Charlie's Fundraising Tips

Gap 360's Charlie has literally been EVERYWHERE (well, almost!) and so he's always there to dish out great travel advice. One of the questions he always gets asked is about fundraising, so he's decided to put together some of his top ideas to help some of you guys out! (He says: You're welcome!).

Ultimately, fundraising is down to the individual. What they're like, how serious they are and what they feel comfortable doing- and so as with a lot of things to do with travelling, there's always loads to consider!  I’ve set myself the challenge of raising £650 towards my £2400 month in Ghana.  The trip will be in 4 months' time. (Unfortunately, I'm not actually going to Ghana... but this example will provide you with a situation a customer had been in recently!). I/aka the customer me had the added pressure because if I don’t have the £650 I needed for the flights, then I wouldn't be going anywhere!

So I have a few plans, all of which involve the office, family and friends. I feel like sponsorship should be a two-way street, so if someone is donating my money they should be getting something in return:

Lunch Service

I plan to bring a slow cooker into work and put on a nice Thai Green Curry to cook in there all morning, serving this at lunch for £5 a go. Thai food is always a winner, and before you know it you'll have a nice little sum to put towards your chosen climb/charity.

I also plan on baking over the next few months, bringing in a few snacks for my fellow workers and asking for donations. Sweet and savoury delights always go down a treat in school/the office!

Pub Quiz

I’ve approached a local pub about holding a one off pub quiz; the pub are more than happy as their beer sales should improve for the night. I’m holding out that the pub may also donate the prizes too! My expenses here will only be advertising in the local paper, pub and social media. Guessing it will take some time to put the questions together, might even have a few dummy runs with my mum!

Copper Donations

Asking the office to bring in their copper coins, every little helps!

Curry Night

I’m holding a big curry night next week, with friends and family coming around, I’m cooking about 6 different curries, and asking for donations, originally I was going to ask for £10 each, but I think I might just give them a glass of wine and then bring up the donation subject instead!

Football Tournament

I’ve set up a 5 a side tournament over the summer at the local pitches, something that I love anyway. I’ve roped in a few friends to help out with the running of it, and am charging £40 a team. There will be costs involved of hiring pitches etc, so i’ve still got to work it out, but i’m hoping to really do well out of this idea.

Come Lunch with me!

Another lunch idea at work- I’ll be looking to get colleagues to sign up to come lunch with me, and then once we’ve got numbers hope to convince someone to bring in lunch for 8 people every day, working on the basis that most people are spending £3 - £4 on lunch anyway on a sandwich, so they should be willing to pay more for something extra. Sure this will spice things up and competitive nature will take over!

eBay

Never underestimate eBay, you really can sell anything on that site! Get used to it, make it your best friend, talk to it, hug it, kiss it... ok i’ve gone too far, but you get the idea! I’ve also approached my mum, dad and grandma about anything they might not use anymore and want to sell. Sure they won't mind if I put a little bit of the profit towards the good cause!

As I've mentioned these ideas may be suited to me (and I've done some of them before when I did fundraise a few years back) but everyone is different. You’ve probably noticed a food and booze theme with all of my suggestions, ha! Whether it’s a dance class, fashion show, or sporting event, I do think it’s important to think big, my Pub Quiz and Football Tournament are crucial to my donations and everything else are ideas that I think will work but am happy to adapt.

There are so many ideas out there, and it’s all about choosing the right ones for you. Anything which keeps your family, friends and colleagues entertained is even better, and before you know it you'll be reaching your fundraising target!