Hold your own fundraising event

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?

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.

[email protected] – 020 7802 3200

3. Plan well in advance

Careful planning is the key to a successful 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.

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!

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.

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!

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 JustGiving to set up your own sponsorship or donations page to collect donations online from friends and family all over the world.

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.

Remember 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 lots of ways to pay in, check out the full list 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.

Promotional Materials

Any fundraising materials you use should say: in aid of The Lullaby Trust, Registered Charity No 262191. Registered charity numbers must be shown on all printed material that you use, including letters and posters.

Get in touch for permission to use our logo and branding guidelines.

Start planning your event

If you’re organizing an event where large numbers will be attending, planning ahead will help ensure it’s safe, legal and successful. Remember that if you’re holding an event in a public place, you must get permission first either from the local authority or the property owner.

You can find further guidance for planning your event:

• Government Guidance
• Health and Safety Executive
• Safety Advisory Groups

Assessing public safety

You’ll need to think about how to make your event as safe as possible. Some venues may require you to provide a risk assessment that shows you have considered all the risks associated with your event and how you’ll minimise these.

First Aid cover

Consider whether you have suitable first aid and emergency procedures at your event. The appropriate type of first aid cover you provide will depend on the event location, activities being held and number of people attending. For smaller events a fist aid box and one qualified first aider may be enough, for larger events you may want to consider contacting  St Johns Ambulance.

Public Liability Insurance

The Lullaby Trust cannot accept responsibility for accidents, injuries, loss, or damages as a result of your event. Arranging public liability insurance will protect you if a member of public is injured during your event. You should be able to organise this cheaply and simply for your event, there are plenty of providers online.

You should also request to see the public liability insurance certificate of any suppliers you hire. This will ensure that they’re covered in the event of an accident or incident with their equipment or service.

Food Hygiene

If you’re providing food at your event food safety laws will apply, make sure you properly store, prepare and cook food correctly. Remember to label ingredients such as nuts and other allergens. Also keep children and animals out of food preparation areas ad provide protective clothing such as gloves and aprons. You can find more information from The Food Standards Agency.

Raffle and lottery licenses

Your event may require a special license from your local authority, please check with them as part of your plans. Things that often require a license are; raffles, lotteries, auctions, public money collections, entertainment events and putting up signs or banners in a public space. If you’re planning these activities, please get in touch with our team for advice.

There’s plenty of information from the Fundraising Regulator. 

Collecting and handling money

It’s important you put in place procedures to make sure money collected is handles, processed and deposited correctly and safely. The Charity Commission recommends that two people are present when it’s handled, secure and sealed containers are used, money is securely stored and deposited and sent to the charity as soon as possible.

Think sustainably 

Finally, do not forget to dispose of any rubbish or waste material safely! Set a good example by keeping a separate bag for recycling materials and encourage everybody to join in. Do consider the use of plastics and where swaps can be made, for example if you’re thinking of holding a balloon release at your event, blowing bubbles or floating flowers down a stream can be an excellent, more environmentally friendly alternative.

You can promote your event through the local press by sending a press release with your event details or inviting them along to take photographs. If your event is coming up soon you will need to enquire about deadlines – deadlines will be important if the newspaper only comes out once a week/fortnight because you won’t have as many issues to potentially run your story before the event takes place.

Writing a Press Release

A press release contains details of a news story sent to the media, in the hope that it will encourage them to cover the story.

A press release should be short, typed, and emailed within the body of an email and sent as an attachment. Use the draft press release in our media pack. You can always contact The Lullaby Trust Communications Team if you would like someone to look over your press release before you send it or for help writing it.

Preparing for an interview

If a journalist phones you out of the blue and asks you for comment, it is often a good idea to ask whether you can phone them back. This gives you time to think what you want to say and prepare any facts or figures you want to include.

Remember that you do not have to say yes. You may want to call The Lullaby Trust’s communications team (020 7802 3200) to discuss what to say.

If you feel ill-prepared or unhappy with the subject you can always suggest that they contact the Lullaby Trust central office.

During your interview

The most important thing to remember is to be prepared – know what you are fundraising for and how you are going to do it.

Have three key points ready that you want to get across – why you’re raising money for Lullaby Trust, what you’re doing and how much you’re hoping to raise – feel free to ask the reporter what questions they are likely to ask before the interview.

Remember the following five key points and you will be well on your way to a successful interview:

• Get your point across as soon as possible
• Speak slowly if you are on the radio/television (don’t garble because you are nervous!)
• Have the Lullaby Trust helpline number in front of you (0808 802 6869)
• Have The Lullaby Trust’s Safer Sleep advice in front of you
• Use everyday language and no jargon

Finally, good luck and thank you for helping to promote the Lullaby Trust!

Once you’ve held your event there are a number of ways that you can pay in the amazing amount you’ve raised.

Check out the ways to pay in here.