HOST KIT A starter pack for Fundraising Legends Everything you need to know about hosting an event to support beyondblue beyondbluebash.org.au
THANK YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU SO MUCH You have chosen to spend some of your valuable time and energy holding an event to support beyondblue. This is strong confirmation of your Legend status! Whatever form your beyondblue Bash takes, you ll be raising funds to help beyondblue continue its work improving the lives of all Australians affected by depression, anxiety and suicide. Every donation helps beyondblue to: Provide a listening ear around-the-clock at our Support Service Develop and trial ground-breaking new initiatives to tackle anxiety, depression and suicide Give people the information they need, whenever they need it, wherever they live Distribute free information resources at events across Australia Produce evidence-based awareness campaigns to reach people at risk of developing mental health conditions; and Fund world-leading research. THIS INFORMATION KIT WILL HELP YOU GET THE BALL ROLLING, OFFERING ADVICE ON HOW TO: Choose an awesome event idea Organise your event and raise funds Bank funds and thank donors Be aware of your responsibilities as a legendary fundraiser. Our Fundraising Team is here to support you, so if you would like more information please contact the team by calling (03) 9810 6100 or email beyondbluebash@beyondblue.org.au We hope your beyondblue Bash is fun and as legendary as it is rewarding, and even worthy of a spot in your annual events calendar.
ABOUT US ABOUT US Many of us have been affected by depression and anxiety, either personally or through family, friends or colleagues. Right now, over 1 million Australian adults have depression and 2 million are experiencing anxiety. On average, 7 people takes their lives every day in Australia. Annually, suicide accounts for twice as many deaths as road accidents. Since 2000, beyondblue has been working to reduce the impact of depression, anxiety and suicide by supporting people to protect their mental health and to recover when they are unwell; reduce people s experiences of stigma and discrimination; and improve people s opportunities to get effective support and services at the right time. Our vision is for all people in Australia to achieve their best possible mental health. To find out more about our work, visit beyondblue.org.au WHY IS beyondblue FUNDRAISING? WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO? Your support will help us meet the ever-increasing demand for our services and resources. Every year, more people contact the beyondblue Support Service, visit our website, order our resources and request beyondblue Speakers and Ambassadors to attend events to share their powerful stories of hope and recovery. The number of people contacting beyondblue s Support Service has been going up at the rate of around 40% a year. In 2014/15, Support Service counsellors responded to more than 150,000 people in need of someone to talk to and practical advice. Almost 95,000 people made contact by phone, 45,000 chose web chat and 10,000 sent emails. In the same year, 4.6 million people visited beyondblue.org.au, up from 2.8 million people the previous year. 1
WHAT EFFECT WILL YOUR DONATION HAVE? Your support makes a real difference. Here are some of the ways your funds will assist the 3 million Australians currently experiencing anxiety or depression. $ 30 $ $ $30 covers the cost of producing, printing, packing and posting free information materials about depression, anxiety and staying well to anyone in Australia All beyondblue information resources are available free so that anyone, regardless of income or location, can find out more about depression and anxiety. $48 covers the cost of a call to the beyondblue Support Service The mental health professionals at our Support Service provide practical support, advice and hope to people in need of an expert and listening ear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 110 $110 enables a beyondblue Speaker or Ambassador to share their story in the community By sharing their stories of depression and anxiety, recovery and hope across the country, beyondblue Ambassadors and Speakers help break down the stigma associated with these conditions, and encourage people to reach out when they need help. 2
$ 270 $ 600 $ 1000 $270 funds a session with a NewAccess coach (in Northern NSW, ACT or Adelaide) NewAccess is a trailblazing beyondblue initiative, providing free support from trained coaches to help people overcome mild to moderate anxiety or depression. The pilot program is being trialled in Northern NSW, ACT and Adelaide. $600 helps deliver innovative online programs across Australia BRAVE is a free, self-guided interactive online program that teaches parents and young people how to cope with their worries and protect themselves against anxiety. $1000 helps train a Support Coordinator for The Way Back Support Service The Way Back Support Service aims to prevent repeat suicide attempts and suicide deaths by helping people back on their feet. Following discharge from hospital, a Support Coordinator provides practical support and assistance in the critical three-month period following a suicide attempt. The Australianfirst pilot program is being trialled in the Northern Territory, NSW and ACT. 3
HOW TO HOST A AT WORK Become a Legend in your own lunchtime! Holding a beyondblue Bash at work is a fantastic opportunity for colleagues to have fun while giving back to the community. Here s everything a Legend needs to know. 4
SET THE DATE You can host an event whenever it suits your workplace best. Give yourself enough time to get organised and allow for any internal approval processes. CHOOSE YOUR ACTIVITY When it comes to raising funds at work for beyondblue, opportunities are limited only by your imagination. You can host anything you like (we ve even seen roller-skating in wedding dresses), but the simplest ideas can be the most successful. For example, you could: Host a morning tea: Set up a battle of the cooks. Get your workmates to show off their cooking skills and whip up some treats to share with your team. Charge a gold coin donation (or blue note!) for a serve of cake, or auction the most legendary entries. Wear blue for the day: Opt for a casual dress theme or keep your corporate attire, as long as it s all blue for beyondblue! Auction off your colleagues talents: If you have tradies, skilled cooks or other handy people on your team, capitalise on their skills with a goods and services auction. This could make for an entertaining bidding war! Raffle: Check in with your colleagues, contacts and local businesses in the weeks leading up to an event to see if they can donate goods and/or services to an auction or raffle. A template letter to send to local businesses can be found at beyondbluebash.org.au You may also like to see what other people supporting beyondblue have done, by checking out the #beyondbluebash hashtag on Instagram and Twitter. Use this tag when posting about your event, too! REGISTER YOUR EVENT Once you ve decided on an activity, register your event and create an online fundraising page at beyondbluebash.org.au CUSTOMISE YOUR beyondblue BASH PAGE Personalising your online fundraising page will add to your legendary status and make it easier to grab your colleagues attention, promote your event and encourage donations for beyondblue: Step 1: Upload a profile photo, featuring you, your team or your company logo. Step 2: Use the My Story section of your page to outline the details of your beyondblue Bash and explain why you chose to organise it. Sharing your motivation is a powerful way to inspire others to become involved. Step 3: Set your fundraising goal. On average, beyondblue fundraising legends raise $960 per event. Aim high, and you ll be surprised how much you can achieve! INVITE PEOPLE Send an email or meeting request to your colleagues and contacts, with the event details and a link to your beyondblue Bash online fundraising page. You could also upload the event details to your workplace intranet or hang a poster in the lunch room. DOWNLOAD FREE RESOURCES There are many materials you can get from beyondblue to help promote and support your event. These include posters, which can be personalised, invitations and thank you certificates. They can all be downloaded from beyondbluebash.org.au. You can also find template letters and emails to help you seek support from your employer, local businesses and media. beyondblue has a range of free brochures, fact sheets and information cards which you can distribute to help raise awareness of depression, anxiety and suicide prevention. You can order them from beyondblue.org.au/order EMPLOYER SUPPORT You could ask your manager or employer whether they would be willing to support your efforts by matching the amount you raise. If they agree to come on board, you can use this as further encouragement for people to donate to your event and increase the amount to match! A template letter to give your employer is available at beyondbluebash.org.au #beyondbluebash Social media is an easy and creative way to promote your event, share updates and post photos from your event. If your organisation allows you to use its social media channels to promote your beyondblue Bash, great! If not, you can use your own accounts and tag your organisation in the posts, including the hashtag #beyondbluebash. You can also tag @beyondblueofficial on Instagram or @beyondblue on Twitter. EVENT REMINDER As your event approaches, send a reminder message or two to build excitement. BANKING Please head to page 12 for a step-by-step guide on how to bank the funds you raise. SAY THANK YOU! Download Thank you certificates from beyondbluebash.org.au for your top supporters, or anyone whose generous efforts contributed to the success of your event. 5
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BANKING All funds raised from your event can be deposited directly through your beyondblue Bash online fundraising page. Once the event is over, just click Give Now and follow the prompts. Tax deductible receipts are sent automatically, so encourage everyone to donate directly to your online fundraising page. For cash donations received at your event you can: Make a payment of the amount raised directly to your beyondblue Bash page using a credit or debit card. Download a unique pledge form from your beyondblue Bash fundraising page (located under your profile picture) and follow the instructions to make a payment via BPAY or take your form, along with the money, to your closest Australia Post location. To make a bank transfer, please use the following details: Bank: National Australia Bank Account Name: Beyond Blue Limited BSB: 083-026 Account Number: 58-622-9784 Description: bbbash Workplace / School / Team / Group / Individual Name Remittance: Email to donations@beyondblue.org.au or fax to (03) 9810 6111 To send a cheque, download and complete a Fundraising Evaluation Form from beyondbluebash.org.au and include your cheque or money order payable to Beyond Blue Limited and post to: beyondblue PO Box 6100 Hawthorn West VIC 3122 For tax deductible receipts for cash donations, download a Donor Receipt Form from beyondbluebash.org.au THE FINE PRINT FUNDRAISING RESTRICTIONS Please note the following types of activities are neither endorsed nor permitted to be conducted on behalf of beyondblue: Telemarketing Door-to-door fundraising Alignment with any pharmaceutical or tobacco organisations. MEDIA, INFORMATION AND APPROVALS If you re raising funds for beyondblue it may be a good idea to contact local radio stations and newspapers to let them know about what you re doing and why. They may be willing to help spread the word by doing a story on your upcoming event. The more unusual the event, the more likely the media is to be interested. To help you get publicity for your event, there is a media release template and some general advice available at beyondbluebash.org.au Because beyondblue is fortunate to have many legends holding events to support us throughout the year, the beyondblue Communications Team is unable to help generate publicity for fundraising events. On a serious note, beyondblue reserves the right to approve any media release, artwork, activity description or wording about beyondblue before it is published or distributed. This is to ensure the activity and beyondblue s involvement are represented correctly. If you re unsure about how to describe beyondblue in promotional material, please call our Fundraising Team on (03) 9810 6100 or send through any draft text to beyondbluebash@beyondblue.org.au and allow 48 hours for approval. If you re speaking with someone in the media and you re asked for information about beyondblue, depression, anxiety or suicide prevention, you should contact the beyondblue Communications team on (03) 9810 6100. You are not authorised to speak on behalf of beyondblue; but you may speak about your fundraising activity and why you are doing it. It must be clear to the public that you do not represent beyondblue, but that funds raised will be donated to beyondblue. 6
BRANDING YOUR EVENT There are a number of templates available for you to download and use to promote your beyondblue Bash please visit beyondbluebash.org.au The Proudly supporting beyondblue logo can also be used on any additional promotional materials you might require. All promotional materials featuring beyondblue s name and logo need to be approved at the design stage by beyondblue (prior to print and distribution) please send artwork to beyondbluebash@beyondblue.org.au and allow 48 hours for approval. Tasmania Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading: consumer.tas.gov.au Victoria Consumer Affairs Victoria: consumer.vic.gov.au Western Australia Department of Commerce, Consumer Protection: docep.wa.gov.au/charities THIRD PARTY PERMITS Third party permits and permissions may be required for your activity. If you are holding a large event, contact your local council to see if your activity requires a permit, and consider informing the local police and ambulance services. MONEY MATTERS As a community fundraiser, you are responsible for all financial aspects of the activity, including record keeping, management of funds and depositing of funds raised into beyondblue s bank account. Please note that beyondblue is always written as one word, lower case and in italics. Example of correct usage: beyondblue Example of incorrect usage: Beyond Blue You may use the following terminology on all promotional materials: Proudly supporting beyondblue Example of correct usage: beyondblue Bash Comedy Gala Proudly supporting beyondblue NATIONAL, STATE AND TERRITORY LAWS All fundraising activities must comply with all relevant national, state and territory laws and regulations. In each state and territory, there is a Charitable Fundraising Act or equivalent to which beyondblue and people fundraising on behalf of beyondblue must adhere. You also need to be aware of regulations relating to liquor licensing and preparation of food. To find out more about fundraising legislation in your state or territory, please contact the relevant authority: Australian Capital Territory Department of Justice and Community Safety: ors.act.gov.au New South Wales Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing: olgr.nsw.gov.au Northern Territory Gaming and Licensing Services: nt.gov.au Queensland Office of Fair Trading: fairtrading.qld.gov.au South Australia Consumer and Business Services: cbs.sa.gov.au/ wcm/licensing-and-registration/charities Your basic obligations are to ensure that: You keep and provide beyondblue with accurate financial records of your activity All funds raised are deposited into beyondblue s bank account within 28 days of completion of your fundraising activity. beyondblue cannot pay or reimburse any expenses incurred by you as a result of the fundraising activity. However, you can deduct your expenses from the proceeds of the activity, provided this is properly documented. As a guide, we suggest that the total expenses should not exceed 30 per cent of total proceeds. ISSUING RECEIPTS Your donors will receive an individual receipt if they donate directly to your fundraising page at beyondbluebash.org.au For cash donations, beyondblue can provide a tax deductible receipt for all donations of $2 or more. Simply collect details using the Donor Receipt Form, downloadable from beyondbluebash.org.au and beyondblue will issue receipts once all monies have been received. Please note that you cannot claim a tax deduction for gifts that are donated to your activity. RECOGNITION AS A LEGITIMATE beyondblue COMMUNITY FUNDRAISER beyondblue keeps a record of everyone who registers to hold a fundraising event. If you are unsure if someone has registered with beyondblue, please call our Fundraising Team on (03) 9810 6100. 7
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! FIND OUT MORE: About fundraising: beyondbluebash.org.au About beyondblue: beyondblue.org.au BL/1349 12/15