Tips For Fundraising

1) Support a cause you believe in. If you know yourself it’s for a worthy cause, you will have a better chance of convincing others. You are also undertaking a challenge and most people will respect you for that.

2) Visit the website of the chosen charity and get some facts about them.

3) Set a personal sponsorship target.

4) Ask sponsors to pay upfront or give you post-dated cheques. That way, you don’t have to ask twice for money.

5) If you work for a large company, approach the managers with access to budgets. Many companies operate a ‘matched giving’ scheme whereby money raised for charity by an employee is matched through a donation from the company. It is definitely worth asking!

6) For people you don’t see face to face, send a letter or e-mail. Either provide a donation slip or create a webpage through Justgiving.com so people can sponsor you online. A stamped addressed envelope works wonders for prompting a response.

7) If you don’t work in a very large place and feel you don’t have many people to sponsor you. Chances are you probably know more people than you think! Make a list of all your friends, family, social circle, sports club, work colleagues, clients etc. You can then decide the best way to approach each group- either face to face, through e-mail or by letter being systematic is the best way to ensure you get the most out of those you know.

8) If you are self employed, your customers/clients may respond to a respectful letter asking them to support you. 

9) If you don’t have a lot of free tome to go around collecting, recruit a team of friends and family to thelp you collect donations and give them sponsor forms. Create a sponsorship webpage where people can donate online.

10) Decide on a definite date when you plan to jump.

Other top tips!

Good fundraisers have thick skins – be cheeky, be bold and be persistent!

Carry your sponsor form around with you at all time – this way you will never miss an opportunity to gain more sponsors.

Start each sponsor form with a £20 donation – people tend to follow the trend.

Collect your sponsor money as soon as you can after the events. If you leave it too long, people forget what they sponsored you for.