Help change lives our guide to fundraising School Pack our guide to fundraising page 1
Dear Fundraiser Thank you for downloading/requesting a Fundraising Pack for Autism Together. We really appreciate your support and help in achieving our goal of 200,000 to build two new rooms at The Ferns, our respite facility, which provides invaluable respite support for many families. With YOUR help we will be able to help more. In this pack we have enclosed some items that we hope will help you with your fundraising. Including: - Further information about The Ferns - Handy hints and tips to get you started - Sponsor form - Event planner.. And much more Our team is also on hand to help with lesson planning, talking at assemblies or to groups and help out with resources for blue days or the like. Our website is also a good source of further information and our fundraising team are always happy to help. Their details are in the pack and at the bottom of this letter. Your fundraising will help us to continue and expand our work in several care settings including: residential, home care, supported living, respite and short stay breaks. We can offer people with autism, meaningful, realistic and achievable training, work experience and valuable life skills. We also support children, young people and their families understand their autism rich futures. Thank you again, please share your event details with us and get us involved. Good luck and happy fundraising. Lindsay Tilston-Jones Fundraising Manager our guide to fundraising page 2
Contents Who we are?... 4 What we are raising money for?... 5 The Ferns... 6 A - Z of Fundraising... 7 Top Fundraising Hints and Tricks... 9 Poster blank... 10 Sponsorship form... 11 Contact Details... 13 How to pay your money in... 14 Money return form... 15 Fundraising Planner... 16 our guide to fundraising page 3
Who we are? In 1968 a group of parents established The Wirral Society for Autistic Children, which was the forerunner for our organisation today. Autism Together has grown from providing support to people with autism, to providing a wide range of living options, day services and community support to people from all over the UK. It is estimated that 1 in 100 people are on the autism spectrum, with varying degrees of need. We offer help and support to people with autism and their families, ranging from care, daily living, to help with employment and day to day life through our schemes such as Step into Work. We also offer advice, training and support to organisations and individuals through our Autism in Practice department and our Autism Charter, which aims to make people more autism aware. In this pack you will find top tips to make your fundraising a success. Visit: www.autismtogether.co.uk/join_in for more information or call the hotline on 0151 334 7510 where one of our fundraising experts will be on hand to help. our guide to fundraising page 4
Help change lives What are we raising money for? A utism Together is a charity, and as such we rely on donations and public support to continue with, and to expand our work. The income we receive comes from a variety of sources, including grant making trusts, statutory bodies and, of course, income from fundraising. It is so important to us to remain close to the charitable objectives set out by the first group of parents in 1968, to reach out to and help people with autism and their families to lead as rich and fulfilling life as possible. We treat everyone as an individual and meet everyone s needs and potential as we are able. We understand that there are many more people and communities that we need to reach out to but, without the funding, we cannot. Fundraising is so important to us to be able continue with our work and to reach out to more people with autism. To find out more about our work please contact : 0151 334 7510 or email fundraising@autismtogether.co.uk our guide to fundraising page 5
The Ferns This unit is truly unique in the North West as there is no other purpose built, autism-specific service of this kind in the North West. The design features of the respite unit, which were specifically to address the needs of the individual person with autism are as follows: En-suite facilities to seven bedrooms (encourages personal skills) Shared dining/lounge (encourages social interaction) Training kitchen (encourages daily living skills such as cooking and washing up etc.) Wide corridors (ensures people don t become overcrowded) Sensory room (to help alleviate stress in the service user) Easy-access to the external environment (to help alleviate stress in the service user) At Autism Together we aim to work with the individual person with autism to soften the effects of their autism by providing an individually tailored programme of support which enhances and develops independent daily living skills. From our own experience and wider research, specialist and structured support can really make a difference to the life of a person with autism. Due to the building of the respite Centre, partly as a result of your kind donations, we have been able to provide high quality short stay services for people with autism, and more families have been able to access our services and receive support. This has not only assisted individuals in their personal development, but it has also helped families look to the future and assess their family member s needs. The Ferns provides a much needed service to people with autism and their families. Research has shown that access to high quality respite care for families who have a family member with autism helps maintain family stability and enables those who undertake the caring role 24/7 to have a much needed opportunity to take a well-earned break. Some parents book ahead so they have set cover throughout the year, while others phone up for last minute availability to help them find support for their children during the school holidays for example. At present, 70+ families use the Respite and Take a Break service. The different types of support offered at The Ferns are: Overnight stays Weekend and longer planned breaks Emergency and urgent breaks Half day/full day packages using the facilities at The Ferns Sessional/School holiday support for those age 16 upwards our guide to fundraising page 6
A-Z Fundraising Lots of ideas to get you started... Aa Art, create a blue picture have a competition After School Party: All wear blue and have a boogie Assemblies: host an autism awareness assembly Dd Dance Off organise a dance competition Dog Show, arrange a dog show for your pets Gg Give up, get sponsored to give something up Garden Party Bb Bake Sale, make cakes and sell them to your friend, turn them blue Boot Sale- organise a car boot sale in your area Ee Egg Hunt, hide blue eggs and look for them Exercise Hh Dye your hair blue Shave your head Cc Crafts, make crafts with a blue theme Card Games, Coffee Morning Ff Football, arrange a 5 a side tournament Friends, talk to your friends about autism and spread the word Facebook, change your profile picture blue Ii It s a knockout. Jj Jumble Sale Kk Karaoke Ll Lucky Dip: Arrange a lucky dip and each prize can include a fact about Autism our guide to fundraising page 7
Mm Music competition Marathon (could be running could be a film athon) Nn Non uniform Day Night time walk Oo Mini Olympics Pp Pyjama Day Pub Quiz Qq Quiz Night Quit something Rr Hold a Record Breakers event Host a Rounders Competition Ss Sponsored event Sensory Superhero: Heighten one of your senses Tt Tug of War Treasure Hunt Uu Wear a different uniform for the day Vv Host a Variety Show Ww Wash Cars, Get some Waxed, Sell Wristbands Xx Channel your inner Simon Cowell and host an X Factor event Yy Yes Day Say Yes to everything for a day Zz Host a sleepover Zumba... or get in touch with us for a little extra inspiration. our guide to fundraising page 8
Top Fundraising Hints and Tips Find the ideal event space: Set your target and share it: What sort of space do you need? Indoor or outdoor? Big or small? What facilities do you need? Don t forget to tell them it is for charity - you may get it at a reduced rate or for free Give yourself time: Before you set the date, make sure you have given yourself plenty of time to get everything sorted, and for people to get it into their diaries. Try to pick an easy date. Make a budget: Once you have set your fundraising goal, tell everyone! Seeing how you are progressing helps to inspire people to give generously. Spread the word: Tell people why you are doing your event. Your personal reasons will really help motivate your supporters. Facebook and Twitter are ideal for inviting and updating people, If possible, write a blog about your progress, it doesn t need to be a masterpiece, it just keeps your supporters involved. Work out what you hope to raise once you have covered your costs. If you need equipment, see if you can borrow it rather than buying stuff. You can also cuts costs by asking local business to donate prizes. Get personal advice and support from our fundraising experts on 0151 334 7510 our guide to fundraising page 9
Image or photo Fundraising Event Please join me at my... to raise awareness for autism! Date:... Location:... Time:... For more information please contact me on... www.autismtogether.co.uk/join-in @Autism_Together our guide to fundraisingregistered Charity Number 1007878 page 10
Please sponsor me and help change the lives of people with autism Event Name:... Your details (Please use BLOCK CAPITALS): Name:... AUTISM TOGETHER can reclaim money back on every sponsorship donation and get an extra 28% without it costing you a single penny. Please tick the box below if you would like us to Gift Aid your donation and if you pay income tax or capital gains tax equal to the amount reclaimed by the charity on the donation. Please make sure that we can read your full name, home address and postcode. Telephone:... Email:... Paid Amount Gift Aid Full Name Postcode Full Home Address (please use BLOCK CAPITALS). In order for us to claim Gift Aid, please do not use a business address. our guide to fundraising page 11 Keep in touch: We would like to keep you informed of news, events and fundraising activities. If you would prefer us not to contact you please tick the box Gift Aid reminder: please return this form In order for us to reclaim please make sure your sponsors fill in their full name, home address and postcode and tick the Gift Aid box. How to send your money to us: By cheque made payable to Autism Together To: Rick Myers, Fundraising Officer Autism Together, Wirral Centre for Autism, Oak House (Unit C) 6 Tebay Road, Bromborough, Wirral CH62 3PA OR Pay online by clicking on to www.justgiving.com
Please sponsor me and help change the lives of people with autism Event Name:... Paid Amount Gift Aid Full Name Postcode Full Home Address (please use BLOCK CAPITALS). In order for us to claim Gift Aid, please do not use a business address. our guide to fundraising page 12 I have raised a total of... Remember - fundraising should be fun!
Contact Details Supporting Your Fundraising Don t forget, our fundraising team are here to support you with your event. So if you have any questions, please get in touch with them. You can email them on: fundraising@autismtogether.co.uk or call them on 0151 334 7510 and they will be happy to help you out in any way possible. Don t Forget to Publicise! Upload your up and coming event, photo s and updates to your social media accounts. our guide to fundraising page 13
How to pay your money in You can pay your money in on our JustGiving page which is www.justgiving.com/autism-together BACS payments Our details are: Sort code: 20 29 50 Acc No: 03157296 Autism Together. Thank you for your support our guide to fundraising page 14
Money Return Form Please complete this form and send it back to us along wit the money you have rasied so we can make sure that the money is correctly allocated to you Please find enclosed a cheque (s)/ Postal Order for Please ensure that all cheques are made payable to Autism Together Your Name: Address:.... Postcode.. If your activity was sponsored then please also include your completed sponsor form (to enable us to claimgift Aid on your contribution). AUTISM TOGETHER can reclaim money back on every sponsorship donation and get an extra 28% without it costing you a single penny. Please tick the box below if you would like us to Gift Aid your donation and if you pay income tax or capital gains tax equal to the amount reclaimed by the charity on the donation. Please make sure that we can read your full name, home address and postcode. I would like to Gift Aid my donation (Please tick) Please send this completed form back to: Fundraising Autism Together Oak House, 6 Tebay Road, Bromborough CH62 3PA If you have raised money via Justgiving this will come directly to the charity Thank you for your support our guide to fundraising page 15
YOU CAN REACH YOUR TARGET........................ Fundraising Planner Keep track of your fundraising activities all year round with this fund-raising calendar...it s here to help you plan your next event and keep sight of your goals. June May April March February January our guide to fundraising page 16 Celebrate Fathers Day! Time for a spring clean Celebrate Mothers Day! Love is in the air! Take on that challenge Get your walking or running shoes at the ready. you ve always wanted Hold a sports event and Auction all those items Hold an afternoon tea Hold a Valentine themed to do. ask for donations to take Complete a sponsored you no longer need for all the mums in your event part. Best dad wins! walk or run. around the house. local area. December November October September August July Bonfire Night! Host a Hold a Halloween Movie Night! Host your Organise a cake sale in Put your cooking skills It s party season! Organise a Christmas party, bonfire night, charge fancy dress party! Raise own movie night in the to the test. Organise asking your guests for entry and hot snacks extra money by dishing comfort of your own your work or local community centre a community picnic or donations and tombola straight from the grill! our pumpkin pies and home. Charge for entry BBQ and charge for prizes. spooky cupcakes! and goodies. entry. www.autismtogether.co.uk/join-in @Autism_Together #GetYourBlueOn