Fundraising a toolkit for success A guide to organising and marketing events, running a raffle, getting sponsorship and having fun. Helping you to help us
Introduction Whether you are new to fundraising or an experienced regular we can offer you support. This fundraising pack is full of ideas and useful information to help with an event of any size. Let us know what you are doing; we may be able to supply balloons, posters and merchandise. Why do we need your donations? The Dudley Group NHS (DGNHS) Charity encompasses Russells Hall Hospital, Guest and Corbett outpatient centres. Also Adult Community Services While the NHS Trust supplies what the hospitals require for the day-to-day treatment of patients, the charity can offer further support. We can increase the amount of specialist equipment which will aid patient comfort. We can keep you informed of what is needed at the hospitals and help you decide how you can get involved. You can raise money for a particular area of care or you can spread your donation over a variety of causes. We can ensure your donation goes where you want it to go. If you don t ask for it you don t get it Fundraising can be extremely rewarding but the best campaigns require some thought and planning. Never be afraid to ask for help; colleagues and friends can be surprisingly supportive and may have some good ideas of their own. Once you inform us of your event we can give you a Letter of Endorsement which can help you obtain some of outside help; for example local businesses can donate raffle prizes, offer reduced room hire, etc. Seek official advice if you are planning a big event; local councils, the police and St John Ambulance. Make sure you are not breaking any laws and comply with any regulations regarding your venue. Don t forget to ask for our help too.
Sponsorship Getting sponsored is one of the most popular ways of raising funds. You may be running a marathon or climbing a mountain; you may be getting your chest waxed or making everyone coffee for a week just ask us for a form. Are you going it alone or part of a group? Our sponsor forms can be individualised to give more information about what you are doing. We can include photographs, JustGiving details along with an explanation of Gift Aid. Helpful Tips Create a JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/dghc where you can place pictures and keep friends and family updated as to how you are getting on. You can also link to Facebook. Call us on 01384 321121 to request a sponsor form Set yourself a target and tell everyone what you hope to achieve. See if your employer does match giving. If people Gift Aid their donation and they are UK Taxpayers their donation will increase by 25% with no extra cost to them. Ask us for advice on how to get the most out of your sponsored event
Organising an event All you need to organise a fundraising event is a good idea and lots of energy and plenty of friends and colleagues to help! Dudley Group Here are some guidelines that will help you organise fundraising activities. We would ask that you understand and agree to the following if you are organising a fundraising event in aid of the Dudley Group. We need to know what you are doing - please contact the Fundraising Office. We can issue you with a letter of authority showing that you are fundraising on our behalf. All posters, tickets etc, must state that DGNHS Charity is a registered charity and show the registered charity number. You need to keep clear accounts of any events; the details of the expenditure and the income received. Money should be collected in sealed containers. Lotteries or dangerous events should not be organised in our name. Any activity needing a gaming license needs to be discussed with the fundraising department. Be safe - don t do anything illegal or dangerous. The Dudley Group is unable to underwrite any costs associated with the event - these would be your responsibility. Planning the event Make sure that you are not clashing with any other events in your area. Give yourself enough time to organise every aspect of the event, from promoting it to getting enough helpers on the day. Look at all aspects of the day and think about what could go wrong and how you would deal with it. Consider doing a risk assessment. Refer to our guide later on. (Please see www.hse.gov.uk for any help with health and safety), or contact the fundraising department. Do you need any licenses or permits to do your events? e.g. for alcohol or gambling? Please check this with your local authority. Remember to advertise your event - use the local newspapers, local radio and any other contacts you may have. We can help with posters. Make sure that people helping on the day know exactly what they are doing at the event and that you have enough helpers. Do you need to inform the police or contact a first aid organisation? Ask other people you know who have done similar things before. Ask them what works and, as important, what doesn t?
Talk to us We will do whatever we can to help your event be a success. We want to help you to help us. Karen Phillips, Fundraising Manager 2 nd Floor, Trust HQ, Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, DY1 2HQ Tel: 01384 456111 ext: 3349 Abseil * Auction * Anniversary donations * Beard shave * Bingo * Bed push * Bridge tournament * Barbeque * Bring and buy sale * Car boot sale * Curry Nite * Cycle race * Car wash * Conker Championship * Cricket match * Coffee Morning * Custard pie throw * Darts tournament * Dressing up/down * Egg and Spoon Race * Football match (in drag!) * FUN RUN * Guess the weight competion * Gunge Tank * Head shave * Irish Evening * Jumble Sale * Job Swaps * Karaoke * Line dancing * Loud tie day * No smoking day * Raffle *Record breaking * Swear box * Sweepstake * Slimathon * Tombola * Treasure hunt * Talent competion * Valentine night * Wacky Races * Yo-yo competition * Zany mad fun party
Keep it safe and legal Please make sure you stay safe and within the law. Make contact with your local council about any licences you may need. There may also be health and safety issues, or you may need a gaming licence. Other licences to take into consideration are an alcohol licence and an entertainment licence. Make sure you get permission to hold your event. It may be your boss or the owner of a venue. You may also need to advise the police if it is in a public place. If you need first aid cover contact St John Ambulance. Also refer to our Risk Assessment sheet further on. Make sure all publicity materials clearly state: All proceeds will go to Dudley Group. Registered Charity No. 1056979 Always supervise anyone under 16 collecting sponsorship money. Don t make any street collections without appropriate permission. Have fun and stay within the law. Call our fundraising office if you need any advice. Expenses must not be deducted from the sums collected unless you have approved this with us and provided us with a receipt. It is essential that DG approve copies of any fundraising literature and that the charity logo is not used without permission.
Assess the risk You need to determine whether you have taken enough precautions, or should do more to prevent harm or damage. The aim is to ensure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill and that no property gets damaged or lost. It is important to decide whether a hazard is significant, for instance, electricity can kill, but the likelihood of it doing so at an event is remote, provide that live components are insulated and there is no damage or defects present. 5 essential steps Identify the significant hazards to persons or property. Such as untidy or damaged power cables, wet floors, fire escape routes. Determine who or what might be harmed and how. Could be new / expectant mothers, visitors, children, the elderly, equipment, property and parked cars. Evaluate the risks and decide whether the existing precautions are adequate, or whether more should be done. Consider how likely it is that the hazard could cause harm and think about the severity and consequence of the harm. Record your findings. A set of letters and a set of numbers are generally used, i.e. A to C for the severity and consequence of the harm, and 1 to 3 for the likelihood that the hazard will occur. A = death, major injury, major damage or loss to property, B = injury lasting over 3 days, damage to property/equipment, C = minor injury, minor damage to property/equipment. 1 = extremely likely to occur, 2 = likely to occur, 3 = slight chance of occurring. A1 = being the most severe and in need of immediate attention, E5 = being the least severe and a last priority to reduce the risk of. e.g. A bare electricity cable running along a window sill is extremely likely to cause death, having a rating of A1, and a plant pot on a window sill is less likely to fall off and hit someone, but if it did it would only be minor injuries, so would have a rating on C3. Review your assessment and revisit if necessary. The assessment will have to be reviewed and revised whenever something major in the event changes, i.e. location or weather.
Running a small raffle These guidelines are for raffles which are not the main event, such as part of a dinner dance, or office party. Although raffles are great fundraising endeavours on their own, many groups and charities also run raffles as part of other events, such as shopping fairs and parties. These types of lotteries are referred to as incidental noncommercial lotteries ; in other words, the lottery is not the main event. When running an incidental, noncommercial lottery, you will be exempt from many of the rules and regulations governing other types of lotteries. However, although the rules are less strict, the Gambling Act 2005 still applies. When organising an incidental lottery, you should consider the following rules: All lottery tickets must be sold at the event, with all participants present. You cannot offer more than 250 in prizes, even if prizes have been donated. You cannot offer cash prizes. You cannot conduct a roll-over lottery of any type. By adhering to these rules, the process of running an incidental non-commercial lottery is actually made a lot simpler. You will need to print or buy ticket books, collect prizes and choose your ticket price ahead of time. Then, on the day of your event, you can move around the room and sell tickets to interested parties. The best way to conduct a lottery as part of another fundraising activity is to leave the prize draw until the end of the event. This way, not only will you have more time to sell tickets, but people will also stay to see if they've won, giving you more time to fundraise with other activities too! Four Steps to a Successful Lottery, Raffle or Prize Draw Once you have decided to conduct a lottery and have reviewed the relevant legal requirements, it's one of the easier fundraising events to plan. Running a lottery requires four simple steps: Printing tickets or buying ticket book Procuring prizes Promoting the lottery and selling tickets Running the lottery By making yourself aware of current legislation and keeping your plans organised, you are well on your way to a successful lottery, prize draw or raffle. However, if you're ever in doubt about your plans or need assistance, you should contact your local authority, the Institute of Fundraising, the Gambling Commission, or check the Gambling Act 2005. A simple raffle can really boost your fundraising
Please send in this form as soon as possible Contact Details Name of person/group organising the event Address: Telephone : E-mail: Event Details Mobile: Name of event: Location of event: Date of event: How much do you hope to raise? Karen Phillips, Fundraising Manager Dudley Group, 2 nd Floor, Trust HQ, Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, DY1 2HQ Please give a brief description of your event Do you have an online sponsorship page (ie JustGiving)? Would you like help with any of the following: Posters Balloons Sponsor Forms Collecting Tins Collecting Buckets Merchandise (heart badges and toys) I agree to take full responsibility for the above event, to adhere to any relevant health and safety rules and regulations and to respect the Dudley Group of Hospitals Charity at all times. I agree to keep the DG informed of what I am doing and to return any funds raised within two months of the event. I also agree to inform the press and/or relevant authorities (i.e. local town or district council) should this be necessary. Signed: Name: Date:
Making your donation Money donated to the Dudley Group enables us to buy new medical equipment, provide specialist training for staff and improve patient comfort. Making a donation in person You can visit the General Office anytime between 9am and 4pm Monday - Friday (located on the ground floor, near the main entrance of Russells Hall Hospital) and give your donation to the cashier, who will issue you with a receipt. Send a cheque Payable to Dudley Group ; to the Cashier, General Office, Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, DY1 2HQ Donation by debit or credit card or BACS Contact the Cashier, General Office on 01384 456111 ext. 2872 Log on to our JustGiving site Do you want some publicity? Don t forget to supply us with some photographs of your fundraising event. Write down a few details about you event and we will try and get it on the charity website. We can also Tweet about your event. Tag us: @DGNHSCharity People love to see what others are doing for us and it also helps to give ideas for those thinking of fundraising for us. Email pictures and story to dgft.fundraising@nhs.net You can also post a picture on our Facebook page : /DudleyGroupNHSCharity If you need support or advice, give us a call we ll be happy to help. http://www.justgiving.com/dghc Make a one-off donation or use this link to create your own site.