SSJ Fundraising Guide

SOCIETY OF ST JAMES

FUNDRAISING

GUIDE

Thank You! You’ve decided to fundraise for the Society of St James? Thank you! Here’s a handy fundraising guide to get you started. We hope you have fun!

Thank you for choosing to raise money to support people who are vulnerable to homelessness in Hampshire.

The money you raise enables us to provide much more than just a roof over someone’s head. It allows us to offer the extra support that makes a real difference .

A Nice Cuppa You’d be surprised at the difference a cup of tea makes, and how many cups of tea we can make for just £1.

Sitting down with a cuppa is often the very first step someone will make in starting to look at their problems.

Sounds like such a small thing, doesn’t it? But a cup of tea and a chat can remind someone that they are not alone.

That reminder can be a crucial first step towards making positive changes in their life.

How many cups can we make with £1?

250, yep, 250 cups of tea for just £1!

So that £1 could be turned into 250 people’s first step to transforming their life for the better.

So what ’s next?

You know you want to support SSJ by fundraising for us - so where do you start?

We find the most important first step is setting your target and your time frame. Decide what you are aiming to raise (whether that’s £20, £100, £3000 or any other number for that matter!) and how long you are giving yourself to achieve your target.

You can set up a JustGiving fundraising page by visiting www.justgiving.com/societyofstjames When you have set up your page, you can let us know if you are fundraising through one of our organised events.

It ’s really important to remember that small amounts of money x lots of people = lots of lives changed .

We are so grateful for every single donation we receive.

Why fundraise for us?

Beccy did it for families dealing with addictions Beccy has worked for SSJ for 16 years in a variety of roles. She decided to fundraise specifically for a new project, MPACT (Moving Parents and Children Together), which she was leading.

Action on Addiction’s MPACT programme aims to reduce the harm caused to children and young people by parental substance use. It is an 8 week programme which the whole family can attend together and it gives the family an opportunity to have a better understanding of addiction, its effect on the family as a whole and to work together to develop coping skills.

SSJ didn’t have specific funding to run MPACT, but believed so strongly in the programme that we were determined to run it.

Beccy was passionate about the project, and knew the difference it could make to the families she was working with. She signed up to take part in an overseas challenge in India, and raised an amazing £2000+ towards the running costs of MPACT.

“We have run two programmes so far and have seen positive outcomes for the families we have worked with . I have always been passionate about the work we do and am proud to be part of this valuable project so to be able to personally fundraise for it was a great achievement for me .”

Beccy (Himalayas Trek)

“Fundraising was at times a very daunting and slow process, but on the flip side it was a great team building experience and was at times fun and exciting.”

Sue (Himalayas Trek)

Where does the money go? £50 could pay for transport costs so that someone can visit their family and start rebuilding damaged relationships. £2000 could pay for all 22 young people living in our specialist young people’s hostel to take part in a 12 week film-making course, giving them a chance to develop skills, build confidence and make their voices heard. £300 could buy clothing and equipment so that 14 people can take part in a landscaping course to improve their employability.

“Every dynamic and area of my life has changed through this service .”

Justin (pictured) who has been involved with SSJ’s addiction recovery services.

What?

It doesn’t matter whether you plan to raise £30 or £3,000 - the ways you could go about it are endless.

You’re limited only by your imagination!

Below are some of the ways people have raised money to support our work.

Chest Waxathon

A group of willing men chose to have their chests waxed in front of an auditorium audience at their workplace to raise funds to support our work - now that’s dedication! It gives the old adage ‘no pain, no gain’ a slightly different meaning...

Bake sale

One of the simplest ways to raise a few quid is to organise a bake sale in your workplace, school, church or home. After all, who doesn’t love cake?

Bollywood theme night

One of our fundraisers put on a Bollywood night at a curry house complete with dancers, a raffle, and an auction. She secured brilliant raffle prizes and a discount on food - in her words, ‘You don’t ask, you don’t get’!

Sleep Outs and Sleepovers

A sleep out in the office car park or a sleep over in a church hall is great fun and can raise a good deal of sponsorship too. To add to the fun, why not build cardboard ‘houses’ and sleep inside them?

“We made and slept in dens made of cardboard boxes to raise money for the Society of St James...It was so cold it that it felt impossible to sleep. It was also really hard sleeping on the cardboard and we wondered how hard it would be for the homeless sleeping outside .”

Scarlett (10yrs) Shedfield Guides, and Orla (10yrs) 3rd Bishops Waltham Guides.

Music Gig

Do you know someone in a band? Putting on a music event is fun, rewarding and can be an excellent fundraiser too.

Golf Day

An old favourite in the business world, golf days are a great opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors, network, and support SSJ at the same time.

Walk , run , cycle or swim - fancy dress optional!

Get your family and friends to sponsor you per km or mile, or for the full distance. To maximise your fundraising, why not take on your challenge in fancy dress?

“Once I accepted that I wasn’t going to be the fastest, and remembered that I was raising money for an excellent cause who wouldn’t mind if I was first or last, I kept going with the training I could fit in , and built my mileage each week with a challenging long run .”

Lizi (Great South Run) We’ve even had intrepid fundraisers walk a halfmarathon dressed as 60s Batman characters, complete with a home built Batmobile! They had a great time making costumes and building the car in the lead up to the event. Fun was had by all on the day too.

Get Sharing - Tell EVERYONE! You’ve arranged your event or activity - now start sharing the details.

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Set up your Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/societyofstjames If you are participating in a pre-organised event, such as the Great South Run, Sleep Out, or an overseas challenge, choose ‘taking part in an organised event’ and then select your event from the list.

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Do you need people to come to your event? Create a Facebook event and invite all of your contacts.

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Put up posters at work (lifts and backs of toilet doors are great places for these).

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Look for community boards in local coffee shops, your child’s school, and libraries and use these.

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If you are undertaking a sponsored event, share your Just Giving page on Facebook with a status telling your connections why you are raising funds, who for, and how.

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Email your colleagues to let them know what you’re up to.

Don’t be afraid to ask for their support, they don’t have to help you, but they can’t if they don’t know what you are doing!

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If you have a staff newsletter, ask for an inclusion in that - the worst they can say is no.

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You probably see more people each day than you realise -on the school run, at the gym, meeting friends for coffee, at work, evening classes, etc....anywhere you see people, tell people.

To use our logo on any of your promotional material, just drop us an email at fundraising@ssj.org.uk and we will send you a file to use.

Please also use our registered charity number on any material you have printed: Registered Charity Number 1043664

Gift Aid ...

Make your fundraising go further by encouraging all of your donors to Gift Aid their contribution.

UK taxpayers can add Gift Aid whenever they make a donation and the charity can reclaim the basic rate of tax on each gift - that’s a whopping 25p for every £1 donated.

Every £20 is you raise could be worth £25 to us with Gift Aid, at no cost to you or your sponsor.

That’s a quarter more for us, at no cost to you!

You can see why we love Gift Aid.

25%

¼

Stay Legal!

Food hygiene

What to keep in mind:

This is vitally important. No one likes getting sick, especially as a reward for raising money for a charity.

Please take great care when handling food and work to basic rules for safe preparation, storage, display and cooking.

Licenses To collect in any public place you will need a collector’s licence.

You will also need a licence from your local authority for any of the following activities: sale of alcohol, extended hours, provision of food and drink, copyright and royalties for drama or film shows, collecting money or selling goods in a public place.

Health and safety It’s all about common sense. Follow the professional advice of equipment manufacturers and staff supervising any facilities.

The Society of St James cannot accept liability for any loss, damage or injury suffered by you or anyone else as a result of taking part in a fundraising event.

Data protection Make sure any electronic or paper records you keep about people involved in your fundraising event comply with the Data Protection Act. As a rule of thumb, don’t keep information about people any longer than you have to, and don’t share information or data about someone without their permission.

Raffles and lotteries There are strict laws relating to raffles and lotteries.

There are also legal requirements regarding prizes, the costs of running a raffle or lottery and the way they are organised. Contact your local authority before holding one of these events. Some events you might not think of as lotteries are covered by lottery laws.

Useful websites Food Standards Agency www.food.gov.uk, www.eatwell.gov.uk/ keepingfoodsafe Lots of useful information on how to prepare food safely and hygienically.

Health and Safety Executive www.hse.gov.uk Provides advice on keeping safe and legal.

Institute of Fundraising www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk Features information on the best ways to fundraise.

The Gambling Commission www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/gambling_sectors/ lotteries.aspx Information and guidance on running a raffle (or similar) within the law.

After the event: If you have fundraised online with JustGiving, the money will be transferred straight to us. If you have raised money offline, here’s how to get it to us: Bank transfer: Drop us an email at fundraising@ssj.org.uk with details of your fundraising activity and how much you have raised, and we will [excitedly] give you our bank details.

Cheque: Please make cheques payable to The Society of St James, and post them to us at: 125 Albert Road South, Southampton, SO14 3FR Please include your contact details and details of your event so that we can get in touch and say thank you!

Thanks

“Thanks so much for all of your support in the run up to the race - it was much appreciated!”

Estelle (Great South Run)

Would you do it again for us?

Your event or sponsored challenge is over, you’ve raised money, and you’ve [hopefully] had a fantastic time in the process.

We would love to hear from you! Let us know what you did, what worked well, what you would do differently next time and any tweaks that we can make to support our fundraisers better.

We like to share what our brilliant fundraisers have been up to, so if you tell us about your experiences and send us a photo or two, you could grab your fifteen minutes of fame!

And remember, if you’d like to continue to be involved with SSJ, keep an eye on our website: www.ssj.org.uk “Working with SSJ was a valuable experience for the whole team and one we would repeat given the chance . I think everyone can take something from understanding some of the challenges that homeless people face and the excellent work that SSJ does.”

Chantel , Zurich UK