[Where to start] [sample fundraising plan] [events] [a-z fundraising]

Across the Divide have been organising charity events since 1996 and it never ceases to amaze us how our challengers have gone about raising these much needed funds. By signing up for a charity challenge you are on the road to a remarkable experience but one which will require a great deal of hard work and dedication on your part. If it seems daunting then rest assured that it can be done and we hope that some of the hints and ideas we have laid out below will help make life easier for you. There will be times however where you might question your sanity in setting yourself this challenge- will it be worth it? Yes, most definitely.
If you have found a particular fundraising idea has worked well for you raising money then why not let us know and we will pass on the idea on. For the best ideas we will send out a coveted Across the Divide T-shirt. Email us now!

One of our trekkers, Moira Furmage, has kindly put together some tips for us to share with you, which you can read here.

'For me Across the Divide are the best in the business. Professional, safe and refreshingly friendly, ATD staff have made each of our trips to Nepal and Namibia unforgettable' Keith, Charity Representative Concern Worldwide.

ATD's A - Z of Fundraising Ideas click here view full list.

A Sample Fundraising Plan

Amount to be raised £3000

Week 1-2
Sponsor yourself £50 (£2950)
Send out at least 25 letters to friends and family asking for £25 = £625 (£2325)

Week 2-3
Follow up on sponsorship letters
Ask four family members to sponsor you £25 = £100 (£2225)
Ask four neighbours to sponsor you £25 = £100 (£2125)
Ask eight work colleagues to sponsor you £25 = £200 (£1925)
Check with your company's human resource department to see if they would be prepared to 'match-give'.

Week 3
Plan a fundraising party with at least 40 people at local pub, get a free raffle prize and quiz night and charge £10 per head £400 (£1525)
Get three of your companies suppliers to sponsor you £50 = £150 (£1375)

Week 4
Organise a barbeque/ cheese and wine evening and charge £25 per head for 30 people taking out £5 per head costs = £600 (£775)

Week 5
Organise another pub quiz based on the destination you are travelling to and charge £10 per person for 40 people = £400 (£375)

Week 6
Car boot sale = £100 (£275)

Week 7
Sponsored silence = £50 (£225)

Week 8
Final follow up on letters written earlier and sponsorship from work place £200 (£25)
Finished fundraising efforts by putting in final £25 yourself (£0000)

Face to Face

Ask for a specific amount rather than letting the donor decide- remember that it is easier to trade down than up;
"will you sponsor me £100 for my Namibian Challenge" "no, sorry I can not afford that", "how about £50" "OK"

rather than

"will you sponsor me £50?" "OK", "what about £100" "no!"
Ask your employer if they 'match-give', for example, you raise £1000 and they sponsor you £1000, some employers will turn you down flat but you will be surprised how many companies will support you

By Letter

Companies get lots of requests; make yours different. Be short and concise- be clear about the challenge that you have set yourself, who the beneficiaries are and any potential benefits to the person you are writing to, keep it short and simple (KISS).
Tailor your approach to your donor. Try and address each letter individually either to the Managing Director or the Community Affairs Director if the company has one. Do not expect a high rate of return from such a blanket mailing unless you have personal contact or they are based locally. However it is always worth asking and by following some of the advice here you might well improve your chances of success.
If you are writing to friends or colleagues then think of lines like;
I'll forgive that loan if you sponsor me for my charity challenge
Will you please sponsor me…
Remember the time that I … will you return the favour and sponsor my charity challenge?

Suggested letter layout

Your personal goal

Why you are supporting the particular challenge

If you have a personal connection discuss how the condition or issue has affected your life and the lives of those around you.

What the money raised will go towards

Include website address or a copy of the challenge brochure

How and where they can send their donations- or when you will call them

Mail it to friends, family, companies, work contacts and local schools.
As you get closer to your deadline email or write to all the people you contacted originally and let them know if you are short of your fundraising target and that you still need x amount, will they sponsor you in order to take you to the target.
If you are able to change your email auto-signature at work and/or home, add a line about your challenge to raise awareness of what you are doing. If you have set up a web page for the challenge then create a link in the signature.

Event Fundraising

Organising events gives people something for their money. For people who have already supported you directly it gives them a chance to contribute in a different manner. Remember however to budget, your events need to make profit and there is no point outlaying lots of time and effort if the return is too small.

Be innovative and wacky- remember also if it is interesting enough your local media will be more than happy to promote the event, don't forget also your staff newsletter, parish magazine, notice boards- the more people that turn up or get involved the more successful your event will be.

Here are some ideas that are proven to work.

Jail breakout Challenge- workmates to get as far away from work as possible within a day or a weekend. They are sponsored for every mile - provided they stay within the law and don't spend any money.

Car boot sale

Out tray sale. We've had car boot and garage sales, why not stock your out tray with the trinkets you don't want anymore? Someone else may love those earrings!

Produce a monthly A3 quiz and sell it for £1.

Have a dress down day at work or at your local school.

Raffle your services for a day to iron, clean, cook, dog walk.

Hold a raffle, ask local shops if they will donate any goods that can be used as prizes, do you know a hairdresser, mechanic or gardener who would donate their service as a prize?

Organise a 5-aside, netball, cricket or sports match, charge each team an entry fee, sell refreshments and run sweepstake at the same time.

Run an auction of promises, contact your friends and see what they can offer; babysitting, washing, hairdressing, gardening, photography, decorating, the list can go on and on.

Spot the baby, embarrassment guaranteed when you collect everyone's baby photos. Charge people 50p to guess their identities.

Sponsored swim, run, diet, shave, leg wax- old fashioned but they still work.

Organise a Premiership, Wimbledon, Grand National sweepstake at work - betting on individual matches, riders or players.

Director service - sponsor the directors to dress as waiters and waitresses and serve lunch to staff members.

Cycle or walk to work for two months and put the money you would otherwise spend on transport towards your fund- and reduce pollution at the same time!

Hold a bad taste day at work- the worst shirt, tie, dress wins a bottle of champagne or to continue the theme, the cheapest baddest bottle of sparkling wine you can find!

Invite your supporters to a themed evening- a night of Indian, Chinese or Mexican you serve tapas, tacos and enchiladas get people to bring a bottle of wine and charge £5 to cover the cost of the food.

Sponsored lunch run - offer to pop out and buy lunch for your colleagues. At 20p a go, five lunches a day will raise over £20 in a month.

A birthday or Christmas card amnesty - get your friends to send you a small donation instead of a card or present.

£5 draw - each person writes their name on a £5 note. The winner gets 25% of the total and the runner-up gets their £5 back. With 40 participants, that's £50 to the winner and £145 for the trek.

A cake sale at work every Friday- make a regular thing of it so the people plan ahead.

The cake divide - bake or buy your cake, divide it into eight slices and sell them at 50p a shot. In six months you'll have raised over £100 and won the undying love of your workmates.

Office tuck shop - buy bargain packs of chocolate bars, crisps and sweets, then set up a stall at work and sell them to your colleagues. Charge them a bit more than the usual retail price. This has been known to raise about £50 per month in an office of 120 particularly peckish people!

Weekend meat and wine draw - joints of meat and bottles of wine to be won every Friday - perfect for the weekend! Towards the end of the week, sell raffle tickets for 20p each or £1 for a strip of five. Meat and wine are popular, but you could include chocolate and flowers too. The first ticket drawn gets the most expensive prize, second gets the second priciest, etc. In a big office, different departments can run the draw on a rota basis.

Demure day - you undertake not to swear, use vulgarity, innuendo or indulge in raucous cackling for one whole day. Set a day and publicise it well in advance. Appoint an independent arbiter to monitor your performance/s. If you lapse - no cash!

Sponsored stairs. Work in a high-rise building? Get workmates to sponsor you to use the stairs instead of the lift for a set period

Seasonal ideas

Mulled wine and mince pie evening.

Offer your services as a gift wrapper for a small fee.

Get your family to pay you to cook Christmas dinner.

Carol singing in your local area.

A Christmas card amnesty - get your friends to send you a small donation instead of a card or present.

Unwanted Christmas presents sale. You know that CD you'll never listen to in a million years, or those shocking 'comedy' socks? Someone might like them. Bring them in and sell them to your mates/colleagues. Give a prize for the most awful pressie.
Summer

Have a barbecue with drinks and charge friends/neighbours to attend.

Will it be worth it?

'I had the most AMAZING, UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE travelling with Across the Divide on the back-roads of Vietnam...’

YES

A – Abseil down a local landmark. Great way to raise funds and get a lot of local PR

B - Bake cakes, bring and buy sales, baked bean bath

C - Car boot sale, coffee mornings, cake stalls

D - Disco - always good fun!

E - Egg & spoon race, Easter egg hunt

F - Fetes, fun run, fancy dress, football tournament

G - Guess the baby photo, guess the weight - can do a lot with guesses

H - Halloween party, hair braiding - always popular!

I - It’s a knockout competition, knobbly knees competition

J - Jumble Sales galore!

K - Karaoke, keepy uppies

L - Line dancing, loud tie day at work

M - Music quiz, magic show, murder mystery evening

N - New Year’s eve party, name the baby or teddy

O - odd jobs, odd clothes day

P - Pancake day, parties, plant sale, play

Q - Pub Quiz, get your local to run a succession leading up to your challenge

R - Raffles are always good at raising funds and don’t cost you a penny if you ask people to donate prizes - or use those unwanted Christmas pressies.

S - Sponsored anything, slide show evening,

T - Tea party, treasure hunt, tombola

U - Uniform days, university challenge

V - Valentines ball, variety show

W - Wacky races, welly throwing, wine tasting evening

X - Xmas ball, Xmas panto,

Y - Yo-yo competition

Z - Zany parties or clothes day

ATD's A - Z of Fundraising Ideas click here view full list.