Fundraisers Pack www.imperialcharity.org.uk Imperial College Healthcare Charity is a registered charity in England and Wales, No 1128929
Thank you! Thank you for choosing to support Imperial College Healthcare Charity As you may know, the charity works tirelessly to support great science, excellent patient care and a healthier community. By fundraising on our behalf, you are helping us continue our life-changing work, and for that we cannot thank you enough. Whatever you are planning holding a bake sale, running a marathon, organising a dress down day at work or even a glamorous evening event, this pack is designed to help you reach your fundraising goal and help you enjoy the experience along the way. Here is what you will find in this fundraisers pack: About Imperial College Healthcare Charity A to Z of fundraising ideas Planning your fundraising event Legal and practical points Money matters Promoting your event Writing a press release Poster template Order form Sponsor form We love to hear about our supporters and the events you are planning. Please let us know about your event so that we can support you every step of the way. The fundraising team can be contacted on 020 3312 2205 or by email at charity@imperial.nhs.uk. We are on hand to answer any questions or requests that you may have.
About Us Imperial College Healthcare Charity raise funds for the hospitals of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte s & Chelsea, St Mary s and Western Eye. Excellent patient care across the NHS lies at the heart of everything we do. Our aim is to be at the forefront of healthcare innovation through the research and studies we fund, so that patients can continue to be given the best healthcare service at the Trust and across the NHS. What we do We award grants to trust staff for ground breaking research and projects that help improve the healthcare delivered to patients. Clinical advancements can help reduce the time patients spend in hospital, reduce their discomfort and make improvements to their rehabilitation and recovery. The charity also manages an amazing collection of 1600 artworks which is exhibited across the five hospital sites which plays a crucial role in creating a more welcoming and healing environment for patients and staff. We also work in the community to address health inequalities in areas served by the trust. By funding local community organisations and initiatives, we are able to support the trust by accessing some of the hardest to reach communities. Some of Our Achievements The impact of charity funded projects can be felt from the departments within each hospital through to the community in which each of the hospitals serve. Thanks to dedicated members of staff and the support of our fundraisers, we have been able to: Help train midwives to identify and support women living with domestic violence during pregnancy. Gain a better understanding of how obesity surgery affects the brain. Improve the attendance rates of breast screening services in North West London by 6% through simple text message reminders. Funded 25 talented members of staff to pursue careers in clinical research. Help pilot a ground breaking library of C.diff strains so that they can be better managed in the trust Purchase a new CT scanner, reducing the time needed to perform examinations, whilst increasing the image quality leading to improved patient diagnosis and treatment planning.
A to Z of Fundraising ideas A Abseil Auction Art exhibition Assault course Abba night Aerobics E Exhibition of craft Easter egg hunt Egg and spoon race Exercise event J Jumble sale Jazz evening K Karaoke Kite-flying Knitting O Orienteering Open your garden One price stall P Penalty fines (ie for lateness) Parachute jump Pancake Day Picnic T Tea dance Treasure hunt Theatre production Talent show Themed night B BBQ Bike ride Book sale Bad hair day F Fashion show Five-a-side football Fun run Face painting Fancy dress Q Quiz R Recycling Races Running L Line dancing Luncheon Ladies night Lent U Uniform day Unwanted gifts sale V Vintage car show Variety show Valentine's Day kiss C Coffee morning Cake sale Cheese and wine party Cabaret Carol singing Car washing G Golf day Gala evening Give something up and get sponsored Garage sale Go-karting M Marathon Mystery tour Masked ball Movie night S Sponsored walk Superhero run Silence Supermarket bag packing W Wacky races Wedding (donations as gifts) Walking D Dress-down day Dinner party 'Come dine with me - style Dance marathon Dog Walk H Halloween party Head-shaving Howzat - cricket match Handyman I Ice skating N Non-uniform day New Year s Eve party Netball competition X Xmas bazaar X-factor -style party Y Yoga Z Zorbing Zany ideas you may have - let us know!
Planning your fundraising event You might have decided to host the toughest toddler s triathlon that your town has ever seen, or the finest summer fete for miles. Maybe you re planning to get the whole village barn dancing, or the entire school scootering. Whatever challenge you re setting yourself we think that you re brilliant. You may not need them, but here are some hints that you may find useful when planning and running your event. Before you fix a date check what other events are happening in the area. It may be that there is an established event being held on the same day. Bear in mind that the weekend may be easier for everyone, unless you plan to hold your activity during work or school hours. If you re fundraising at work, you may want to choose a Friday. People are often more relaxed and open to fun events on a Friday and might donate even more. When looking at venues consider what you need to run your event - is the kitchen well equipped; will you need to hire table/chairs; are there adequate toilets; is there disabled access; check maximum capacity within the venue. Gather a team of helpers. With more people involved, you will have more people to help you organise and more people that you can approach to come to your event. List your tasks and assign them to your helpers. Plan your event with the target you would like to raise and deadlines that each task needs to be completed by. Read our Legal and Practical Points section in this pack. Make sure whatever activity or event you plan is safe and within the law. Check out our essential Money Matters guide for tips on boosting your fundraising through matched giving and Gift Aid, and for advice on budgeting, keeping records and paying in funds. Let us know about your event so that we can support you in planning, fundraising and with publicity. Look through our Promoting your event for ideas on how to maximise attendance. Meet regularly with your committee/helpers. Keep a checklist of what has been completed and what still needs to be organised.
Legal and practical points We want your event to be fun and a great success. Follow the guidance below for trouble-free fundraising. Letter of authority People that you contact during your fundraising activity and event planning may wish to check that you are a genuine fundraiser. We can provide you with a letter that authorises you to raise money on behalf of the charity for the duration of your fundraising activity. Should you need a letter of authority, please do not hesitate to get in contact with our fundraising team. Safety and risk evaluation You as the fundraiser are responsible for all safety aspects for the event and should carry out a risk assessment. This does not have to be a complicated process but simply means identifying any potential hazards, deciding what precautions are needed and making a record of this. Potentially dangerous activities Some activities have increased risk or potential for harm and you must ensure that you take precautions to avoid danger to yourself or others. Use reputable and professional companies to organise events such as abseiling or zorbing. Ensure that you conform to safety measures when using equipment such as trampolines or bouncy castles. Insurance Imperial College Healthcare Charity does not have public liability insurance for individuals or groups who raise money to support our work. You must make sure you have adequate insurance for your event. Raffles If you are holding a raffle, tickets must only be sold at the venue during the event. Tickets cannot be sold by anyone under 18. There are no specific ticket-printing requirements so cloakroom tickets can be used. The draw must also take place during the event. Selling tickets in advance requires a licence from local authorities, which can take weeks or months to process. It is far easier to follow the instructions above. Street collections Collecting from the public in a public place is known as a street collection. This includes door-todoor fundraising. A licence from the local authority to hold street collections is required and this takes time to obtain. Please contact our fundraising team to discuss your proposed street collection several months before your proposed date. We will also provide sealed and numbered collection boxes. Licensing If you are providing alcohol and entertainment (music and dancing) at your event, contact your local authority for advice about licensing. Food safety No one wants their fundraising event to end with someone getting a tummy bug. Make sure anybody involved in preparing or serving food is aware of food hygiene standards. Guidance on food safety is widely available so ensure you know what to do and that your helpers know what is required.
Money matters Budgeting Before you hold an event, decide how much you would like to raise. It s great to be ambitious, but be realistic too! Set yourself a budget based on the minimum you think you will raise. Monitor and review your budget regularly to make sure you are on track. We suggest you take responsibility, or appoint someone, to look after your income and expenditure and to keep all receipts. Once the event has taken place, you can then reimburse all expenses from what you have raised, if you wish, and send us the remainder. Think about matched giving Many employers support their employees chosen fundraising activities, so it is worth asking if your employer would be happy to help you by matching what you raise pound for pound. You can also ask local companies to do this or act as a sponsor but please contact us first in case we are already in contact with them. Don t forget Gift Aid UK charities are currently entitled to 25% tax reclaim from Inland Revenue on every 1 donated by UK tax payers. So for every time 1 is donated to the charity with a Gift Aid declaration, the charity receives an extra 25p by claiming back the tax, bringing the total value of a donation to 1.25. We can provide Gift Aid forms so you can easily ask supporters to Gift Aid their donation. You will also find a Gift Aid tick box on our sponsor forms. Online Fundraising Set up your very own online fundraising page. All you have to do is log on to www.justgiving.com/imperialhealthcarecharity and click on fundraise for us. Once you ve set up your own fundraising page you can start driving your supporters there. Invite everyone by email and tell your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. Donating online is safe and easy and the money you raise comes straight to us. Sponsor forms You will find a copy of our sponsor form at the back of this pack. Feel free to print out as many as you need. These are great if you are planning a challenge and can easily be taken into work or school to pass to friends and colleagues. Sponsors also have the opportunity to Gift Aid their donation by ticking the box on the form. Some fundraisers like to collect their sponsorship up front and some like to collect after the event, the decision is yours! Cheques & Cash All cheques should be made payable to Imperial College Healthcare Charity. If you have a large number of cheques or a cheque for a large amount, you may want to send them to us by registered post. Also, don t forget to write your name on the back of the cheque and attach a covering note so that we can accurately assign them to you. We will send you an email or letter of acknowledgement that your cheques have been safely received. It is not safe to send cash, even notes, in the normal post. If sponsors give you cash or make cheques payable to you, pay the money into your account and send us a cheque for the equivalent amount. We are also happy to arrange to meet with you to collect any donations in cash if this is more convenient.
Promoting your event People can t take part in an event they don t know about, so here are a few tips on what you can do to make your event a success! Social media Twitter, Facebook, Google + and Instagram can all help you spread the word to friends and family about what you re doing and why. Having good content is key, so things like posting funny or interesting pictures in the lead up to the event and during the event itself can be a really big help. Don t forget to get people to tweet and retweet about the event whilst they are actually there which can help spread the word, even after the event has finished. Also think about local businesses in the area that have a twitter feed or Facebook page where you can direct messages to. Online Send group emails; write something for your work intranet, internal newsletters and any other medium available to promote the event. Don t forget to tell people about Imperial College Healthcare Charity and why you re fundraising for the cause. Posters Put up posters where you work and around your community. Local shops, pubs and businesses are often happy to help, so use our template poster included in this fundraising pack. You can either write your event information on to the template or perhaps print on to it. Materials We have a range of materials we can send you to support your event, such as leaflets, balloons and collection tins/buckets. Please complete and return the order form to us and we will send out your materials. The Press Getting local press coverage for your event can also help give a vital boost to your fundraising! There s more information over the page about writing a press release. Don t forget to include newspapers, local magazines (especially those which include a what s on section), radio and television stations. Try and send your press release out early (up to three weeks before your event) to the news editor or news desk of a newspaper or radio station. These details can easily be found on their website. Don t be shy and follow up the press release with a phone call to see if they are interested in covering the story or if they want to come down to the event itself. Content is key, so make sure you take decent photos, ones that you can send to the press if needed and also ones that can be used through social media. Why not contact your local newspapers again after the event to see if they would like to do a followup story and run a photograph. It s the perfect excuse to tell the world how it went and how much you raised.
Writing a press release What is a press release? A well written press release is a standard way of communicating your news to journalists, so it s important to make your release stand out from the many that journalists get every day. What should your press release be about? Ask yourself what makes this story interesting? Make sure what you want to say is newsworthy and relevant to whomever you are sending it to. If this is a local press story, make it relevant to the local press and radio in that area by featuring someone who lives/works in that area. A press release can be about a fundraising event, a new campaign or an achievement of some kind. When should you send it out? This depends on the kind of publication you re sending the release to. Monthly magazines work about three to four months in advance of them coming out. Local newspapers work on shorter deadlines, so if this is a local fundraising story, aim to send it about two to three weeks before the actual event. This will give journalists time to write up the story, do any interviews and photos they need to get and submit the story. Also, this gives time for readers to donate to a fundraising page for example, so don t forget to add your online fundraising page on the press release! Target your media Don t send a story about a man from Manchester to a paper in Birmingham. Get an understanding of the media you re sending your release to, this could be as simple as flicking through the paper/magazine beforehand. Keep your press release short and to the point Journalists by trade are busy people. Your press release should be ideally about one page, and a maximum of two pages in length. Most of all make it interesting. Time it right When is your event going to happen? Work backwards from this date, depending on what publication and media you re sending your release to. Put yourself in the shoes of the journalist and ask yourself, why would this piece of news get printed today and not tomorrow? Follow Up Don t bombard the journalist with emails and calls, but a quick courtesy call to check they ve got it is useful. They may have had a question or two they wanted to get more information about, or they may have even forgotten about your release, so it s good to have this little reminder. This is also a good way of getting a feel for what journalists are after story-wise. Think about your headline This is the first thing the journalist will read, so it should be to the point but clear and understandable. The journalist may not even bother reading the rest if your headline is drab and dull sounding. Need some help? We re here to help you get the most out of your fundraising or charity activity, so if you have any questions about writing a press release, contact Bevis Man, communications manager at Imperial College Healthcare Charity on 0203 312 2061 or email bevis.man@imperial.nhs.uk.
Template press release Imperial College Healthcare Charity Press Release Put your heading here (something catchy and exciting) For immediate release (If you want the media to use the story as soon as they receive it) Or On embargo until: [time/date] (This is a good way of giving journalists time to prepare and to ensure they don t use it until a specified time) Opening line About 20-25 words, should contain the key information and summary of the story (i.e. who, what, where, when and why) Paragraph 2 Put in more details to flesh out the story you have outlined in the first paragraph. This is also where you talk briefly about Imperial College Healthcare Charity and what it does in general. So, you might want to add something like: Imperial College Healthcare Charity is a fundraising charity that supports clinical research and healthcare projects to improve the services offered to patients at the five hospitals of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London. Paragraph 3 Add some quotes here from you or someone relevant to the story. For example, if this was about someone running a marathon, this is the ideal place to give the press release a human voice, so a quote about why they are fundraising, how they are training/preparing for the event, if they are looking forward to it and so on is best placed here. Try not to put too many points into one quote, each quote should make roughly one point. Paragraph 4 Extra relevant information, so for example, if this was an event, here you would put things like the cost of entry, start and finish times and even a place to reiterate some of the details mentioned in paragraph one. This is also a good place to add a link to an online fundraising page. -Ends- Signifies the end of the press release. Contact information. Make sure you supply telephone numbers here as well as emails ideally where you can be reached easily. This can make the difference between your story being covered or not. Notes to Editors This is where you provide some background information about the charity. In terms of Imperial College Healthcare Charity, we use the following: Imperial College Healthcare Charity raises and manages charitable funds for all five London hospitals within Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust: Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Queen Charlotte s & Chelsea, St Mary s and Western Eye hospitals. Since 2009, the charity has awarded over 7.5 million in grants to 173 pieces of clinical research and healthcare projects across the trust hospitals, all of which aim to improve patient healthcare. Visit www.imperialcharity.org.uk for more information. You might also mention here any images that you send with your press release, just don t forget to mention who the people are in the photos.
Supporting great science excellent patient care and a healthier community Follow us on Twitter and Facebook E: charity@imperial.nhs.uk T: 0203 312 2205 (ext 22205)
Order form Please complete the form and send to us for any materials you might need for your event Delivery details Imperial College Healthcare Charity is a registered charity, number 1128929 Title: Forename: Surname: Address: Postcode: Phone number: Email: Materials The following materials are produced by the charity. We are happy to send you a quantity of these free of charge, so please let us know what you think you will need for your event. Please note that items such as collection cans, buckets and banners must be returned to the charity after your event. Leaflets Make things better (information & donation leaflet) Giving more than flowers (in memoriam giving leaflet) Your legacy leaflet Leaflet holder Forms Gift Aid form Sponsor form Poster template Collections Quantity Collection can (must be returned) Collection bucket & lid (must be returned) Other Balloons Pens Oyster card wallet Pop up stand (limited & must be returned) Banner (limited & must be returned) Running T-Shirt (include which size i.e. small, medium, large etc.) Imperial College Healthcare Charity would like to keep you updated on our activities. If you would prefer not to receive information from Imperial College Healthcare Charity, please tick the box Please return your form to: Imperial College Healthcare Charity Ground Floor, Clarence Memorial Wing, St Mary s Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY
Sponsorship Form You can photocopy or print this form if you need more space If you pay tax, the tax office will give 25p for every pound you give, at no extra cost to you. All you have to do is tick the Gift Aid box below. Event Name: Event Date: Your name: Address: I am a UK taxpayer and I would like Imperial College Healthcare Charity to claim Gift Aid on my donation below. *I understand that I must pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April one year to 5 April the next) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that Imperial College Healthcare Charity will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. Full Name Home address Postcode Amount Given Date Given Gift Aid it (please tick*) Tick here if you do not wish to be contacted by the charity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Imperial College Healthcare Charity would like to hold your details in order to keep you updated about the charity s fundraising and news. If you would prefer not to be contacted please tick the box in the far right hand column. Main office: Charity Office, Ground Floor, Clarence Memorial Wing, St Mary s Hospital, Praed Street, London W2 1NY T: 020 3312 2205 Registered Charity number: 1128929