Fundraising Guide Fundraise for TREE AID & help plant hope across Africa T. 0117 909 6363 E. info@treeaid.org.uk W. www.treeaid.org.uk TREE AID is a Registered Charity No. 1135156. Company Registration No. 03779545 TREE AID Brunswick Court, Brunswick Square, Bristol, BS2 8PE
Welcome to TREE AID! We re really glad you re interested in fundraising for TREE AID. Your support will help plant trees and give communities the chance to grow a better future! We ve put together this fundraising guide to give you some inspiring ideas to fundraise for TREE AID and really make a difference! This includes useful tips to make your fundraising a success and practical information about what you ll need to do. Quick Find Welcome to TREE AID! 2 About TREE AID 2 Getting started with your fundraising 4 Planning your fundraising 5 Top tips for fundraising 6 Fundraise for TREE AID on JustGiving 8 Getting my donations to TREE AID 9 Fundraising Resources 10 Fundraising inspiration! 11 Questions? Call: 0117 909 6363 Email: info@treeaid.org.uk Visit: www.treeaid.org.uk About TREE AID We help villages in the African drylands fight poverty and environmental decline. How? We use the power of trees! Villagers are given the tools to grow and nurture their trees and to prepare and sell the tree produce. It s our two for one solution - at the same time as helping people tackle poverty, they are also rebuilding a healthy environment for generations to come! Your gifts can help us do so many things - buy the tree seedlings, the wheel barrows, train the nursery workers and actually grow the trees to help bring real change. Fundraise for TREE AID today - plant hope in Africa! 2
Our supporters have helped Plant over 12 million trees, regenerating communities and their environment, 500,000 vulnerable people and their families move towards self-reliance. How do you use my donation? For every 1 we raise, we spend: 77p on tree projects across Africa s drylands 20p to raise the next 1 3p on governance Ousmane, Burkina Faso, is a trained nurseryman, caring for his trees and improving his family s quality of life. Help transform a community! The funds you raise will be used across our work, wherever the need is greatest! Your fundraising could help provide essentials like; 10 can provide a mango tree - a great food source and sellable at market. 23 can provide a kilo of seeds, to grow a mango or baobab orchard. 50 can provide tree food tools to help grow, prepare and sell/consume tree produce, e.g. pestle and mortar, bucket and spade, fork and trowel. 100 can help plant trees along a river to strengthen river banks. 700 can provide a pump mechanised well, for reliable and clean water. I am a passionate supporter of TREE AID because they help lift people out of poverty and protect our planet. Even a small gift can make a big difference so I urge you to support them today. Thank you. Joanna Lumley, OBE FRGS A kilo of seeds can help plant an orchard of trees with produce to eat and sell. 3
Getting started with your fundraising Help plant new life and hope through trees! Fundraise for TREE AID in a safe, effective and fun way! Take a look through our guide to find out how you can help. A few things you ll need to think about; how much time do I have? And how much effort can I put in? Here are a few ideas to get you started; Bake sale Bake a few cakes and goodies and hold a sale at work, school or your house to sell each delicious slice with proceeds to TREE AID! Dog walking service Offer to walk your neighbours dogs for a fee and donate the money to TREE AID Enter a marathon / running event- Take advantage of races that are established in your area. Book a place and ask friends to sponsor your amazing efforts! TREE AID also has limited places in some national events. Contact us for more information. Quiz night Ask your local pub to run a TREE AID quiz night for you, with donations or entrance fees donated to TREE AID. Make sure you ve got a round on trees! World meal Cook up an African meal at your home, in your school or office and sell tickets to the event. 4
Planning your fundraising 1. Speak to TREE AID, pick a fundraising activity and you are ready to begin! 2. Get some photos together and use the information from our guide to explain why you are fundraising for TREE AID and how much a donor s gift can achieve. We will give you access to TREE AID logos, posters, leaflets and other items to help excite your donors. 3. Depending on how you are fundraising you could use our preferred online fundraising website, JustGiving. This will make your fundraising easier as it will help you collect funds and any funds you raise are transferred to TREE AID. You don t even have to worry about Gift Aid as JustGiving does this for you! See page 9 for more details. 4. Or, you can fundraise using our Sponsorship Form to collect donations, and then return the donations and paperwork to TREE AID when complete. 5. Remember to use social media (Facebook and Twitter), traditional media and your contacts to get people excited about what you are doing and encourage sponsorship and donations. "One day I hope my own children may play under the shade of the tree I planted with TREE AID's help. Thank you for helping me to grow a better future for me and my family. Zakina, schoolgirl, Northern Ghana 5
Top tips for fundraising 1. Pick your fundraising activity and chat to TREE AID Introduce yourself to TREE AID. We can give you some tips, advice and materials to help make your fundraising a success! 2. Set a fundraising target and make a plan Setting a fundraising target is a great way to motivate yourself, and can encourage your supporters to give that little bit more. Make a plan of what you ll do to raise the money the sooner you start, the easier it will be. Can your friends and family help? 3. Tell your story Use photos, videos, stories to promote your event and get people interested in what you re doing. If you re challenging yourself, let people know about your challenge. If you re celebrating something/someone, tell people why you re fundraising. Let people know why you re fundraising and what it means to you. People love to know the impact of their giving - use examples to talk about how a 10 or 50 donation can change lives (see examples on page 3). 4. Talk to your family, friends and connections Start fundraising by telling your family and closest friends first. As your strongest supporters, they re most likely to get the ball rolling. For sponsorship forms and JustGiving have a few donations listed already to encourage people to give. Try asking a generous family member or friend to make your first donation so it s not too low - as people often copy the person before them. 5. Spread the word! If you have some materials, print them out; ask your office, school or local businesses to display them, speak to local press, send out your online fundraising page and spread the word. Make sure you ask people to support you, and keep people updated about your event. Use Facebook, email and twitter to share your news and tell people how they can get involved and donate. 6
6. Keeping it legal Use this wording on any materials you create to explain what TREE AID does: TREE AID helps villagers living in the drylands of Africa unlock the potential of trees to reduce poverty and protect the environment. TREE AID is a registered charity (no.1135156). 7. Increase your fundraising total by 25% with Gift Aid! Did you know that by asking your donors to Gift Aid their donation, you increase the value of their gift by 25%? So for every pound donated, we can reclaim an extra 25p at no extra cost to your or your supporter. Use the TREE AID sponsorship form, to ensure we can claim Gift Aid, or if you re using Justgiving this automatically asks donors to get involved in Gift Aid. 8. Double fundraising with Matched Giving! Did you know that you could ask your employer or company to help you fundraise? Some employers and companies will match your fundraising. This is a quick and simple way to double your fundraising and help twice as many people! Speak to your employer to find out if they can help. 9. Send follow ups and say thank you You may have to ask a few times to get a donation. You know what it s like people mean to donate, but sometimes they don t quite get round to it, so it s worth updating them on your progress and reminding them at the same time. Thank people who ve already supported you and ask them to share their good deed and your fundraising activity with their friends. Saying thank you is important and easy to do. Let your donors know what happened- how much was raised, how did the event go, and what their support has meant to you and TREE AID? Refresh your online fundraising page, send emails to your donors, tweet a thank you and update your Facebook page. 10. Take photos during your fundraising activity We d love you to share your story and photos with us. Feel free to send any quotes, photos and feedback to us they may even encourage more people to fundraise for TREE AID. 7
Fundraise for TREE AID on JustGiving Depending on your fundraising activity you may have to look into a variety of 1. Go to justgiving.com/ treeaid and click Make a page 2. Log in or create a JustGiving account your 3. Choose the type of fundraising you re doing 4. Choose a web address for your fundraising page Tips for successful fundraising Finished fundraising- JG, matched giving, GIFT AID Fundraising practicalities Collecting money Sponsorship forms 8
Getting my donations to TREE AID Finished fundraising? Thank you and well done! Now simply contact TREE AID and let us know how your fundraising went. There are three ways to return your donation money and information to us; Phone us. Call the TREE AID office on 0117 909 636 and make a credit/debit card donation over the telephone. You can send in any paperwork (e.g. your completed Fundraising Event Form) via email (info@treeaid.org.uk) or post. Post your donations via cheque/ credit/ debit card to: TREE AID, Brunswick Court, Brunswick Square, Bristol BS2 8PE Don t forget to include your completed Fundraising Event Form or paperwork so we know what fundraising event the donation is from. Donate Online securely at www.treeaid.org.uk/support-us/donate/ Remember to include info about your event in the comments section of the online form. You can also send in paperwork (e.g. completed Fundraising Event Form) via email (info@treeaid.org.uk) or post. We can then send you recognition of your amazing fundraising efforts, and can also acknowledge your donors if they have asked us to do so. 9
THANK YOU! You are helping plant hope across Africa! Fundraising Resources TREE AID Sponsorship Form JustGiving your free personalised online fundraising page Fundraising Event Form send us your money & let us know about your event Questions? Call: 0117 909 6363 Email: info@treeaid.org.uk Visit: www.treeaid.org.uk 10
Fundraising inspiration! Auction of promises - Ask people to donate their skills for a few hours and auction them off at an event (for example gardening, hair dressing, home decorating, etc.). Bake sale - Bake a few cakes and goodies and hold a sale at work, school or your house to sell each delicious slice with proceeds to TREE AID! Celebration gifts - Celebrating something special in your life? Ask family and friends to donate a gift to TREE AID in lieu of your gift. We can provide your guests with cards to thank you them for their support. Dog walking - Walk your neighbour s dogs for a fee and donate the money to TREE AID. E-selling - Register yourself on ebay.co.uk and auction off your old, unwanted items. Advise buyers that proceeds come directly to TREE AID! Fun event - Want to plan a meal, a movie screening or a night of dancing and music? Sell tickets and raise money. Grow a beard or moustache - Get sponsored to grow a beard or moustache. Knit sales - Put your needles together and knit garments to be sold at fetes or bazaars. Market stall - Book a pitch at your local market. Sell something; fruit and vegetables, baked goods etc. with proceeds donated to TREE AID. Nursery Sales (tree & plant sales) - Talk to your local nursery, can they help you run a seedling sale, and donate the proceeds to TREE AID. Open Garden- Do you know a beautiful garden, can you organise a day out there with 11
visitors donating an entry fee or paying for refreshments? Pub crawl - Create a day out for friends with something exciting like a pub crawl and take a collection or pay a fee to take part. Quiz night - How about asking your local pub to run a quiz night for you with donations or entrance fees to TREE AID. Make sure you ve got a round on trees! Race events and marathons - Take advantage of any local runs or event in your area. Book a place and ask friends to sponsor your amazing efforts! TREE AID also has limited places in some national events. Contact us for more information. Shave your head - Ever thought about doing something outrageous and a little bit silly all in the name of charity? How about shaving your head, or men, waxing those legs? Tin Collection - Contact TREE AID for a collection tin, brochure and posters and start talking to people about how their gifts can help the amazing work we do! Variety show - Got a talent you like to show off? Organise a variety show and charge an entry fee. World meal - Cook up an African meal at your home, in your school or office and sell tickets to the event. Xmas card donation - Instead of sending cards this year, just wish your friends, family and colleagues a good Christmas verbally and ask them to do the same. Donate the money you would have spent on cards to TREE AID! Raise money and save trees. Zany events - The list is endless... Get your friends or colleagues to pick something fun to do and collect a fee to participate or get them asking for sponsors to achieve the zany task! TREE AID is a Registered Charity No. 1135156. Company Registration No. 03779545 TREE AID Brunswick Court, Brunswick Square, Bristol, BS2 8PE 12