Your fundraising efforts are vital, helping to fund hospice care across Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, Lewes, Uckfield and everywhere in between.
Our fundraising team are here to help your event be as successful as possible!
There are many different types of events or fundraising opportunities you can organise yourself.
Here are some examples:
- A quiz night, evening of bingo or night at the races
- A coffee morning, garden party or a ball
- A raffle, cake sale or car wash
How to make your event a success
Set a target
Fundraisers often tell us that they find it helpful to set an amount they’d like to raise. Working towards a goal will keep you motivated and may boost the donations you receive.
Venue
When choosing a venue think about the ease of access, parking and the distance that people will have to travel. Please also ensure your venue allows for the introduction of Covid-19 safety measures, such as social distancing and sanitisation stations. Consider hire costs too; do you know someone who could provide a free venue or one at a discounted rate?
If you are holding an event consider that you may need permission from the local councils.
Selling tickets
If you run a ticketed event, we always recommend selling tickets ahead of the event. This allows you to track numbers and ensure you have enough of everything you might need.
That way you’ll raise money even if the people decide not to come on the day. Ensure you have a cancellation policy in place.
Prizes for raffles and auctions
People love buying raffle tickets or participating in an auction, but you will find you will not need as many prizes as people generally think you do; the motto ‘less is more’ works best!
We recommend having a limited range of smaller to more expensive items. Reach out to local businesses to see if they would be happy to provide a prize.
Support from your employer
Ask your employer to support you either by making a donation or allowing you to hold an event for employees, such as a cake sale or dress down day.
To find out more about corporate fundraising, please visit our corporate fundraising page.
Support from local businesses
If your event will be open to the public, consider approaching a local business to sponsor you. In return, you could offer recognition in your event promotion and at the event itself. Local estate agents might be willing to sponsor advertising boards in your local area – this is great exposure that might inspire extra support.
Promote your event
Promote your fundraiser on social media, by distributing leaflets and posters, adding your event to local community websites and contacting your local paper or radio station.
If you’d like to use our logo or some of our hospice photos, or are interested in hospice merchandise, please get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to help. We can also supply you banners, buckets and collection tins if you’d like any at your event.
What branded fundraising material can I borrow from the Hospice?
- Collection buckets and tins
- T-shirts
- Table cloths
- Banners
- Gazebo
We can also promote your event by sharing it across our social media channels; simply tag us @StPeterStJames on Instagram or Twitter. You can also use #STPJFundraise to see how other people are fundraising for St Peter & St James Hospice.
To add your event to the event page of our website, please fill out the form below and our fundraising team will contact you to confirm:
Register Event
Read Carol's fundraising story”I’ve always wanted to throw myself out of a plane, but as I live with Multiple Sclerosis, it’s something I’ve never been able to do. I was keen to try something more adrenaline-fuelled to help the hospice so they suggested the next best thing – an indoor skydive!
How to keep your event legal and safe
Fundraising is all about having fun and raising money, but it’s also subject to laws and legislation. Our fundraising team are happy to offer advice where needed and to help sign post you to more information regarding legal matters and health and safety.
Here are some things you need to consider when holding a fundraising event:
- If you are planning a collection in a publicly owned place, this is governed by strict legal requirements. All raffles, lotteries and prize draws are also governed by gambling legislation. Please see here for more information.
- If you are handling people’s personal data, you must ensure that any paper or electronic records you obtain comply with the General Data Protection Regulator guidelines from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
- When you are organising a fundraising event, you are responsible for making sure it is as safe as possible for attendees. We therefore always recommend doing a risk assessment. Our fundraising team is more than happy to help if required.
- If you are serving food and drink, please keep to basic food hygiene rules for safe preparation, storage, display and cooking. You can find more information, here on Food.Gov.uk
