SPOTLIGHT ON KARNIVAL

SPOTLIGHT ON KARNIVAL

by Lottie Murray

If you are an avid Portland Building visitor you may well have stumbled across the little room located beside the Get Involved Zone: The Karnival Office. Housing some of the fundraising and volunteering wizards among the student body, Karnvial have had a fantastic influence on the success of various UoN campaigns, yet many students involved with the SU student groups find themselves unsure about who Karnvial *actually* are. We wanted to find out more about some of the great UoN fundraising campaigns which they are facilitating and a little bit more about the history of this organisation. Impact’s Lottie Murray chats with Bradley, Volunteering Director, and Josie, Publicity Officer, to hear about some of the highlights of their work, the plethora of upcoming events the team have planned, and their tips for running your own personal, or society-led, campaigns…

The Community Living Guide have described Karnival as a student organisation which “supports a range of local, national and international charities as well as campaigns like Movember. They put the fun in fundraising, running events throughout the year such as fashion shows, charity sports tournaments and society collaborations like Take You Out with NSTV”. One of the main goals of Karnvial this year, in particular, is to collaborate more with other student groups. There are so many fantastic fundraising events which take place throughout the academic year but there is always room for more…

It is often very difficult to know where to start with running a campaign, especially since students do not require detailed fundraising and volunteering training as part of their committee/membership positions. The current Karnival team is really dedicated to getting the word out there that they are here to offer advice to students. Anything from gaining a better understanding of charity law regulations to finding out where you can borrow a card machine from for an event - the team has got you covered!

Josie shared some of her top tips for fundraising so if you have a brilliant idea but you’re unsure how to bring it to fruition then they have got you covered in this step by step guide (you’re welcome):

1. Idea time: think EAST (easy, appealing, social, timely)

2. Make use of your networks – what will appeal to your society?

3. Now think logistics. What resources do you need to make this event happen? Can you get hold of them?

4. Put in an event form. If you’re uncertain how, go to the next step and ask us to help you!

5. Go to our instagram bio and click on “How can Karnival help you?”. Tell us what you’re doing, and we can discuss how to support you!

6. Think about the best date to maximise your audience and book your location (the links for stall and room bookings are in the weekly student groups newsletter)

7. Gather your resources and your helpers. It’s worth contacting the charity you’re raising for to see if they can send you any resources.

8. Put out promo – use your society’s instagram, use ours, talk to other societies whose members may be interested. This is THE most important step.

9. Run your event and have fun! Tag us in any pics or posts.

10. If you’ve borrowed a card reader, send an email to get the money transferred to the charity.

Karnival don’t solely offer advice though and what makes them such a valuable resource for individual society fundraising events is their proven ability to host their own brilliant events. In the 2014-2015 academic year, Karnival was the largest student-led fundraising organisation in Europe and raised £1,766,528 for 14 different charities.

As well as fundraising events around Nottingham, Karnival, as a collective, also participates in various challenges throughout the academic year. This year, there will be five different challenges for students to participate in: Kilimanjaro Tre, Machu Picchu Trek, Morocco High Atlas Mountains Trek, UK 3 Peaks Trek, Budapest Marathon. So if you are up for getting the new year in full swing by embarking on a new adventure, this one is definitely for you! These challenges have been really impactful in the past with the organisation’s 2022/23 challenge total was an impressive £48,115 raised by 46 students.

For more information on Karnival and how to get involved in their upcoming events and volunteering initiatives, please check out @nottinghamkarnival on Instagram.

Karnvial have a list of things planned for the upcoming year so if want to help raise money by volunteering for some great causes whilst having fun with your friends, we definitely think you to check them out:

Christmas Foodbank collection, 15th Dec 2-5pm Take Me Out, Feb 14th 2024