Fundraising ideas

We are delighted that you are interested in raising funds for the Wellington Appeal, be it through taking part in one of our organised events, putting on your own fundraising activity or simply making a donation.

This page is designed to not only help answer any questions you may have, but also to help make your fundraising easy and memorable for both you and your friends!

If you have any ideas or would like to know any more about any aspect of the Wellington Appeal then please do not hesitate to contact us, we’d love to hear from you, by calling either Hannah Scott on 020 7713 2039 or James Boyle on 020 7877 7105 or you can register your interest in holding your own fundraising event and we’ll be in touch!

Additional Fundraising Materials:

Getting Started

The best way to make sure you reach your fundraising target is to come up with a plan. Make a list of all the fundraising activities you are planning to do and how much they will raise, see our A-Z list of activities below for some ideas.

Key things to do:

Set your fundraising target and be ambitious!
Tell everyone you know about your challenge – family, friends and work colleagues
Set up your online sponsorship page and make sure you email it to everyone you know
Send a press release to your local media and include your online sponsorship page so readers can sponsor you
If you’re organising your own event then think about a venue, refreshments, entertainment and people to help you out…maybe you know some suppliers who will provide things for free – why not write and ask them?

Setting up your Sponsorship Page

Take advantage of the wonders of the internet and fundraise online! Click here for our step by step guide to setting up your Virgin Money Giving online fundraising page to raise money for the Wellington Appeal. It’s really quick and easy to set up a personal fundraising page, plus you can include information about the event, the reason you’re participating and even put up some pictures!

Staying in Touch

Once you’ve let your sponsors know your fundraising page and they’ve sponsored you it’s nice to say thank you. By thanking them and referencing the amount they’ve donated you’ll put their mind at rest and it also shows that you’ve taken the time to individually recognise their donation.
By sponsoring you it shows people have an interest in what you are doing so in the run up to an event and after the event why not update them on what you’re doing, how it’s going and, ultimately, what you’ve achieved! You can do this through letters, emails, twitter or by blog…why not use the Wellington Appeal website to set up your new blog? This is a great way to acknowledge people’s support and include them in your event, they might even decide to take part themselves!

Make the tax man pay with Gift Aid

Gift aid is a great way to add to the amount the Wellington Appeal receives as a donation, without any extra cost to yourself or your sponsors. We hope that you will encourage all your sponsors to tick the declaration box online when sponsoring you, and if they sponsor you using a paper sponsor form then again tick the declaration and complete their details fully, as it adds almost a third to the value of some of your donations! Unfortunately we are unable to claim Gift Aid from donations made by companies.

Publicity tips

Getting local publicity will raise awareness of your fundraising and the Wellington Appeal and hopefully encourage people to sponsor you. In order to be successful you need to be inventive and creative – giving the media a truly interesting story.

The best press releases have:

A gripping first paragraph
A local link or a good human interest angle
A quote from a named person
A contact name and phone number
A link to your online fundraising page
A photo

Your press release should answer all of the following questions:

Who is doing it?
What is it?
Where is it?
When is it?
Why is it being done?
How is it taking place?
Can people help?

A to Z of fundraising ideas

Here is our A to Z of top tips and helpful hints to set you on your way to fundraising success. From Office Olympics to baking cakes, there’s sure to be something for everyone.

A is for Abba – Ask friends, colleagues and family to dress up as their favourite Swede for an evening, or day at work, of Abba mania!
B is for Bingo – simply charge for each bingo card and enjoy an evening of bingo madness
C is for Car Wash – Get sponges and buckets and get cleaning those cars in return for sponsorship
D is for Dress Down Day – Be casual for £1 and add a theme for a little more fun
E is for Egg and Spoon Race – Charge for entry into this classic race at school, in the office or the local park
F is for Five-a-side – Why not arrange a match between departments at £1 per participant
G is for Guess Who? Ask colleagues to bring in photos of themselves as babies and guess who is who
H is for Homemade – Everyone enjoys homemade food so why not have a bake sale
I is for Italian Evening – Pizza and past served up to your friends for a donation of £5
J is for Jumble Sale – One man’s trash is another man’s treasure so hold a sale with all money for charity
K is for Karaoke – Get singing for charity and maybe even sell some earplugs at £1 each for some extra funds!
L is for Lawn Mowing – offer to mow neighbourhood lawns for a donation
M is for Musical Chairs – This childhood activity can even be done during your lunch hour in the office
N is for Name that tune – get together with some friends for an evening of testing tunes from days gone by
O is for Office Olympics – Take on the challenge of speed typing, fast photocopying or synchronised chair swivelling!
P is for Picnic – Move your office lunch from the canteen and charge £1 to attend with a slice of cake thrown in
Q is for Quiet Time – How long can you keep quiet? Hold a sponsored silence and keep quiet for as long as you can.
R is for Raffle – raffle the office premium parking space or ask your employer if they will raffle off one day’s holiday
S is for Sweepstakes – why not run a World Cup sweepstake in aid of the Wellington Appeal?
T is for Treasure Hunt – Follow clues to find the treasure and ask everybody who takes part to make a donation to your fundraising goal
U is for Underwear Out! – Wear your underwear as your outerwear for the day but remember to put your normal clothes on first!
V is for Video – Hold a movie night in your own home and sell popcorn and drinks on the side
W is for Welly Throwing – Take a field/playground/private garden, some welly boots and a gang of eager throwers
X is for Xenophilia – Xenophilia – noun: an attration to foreign peoples, cultures or customs. Hold a xenophilie day and enjoy all things foreign
Y is for You! – Your hard work and support of the Wellington Appeal will make a huge difference to thousands of lives. Thank you.
Z is for Zany day – Charge colleagues to wear their craziest tie or silliest socks and have a penalty charge for those who don’t get involved!