Plan your own fundraising event
Be creative, have fun and become a fundraiser and help raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. The possibilities are endless, let your imagination run wild…
Fundraising ideas
What do you want to plan? There are so many different charity fundraising ideas, some take a little more planning than others, so choose something that you can manage. It is always best to do something that interests you and that you can have fun with.
Keep it simple....
- Beard or head shave
- Caption competition (using a photo of the boss?!)
- Dress down day
- Fancy dress pub crawl
- Guess the baby photo competition
- Guess the number of sweets in a jar
- Sponsored slim, swim, silence and so on
- A swear box
- Sporting sweepstakes
A little more complicated…
- Afternoon tea stall at work
- Barbeque, cheese and wine evening, or a coffee morning
- Bingo or raffle
- A friendly football, rugby or cricket match
- Golf, snooker, tennis, bowling or tug of war tournaments
- Karaoke evening
- Pool contest
- Pub games
- Treasure Hunt
For the event organisers out there.....
- Ball or dance or gala evenin (with an exciting theme)
- Fete
- Fashion show
- Indoor games evening
- Music evening
- Parties around seasonal events - Valentine's, Easter, Christmas etc
- Quiz or race night
- Staff party
- Talent show
- Themed night
Choose a venue
Now you have your fundraising idea, you need to decide where you will hold your fundraising event.
Can you hold it in your house or garden? Or maybe a friend or relative is willing to help? Could you hold it at work or school?
If you are going to hire a venue, always tell them it is a charity event - they may give you a discount (or even better - for free) If you are going to hold your event in a public area, always get permission from the local council. Or if it will be on private the land, get the land owner's permission!
Things to consider when hiring a venue:
- How many people will be attending?
- How big does it need to be?
- Do you need disabled access?
- Is there sufficient parking?
- Is it easy for people to find?
- How can they get there?
- Will you need insurance?
Get organised
Depending on your event, you will need to arrange different things. Always try to get things donated – many companies are more than happy to give free materials or prizes in return for a little publicity!
Market your event
Now you have your event and venue sorted, it's time to get people involved. Again, the event you are planning will depend on how you publicise your event.
If your keeping it simple and within the people you know - email your friends and work collegues, use your company newsletter or intranet, put posters up around your work, email clients and suppliers.
If you want more local involvement from the community also put posters up in local churches, libraries, supermarkets, shops, clubs, societies, pubs - many will have notice boards for exactly that reason. If you want to get even more coverage, why not contact your local newspaper, radio or televison station, get them to follow your fundraising progress and place an advert on how people can take part and get involved (always include your contact details so that people can get in touch!)?
Keep it legal
When raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, we ask you to bear our good name in mind. Please make sure everything you do is within the law. If you aren't sure, ask – we are here to help.
Three basic laws to bear in mind:
- It is illegal to collect door to door.
- If you are collecting money in a public area, always ask for permission from the local council.
- If you are collecting money on private land, always get the landowner's permission.
Read more fundraising hints and tips
Support
We are here to help you every step of the way. We can provide you with sponsorship forms, collection cans, help with your publicity and marketing – or anything else you need. We want to help you make the most of your event and raise as much money as possible.
For more information and support, please visit the Regional fundraising support section and find your local regional contact.
Alternatively, please contact the events department on:
