Help & Advice

Choosing a target figure is often the best thing to do right at the beginning of your fundraising venture – it helps you to stay motivated by giving you a focus.

Once you have a target in mind think about how you can reach that target. Could you charge for tickets to your event? Could you run raffles or competitions on the night? Could you charge for refreshments or gain sponsors for your activity?

If you are taking part in an organised event such as a running, trekking, swimming or cycle challenge, you may find that you are asked to raise a specific amount of money to take part.

This can often seem as difficult and time consuming as the training for that event itself but fear not, we have a few easy handy hints and tips to help you reach your fundraising goals!

Sponsorship forms

We can provide you with official good old-fashioned sponsorship forms. Carry them with you everywhere you go and ask friends, family and colleagues to sponsor you.

Just Giving

Alternatively, you can create an online sponsor form at www.justgiving.com where friends and family can donate securely, wherever they are in the world. Simply click on ‘Start Fundraising’, register your details and select ‘Compton Care’ as your chosen charity. All money raised through Just Giving will come directly to Compton Care and Gift Aid will automatically be collected.

Small ‘add on’ fundraisers

In your mission to hit your fundraising target, you could put on some mini fundraisers in the run up to the main event:

• Cake it until you make it: Make like Mary Berry and bake cakes to sell at work or school. Twenty cupcakes at £1 each gives you £20 towards your total. Alternatively, make a huge fruit cake and sell it by the slice instead!
• Suds up: Nobody likes washing their car, especially not in the cold winter months. Why not offer to take on the chore for them. Five cars at £5 each makes £25.
• Chill out for cash: A great idea for those who like nothing better than a good night in! Invite all your friends round and ask them
• Nothing like the present: Let’s be honest, how many bath sets can a person really need? Why not ask for donations instead of presents on birthdays and at Christmas instead?
• Ask us another one: Quiz nights always go down well in pubs, clubs and schools. Charge teams to enter and take on their opponents for the title of “Ultimate General Knowledge Genius.”

A fundraising event can be a great way to do something different with friends, family and colleagues.

Rope in everyone you can think of and utilise their skills to help you put on your event.

If you are already a part of a group such as The Rotary, Guides, Scouts or Explorers think about whether it’s something that the unit could do together as part of their community service.

The key to a successful event is letting people know that it is happening in the first place and there are plenty of ways that you can do it:

Leaflets, Posters and Flyers

Even in a world where digital rules, an effective and well produced leaflet has the power to stick in someone’s mind. Printed materials are great to hand out in public spaces, display on notice boards or pop in the post.

Remember to always get permission before handing out/leaving leaflets in public places.

Head over to our download area to get your Compton Care poster template.

Press Release

You can send a press release to magazines, newspapers and tv and radio stations.

Keep it short and punchy (try to stay under 350 words) and make sure that you cover the big five: Who, What, Where, When and How.

Ideally, your press release should be sent to a number of different publications as there is no guarantee that it will be printed. If you don’t like the idea of writing a press release, simply call the news desk at your local paper and tell them all about your event.

Paid Advertising

Budget permitting, you may wish to pay to advertise in local media including newspapers, magazines, radio and online. By paying for advertising space you guarantee that your information will be published.

Social Media

Social media is a great platform to use to advertise your event. Facebook is perfect for setting up an event group amongst your friends to tell them what’s going on, whilst Twitter and LinkedIn are ideal for contacting local businesses and clubs for raffle prizes.

Don’t forget to share lots of pictures of your event or activity and add a links to your Just Giving page.

Don’t let anything stand in the way of your event being a huge success. There are rules, regulations, permissions and insurances that can seem a little daunting at first, but you need to be aware of them if you are fundraising.

We’ve tried to make it as easy as possible to help you to keep your event safe and have included a risk assessment template for you to fill in in our downloads area.

Take some time to have a look through the following information.

Cash Handling

When you’ve worked so hard to raise funds for a cause that you believe in, make sure to keep them safe. We suggest that wherever possible you have two people to count and transport any cash. During your event have a locked cash box or sealed donation bucket on hand to ensure that your funds are secure.

We can provide secure, branded Compton Care collection buckets for you, which are also a great way of promoting the cause during your event.

Collections

If you plan to carry out a collection in a public space, you must ensure that you have secured a collections licence from your local authority. This is also the same for house to house, business to business and pub to pub collections.

We ask that due to increasing levels of concern from the general public around these types of collections, that you contact the fundraising team for written permission, regardless of whether or not you have been given a licence by the local authority, before carrying out these collections.

Collections in a private space are not governed under the same licensing laws. If you intend to collect in your local pub or have hired a space to run your event, you won’t need to obtain a licence, however, you may just need to gain permission from the owner or manager of the premises. Again, our fundraising team will be more than happy to provide you with a letter of authority if you require one.

Contractors and suppliers

If you intend to use outside suppliers (eg. Food vans, DJ’s, Bouncy Castle suppliers, Marquee hire companies etc), you must have proof of their public liability insurance and their risk assessments.

Always use reputable companies and if anything looks unsafe on the day of your event, do not be afraid to stop all activity immediately.

Data Protection

If you need to collect people’s data for the event (eg: Name/ phone number/ address) you must ensure that it is kept in a safe place and complies with current data protection laws.

You should not keep data any longer than it is needed and you must not share the data without the person’s explicit permission. More information can be found at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/12/contents/enacted

You can also find further information can also be found on the Fundraising Regulator, Institute of Fundraising and UK Government websites.

Event Alcohol and Public Entertainment Licences

If your event includes the sale of alcohol and/or live music you may need to obtain a licence from your local council.

Visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/entertainment-licensing-changes-under-the-live-music-act for more information or contact your local authority licensing department for advice.

First aid

Depending on what your event is, you may need to think about first aid provisions. This might be asking someone who is officially first aid trained to be on hand, or you could contact local first aid providers such as St Johns Ambulance or the Red Cross.

Our fundraising team can also make suggestions for providers on request.

Food Hygiene

Food hygiene is vitally important when running an event. You should take great care when handling food and work to basic rules for safe preparation, storage, display and cooking.

The Foods Standard Agency provide lots of helpful advice and guidelines to ensure that your food is safe for consumption. If you choose to use an outside caterer instead, you must ensure that they provide you with copies of their public liability insurance, food hygiene certificates and risk assessments.

Health and Safety Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a vital part of your event planning, and identifying any risks (E.G slippy surfaces, live electrics, fire hazards) will help you to ensure that safety measures are in place and the chance of injury is reduced.

Full advice on how to start putting a risk assessment together can be found here http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety/getting-started.htm. and we also have a template in our downloads area.

Insurance

Your event or activity is not covered by Compton Care insurance and it is up to you to organise your own. Often venues and equipment come with insurance cover, however, it is up to you to check that this is the case.

Depending on the event you may need to organise public liability insurance. This can be easily obtained via most compare websites and we can offer advice if you need it.

Publicity Materials

You will need to think about creating some publicity materials to promote your event. Our handy poster template can be found in our downloads area and includes our logo and registered charity number.

Please ensure that you specify in all of your materials that your event is “in aid of” or “in support of” Compton Care.

Raffles, Lotteries and Prize Draws

There are very strict guidelines that you must follow when it comes to raffles, lotteries and prize draws. If one or all of these activities will be included in your event, please ensure that you visit https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/home.aspx to find out more information.

We can support you by providing everything from sponsorship forms and leaflets about Compton Care, to collection buckets and branded balloons. Just let your dedicated personal contact know what you think you might need and we’ll either send items to you or arrange a suitable collection dates.

Don’t forget to send us photos from your event – we love to celebrate our supporters’ hard work on our social media pages.

We know that you’ll probably have lots of questions when it comes to putting on or taking part in an event and so we’ve tried to answer some of the most common ones here for you.

If you can’t find the answer you are looking for or feel that you need further information your fundraising representative will be more than happy to help!

How can I cover the cost of my event?

Compton Care are unable to cover the costs of your event. We recommend speaking to local businesses to inquire about sponsorship possibilities or the donation of goods and gifts for raffle prizes.

You may be able to cover some of the costs from the money that you raise, however you must tell your supporters this before they donate to your cause. (e.g. ‘please note that £5 from the cost of all ticket prices goes to Compton Care’)

Can I advertise my event on the Compton Care website?

Due to the number of incredible supporters holding events in our aid, we’re unable to advertise each one on our website, however, we will commit to adding your event to our Facebook page where it can be viewed by all of our followers.

We always love to share our supporter stories on our social media channels and so after your event, we’d love to see photos and hear all about how it went.

Can someone from Compton Care come and speak at my event?

We love to attend your events when we can, however we are only a small team and it is not always possible.

Talk to your fundraising representative if you think you might like one of us to attend and we will do our best to be there.

Can I have a letter of authorisation to collect money?

Yes, we can provide you with a letter of authorisation for your event. Please contact the Fundraising team, either by emailing fundraising@comptoncare.org.uk or calling 0300 323 0250. You can show this to companies and organisations when collecting for raffle prizes etc.

Unfortunately, an authorisation letter does not give you permission to collect on public highways, and you’ll need to obtain a licence to do this. for more information, see our ‘keep it legal‘ section.

How can I make sure my event is safe and legal?

You may need a licence from your local council if you are collecting in a public place, selling alcohol or holding a raffle. We can guide you through the simple steps of keeping it legal, just click our ‘keep it legal‘ tab above.

Your event must also be safe for everyone attending. We have template risk assessment forms and a food hygiene checklist to help you ensure that your fundraiser is fun and safe in our downloads area.

Can I use the Compton Care Logo on my marketing materials?

The Compton Care logo is our badge of pride and the visual stamp that we use to represent our brand and so you must seek our permission before using it.

We are able to send you the correct logo as well as guidelines on how it must be used on request.