1. Choose something you feel passionately about
The amazing thing about fundraising is that you can turn absolutely anything you feel passionately about into a fundraising opportunity! Think about the things that you and the people around you enjoy, and go from there. If you or someone you know has a particular skill that you can use that can be a great starting point too. For example, if you love football, could you organise a charity match? If you’re great at sewing, could you sell your crafts at a local market?
If you’re stuck for ideas, check out our fifty favourites.
Passion is not just important for what your doing, but also why you’re doing it. Make sure when you’re promoting your event that everyone knows why you’ve chosen to fundraise for The Lullaby Trust’s work and how much it would mean to you if others can support you.
2. Get in touch with us
The fundraising team at The Lullaby Trust are here to support you every step of the way in planning your event, so get in touch! We have free fundraising materials such as stickers and posters that we can send you as well as lots of friendly staff on hand to offer any advice you may need.
Fundraising@lullabytrust.org.uk – 020 7802 3200
3. Plan well in advance
Careful planning is the key to a successful event. When deciding on a date, check your calendar to avoid any clashes, such as a friend’s birthday or an important sporting event.
Start simple; make a checklist at the beginning stages of planning your event and use this as a guide to know what exactly needs to be done at each stage. Remember, be realistic and cost your event carefully. Once you’ve gotten in to the swing of things, you can start to think about ways to make your event even more exciting and add to it.
Some things to consider are:
- Venue – think about location, capacity, accessibility, facilities and cost
- Support – will you need people to help you with the organisation before or on the day?
- Activities – Are you going to be holding activities on the day that require preparation such as a bake sale or raffle
4. Keep it safe & legal
It’s important to make sure that your event meets regulations and that you’ve considered the safety of your guests so that everyone can enjoy themselves worry free! Read our tips on health, safety and legal requirements here.
5. Shout about it
Advertising and marketing your event can be the key to its success. Social media is a free and powerful way of reaching a wide audience so do share the details of the event and your reasons for holding it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Events that raise the most money tend to do best when people know why you’re fundraising and what difference the money will make so, if you feel comfortable doing so, let people know why supporting The Lullaby Trust is so important to you.
If you’d like to put posters up to advertise your event, you can download them here or get in touch with us if you’d like some posted to you.
If you’re looking for support from companies, for example for sponsorship of your event or for prizes for a raffle, emails are great but nothing beats the personal touch! Get on the phone or even visit and speak to a representative of the company so that you can share your passion for your event in person.
Don’t forget to get family and friends involved where you can. Everyone has their own network so whether they share your posts on social media or send an email round their office, every bit of support helps.
6. Get some support
Contact local business, shops, pubs and restaurants to see if they can help you out. For example, they could donate raffle prizes, cover the costs of your printing or even publicise your event on their shop window! Again, letting people know your reasons for fundraising can be really beneficial as you never know if the cause that you’re supporting is also important to them and something that they might really want to help with.
Think about your contacts – do they work somewhere that could support your efforts or do they have a skill that could benefit your planning? If your friends and family also think about their contacts, you’ve got a whole network of people with a vast amount to offer and you’ll be surprised at how much people are willing to help if you just ask.
7. Fundraise Online
Set up an online fundraising page and let the internet do the hard work! Use Virgin Money Giving or JustGiving to set up your own sponsorship or donations page to collect donations online from friends and family all over the world. It’s easy to share the link to your page via email or social media and you won’t need to deal with any cash – it all comes straight to The Lullaby Trust.
If you would prefer to collect sponsorship in cash, you can download sponsorship forms here.
8. Get the most from donations
Remind everyone who makes a donation and pays UK tax to tick the Gift Aid box on your sponsorship form and online fundraising page. This means we’ll be able to claim an extra 25p on every pound raised at no extra cost to you or the person making the donation.
Remeber though, to claim Gift Aid on your fundraising, we must have the first name or initials, last name, full home address and postcode of each individual donor/sponsor. Without these details we legally can’t claim Gift Aid – so be strict with your supporters!
9. Thank everyone
Make contact with all your guests and donors as soon as you can after your event let them know how much you have raised and how much you have appreciated their support. We can send letters of thanks and certificates once we have received the amazing amount you’ve raised so do get in touch to request these.
10. Pay your money in
Be sure to pay in your money as soon as you’re able to after your event so that we can get straight to putting it towards the work that you wish to support. There are a number of ways to pay in your money, find out the options here.
We’d love to see photos of your event so please do email them over or post them on social media. If you’d be happy for us to share your photos and story to inspire others please do let us know.
