HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR FUNDRAISING

1.   Get the word out!! Tell everyone about it – your local shopkeepers, your colleagues, friends, family, neighbours, clients – don’t be shy!  It really is a numbers game! The more people you reach the better the chances of gaining sponsorship.

2.  Work signature - add your fundraising page and a brief message, so more people see it.

3.  Get your most generous supporters to donate first, so other will follow suit.

4.  Know what you’re talking about– people have a lot of misconceptions about homelessness  so be prepared to tackle the views that homeless young people all have alcohol issues, drug issues or “it’s their own faults” – but be respectful – these people are hopefully going to sponsor you.  Please see our website for further information about why young people become homeless.

5.   Accept that no means no and that people can have very personal reasons for not giving, including their own lack of financial security.

6.  Choose the right day– Friday afternoons are good for fundraising…Monday mornings aren’t!

7.  Pay Day– If you know when your colleagues get paid, use that information!

8.  Use social media but don’t rely on it – people’s newsfeeds are full of interesting information, including sponsorship requests, so experiment with posting at different times of day – use a photo of yourself so it stands out – people respond to photos.  Connect with us on social media by tagging us and using #DoorwayNuneaton  your posts.

      Facebook 

• Over 30% of visits to online sponsorship pages come from Facebook, so it can be an incredibly useful tool to help you raise money for us.
• Use status updates to keep everyone informed about your progress (and always include a link to your sponsorship page).
• Make your profile photo relate to your fundraising event and update the photo.
• Post a note about your fundraising page and whenever you update your fundraising page, post it on Facebook.
• Create your own Facebook group or event and invite your friends to join.
• When your friends sponsor you, ask them to add it as their new status update so their friends know too.
• Don’t forget to share your story – the people you know will care about your reasons for raising money for Doorway.

      Twitter

• It’s so easy to spread the word about your fundraising in just 140 characters.
• Tweet regularly to keep followers interested but do not ask for money in every tweet.
• Use hashtags to group your tweets by subject and make them easy to find.
• Retweet others and get them to retweet your messages.
• Link your Twitter account to your online sponsorship page.
• Doorway’s Twitter is @doorway2 – you can tweet us to let us know how your fundraising’s going.

9.    Carry on up to and after the event– take photos when you get there and during the event and post these to social media and please email them to Doorway!  Our email address is [email protected]

10.  Write about your experience– a big thank you email can generate more sponsorship.

11.  Make it personal– why are you doing it? If you are passionate about it, this will come across when you ask people to hand over their cash!

12.  Recruit friends to do it with you, word of mouth is free – the more friends you have doing it with you, the further the word will spread.

13.  Share your participation on all social channels with updates of funds raised, plus photos of all achievements.

14.  Get your employer to match what you’ve raised after the event (many workplaces have a charity matched funding scheme – ask!) If there is one in place, as they may be able to match your fundraising total made after the event. Your £350 could turn into £700!

15.  Keep going- remember to keep raising money after the event. Add photo's, posts and updates and remember to resend/share the link. We ask each participant to set a minimum target of £200 in sponsorship. Don't worry if you don't reach your fundraising target, there's plenty of opportunities to increase your total after the event!

16. Say Thank You- write a personal thank you that will automatically be sent to everyone who sponsors you.

Thank you for supporting Doorway!