Fundraising ideas for your workplace

Transcription

1 > Fundraising ideas for your workplace Photo: Alex Maguire

2 Photos: Olav Saltbones, Layton Thompson & IFRC The British Red Cross The British Red Cross helps people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We help vulnerable people in the UK and abroad prepare for, withstand and recover from emergencies in their own communities. As part of the world's largest humanitarian organisation, we have a truly global reach. Whenever you see a terrible natural disaster or conflict on TV, it's likely you'll also see us there, helping people right at the heart of the problem. Our volunteers also support thousands of people in the UK every year through large-scale or personal crises. By fundraising for us, you'll help ensure we can still be there the next time things go wrong. Thank you for your support. Photos: Alex Maguire, Andy Ford & Alex Maguire Fundraising can be a great way to build team morale or strengthen bonds between colleagues. This pack contains several ideas for ways in which you can fundraise in your workplace. For advice or if you have any questions, please getfundraising@redcross.org.uk to be put in touch with your local fundraiser. The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949) and Scotland (SC037738)

3 How you ll help 2 could pay for a food parcel for someone living with HIV in South Africa 5 could buy two foil blankets for survivors of an emergency in the UK 10 could train one person in life-saving first aid skills 80 could provide treatment to over 250 people affected by cholera 150 could provide seeds and fertiliser to feed 18 families in southern Africa for more than a year 240 could provide support for two people for up to six weeks on returning home from hospital in the UK 400 could train two UK volunteers to respond to emergencies like traffic accidents, severe storms or a terrorist attack 500 could buy a hand-operated water pump to provide safe water for an entire village in Asia 1000 could help pay for a defibrillator that could be used to save the life of someone having a heart attack 2500 could train four ambulance crew members to provide emergency support in the UK Collections Photo: Alex Maguire > Join us and collect in your local area you can make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable people in just two hours. > Hundreds of thousands of pounds are raised for the Red Cross each year through collections on streets, house-to-house or at private premises such as theatres, supermarkets or football stadia - but this can t be done without volunteers. > Challenge your colleagues to see who can collect the most in a set period of time and find out more about planned collections near you by sending us your details via redcross.org.uk/getfundraising

4 Dress in red > Dress in red for a day and make a donation to the Red Cross > Colleagues to dress in red > Red clothing, wigs, hair spray or dye and other red accessories > Sealed collection boxes for collecting donations > A volunteer/volunteers willing to collect money from colleagues dressing in red > Posters and leaflets or other ways to promote the event you can download a poster for your workplace at redcross.org.uk/getfundraising Photo: Dan Istitene > Time to get your hands on plenty of red items of clothing and accessories > The day itself > Set a suggested donation for people taking part to pay (maybe 1-2 per day) > Encourage people to join in by setting a fine for those who don t > Tell people like visitors what you re up to they may want to make a donation to the Red Cross > Use spray on hair colour or non-permanent dye if you plan to change your hair colour > Ask people to donate their money at the start of the day it s easier to collect then

5 Bake a difference > Bake a difference! Hold a cake sale for your colleagues > A venue > Fellow chefs to agree to bake cakes and help sell them > A variety of cakes, buns and biscuits > Some way of displaying your wares > Collection boxes or a cash box > A float for change > Posters and leaflets or other ways to promote the event Photo: Müjde Yavuz > Time to bake the goodies > Time for the sale itself and clearing up afterwards > Keep prices to round numbers to make giving change easier > Sell a variety of different sized cakes at different prices > Run a cake decorating competition alongside the sale where people pay 1 to enter, the winner takes home a cake and the money goes to the British Red Cross > See for advice on food safety

6 Ban the buzzwords > Stop using jargon at work for a day and fine yourselves if you slip up > Colleagues to ban the buzzwords with you > A definitive list of at least five buzzwords commonly used in your workplace > Sealed collection boxes for collecting donations > A system for monitoring the ban > Posters and leaflets or other ways to promote the event > Time to draw up the list of banned words/phrases > The day itself > Involve the whole office/building in voting on the final list that way everyone will know about what you re doing and they are more likely to take part on the day > Set a suggested donation for each banned word uttered (perhaps between 20p and 1) > Decide on a system for monitoring your ban. You ll have to rely on people s honesty, but you could make this easier by producing a chart to log usage, or a sticker that those taking part can wear and you can mark throughout the day > Encourage people to listen out for other colleagues using banned words > At the end of the day, crown the worst culprit king or queen of the buzzword > Make sure you and your colleagues carry sealed collection boxes to collect donations

7 Swishing > Swishing is essentially swapping, traditionally of clothes but not limited to this. People you know get together, each bringing good quality books, DVDs, CDs or items of clothing. Then they take away the same number of items as they brought from those donated by others > To fundraise through swishing, set a suggested donation per item brought > It s a great way to get rid of your old stuff and buy new things cheaply > A venue with tables to display all the items for swishing > Volunteers to help out on the day and with promotion of the event > Refreshments if you want to provide these > Cloakroom tickets so that you can tell who s paid and how many items they brought > A float for change Photo: Dominic Cocozza > Time to secure your venue > Time to set up on the day and clear up afterwards > Decide on the type of items to be swapped e.g. clothes, CDs and DVDs or books (or a mixture) > Set a suggested donation per item donated > When people pay their donation, give them one ticket for each item they ve brought - they should hand these in when it comes to swapping time > Set a certain amount of time at the start of the event for people to view what s available before they select the items they want to take away > Save any left over items for your next swish, or donate them to your local Red Cross shop > See for more information > Ask people to pay when they bring their clothes or other items to swap this is really important

8 Quiz > Hold a quiz for your workmates and raise money for the Red Cross??? > A venue > Volunteers to mark quiz sheets and help out on the night > A quizmaster and microphone (or somebody with a loud voice!) > Quiz questions and answer sheets for each team > Time to source some great prizes for a raffle > Time to sign up teams you will probably need at least four weeks from finding a venue > Assign volunteers different tasks to help spread the workload before the event e.g. venue organisation, raffle prizes, quiz questions etc. > Use search engines for quiz writing inspiration or download a ready made quiz from our website > Ask your local pub to donate the venue for free they will get a lot of business from the event so it s worth their while > Consider having a raffle in the interval to make a few extra pounds. Please see the Legal issues section of redcross.org.uk/getfundraising for more information on the rules for running raffles > Make sure you take lots of pencils and pens people never have their own > Keep a running total of the score between rounds to add to the competitive spirit > Get the teams to pay you when they sign up, in advance of the event

9 Red Cross raffle > Hold a random draw at work and show your support for the Red Cross > Prizes > Raffle/cloakroom tickets > Willing volunteers to sell tickets > Someone to act as the treasurer > A float for change > Posters and leaflets or other ways to promote the event > Information on the rules for raffles for more information please see the Legal issues section of redcross.org.uk/getfundraising > Time to source some great prizes > Time for the draw and contacting winners > The more desirable the prizes, the more money you ll make > See if you can get prizes donated or alternatively, include promises as well or instead of prizes e.g. someone to clean the winner s car, make them coffee for a week etc. > Ask for a suggested donation (e.g. 1) per ticket > Encourage people to buy a strip of tickets > Get everyone to pay you when they request their raffle ticket/s

10 A close shave > Have your head shaved or your legs waxed and get some hard earned sponsorship for it > A trusted colleague to perform the hair removal > A venue with room for spectators > A razor or electric clippers, shaving cream/foam or a waxing kit > Sponsorship forms ( getfundraising@redcross.org.uk or call to order these) > Sealed collection boxes for collecting donations during the event > Posters and leaflets or other ways to promote the event > A camera you re guaranteed to get some great pictures! and collect sponsorship > Time to source the equipment you will need > Time for the event itself > Use a Red Cross sponsorship form so that your sponsors can use Gift Aid. Gift Aid means that for every pound you raise HM Revenue and Customs will donate 28p, making your donation go further > Alternatively, set up a sponsorship page at so your friends and family can sponsor you online > Collect sponsors in advance and have volunteers collect donations during the event

11 Sponsored walk/bike ride > Plan a sponsored walk or bike ride > Willing walkers or cyclists > Willing volunteers to help you organise the event and steward on the day > A map and a route. Make sure it is safe and you have considered traffic hazards > Check out all insurance and health and safety guidelines > Consider refreshments at the end of the event > Posters and leaflets or other ways to promote the event > Sponsorship forms. If you have internet access you can set up a sponsorship page at so your friends, family and colleagues can sponsor you online Photo: Layton Thompson > Allow a few weeks to draw up a good route, and 3-4 weeks to advertise the event > Allow plenty of time for setting up and clearing up on the day > You can choose the length and the difficulty of the walk or ride and the participants can be sponsored for the whole route or for every mile they do > Stay near to home or consider a trip to one of the UK s national parks. With the latter you ll need to think about transport there and back > If you re in the countryside, make sure you stick to paths you have the right to walk or ride on

12 Karaoke night > Hold a karaoke night and raise money for the Red Cross > Willing performers > Volunteers to help organise the event > Assign roles based on various activities like promotion and tickets sales, venue and decoration, refreshments, PA system etc. > Karaoke equipment and a song list > Posters and leaflets or other ways to promote the event > A suitable venue. Check if you need permits to play music or serve alcohol > Collection buckets/boxes and money counters if you decide to have an audience vote > A judging panel and main prizes for the competition winners > Raffle prizes, tickets and float - please see the Legal issues section of redcross.org.uk/getfundraising for more information on the rules for running raffles Photo: Brian Hart > Allow at least three to four weeks for promotion, ticket sales and singer registration in advance of your karaoke competition > The earlier you set the date the more people will be able to attend > To involve the audience you could have them vote by donating money to the person they think performed best. This could be combined with the judges scores or be the sole factor in deciding who wins > Check the costs of venue and karaoke equipment use - some venues will have no costs for a charity event, or you might be able to borrow the equipment from a friend

13 Car wash > Hold a charity car wash in your work car park and raise money for the Red Cross > A venue > People to help out with planning and the event on the day > Buckets, detergents, sponges, cloths, a hose and a water source > Sealed collection boxes for donations > A volunteer/volunteers willing to collect money > Posters and leaflets to promote the event Photo: J Wood > Time to source the materials you ll need for your car wash > The event itself > Clearing up afterwards > Dress up to attract more attention > See if you can get the materials you need for washing donated > Set a suggested donation for people to pay for having their car washed (maybe 5 per car) > Offer added extras like waxing or vacuuming interiors