How to achieve your target
We can help you reach your fundraising target
1. Ensure you tell your sponsors your story, why it’s important to you personally, your fundraising target and what you are doing. This will help you stand out from the crowd.
2. Start as early as possible, for example most fundraisers who take part in the London Marathon start fundraising in September/October for the race in April the following year.
3. Remind your sponsors to tick the Gift Aid box so you can raise around 25% more, as long as they are tax payers you can raise more money without doing a thing.
4. Set yourself a high target this helps to motivate you and those that are sponsoring you, ensure you tell them your target.
5. Take your target and break it down into manageable chunks and work out how much you can raise through each channel e.g. friends, your family, work, clubs and societies.
6. Promote your event through work, including staff newsletters, send emails and on notice boards. It’s also best to target people just after their pay day or on Fridays.
7. Around 30% of sponsorship comes through online channels. Ensure you set up an online page such as Just Giving – www.JustGiving.com and promote it using your email contacts and social media sites such as Facebook.
8. Chase your donations after the event, people often forget.
9. Always make sure you say thank you, it’s always a good idea to update them with tales of your event such as your running time or any funny stories. You can order thank you cards using the t-shirt order form in the fundraising pack.
10. Never underestimate others, ask your friends and family to ask their friends and family, you will be surprised, especially if you have a good story, are doing a hard challenge or a unique fundraising idea!
11. Try contacting your local newspapers, radio and television stations. A reporter might like to write a press release about your event or you could try writing one yourself and sending it to your reporter, ensure you adhere to brand guidelines and use our press template, to request a copy please email fundraisers-support@rspca.org.uk
12. Get your fundraising off to a good start, ask the people you know will sponsor you the most to sponsor you first, so they set the standard.
13. Only use the official RSPCA sponsorship forms, provided in the fundraising pack.
14. Ask your employer if they are willing to match fund what you raise.
15. Ensure you tell your sponsors if any event costs will come out of the money you have raised – it’s the law.
16. You can raise money for the national Society or your local branch. If you would like to raise money for your local branch and you are raising money online you must choose their online Just Giving or Virgin Money Giving account to ensure the money gets paid to them.
17. When paying your money in, please ensure you tell us if you raised money for the national Society or your local branch, using the paying in form in your fundraising pack.
