Fundraising Guide

Thank you so much for fundraising for our charity. These days research is often only funded by charitable grants so without the wonderful efforts of fundraisers and their supporters this research would not be possible.

This guide is aimed at fundraisers who wish to organise an event or participate in an organised event (e.g. the London marathon) and we have attempted to keep the guide simple and to the point.

And do remember our charity will do everything we can to support you, but we are unable to assist you in actually organising your own event.

Step 1 – decide upon organising an event or participating in an organised event.

So this is the ideas time.

Many fundraisers choose to participate in an organised event and leave all the organisation and administration to a third party with previous experience and expertise.

But organising something relatively simple, like a coffee morning should not be too challenging and involved.

If you want to organise your own event decide what you would like to do and consider the practicalities and the tasks involved. Consider your experience and the need to draft in more experienced people to assist.

Where you have an organised event in mind, checkout the registration requirements and details of the challenge.

Step 2 – contact the charity to let us know your plans.

Send an email to the charity at ewingssarcoma.researchtrust@gmail.com setting out your plans. We shall acknowledge this email and set out how we can assist you.

This might include:

1. Advice on setting up a fundraising page at Virgin Money Giving.
2. Preparing sponsorship forms for use by supporters who prefer to donate off-line in a more traditional way.
3. Providing branded merchandise for sale at your event.
4. Offering guidance to assist you ensure your fundraising is a success.

Step 3 – start organising your event or register for your participation in an organised event.

If you plan to hold your own event you need to ensure that you plan properly. May be ask family and friends to help to ensure you identify all tasks and the correct sequence for completion of these. For example, it’s best to provisionally book a venue before you book a DJ!

When booking venues the hirer might insist upon you providing Public Liability Insurance so this is a consideration and additional overhead. Also, the hirer could insist upon you ensuring that a DJ’s equipment has been properly PAT tested (refer to http://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/faq-portable-appliance-testing.htm). These are responsibilities that organisers must be aware of.

So if you’re planning to organise your own event remember potential up-front costs that will impact on monies raised.

And there a specific rules regarding raffles and the licencing of these.

As you can see organising your own event can be complex, but you should not be daunted as many of our fundraisers have successfully organised such events that have been a great success.

But perhaps before you commit to organising your own event it would be best to talk it through with someone with more experience

Moving on to participation in an organised event this is relatively straightforward in that you merely have to register.

However, do consider your ability to participate in the event and ensure that you will be fit enough and will have completed suitable training. Organisers are very good at offering registered participants with sound advice. And, of course, if you have some concerns talk to the organisers.

A precautionary issue – some events are organised purely for the benefit of a single charity, some do check this to ensure that you will be able to fundraise for our charity.

There may also be a registration fee that the charity will need to cover, so check out the details and seek our agreement prior to registration in such circumstances.

Step 4 – set up your fundraising page on Virgin Money Giving and promote your event.

Our charity is registered with Virgin Money Giving (‘VMG’) and this is a great way to fundraise as they take away much of the administration from you and the charity. You can find more information at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/chooseFundraiser.action and when you set up your page you can link it to our charity.

When setting up your page always say why you’re fundraising and choose words that should motivate potential supporters to sponsor you with donations. Donors will sponsor you by credit/debit card and where appropriate they can pledge Gift Aid, which results in their donation being increased by 25p in the £.

All donations and Gift Aid pledges are processed by VMG and paid directly to the charity’s bank account. Individual donations will also appear on your fundraising page, which will appear anonymously if the donor so wishes.

The charity will also provide sponsorship forms for use by supporters who prefer to donate off-line in a more traditional way; this will accommodate Gift Aid pledges too. We will also an electronic poster for you to add your details and to help you promote the event through social media.

If practical, we shall also promote your event on our website.

Step 5 – hold your event or participate.

Now this should be the easy bit and most enjoyable provided you have prepared properly – ENJOY.

Step 6 – arrange for any monies collected to be passed to the charity.

If you’ve used Gift Aid sponsorship forms or collected donations through other means (e.g. a raffle) you will need to collate any forms and arrange for money to be passed to the charity. If there is a HSBC branch in your locality money can be paid directly into our account; we shall provide our bank details upon request.

Alternatively, you might wish to issue a cheque payable to the charity and mail it to us at 7 Goldfinch Close, Paddock Wood, Tonbridge, Kent TN12 6XW. Please ensure that you return any sponsorship forms too so that we can claim Gift Aid pledges from HMRC.

And finally, do remember to pass on your thanks to all those who have supported your fundraising effort.

So that’s it, fairly straightforward yes?

Do remember that our charity will do all that we can to make your event as successful as possible. We will offer practical advice where appropriate, but we can accept no liability for any claims that might arise from your activities.

If you need further guidance contact us at: trustees@ewingssarcomart.onmicrosoft.com