fund raising for VLM questions

afternoon,

i'm running the VLM this year for the Isabel Hospice, a cancer hospice local to me who helped my mum. i've got to raise £2500 .

so far i'm up to about £500 although i haven't really got going yet. as well as the usual arm twisting i'l be running a quiz night and raffle at my local pub.

so, who are you running for?

how much have you got to raise and raised so far?

any interesting ideas?

Sweep on finish time, sponsored haircut/shave/leg wax. Coffeee morning. Bring and buy. Local/favourite restaurant do a charity night on a quieter evening, you fill the tables and you get the profits.(The win for them is they may get some of the new visitors to come back and get some PR) Set up justgiving/virgin web-site. Ruthlessly carry sponsorship form and mug everyone to get money up front. I'm running for Macmillan and raised just under 3k so far.

bloody hell. thats good. i like the charity restaurant night idea.

i'm thinking of doing a sweep on miles run in training.

sweep on finish time, donations at work for car boot sale (works well this time of year when people might be turfing stuff out), sell homemade food at work (i did pizza and cupcakes). depending on where you work, ask if you can approach customers/clients for donations.

• Got any kids?  Non uniform day at school is good. 
• Where do you work? Rather than your workmates, do you have people who supply you or your employer with goods and services? Perhaps they can be persuaded to sponsor you if the right person asks on your behalf.
• Bag packing. Your Hospice fundraiser will have contacts with the local supermarkets, or organise it yourself, get some friends  to help rather than give money, you'll all have a great day.

I have raised money for our hospice a couple of times, you will find that if you put yourself about there's a massive vein of goodwill, reflected, sadly, in the number of people like you who have friends and relatives that have ended their days in the care of the Hospice.

And if you don't raise £2500, don't beat yourself up or let anyone bully you, sounds like a high target to me.  The place will have cost the Hospice £350-400 so you are  already helping at £500, and I bet if you go at it with a good heart they will be pleased with whatever you raise. Fundraisers have to be a bit hard-faced I guess.

I'm fund raising for my Rome Marathon place for a local church children's charity and I have raised by far the most money through cake sales. I asked people to donate a few cakes for sale after church one Sunday - ended up with two whole tables packed with fairy cakes, big sponge cakes etc and raised £91 in half an hour! Also held a Christmas-themed craft session for the kids in the hall after church - cheap things to put on and just had a donation pot on the table - christmas card making, fairy cake decorating etc. Obviously too late for the Christmas theme but could change to Spring theme, running theme, Easter etc?

Am going to ask if I can hold a non-uniform day at my daughter's school and do a talk to the kids on the day about the marathon challenge and the charity etc.

Good luck!

Any ideas for people who don't have kids and therefore don't have access to schools, scouts etc?

Work have offered to advertise me globally, but I'm not sure how much money that will make.

I will certainly be doing a cake stall and sponsorship around the office, but it is a small work place so I probably won't get much that way.

I was intending to ask at the gym.  I've only just joined a new gym and I am making a point of getting to know the staff so that when I approach them they know who I am and should be more supportive.  I'm happy to advertise their facilities if they will support me.

I've been to the local tri club once, and have done the best I can to get my face recognised there for similar reasons.

It's difficult when you have just relocated to a new part of the country and don't have any local friends or contacts.

The one thing about being 'global' is checking if your charity can accept the donations.  I ran a race two years ago for my companys 'local' charity. We promoted it globally and had lots of interest but when it came for people trying to donate online - they couldnt.

I'm the same as you - I don't have a large network around here so rely on social media etc.

If I was back home - I could do lots of the things mentioned above that my friend did for her VLM place last year.

I'm fundraising for a national charity so they should be geared up for international donations, but I doubt that many people will want to give to a charity that doesn't operate in their country.  My company has a small presence in the UK, but are big in other countries.  But I'll try.  If you don't ask then you don't get.

I work in a medium size office and asked for donations of paperbacks / books.

Then set up a stall where people could buy the books. This was in one corner of the office and does not need to be manned, just leave an honesty box.

Also raised over £90 by just asking for people to donate the small change 1p's / 2p's from the coffee machine and also empty their desks, pin trays of any small change every Friday.

National lottery bonus ball draw. Find 49 people to choose a number between 1 and 49 every Wednesday. Whoever picks the bonus ball wins. You collect £1 per number, winner gets £40 you get £9 per week for your fundraising.

Blog about your training and the event and promote the blog on social media (make sure that the blog has clear links to how people can donate).  Contact local press for the hospice you are supporting.  I was amazed that when I got an article in the local paper the parents of some people I went to school with donated (bearing in mind I left school 15 years ago!).  OK, so a bit of local media coverage may only get you another £50-£200, but each £50-£200 makes a difference.

Excellent thread Sofaboy. I'm having a similar headache as you. I have to raise money for the VLM too - whatever I don't raise I have to pay myself. Some good ideas above. I hope people keep them coming. 

My challenge is that I am the only employee of my company outside of the US. So, no colleagues to hit for donations. I really like that photography idea. Photography is a hobby for me - I may head to some local runs and snap some pictures. 

One idea I did have was to do a photo session at a local playgroup. I don't know what the rules are around being CRB checked and all that though but I should look in to that. I don't have studio lights but since it is for charity I am sure I can get away with a regular camera flash - if people don't like the pics they don't have to buy them.

and the lynch mob of hysterical mums, and dads with burning torchs chasing you through the streets will certainly help with your training.

seriously though, i'd be a bit careful. there are more than enough paranoid parents out there.

Yeah you are right - i read a horrible article about a grandad who was taking pics of his grandkids at the park and all the other parents there ganged up on him and threatened him, calling him a pervert etc.

I was thinking more of arranging a session with the playgroup organiser and having my wife come with me. However, thinking about it now no playgroup is going to sanction this without a CRB. Back to the drawing board. 

The pressure of fund raising is definitely worse than the pressure of the run itself. Never again. 

The CRB rules have very recently changed so that even if you wanted a CRB as a photographer you wouldn't be able to get one (you have to work regularly on your own with children)- as long as you are supervised by a member of staff/ are happy for parents to be present if they wish then I don't see what the problems would be. You'd probably want to be clear that you won't share any pictures online etc. 

My brother supports a local football team, and when he did the GNR he got something in the programme and got quite a bit of sponsorship through that (and he agreed to run in the football club's shirt). 

edit: I managed to find the link to information about who is eligble for CRB checks http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/disclosure-and-barring/leaflet-england-wales?view=Binary