Your Fundraising Toolkit

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1 Your Fundraising Toolkit Thank you for deciding to join forces with Tiny Tickers in the fight for a better start for tiny hearts! All the funds you raise for Tiny Tickers will help give babies with congenital heart disease a better start in life, even before they are born. Tiny Tickers is working to improve early detection, so that more heart babies receive the care they need, avoid unnecessary illness and have the chance of a better start in life. This toolkit has everything you need to get you started, and we re always here if you have any questions or need any more materials. fundraising@tinytickers.org Call: Thank you again for your support.

2 Why fundraise for Tiny Tickers? Only one in three life threatening heart defects are spotted during pregnancy the other two have to take their chances. As many as 1 in every 125 babies in the UK has a congenital heart defect. Only one third of major heart defects are spotted during pregnancy, and another third are picked up in standard newborn hospital tests. Terrifyingly, that means around 1,000 newborns are sent home from hospital every year in the UK with no one realising they are suffering a life-threatening condition. The science is straightforward early detection improves survival chances and the quality of life, and lowers the risk of side-effects of heart failure such as brain damage. Tiny Tickers wants all babies to have the best possible start in their fight against CHD and we are so grateful to have your support in helping us on that mission. Mia was born with a hyperplastic aortic arch in her heart - a narrowing which limits bloodflow. Thankfully, a sonographer spotted it during mum Alison s 20 week scan. They received specialist care for the rest of the pregnancy - extra scans, consultant-care and monitoring of Mia s heart throughout birth. Thanks to this prior knowledge, when Mia was born she was immediately transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit and put on a Prostin drip to keep a small duct in her heart open. Then she was taken to a specialised cardiac unit where, at just three days old, Mia had open heart surgery. Almost three years later, Mia is a happy and active little girl. Mum Alison says: If Mia s defect hadn t been noticed during the scan, I would have delivered normally at my local hospital and she wouldn t have had the drip fitted that kept her alive for three days before her operation.

3 Getting started From social evenings to sporting challenges, there are lots of ways you can raise funds for Tiny Tickers. Just follow our step by step guide! 1. Pick your idea Check out our list of fundraising ideas below and be creative give people something fun and original to do. Once you have decided what you are going to do, tell Tiny Tickers about it we will then be able to offer you support and materials. Simply complete the Tiny Tickers Fundraiser Form. 2. Plan your event Even the simplest activities need a bit of planning and preparation. Here are our top tips: Think about the best time to hold your event and give yourself plenty of time to plan. If you ve set yourself a big target, why not break it down into bitesize chunks. Check the calendar for any clashes, for example an important football match. Location, location, location pick a suitable venue for your event and book early. Keep your costs down ask for a charity rate! Approach your employer or other local businesses they could give a donation, or a raffle prize. Offer to mention them in your promotions and press releases. 3. Promote your event Once the details are decided, it s time to drum up lots of interest from your friends, family, workmates and all your social contacts! The more people you tell, the more donations you ll attract. More details below 4. Money, money, money! Aim to raise at least three times as much as you spend. Keep expenses to a minimum and try to get items or services donated. See if your employer will match the money you raise that can be a big boost to your fundraising total! Remember to get Gift Aid it is a great way to make every sponsor s donation worth 25 per cent more and it won t cost you a penny. Simply get people to fill in a Gift Aid declaration form or tick the box on your sponsorship form. Please note: for us to claim Gift Aid on donations, each individual will need to be a tax payer and have paid more tax than the amount of tax we reclaim from the government. 5. Pat on your back! Time to congratulate yourself for a job well done! Thank you so much for everything you have done for baby hearts.

4 Fundraising ideas Here are a few top ideas to raise money for Tiny Tickers but there are lots more! Be creative, think about what your friends and family would enjoy doing, and give yourself plenty of time to pull it all together Slave Auction - Much like a conventional auction, people bid to have a slave for the day. The highest bidder wins, the slaves are auctioned off for various tasks such as ironing, cooking, filing, photocopying etc. the sky's the limit Dress Up/Down Day - Ideal for places with strict dress codes such as offices and schools. People donate in return for wearing casual clothing or dressing up to a chosen theme. Charity Car Wash - A fundraising car wash for Tiny Tickers is simple to organise, fun to do, and is a great way to raise funds. Use the Office car park and start with the boss s car! Quiz Night organise a Quiz night for friends and colleagues. Charge teams an entry fee. Contact local business to see whether they can donate a prize for the winning team. Hamper Raffle ask friends and colleagues to donate one item each to put in a decorated box to be raffled off even better at Xmas or Easter Sweepstake - Run a sweepstake in the office on how many times your colleagues leave their desks during the day or how many times your boss gets a cup of coffee. Charge for entry with the nearest guess winning a prize. Don t forget the major sporting events throughout the year too! Bake off and Cake Sale Organise your colleagues to bake some cakes and set up a cake and bake sale at work. Get the boss to judge the winner of best bake for a prize, then sell off the tasty goodies to colleagues Sky Dive - Raise money by launching yourself out a plane at 15,000 feet! Ensure you plan in advance so that you raise enough money to cover the cost of the jump and the cause. When people pledge to donate make sure you have their contact details so you can chase them down if they don't cough up the cash. Bike Ride Join in an organised bike ride and get training and get sponsored. Great routes include London to Brighton and if you're feeling slightly more ambitious Land's End to John O'Groats, or London to Paris Book Sales - Dig out your old books and have a book sale at work, home or school. 70s Night - Organise a 70s inspired disco, and give prizes for the best dressed. Enquire with venue owners and DJ's to see if they will give you a discounted rate as you are hosting the event for a charitable cause. Charge party goers an admission fee, you could also sell food and drink at the event to raise even more money! Lunch Money - A simple, yet effective way to raise funds for your chosen cause. Ask your work colleagues to bring in a packed lunch for the day and donate the money they would have spent on their lunch to charity. Golf Match - Organise a charity golf match. Entice a golf club to provide a discount or host the event free in return for free advertisement on all the promotional material associated with the event. You can charge each player a fee to enter the tournament with the winner received a prize or trophy. If it's a success you can easily turn the charity golf match into an annual event.

5 Top tips to get the most out of raising sponsorship for Tiny Tickers Use online sponsorship Our top tip! The best and most effective way of raising sponsorship is online. There are plenty of providers of online sponsorship pages which take the hassle out of collecting money but Tiny Tickers use Virgin Money Giving as it is the cheapest! It s really fast and easy to set up your own personalised online sponsorship page. Supporters can donate by credit or debit card and their money comes straight to us. And if your sponsors are UK taxpayers then we can claim the Gift Aid, raising more for Tiny Tickers through each donation. Start seeking sponsorship early Know exactly what you plan to do and when, and always carry a sponsorship form with you. Ask friends and family to help Enlist as many family and friends to help seek sponsorship on your behalf. The more people out there the better, but try and get each to target different people. Be devious! Make sure the first person to sponsor you (whether online or on a paper sponsorship form) is likely to give a generous donation. The majority of people will look for guidance on how much to give, and will be led by those that have gone before! It s sneaky but effective. Face-to-face contact is best While an appeal sent round may get some response, approaching people face-to-face is often better. It is more difficult for sponsors to say 'no' if you re stood right in front of them. If you do people, be sure to send them a link to your online sponsorship page and don t be afraid to chase them up Get sponsorship matched If you have a job, see if your work can do some sort of matched fundraising e.g. for every pound you raise they will give 50p.

6 Promotion It is really important to publicise your event so don t ignore this bit it makes all the difference to the success of your event. Social networking websites will get your event in front of thousands of people. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have revolutionised the way people fundraise and we're big fans! Remember the people most likely to donate are your friends, so social media is a great place to start publicising what you re doing. Go online by setting up a personalised fundraising page in minutes. Tiny Tickers uses Virgin Money Giving. You can add a personalised story, images, video and updates and really bring your activity, and reasons for supporting Tiny Tickers, to life. Link your Virgin Money Giving page to your Twitter account or Facebook, and you'll reach even more people. Contact your local press, radio or television with a press release. Local press like to hear about people in the community doing their bit for charity, and getting your fundraising covered in your local paper really helps raise awareness of Tiny Tickers and could encourage even more people to sponsor you! And don t forget to put lots of posters and leaflets around your local area! What your support can do Here is how Tiny Tickers can use the money you raise: 100 Provides specialist training for a sonographer 500 Lets us put information materials in 850 baby clinics and GP surgeries 1,000 Pays for a 2 day specialist training course for 10 sonographers

7 Keeping it safe & legal Licenses Ask your local authority whether or not you need to obtain any special licences (eg public entertainment, collection or alcohol licences). If you are holding the event in a public place, you must have permission from the council or landowner. Bucket collections All street collections or collections on public property will need to be registered with the local authority who will issue a collection licence. We will need to see a copy of this license before issuing you with charity collection boxes or buckets. Under 16 s (or 18 in London) are not permitted to collect money through public collections. Raffles/lotteries If you hold a small raffle on the day of your activity you do not need a licence,so long as all ticket sales and the draw itself take place during the main event. (It is okay if your event lasts more than one day.) Tickets must be sold for the same price with no discounts applied. You must make it clear who is running the raffle. Check the latest information and advice at Insurance Please remember you are responsible for the activity and Tiny Tickers cannot accept liability for any fundraising activity or event you undertake. If you are planning an activity that involves the general public you ll need to budget for public liability insurance, which can be obtained from any insurer. If you are holding the event in a venue which has liability insurance (such as a village hall or pub) check they have the appropriate insurance and that it covers your activity. Food & Children The Health and Safety Executive has further information on event safety ( If selling food contact the Environmental Health department at your local council for advice. Ensure that your event is properly and adequately supervised. Where children are involved, this should include providing proper adult supervision and carrying out appropriate background checks if adults are to have unsupervised access to children. Paying in the money Ask people who want to make a donation by cheque to make it payable to Tiny Tickers rather than you personally. Make sure any cash donated is kept in a secure place and is banked as soon as possible. For your own protection, always have two people present when counting any money. The funds you raise should be sent to Tiny Tickers within 6 weeks of collection. Please send a cheque to Tiny Tickers, 76 Chiswick Lane, London, W4 2LA or transfer directly to our bank account ( fundraising@tinytickers.org for bank account details).

8 We are here to help! The most important thing is to remember that Tiny Tickers is here should you need any advice, materials or ideas. Please just get in touch at or Thank you once again for deciding to support our work though fundraising. We are so grateful!