1) Get a few close friends and family members to “seed” your justgiving.com page with a donation of £20 or so.
Details: People you don’t know that well would hesitate to be the first to sponsor you – its just human nature. So get someone close to you makes the first donation. £20 is just about right – not so much that it intimates donors, yet big enough to discourage stingy giving.
2) Print up some cheap yet cheerful business cards with your name, a description of the Challenge and a link to your justgiving.com site
Details: Having a handy business card is an excellent way to introduce the challenge and leave each person you talk to with a reminder to donate. http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/ is one of several UK websites that will do a few hundred business cards for free. Check mine out:
3) Negotiate a Corporate Match Arrangement
Details: If you work for or run a corporation, it’s very likely that you can secure an arrangement in which the company agrees to donate £1 for every £1 you secure in fundraising to Snow-Camp. If you can agree this with your company, all you have to do is raise £750 and the match scheme will boost you up to £1,500!
To start this, speak to your line manager, a human resources manager or a Corporate Social Responsibility Officer. If they ask you for Snow-Camp’s Registered UK Charity number, it is: 1101030
4) Hit-up the Neighbourhood
Details: Make sure all your neighbours know you are doing the challenge and have a chance to donate. Local shops, hairdressers, cab companies, pubs and other locations you frequent may be delighted to sponsor you. You never know until you ask! I find the best way to do this is to make personal visits, ask for a donation and drop off the business card as a reminder. Whatever the case, be sure to follow-up on any promises because some business people have a reputation for forgetfulness …
5) Social Networking Sites
Details: Make sure all your contacts on Facebook, My Space, Bebo, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc all know you are doing the challenge and that they have a chance to donate. People, it seems, respond better to a personally addressed email. I personally wrote an email to each of my contacts rather than sending just one blanket email to the whole lot.
Keep in mind that most people will not respond to you, and some may refuse to donate all together. Be polite and understanding, you shouldn’t see refusal as a personal rejection. If just 10% of your 200 person recipient list gives you just £10 each, then you will have raised £200 in sponsorship.
6) Keep records and send reminders
Details: Many people promise to sponsor you and then let weeks go by without sending anything. Often times, a gentle reminder is all that is needed to spur forgetful donors into action. Keep records of the people to which you have sent requests, their promises (if any) and be prepared to follow-up with them.
7) Hold a separate fundraising event
Details: If you have access to a large group of people who are willing to give lots of small donations, perhaps you should throw a separate “event” to raise sponsorship money for the challenge. Donna, school teacher and fellow Snow-Camp supporter convinced her pupils to throw buckets of water over her to raise money in sponsorship for the charity. Check it out …
Miss gets a soaking
Source: www.dailyecho.co.uk
IT’S not every day you get to give your teacher a good soaking. So more than 50 youngsters at Freemantle Infant School, Southampton, jumped at the opportunity to drench reception teacher Donna Fry. [more]
8) Encourage Dares
Details: Some people would pay to see you do certain things while zooming down the slope. They may want you in fancy dress or they may demand that you do a certain number of jumps (my friend has dared me to do 20 big jumps during the challenge). Either way, make sure you direct them to justgiving.com and ask them to donate to you before you start to make preparations (eg buying costumes etc.)
9) Start a Blog
Details: If you have access to a large group of people who are willing to give lots of small donations, perhaps you should throw a separate “event” to raise sponsorship money for the challenge. Donna, school teacher and fellow Snow-Camp supporter convinced her pupils to throw buckets of water over her to raise money in sponsorship for the charity. Check it out …
Miss gets a soaking
Source: www.dailyecho.co.uk
IT’S not every day you get to give your teacher a good soaking. So more than 50 youngsters at Freemantle Infant School, Southampton, jumped at the opportunity to drench reception teacher Donna Fry. [more]
8) Encourage Dares
Details: Some people would pay to see you do certain things while zooming down the slope. They may want you in fancy dress or they may demand that you do a certain number of jumps (my friend has dared me to do 20 big jumps during the challenge). Either way, make sure you direct them to justgiving.com and ask them to donate to you before you start to make preparations (eg buying costumes etc.)
9) Start a Blog
Details: Creating a weblog or “blog” about your preparations for the challenge is a great way to promote your page on justgiving.com. People who follow your story can see that you are making an effort to prepare for the Challenge and not just taking it to be another ski holiday. By seeing that you take the challenge seriously, people will be keener on sponsoring you. Here's my example ...
10) Express Your Thanks for Each Donation
Details: Last, but not least, make sure that you give a big personal thank you to everyone who sponsors you. Many people like to let others know they have given to charity. If your donor is one of those who like to be known as a philanthropist, we recommend posting your enthusiastic thanks on their Facebook profile page for the world to see.
Stay tuned next time for more clever fundraising tips ...
* If you're not yet set up on justgiving.com, email (parker@snow-camp.co.uk) or call me right away on +44 (0) 7984427854.
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