact : Karen Phillips, Corporate Fundraiser
e - karenphillips@compton-hospice.org.uk
t – 0845 2255 497

A - Z of fundraising ideas

A

Aerobics marathon - Ask you local gym of they will allow you to organise a marathon.

Auction of Promises - Local services can offer to donate a promise of, for example a day gardening, cleaning your windows or car. Then these can be auctioned off at a local event.

Art show – Are you an artist or photographer? Why not hold an exhibition and donate a percentage of your sales to Compton Hospice?

B

Bring & Buy sale – At work, in your garden or at your local community centre

BBQ – Charge for burgers or hotdogs

Baby competition – Ask colleagues or friends to bring in baby photos of themselves. People pay to guess who’s who – prizes for the person who guesses the most correctly.

Book sale - Dig out all those books and sell them!

Bring a pound to work – Ask all your work colleagues simply to bring a pound in for your charity. Compton Hospice have a free fundraisng pack for this event.

C

Christmas Raffle, Quiz, Dress like a fairy or elf, have a memory tree; the list is endless here. Contact us for more ideas and useful merchandise.

Cake sale – Bake those favourites and sell them at home, at school or at your local meeting group

Car-boot sale – Good excuse for a clearout and to raise vital funds

Coffee morning – Perfect for a natter with your friends and raise your bit

Car Wash – Wash cars for donations

D

Dress up or down – a popular choice for a quick and simple fundraiser

Dinner dance – Organise your own dinner dance or ball

Darts marathon – Get your local pub involved

Disco - Organise a disco or 70's night - with fancy dress!

E

EBay auction – Selling your items on EBay can make you a few pennies and also help with a percentage to charity

F

Fancy dress party – Have fun dressing up for a fee. The best costume wins a prize.

Fine Box – If your colleagues swear or are late for work, they pay a fine! The later they are or the worse the swear word, the higher the fine!

Fire-walking – Organise your own fire walking night

G

Garden party – Open your garden to the public for a fee!

Golf Day – Ask your local Golf club to hold a charity tourament

Guess the number – eg: balloons in a car, sweets in a jar etc

Give up Chocolate for a week – Get your friends and family to sponsor you.

H

Help Compton Hospice Day – Dedicate the day to help Compton Hospice

‘Hair-raising’ hair day – Come to work with the freakiest hair style you can do

Hairdresser Day – Ask your local hairdressers to offer Free hairdressing for the day for a donation

I

Ice Skating - Get people to sponsor you for how many times you can go around the ring without falling over.

J

Jumble sale – Hold a Jumble sale in aid of Compton Hospice

Jive or Jazz night – Ask your local pub to hold a Jazz night

Jeans Day – Ask you company to allow everyone to wear jeans to work for the day for a fee!

K

Karaoke night – Ask your local pub to hold one

L

Line Dancing evening – Pay an entry fee for a fun packed evening

Litter pick-up – Get your local council to sponsor litter collections

Lunch less – Organise for everyone to bring in a packed lunch and then give the money you would have spent to Compton Hospice.

M

Make a Will - Ask for information about our will week in October.

Matched donation – Ask your company to match any funds you raise

Magical Mystery Tour – Sell tickets to an organised tour and any profits donate to Compton Hospice.

Match the pet to the owner competition - Ask your colleagues to bring in one photo of themselves and one of their pet.

N

Non-smoking – Get sponsored to help you give up.

O

Outdoor Business Challenge. Contact us for information on the Compton Challenge evety October.

Odd job day – offer your services for any odd jobs for a donation

P

Police Cell for a night – Ask your local cop shop if you can use a cell for the night. Then get sponsorship to do it

Pub Crawl – Take your collection buckets with you!!

Q

Quiz night – Ask you local pub if you can hold one or join the Compton Corporate Quiz Night in June.

Quit smoking – Ask friends & family to sponsor you to give up!

R

Raffle – Ask local businesses to donate prizes

S

Sponsored anything!! – Swimathon, Slimathon, Singathon, Walkathon

Shave your head or beard – How brave are you?

T

Talk like a Pirate. Call for our free fundraising pack

Tombola – Ask local companies or just the locals to donate prizes

Teddy bears picnic – Bring your favourite bear along for a small fee

Treasure Hunt – Charge an entry fee and have great fun finding the treasure

Tin – Ask for a collection tin. We’ll be happy to send you one

U

Unwanted gifts sale - Ask friends and family to give then use them for raffles, tombolas, Ebay auction or car boot sale

V

Valet Service – Offer to clean cars inside & out for anyone you know

W

Wine & Cheese party – Homemade wine, prizes & donated wine & cheese. Guess the wines country game. Charge for admission & entering games

Welly throwing competition – Whoever throws the furthest wins

X

Xmas bazaar/card sale – Hold the bazaar in aid of Compton Hospice.

X Factor competition – Organise your own competition with judges and contestants. Contestants pay a fee for entry

Y

Yard of Ale competition – The locals at your pub will love this one!

Z

Zzzzz sponsored nap! – For the more laid back fundraiser


We can provide you with tailor made sponsor forms, literature, posters, balloons and badges.

For more information, help and further advice on any fundraising, please email karenphillips@compton-hospice.org.uk

What to bear in mind before starting a big event

All you need to organise a fundraising event is a good idea and lots of energy … and plenty of friends and colleagues to help!

Here are some guidelines that will help you organise fundraising activities for us. We would ask that you understand and agree to the following if you are organising a fundraising event in aid of Compton Hospice.

* We need to know what you are doing - please email karenphillips@compton-hospice.org.uk.
* We need to give you a letter of authority showing that you are fundraising on our behalf.
* All posters, tickets etc, must state that Compton Hospice is a registered charity and show the registered charity number.
* You need to keep clear accounts of any events - the details of the expenditure and the income received.
* Money should be collected in sealed containers.
* Lotteries or dangerous events should not be organised in our name. Contact us to perhaps join in one of ours.
* Any activity needing a gaming license needs to be discussed with the fundraising department.
* Be safe - don’t do anything illegal or dangerous.
* Compton Hospice is unable to underwrite any costs associated with the event - these would be your responsibility.

Planning The Event
* Make sure that you are not clashing with any other events in your area.
* Give yourself enough time to organise every aspect of the event, from promoting it to getting enough helpers on the day.
* Look at all aspects of the day and think about what could go wrong and how you would deal with it. Consider doing a risk assessment.
* (Please see www.hse.gov.uk for any help with health and safety), or contact the fundraising department.
* Do you need any licenses or permits to do your events? e.g. an alcohol license? Please check this with your local authority.
* Remember to advertise your event - use the local newspapers (they are more likely to use your story than ours, because we send them so many press releases), local radio and any other contacts you may have.
* Make sure that people helping on the day know exactly what they are doing at the event and that you have enough helpers.
* Do you need to inform the police?
* Do you need first aid?

Value for Money
* Make sure that your prices are fair so people feel they are getting value for money, they are more likely to come to any future events.

Be Realistic
* Don’t be over-ambitious.
* Ask other people you know who have done similar things before. Ask them what works and, as important, what doesn’t.

After the event
* Please send the money into Compton Hospice, marked for corporate fundraising.
* Please remember to include your contact details so that we can thank you.
* Please remember to thank everyone involved.
* Please e-mail/send us photos of the event so that we can use it for promotional purposes.