Fundraising ideas wanted

Crisp_£_note

Hi

A friend of mines toddler has been diagnosed with a rare eye cancer called Retinoblastoma and they have set up a fund to raise money for the cause and raise vital awareness for others to detect the simple signs which arnt widley publicised.

I cant just sit back and let them fight on alone so am needing ideas to help raise the funds and awareness of the appeal.

Can anyone suggest ways I can do this, am sure theres more than a zillion ways but I dont know where to start or how to set up such events in the local community and wider area.

If the ideas can be easy and cost effective to initiate and accessible by the majority of people (rather than a targeted group of interest) the better as it widens the participation availability. Eg a sponsored swim or baking cakes & cookies or a silly sports day weekend can be done by kids and adults alike in their own time or in a certain awareness weekend / special event sessions or themes (rg valentines, Easter etc).

Thanks in advance for all the suggestions the help is much appreciated.

crazy_nad

Just read your post an had to reply, so i hope that some ideas may help you?

What about a Valentines Day party, see if you can get the local community centre or church hall to let you hold the event there for free. Sell tickets to the event, ask people to dontate cakes to sell at the event, and ask for donations for a raffle.

At Easter you could have a Easter egg hunt an do it on the local park maybe

Auction night, ask local business to donate and even write to football clubs, celebrities, etc etc explain to them what you are doing an they should donate something to you,

A balloon race

If i can think of anything else then i will post again, good luck with everything and i hope that you achieve raising lots of money xx :A

Crisp_£_note

Thanks Crazy what good start for ideas you give me there.

christineperseus

What about a 'Swishing Evening':j

Crisp_£_note

christineperseus wrote: »

What about a 'Swishing Evening':j

Thanks but whats a swishing evening please?

Savvy_Sue

See here.

christineperseus

When I did my party I hired the village hall, charged £5 entrance and you had to bring 3 items - good quality clothing, jewelry, perfume etc.
We had a drink and chat until I rang a bell and the swishing started - everyone was able to take 3 items.

You ring a bell at a random time so people are browsing through the items and don't know when the comand to swish will begin.

You can sell drinks and nibbles to raise extra funds.

Crisp_£_note

Do I need a licence or special permission to set up and run a charity auction in my local comunity? Do I need to tell the council.

I really dont know where to start. I have emailed a few venues of different sizes to see what the hire charges are (mentioned the charity incase they will donate the building for the night or at least halve the cost)

Next step is to get the items in to auction other than writing to companies and local businesses where can I find such items?

I wrote to a few bigger corporations like Apple but they were unwilling to part with even an itunes voucher for free!

Thanks for comntinuesd help.

Savvy_Sue

christineperseus wrote: »

When I did my party I hired the village hall, charged £5 entrance and you had to bring 3 items - good quality clothing, jewelry, perfume etc.
We had a drink and chat until I rang a bell and the swishing started - everyone was able to take 3 items.

You ring a bell at a random time so people are browsing through the items and don't know when the comand to swish will begin.

You can sell drinks and nibbles to raise extra funds.

There are various ways of doing it: we also include a short talk about what the event is in aid of.

Be aware that you may end up with a LOT of stuff to dispose of afterwards: you can ask people to take their own things which haven't been swished, but it won't necessarily happen. You might be able to improve things by not allowing anyone to bring MORE than 3 things, and you can allow people to take more than 3 if there are things left over that they'd like. However I'd still have a plan for these things.

Crisp_£_note wrote: »

Do I need a licence or special permission to set up and run a charity auction in my local comunity? Do I need to tell the council.

I'd ask the venue: I'd have thought the only licence was for alcohol if you are selling it, but the venue may have this and charge you extra for it (on the grounds that if you weren't running a bar, it would be cheaper). You might need a different one if you were having live music, again ask the venue to advise.

Crisp_£_note wrote: »

I really dont know where to start. I have emailed a few venues of different sizes to see what the hire charges are (mentioned the charity incase they will donate the building for the night or at least halve the cost)

Have you googled 'charity auction ideas' or something? I haven't, but I'd have thought some of the larger charities might have some fundraising sheets online which you could look over. Is there a Retinoblastoma charity?

I'd also have said that charity auctions involved a lot of work, not one of the simplest events to organise! Never done one myself, just watched it happen at work!

Crisp_£_note wrote: »

Next step is to get the items in to auction other than writing to companies and local businesses where can I find such items?

I wrote to a few bigger corporations like Apple but they were unwilling to part with even an itunes voucher for free!

You could btw include 'talent' as part of the auction: ours is a mix of local companies (generally better than national or multi-national!) offering vouchers or services, 'things' of a very varied nature, and individuals offering babysitting, language lessons, painting decorating cleaning gardening - their time, in other words.

We usually have several "let us write your wills" offers from local solicitors, btw, plus last time we had several "colour and cut" from a hairdresser which has several bases across the city. Local sports teams will also often offer a signed ball / shirt / photo.

But the scary part is selling the tickets, and knowing you've sold them to people who will put their hands in their wallets.

snookey

How about a speed dating evening say five pounds each Im sure lots of people would attend.

Crisp_£_note

Im running out of enthusiasm for the auction, it does seem like a lot of hard work already and nobody is keen to donate even a voucher (well I had 1 kind lady who offered an online voucher for her services by email).

However that doersnt mean I am going to give up trying to help, maybe I need to think of an easier way of acheiving it?


Perhaps a 'Food for thought' evening consisting of local entertainers / talent, a talk on the charity and say fish and chips or cheap nosh? Add a raffle and perhaps some bingo for prizes not cash, maybe even a disco or quiz. Again local businesses have a chance to get involved and so do the comunity.

Or is there something even simpler that can be done that I am overlooking too hard?

Thanks for all the advice.