A Fundraising Event…What shall I do? 

As some of you may know I am extremely passionate about fundraising. Many people have often said to me that they would love to raise some money for charity but they don’t know what to do or where to start. Having organised many charity events over the years I thought it might help if I shared some of the ideas I have tried and hopefully they will inspire you to organise a fundraising event too.

You may find some people turn their nose up at a barn dance but you will also be surprised at how many people actually love them. It is a great way to get everyone up dancing and it is particularly good for people who can’t dance, as the ‘caller’ tells everyone exactly what to do! The key to a successful barn dance is finding a good band or caller, so I suggest you go by recommendations and do your research. A solo caller with a music system should be much cheaper to hire but you won’t get the same atmosphere a live band offers. You need to consider the cost of each option as this will determine how much you will need to charge per ticket.

Your venue choice is also very important as you need lots of room, preferably with no poles in the middle if you were planning on holding it in a marquee. Ask your caller or band to recommend venues that are local to you as it is more than likely they have got their favourites.

If you plan on including food in the ticket price, you need to work out what is the best value for money in order to keep the cost down. I have always included fish n chips which have been delivered by my local chippy. This is an easier option and can be relatively cheap to do as long as you have pre-sold your tickets so you know the exact amount of people coming!

Now dust off those cowboy boots and get line dancing!

Choosing to organise a disco can generally be the easiest option when deciding what type of fundraising event to hold. You can hold a disco in nearly any venue as long as there is enough space for your expected supporters and it has suitable electrics for the music and lighting. The most important ingredient to a good disco is a good DJ, so ask your friends, family and maybe even the local pubs and hotels if they know of someone they can recommend.

It isn’t vital to put food on but you may want to have some offering of nibbles so your supporters don’t go hungry. You could have bowls of crisps and nuts or you could bag up penny sweets and sell them, in doing this it is another way to top up your fundraising pot. Of course this will also depend on your venue as they may not allow you to bring in your own snacks or to sell food items, so make sure you check first.

Remember to write yourself a play-list to give to your DJ either before the event or at the beginning of the evening. As good as the DJ might be they have no idea what will get you and your guests up dancing!

You could also decide to theme your disco, there are so many different eras of music which are fantastic and are sure to get everyone up, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s & the noughties… the list goes on!

Why not make it optional fancy dress too, most people won’t admit it but they will secretly love a fancy dress party!

If you want to organise something more corporate, then a golf day is a great way to raise some major funds for charity. Don’t be put off if you don’t know much about golf as you will probably find most clubs do this type of event quite often, so they will be able to help you plan it.

If you want to make it a big corporate day you could get sponsors for each hole, as well as a major sponsor for a hole in one on a particular hole (such as the 9th hole). Try approaching a car company , sometimes they will offer a car as a prize which will definately encourage people to put a team together and sign up!

Combine the players day with a sit down meal afterwards where you can hold an auction and a raffle, this always brings in a lot of extra money for your chosen charity.

The price you can charge will depend on the quality of course you have chosen to hold it at. The top courses can be very expensive which could potentially put people off, but you may find it can attract more players as it is seen as a treat to play on such a sort after course. Trust me, in the back of your golfer’s heads they know they can get away with paying more for a good course by telling their other halves it’s for charity!

This type of event may seem a bit daunting especially if you don’t like or understand golf! But, believe me there are so many golfers that will do anything to sign up to a ‘one off’ day, meaning they can play and talk golf all day!

People love the idea of going to an event with the possibility of coming home with more money than they went with, so a race night is always a good event to organise.

The only issue with a race night is it is classed as a form of gambling so you need to make sure you follow the correct gambling laws. To be on the safe side I would recommend hiring a professional entertainer who should follow the correct procedure (always double-check before you book them!). Not only this but they should also bring along a projector screen, a selection of races to choose from and all the right tickets to play with. This makes your night so much easier and allows you to sell raffle tickets and offer any other money raising games you have planned to do during the event.

When selling your admission tickets you can offer everyone the opportunity to buy and name a racehorse. By doing this it will add extra money for your charity and your supporters will enjoy thinking up the whackiest horse names. Some horse names I have had at my race nights are ‘May the horse be with you’, ‘Why the Long Face’ and ‘Hoofsain Bolt’…you could offer a prize such as a bottle of wine for the best name. You can also ask local businesses to sponsor the actual races. Not only is this advertising for them it will give you extra money in your fundraising pot too!

Who doesn’t love a good quiz? Most people like to challenge their brain and at a quiz night you normally see the competitive streak come out in everyone!

Some people consider a quiz night as boring but trust me you can really jazz them up with extra games such as, music bingo and ‘fill in the words’ karaoke questions, to get everyone involved.

It can take a lot of work to prepare a quiz night yourself and you have to be quite brave to be the quiz host for the evening. If I had to choose I would hire a professional quizmaster who does this regularly, it can really make a difference to the atmosphere of the evening. The livelier the better for me, but take into consideration what type of people you have attending and what style the majority of your guests would enjoy more.

Make sure you have a prize to offer the winning team, you may find offering a cash prize more enticing for people to sign up, but obviously this will take some money out of your pot. Try asking some local businesses if they wouldn’t mind donating a prize that is suitable to give each player, such as a bottle of wine each…that always goes down well!

Remember people are coming to support your chosen charity not so much for the prize at the end!

During your fundraising event there are lots of things you can do to raise extra money. Some I have already mentioned, such as your classic raffle and auction but, why not try some different ideas too.

How about the ‘Wine or Water’ game? Wrap lots of bottles up, some filled with water and some with wine. Charge a small amount to choose a bottle… will they win wine or water?

Another good idea is a ‘Bottle Tombola’ where you can ask your friends and family to donate bottles to your cause. It can be anything from alcohol, to bubble bath, fizzy drinks and of course a few booby prizes such as ketchup and sauces! Ticket all the bottles up with a number ending in a 5 or a 0 and put the corresponding tickets in a bucket amongst lots of other tickets. If your supporter pulls out a matching 5 or 0 ticket then they win the bottle with the matching number on.

You can also play ’Name your Pound’. Get your guests to write their name on a sticky label and wrap it round one of their £1 coins and put it in a bucket. At the end of the night the name that is on the coin drawn out of the bucket wins half the amount that has been collected. The only downside is they have to un-stick all the labels on their winnings!

These suggestions have only just scratched the surface as there so many other things you can do to raise money for charity. Of course, if you need an experienced hand then Tasha-Mae can help you, whether it is guidance through your event planning or assisting with an on the day event co-ordination package, please just get in touch.

I hope these ideas have given you something to think about and they have encouraged you to organise a fundraising event. Holding this type of event is great fun and also very rewarding, so be brave and go for it, get planning and give yourself a massive pat on the back along the way. I know that charities are extremely grateful to anyone who makes these huge efforts to help their cause. It is also a great excuse to get all your friends and family together and have a fab night at the same time…it’s a win-win event for everyone!

Please leave me a comment below to let me know if this has helped or tell me what fundraising events you have held and how successful they were. I would love to hear what you have organised to raise money for charity.

P.S Just so you know if you get asked at your next quiz night, my friend Rose told me there are 32 keys on a piano!!