The Sydney Chapter s Independent Events Ideas Book

Transcription

1 The Sydney Chapter s Independent Events Ideas Book Help us raise $75,000 for Africa in 2013 World Change Starts with Educated Children. Version 2 (Jan 2013)

2 How to use this book So you ve decided to help us raise $75,000 for Room to Read s African programs in 2013? Fantastic But you re not sure how to do it? No worries we ve done the hard work for you the answers are all here. This book is packed full of fundraising, awareness-raising and event ideas. Some of them you ll have heard before, others are new or maybe even a little crazy. But we hope that they ll inspire you to take action to help Room to Read bring education to Africa. Once you ve held your event or fundraiser, make sure to share your story with us so we can inspire others to follow in your footsteps. Thank you for your support of Room to Read it is greatly appreciated. 2

3 First, set a goal Do you want to help an African girl go to school for a year, or maybe ten girls for ten years? Or perhaps you d like to fund a library in South Africa or Zambia? Whatever your goal, remember that every dollar helps. Here are some key figures to set you on your way to helping us raise $75,000 for Africa 3

4 $1 = one new book in the hands of a child $25 = books to fill a library shelf $50 = a bicycle for a girl to get to school $100 = school uniforms for 16 girls $250 = one year of Girls Education $2,500 = 10 years of Girls Education 4

5 Not enough? $20,000 Try this = the creation of a school library in South Africa or Zambia $30,000 = the publication of 9,000 copies of an original local language children s title in South Africa or Zambia $40,000 = the construction of a stand-alone library serving a larger school community in Zambia 5

6 And now for the ideas 6

7 Donate your birthday This has to be the easiest fundraiser ever, but How does it work? That s easy can have huge results. Set up a fundraising page at Now, listen carefully - this is the important bit explain to your friends and family that this year you d rather not receive birthday gifts; rather, you d like them to make a donation to Room to Read to the same value as they would have spent on your gift Take the lead by donating your salary for the day Go viral - share your actions on Facebook and Twitter Be creative donate your engagement, wedding or even Christmas 7

8 We all have things we d like to give up why not give it up in the name of literacy? Just ask your friends to sponsor you. Here are some things we think you might like to give up for a while: Drinking Smoking Chocolate Desserts Television Facebook Shaving (see Beards for Books later on) Coffee We re sure you can think of more Use everydayhero.com.au to help you easily manage the donations that are sure to come piling in Give it up 8

9 Money Claire sold 300 jars of home-made jam and chutney, and raised $800 that s 800 new children s books for jam Pull out your grandmother s old recipes and make some scrumptious jam or chutney. Bottle it into special jars, wrap them beautifully and sell the packages to your friends and family. Market your wares before upcoming festivities such as Christmas or Mothers Day to maximise your sales. 9

10 Trivia nights are a fun way to spend an evening with friends and raise funds at the same time. Think of your own questions or find a readymade quiz on the internet. Mix it up a little by including some games. Ask local businesses for donations for raffle or auction prizes. Cameron raised $2,000 by asking his friends tricky questions and pitting them against one another. That was enough for eight girls to go to school for a year Trivia Night 10

11 Movie Night Jess from the Sydney Chapter raised $6,000 for 25 years of Girls Education just by asking her friends to join her at the cinema. Many cinemas have charity packages, where they give discounted rates for groups. Find out what your local cinema has on offer. Invite your friends to join you for a favourite movie, or the new blockbuster. Get as many people to come as you can, and charge them an entry fee. Hold a raffle or auction to raise extra funds. 11

12 You can do it in style by booking and paying for the restaurant and catering, inviting a large group of friends and then charging an entry fee; or you can go lowkey by having a quiet dinner at home and asking guests to make a donation. Talk passionately about Room to Read, and why it s important to you, to inspire guests to make extra donations on the night. Julia held a dinner party for a milestone birthday and raised $16,000 towards her goal of building a library in Zambia. Dinner Party 12

13 Book Swap Jan, Jess and Anja raised $270 - another year of Girls Education just by combining two of their favourite things: books and Room to Read If you love books, this one s for you. Simply invite some friends over and ask them to bring a favourite book. Ask them to write a note explaining why they liked it so much. Ask everyone to make a donation to Room to Read, and then swap books. What could be easier? 13

14 Beers for Books is a very popular concept all over the Room to Read world hmmm, we wonder why? The basic idea is you find a cool bar and ask them to donate $1 for every drink sold on a specific night. You invite your friends, they invite their friends, and everyone has a great night. Every single dollar raised funds a high quality local language book. Check out the Beers for Books website at: Beers For Books 14

15 Bubbles for Books Beer not your thing? Easy just swap the beer for champagne Find a cool bar willing to donate $1 for every drink sold and you re on your way to raising money for literacy. Sounds like a bubbly good idea to us 15

16 Beards for Room to Read supporters Victor, Chris and Sop raised money simply by growing beards How cool is that? Books Yes, that s right Beards for Books If beer and bubbles don t do it for you, maybe a beard will Victor grew a beard for fun whilst on holiday in Vietnam. When he returned, friends encouraged him to keep it. He agreed but only on the condition they donated to Room to Read. 16

17 Is your stuff holding you hostage? Ready to break free? Want to invest in literacy and education at the same time? Then hold a garage sale, and donate all the proceeds to Room to Read. Invite your neighbours to do the same and turn it into a community event. Hold your own or join in the Garage Sale Trail. Check out garagesaletrail.com.au for more information Garage Sale 17

18 Gingerbread Houses Check out or and sign up for one of their charity packages. Host a gingerbread party with the small people in your life and have some fun making some yummy houses. Your guests will pay for the completed house and the proceeds go to Room to Read. 18

19 Host a Amy held a Mexican Day of the Dead party, invited all her friends and raised $1600 six more years of Girls Education theme party Pick your favourite theme, throw a party and invite your friends. Charge an entry fee, get everyone dressed up and then party on 19

20 lay Scrabble Peter is a keen Scrabble player. He wanted to raise some money for Room to Read but didn t fancy organising a big event. He got talking to another Room to Read supporter, who said that the best way to organise a fundraiser or awarenessraiser is to centre it around things you already do in your own life. The lightbulb went on, and Peter immediately went home and started to plan his Scrabble tournament. He invited everyone from his Scrabble community, and raised $720 in the process enough for over 100 new school uniforms 20

21 These days you can get your friends and family to sponsor you to do almost anything. Here are some ideas: Running a marathon Join our City 2 Surf team Undertaking an endurance event Skydiving Don t fancy the active lifestyle? How about these ideas: Dating (it s true, ask us how it works) Shaving your head Growing a beard Get active 21

22 Campaigns We have plenty of campaigns on the go pick the one that appeals to you and organise your fundraiser around it. In 2013 we ll be focusing on: Mihiri held a lunch for friends on International Women s Day and raised $750 which is enough for three girls to go to school for a year International Book Giving Day 14 th February International Women s Day 8 th March Book Week 17 th -23 rd August International Day of the Girl 11 th October Booktober - October Know of another one? Tell us about it 22

23 Here are some handy hints, given to us by the lovely people who ve already held events for us: Approach local businesses and ask them to sponsor your event, or donate some goods or services as prizes Tips and tricks Use trybooking.com to sell tickets and everydayhero.com.au to raise funds Make sure your venue is the right size you want to create atmosphere but still have room to move You may incur some expenses, such as a room hire fee, so factor this into your financial plan Learn how to talk passionately about Room to Read (come to our workshop on this) and speak at your event this inspires others to follow your lead and take action Remember to ask us for our Independent Events Kit for more info Ask us for our handy How to write a Press Release kit so you can get some publicity 23

24 Thank you for your support of Room to Read it is greatly appreciated. World Change Starts with Educated Children. 24