We understand that the thought of raising your minimum sponsorship level can often be more daunting than the training for a trek or bike.
Not only are we able to give you some advice but the charity that you are raising money for will be able to give you loads of support and advice too. If you have friends who have fundraised for an event like this before then ask them for advice and find out what their most effective forms of fundraising where.
It can take quite a lot of time and planning, and a little imagination, to raise your sponsorship target but we have compiled a few tips to get you started.
Set up an online sponsorship page through JustGiving or Virgin Money Giving.
You can then email this round to all your friends and family all around the world and ask them to donate to your chosen charity. Make sure you personalise this page and tell people about your reasons for undertaking your challenge and try to get someone to put a big donation on first, hopefully others will follow suit.
Give yourself plenty of time and set targets.
Start planning your fundraising as soon as you are signed up for the challenge. If you have 12 months to raise your sponsorship, aim to raise £300 a month – this will make your fundraising much more manageable.
Don’t limit yourself to one type of fundraising
It’s often easiest to reach your sponsorship target by using a range of different fundraising ideas. Setting up an online sponsorship page is a great start, but why not try some of our fundraising ideas too.
Promote Yourself!
Tell as many people as you can about what you are doing and why you are doing it. Approach your local newspaper, radio and television stations and tell them all about your challenge. Remember to tell them if you are doing it for a particular reason, i.e. to celebrate your 50th birthday, to raise money for a charity close to your heart. If possible try to find a unique take on your challenge because this will appeal more widely to the media. If you are organising a fundraising night or trying to collect prizes for a raffle, ask for this to be included in the article as well as details of your online sponsorship page.
Finally, make sure you have plenty of fun!