Organise your own event
From coffee mornings and cake sales to football matches and family fun days, organising your own event is a brilliant way to bring people together and raise money for Rainbows. Your fundraiser can be as simple or ambitious as you like.
Make it your own
Choose something you enjoy and turn it into a fundraiser. You could organise a tea party, concert, sports tournament, open garden, quiz night or something completely different. Get creative and find an idea that works for you, your friends, workplace or community.
We love talking to supporters and helping any way we can. For information about how your group can make a difference to our young people in your local community, please contact your local Community Fundraiser , who can support you, send us an email or call us on 01509 638 049.
Plan for success
A little planning can help you raise as much as possible. Think about your costs before you start and look for ways to keep them down, such as asking local businesses to donate prizes, provide a venue or sponsor your event.
You can also boost your fundraising by selling tickets, setting up an online fundraising page, holding a raffle or auction, or selling refreshments.
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What’s your goal?
Make sure you set yourself a goal, both personal and for the fundraising amount too. Try to be realistic, but be brave as well and think big! Plan and write everything down, and involve as many people as you can, if asked, most people are willing to lend a hand to support you. Your colleagues will all have different skills, so try to make the best of their knowledge to make the fundraising easier.
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Why are you doing it?
Explain to your supporters why you are raising funds. The more details and information you can give your supporters, the more passionate you appear and this will help you to reach your fundraising target. If you want more information about the work of Rainbows, get in touch with your local Community Fundraiser.
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Do it legally and safely
We can help you plan your event so it is legal and safe – there is legislation around things such as food preparation and handling, and managing raffles. We can provide guidance and advise you where to access key information.
We love talking to supporters and helping any way we can. For information about how your group can make a difference to our young people in your local community please contact your local Community Fundraiser who can support you, send us an email or call us on 01509 638 049
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Have you thought about matched funding?
A lot of companies have budgets for matching their employees’ fundraising efforts. Find out if your employer does this; if not, be brave and ask if they would be prepared to support you.
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Get sponsored
Ask your friends and families to support you and then think about all the different people you know – don’t forget to tell them why you’re doing it! Set up and personalise your own on line fundraising page via Justgiving or contact your local Community Fundraiser for a paper sponsorship form (and further tips and advice on getting sponsorship!).
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Don’t forget about Gift Aid
Please remember to always ask your sponsors to Gift Aid their donation if they are UK taxpayers. This means that we can receive an extra 25p for every £1 donated. It doesn’t cost your sponsors any extra – we will need their full name, home address and postcode to be able to claim the Gift Aid on their donation. Use our own sponsor form, or if designing your own, then please make sure you ask for this information and include a Gift Aid box that they tick to give us permission to make this claim.
Gift Aid can be claimed on voluntary donations from individuals (not company donations). It can’t be claimed against sales of tickets, raffle tickets or the proceeds of a general collection.
For more information on Gift Aid, please contact your local Community Fundraiser for further information.
Looking for inspiration?
See what types of events our supporters hold, or take a look at some of our fundraising idea sheets to help with inspiration.
We’ll help you along the way
Our Community Fundraising Team can offer advice as you plan your event, along with fundraising materials such as collection buckets, banners and posters. We can help you promote your event and share your fundraising, as well as provide guidance on areas such as raffles, food and keeping your event safe and legal. Whatever you’re planning, get in touch and we’ll help you get started.