This time of year many charities are releasing dates for their 2012 Midnight Walks. The walks are planned to start at midnight, normally the route is set around the 10k mark but could be shorter or longer depending on the route.
All fitness levels are welcome on the walks and often the Charity Website will offer tips and hints on training and fitness on the run-up to the event.

What to Wear at a Midnight Walk?

Sometimes the event planners will supply and t-shirt with the Charities name on it but often walker will dress up to brighten up the walk.  Flashing Bunny Ears are very popular as well as glow in the dark jewellery such as glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces.
Generally planned in the summer months so you can enjoy your walk in warm temperatures and hopefully dry, but you can never plan these things with the good old English weather!

Check with your chosen Charity to see if they are planning a Midnight Walk this year, maybe they have annouced the dates on a Facebook Page or Twitter?
On the walk itself there will be Marshalls to guide you all the way, often with refreshments through-out the walk.  You may want to think about taking your own water bottle with you and even a snack or energybar to keep you going.

Finally when you have finished your walk you will be presented with a Medal commemorating your achievement.  The feeling of achievement and satisfaction for completing the walk and raising money for your chosen charity is second to none so look online now and see if youhave a Midnight Walk planned in your local area.

If you are planning to enter or you have already entered into a local race (They fill up fast) now is the time to start planning your day.

How do you intend to raise money for the charity?  Many people will get together in a group and collectively raise money, you may want to organise collection boxes or collection buckets in preparation for your fundraising plans.  Why not ask if the collection box could be left at work to help generate funds, or in any local groups you may attend.  Remember that collecting money on the street will require a licence from the local authority before hand.

What do you plan to wear on the day?  More and more nowadays people are wearing fancy dress to the race day.  Feather Boas and Pink Hats are very popular.  What about Pink Flashing Headbands?

We always advise that you start your fundraising plans as early as possible, organise a group of friends or work colleagues to raise money together.

Finally don’t forget to set yourself a fitness plan in advance, not only will this give you a great feeling raising money for a charity, but you will also be keeping yourself fit and will give you a goal to work toward.

Finally ENJOY YOUR DAY

One of our must popular ranges this time of year are the Christmas Soft Toys, which are often used for Charity Raffles at many different events.  Hold a raffle at your local school or business to help raise funds and awareness.

Small Christmas Charity Raffles

Research your Local Authority charity collection rules before you plan any fundraising.  Generally a small raffle, with tickets sold on the day of the draw will not need a licence.  Your tickets should not be sold for more than £1.00 a ticket.  You have a maximum spend of £250 on your prize, but you can have donated prizes above this limit.  You can only offer gifts or vouchers as your prize, not cash.  All your proceeds must be donated to your chosen charity.  Choose a selection of Christmas Soft Toys and Branded Gifts to help promote your charity.

Private Raffles

Another type of raffle that does not need to be registered is a private raffle.  Tickets will be sold to people working or living in the same premises or are members of an organisation or club.

Society Charity Raffles

A Society Raffle will need to be registered with your local authority to obtain a license.  You must ensure that you comply with the Gaming Board.  Tickets Cab be sold over a period of time.  You are able to sell tickets to the general public.  The maximum price you can charge for each ticket is £2.  You must register with your local authority licensing department. There is a cost to purchase the license which is around £30-£40 for a year.  You will need to have a named promoter who is responsible for the raffle.  You must follow the authorities rules on how to administer the raffle and what must be printed on the tickets.

Charity Raffles are always a great way to raise money for your chosen event, people have the ‘Feel Good’ factor purchasing tickets and the chance to win a prize too!

Within the UK, Christmas Cards are one of the biggest fundraising channels for a charity. More funds are raised by the sale of charity cards than by any other product.  Festive Fates are a good idea, bring and buy sales and home made crafts and Christmas Charity Products are popular at Christmas time.

Organise an event where people bring items like books and DVDs to sell, have festive themed charity products such as Christmas Candles and christmas soft toys, Charity Christmas Decorations that promote your charity. Buying a Christmas Decoration to hang on the Christmas tree is satifiying, knowing that you have helped a charity at Christmas time.

Some festive fundraising ideas include:

Making Christmas decorations or crafts

Christmas baking

Carol singing in the local area

Calendars (of the local area)

Christmas Loose Change Boxes can be used at your fate to further promote your charity.  Christmas Carol Singing events are often seen around shopping area’s to help generate funds, have Christmas Candle holders with a battery night light and maybe even Santa Outfits to really get into the spirit of things. Remeber to have your Charity Collection Boxes at the ready!

A licence is required by anyone collecting money or selling aricles from door-to-door for charitable purposes and it is an offence to hold a collection without one. An applicant may be expected to provide evidence of their integrity and the bona fide nature of the charity for you are collecting before permission is granted. This is normally by the applicant consenting to a check of their antecedents with the local police and providing details of registration of the parent charity with the Charity Commission.

Collecting money at Christmas time can be very rewarding both on a personal level and for your dedicated charity so enjoy planning your Christmas Fate and remember to tell everyone after the event how much your raised for your charity.

At Care from Contraband we have launched our new Christmas Catalogue to ensure your existing and new clients have plenty of time to prepare for this busy period.

We hope that these fundraising ideas will help you with your charity organisation:

• We all know the saying “Charity begins at home’, so ask friends and family to get involved with your event.
• Charity Sponsored Christmas Cards spread the word and with a % of the price being donated to your charity is a great way to raise funds.
• Why not organise a Christmas Carol Choir outside your local supermarket or shopping centre?  Remember to ask permission from your local authority.  Use Charity collection boxes to receive donations whilst you sing.
• Christmas Toys are a great purchase in the festive season, Christmas soft toys are always a popular purchase and with a % going to your charity it is a great reason for someone to purchase them!
• Santa Fun Runs – through the UK there are many organised Santa Fun Runs.  Many events have already been organised locally, most runners tend to wear fancy dress and Santa suits are the most popular choice.

Finally remember, which ever fundraising ideas you have for this Christmas period, your plans will help will remind people of the true spirit of Christmas!

Charity Products for Christmas

Charities need to plan in advance their Christmas Merchandise, this is a good time of year to raise funds for Charities.  Charity Christmas Cards and Charity Badges are very popular.

Christmas Soft Toys

We find that soft toys such as our Festive Friends and Snowy the Reindeer are a great choice and can be supplied with Counter Top Boxes for your displays.

New Fundraising Christmas Products in 2011

We asked your for feedback on what you wanted for Fundarising Products for Christmas and this is what you said:

“We want a badge that we can use for Christmas but also fits our Tree for Life and Lights of Love services”

“A Christmas badge would be much better and one that is different from the Christmas Emblems.

“A badge that can be branded with my Hospice’s name.”

“We would like more backing card options that are fresh and modern and something of a better quality that I can offer to my corporate suppers at their Christmas events, maybe even as place cards!”

We will be uploading more great new products for Christmas very soon, and download our Badges Brochure for our designs.

1. Why?

The best place to start on your plan is the purpose of your event. Is it just a fundraising event? Or does it have any other goals? You may want to raise money for your charity but you may also want to raise awareness of the charity or reach out to a new network. Planning the need and the goal will help you organise the event correctly.

2. Your Fundraising Goal:

Plan a meeting with your committee, staff, and key any fundraisers,  as you need to agree on the amount of money you plan to raise at the event. If this is truly a fundraising event, then everything in the event plan will be geared to raising this specific amount of money. The amount you choose should be what you hope to net, that is, the amount you plan to raise less the expenses paid out.

3. The Budget:

You’ll need to plan in advance your expected budget for your event.  This should include things such as any staff wages and costs, invitations, venue rental costs, catering, entertainment, any transportation, will you need to organise toilets and other utilities?  Always remember to leave an amount for any unforeseen expenses that you did not plan for.

4. Target Audience:

Who is the target audience for your event? Is it the sort of event where everyone will be invited? Or is this event geared towards a specific group such as companies, parents, or other professionals? In short, you need to decide who to invite to your event.

5. Set – Up:

Make sure you plan your set-up well in advance. Plan where everything will be. Will food be served? Will there be entertainment? Do you need all your event staff in branded T-shirts promoting your charity? What is the itinerary for the event?

6. Promoting the Event:

Just like a new product or company, your event needs to be marketed to your chosen target audience. You need to encourage your supporters that your charity and event are worthy of their time and money. Plan your marketing for the event or employ a marketing company to help you. Nowadays Social Media is great for Charities and helps with word of mouth advertising reaching large audiences. You may want to purchase promotions goods such as pens or badges to send out and design invitations and adverts.

7. Money Collection:

Once you market your event, how will you be taking money for thel ticket sales, or donations for the event. Do you need to supply Charity Collection Tins, or Donation buckets for the event?  Will you be selling products at the event, such as soft toys, Key Rings or Medals if it’s a sponsored sports events.  Goody bags printed to promote your charity with small gifts are great for visitors and will be used after the event further increasing your charities message.

8. The Run Through:

Gather the staff together and have a dress rehearsal, where they should be during the event, and how the event is going to “flow.” If you are having a large or unusual event, the key event staff may want to have a practice run to make sure that your operation is running smoothly and everyone knows where they should be on the day.

9. Thank You:

Remember to thank everyone involved in the event, send thank-you notes to everyone, including contributors, volunteers, staff and vendors. You may want to plan this event again next year and everyone will remember the thank you note.

10. After the Event:

Remember to tell everyone how much you raised on and after the event, you could do this through your Social Media pages.  Send out further promotional gifts commemorating the day, pens are a great reminder for the charity, goodies such as Mugs and wrist bands help promote your charity long after the event.

Did you know that in England and Wales, there are around 170,000 main charities that are registered with the Charity Commission? Most of the Charities are not for profit organisations so they depend on receiving their donations through different types of fundraising events, and charity merchandise.

Raising Charity Funding through Merchandising

Branded Charity Bags, charity wrist bands, charity key rings, charity medals, branded clothing, soft toys, badges and pens containing the charity’s logo are all great ways of promoting the charity through promotional merchandise. Not only is this a great way of increasing the money raised for the charity, it also increases the brand awareness and encourages others to support the charity.

Charity Badges

We find that badges tend to be the most successful and cost effective way for national and local charity organisations to promote themselves and their cause. Badges can be worn by people of any age and shows support for the charity.

Charity Collection Boxes

Charity buckets and collection boxes are a fantastic way of generating money at a planned charity event, charity buckets can be personalised to promote the charity.  Sponsored walks and Charity events are planned all over the UK and promoting your chosen charity with a personalised label gives the donator peace of mind.Personalised Charity ClothingPersonalised charity clothing is the latest way to promote a charity, we are now starting to see ‘Wear it Pink’ in supermarkets across the country.  Branded running vests and printed T-Shirts are great for a fun day or event.

Planning your Charity DayThis really is a whole blog topic of its own and we’ll post one soon, but basically you need to plan: Where, When, What, Contingency and After The Event.  On our next blog we’ll help you with great tips!

When it comes to raising money for charity events a great way to accomplish this is through charity fundraising. Many organisations rely on large amounts of money being raised for their cause to keep them going.  Their main focus is to promote charity events that will spread the word about their specific cause.

As with all fundraising events money can be raised through these events but not many people really understand the cause.  However, to make people more aware organisers can use promotional materials to raise money for the events as well as strengthen the cause by raising the awareness of the cause in people.

Various fundraising products are available where you can promote the cause. One particular product that works well with charity events are medals. A range of medals is available – personalised, handbag/charm medals, enamelled medals and ribbons and price buster medals to name a few. Medals are a great way of raising awareness of a cause.

Personalise your Medals

By having the cause stamped on the medal it makes it focal point. Creativity also plays an important point. For example if you are promoting a running or walking event then the medal ribbon could represent the colours for the charity with the logo stamped on the medal.

Colour your Ribbons to match your Charity

One of the best ways to spread the message of your cause is to theme your personalised medals or handbag/charm medals. Look at the cause you are raising money for. For example if it is for breast cancer then the colour pink is always associated with this cause. Use pink ribbons round the medal and stamp the medal with a slogan relating to the cause.

Many medal charity products are available but it is important you select a product of the highest quality.  Always choose a well made product. A bad choice or poor quality product will give a bad impression of your cause and company.  Medals are usually given away at the end of the fundraising event so if it is a personalised medal ensure it is of the highest quality. Make it extra special and compliment the medal with a small gift box again promoting the cause.

Whatever fundraising products you are looking for be it personalised medals or any other product you can be sure that Care from Contraband will go that extra mile to design it to your requirements ensuring it fits well with your charity cause and event. Our comprehensive website has many promotional products available including a whole range of medals.

Whatever your medal requirements for your chosen fundraising event are, Care from Contraband are here to advise and assist you all the way

Local support for victims of the Pakistan flooding was very strong in communities with strong ties to Pakistan. Collecting boxes and buckets were quickly mobilised to capture generous donations.

Some pundits forecasted the amalgamation of national charities with similar concerns and aims to present one identity, one voice and one focus. Witness Age UK formed from Age Concern and Help the Aged. Supporters run, walk, skydive, golf and work in Age UK shops.  So many opportunities to promote the charity and bringing in donations and so many ways of recognising the efforts of volunteers.

Event fundraising has become a major source of income – Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life combines a great ladies day out with lot of fun and camaraderie but with a serious emotional message behind it.

Just one look at the photographs show the enjoyment and commitment –not to mention the great outfits !

Recent figures suggest that in the area of events, charities are finding that numbers are down as well as the amount raised per participant.  Does anyone have any bright ideas to tweak these events back to maximum profitability?

Unique local charities such as hospices capture the hearts of local communities, most of whom will have had some contact with the hospice in one form or another.  Perhaps the desire to support a local charity will be the saving grace for hospices who bind their supporters to them through often very emotional ents such as Light Up A Life.  Tasteful products to support the event add to the memorable atmosphere.

Joint regional or citywide events would capitalise on this supporter base across a number of hospices.

There is a race to develop attractive, low cost products to tempt the £1 out of every pocket – and to offer fun products for potential younger supporters. “Silly Bands” “Magic Bands” failed to live up to the hype of the next big craze in UK – but hit the spot in the USA! Perhaps slap wrists will do better!

Finally, it’s coming up to Christmas, so if you are still looking for Santa Dash Medals or Toy Story Characters  – give us a ring!