Fundraising Hints and Tips - sponsored events If you are planning on undertaking a sponsored event on behalf of the RSPCA you might want to try some of our hints and tips to raise funds. Your fundraising efforts will be gratefully appreciated by the local RSPCA branches and animal homes who care for the many thousands of sick, injured and abused animals brought to them every year! Raising money for local animal welfare work If you choose to raise money for your RSPCA local branch, we will inform them that you intend to take part in a sponsored event on behalf of the RSPCA. This will ensure that any money raised will go to local animal welfare work. If you choose to raise money for RSPCA HQ, the money raised will go to national projects. Attracting sponsorship: a) Local businesses Try to seek sponsorship by writing to local businesses that you know personally and feel might support you. If you know something about the Branch and the work you might be raising money for please include this in the letter. b) Friends and family In order to soften the approach to friends and family you could hold an informal gathering such as a hold a pasta party, cheese and wine, coffee morning to explain what you are doing and how you are going about it. Other Fundraising ideas: 1. Guess your finish time This idea works well if you are participating in a bicycle ride (over a set amount of miles), marathon, half marathon or fun run. It works as long as you do not give people an idea as to how long you might take to complete the event. You also need to provide a prize, for example a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine. The idea is people pay £1 to guess how long you will take to complete the event. Draw up a form with a range of likely finishing times on it – say up to about 50. As people to write their name next to their guess. The winner is the person who guesses the closest to your actual finishing time. 2. Sponsor a mile for £1 Use the template provided if you are doing a marathon, half marathon or fun run. Ask people to sponsor a mile of your activity by filling in their name in the space provided. If you are doing an event that is more than 26 miles you might want to draw up a form that takes in to account the number of miles or kilometres you are planning to cover. 3. Sponsor forms The conventional method of obtaining sponsorship. It helps if you have a willing friend or friends who can help by circulating a sponsor form where they work and collecting the money after you have completed the event. If you require further sponsor forms please contact HQ. Try to obtain sponsorship up front if possible – the ideas above are good for collecting money up front - otherwise let sponsors know the date you will be collecting the money. Use the poster to tell people when you will be in collecting sponsorship. You could always take a bucket of sweets along to act as an incentive! Sponsorship Form The following link is to a Microsoft Word Document containing a ready made sponsorship form. If you do not have software capable of opening Microsoft Word Documents you will not be able to view this page. Sponsorship Form