Community Fundraising Guide - Focus Ireland

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THE DIFFERENCE YOU CAN MAKE €50 €66 €100 Helps a child who is homeless to have a safe place to learn and to have fun in our Waterford Childcare Centre Helps young people aged 12–25 who are on the street in Dublin to access a bed for the night and to support them to take the necessary steps to move out of homelessness permanently Helps to provide safe, warm accommodation and support for young people aged 16–18 in our Off the Streets hostel €500 €1,000 €2,000 Helps to give a family a rented home in our emergency and long-term homes project in North Dublin and to provide them with childcare services Gives a previously homeless family a new home to rent and the chance of a new life; supports a family or single adult who were homeless or at risk of homeless Provides a home and the necessary support in our aftercare programme for a young person leaving a state institution or whose foster care has not worked out Susan and her little girl Susan used to have a job and she rented an apartment with her six year old daughter. When she lost her job she got into debt and ended up homeless. She was in emergency accommodation for seven long months. The staff in Focus Ireland’s Coffee Shop and Information Service in Temple Bar, helped her to find a home. Susan remembers the bad times. “It was really awful living a small place with nowhere to cook and nowhere that was safe for my daughter to play. It really had a bad impact on her mood and confidence and I know it shouldn’t have but it made me feel guilty as a mother.” Susan has now moved into a proper house in the private rented sector and said it’s great to be back on her feet again. She is also doing a course in further education and is hoping to get another part time job. “I just love being almost back to where we were and it is great for me to see the change in my little girl. She is happy again and that means the world to me because as a mother that is what is always number one.”
WHERE TO START >Don’t go it alone – gather a group of friends and form a committee. > Decide what you and the committee want to do; think about what you know and are interested in, e.g. baking, tennis, etc.; and organise an event around that. If you are out in the hills every weekend, maybe a sponsored climb would be better than an expensive black-tie benefit. But if you are all party animals, a cycle ride might not be the way to go! > Don’t take on too much; allow enough time to prepare the event before setting the date. > It is vital that you are able to name at least half of the people who will take part in the event before you start! Remember, advertising does not sell tickets, a great idea does not sell tickets – only people sell tickets. > Choose an appropriate venue that will attract people. > Decide whether or not you need volunteers for the event, how many you may need and what tasks they will do. Talk to your local media to recruit volunteers, put a call out on Facebook and/or ask friends and family. > Set a budget, goals and timeline for your plan. Include in the budget gross and net income, number of tickets to be sold, number of raffle prizes to be obtained, etc. Set your target income and plan how exactly you are going to raise that money – a raffle, ticket sales, sponsorship, selling goods, etc. Ideally, your costs should not be more than half of what you raise. List all of the estimated expenses and approach suppliers to provide services/goods free of charge. Look after the money you raised; up-front costs if you won’t receive the money until later; and the pricing of tickets and promotions to sell them, e.g. early bird tickets, etc. Perhaps you need a sponsor and know someone you could approach. > Get in touch with us in Focus Ireland, register as a fundraiser by filling out a Fundraising Form and avail of help, support, advice and marketing materials to help you to launch your event. > Publicise your event using posters, flyers, banners, emails, Facebook, local media, word-of-mouth. > Try to sell as many tickets as possible before the event so that you have an idea of the numbers attending; ask friends to sell tickets for you. > On the day, set up as early as you can! Make a checklist of everything that you need to set up and create the look you want, e.g. decorations, music, lighting, etc. > Ensure that first aid, security and health and safety plans are working. > Ensure that all legal, insurance and permit considerations are covered. > Make sure that you have enough help to set up, run and clean up after the event. Think about how you are going to look after the money you raise and get it to Focus Ireland (cheque or bank draft, safe/cash box, bank account – see page 9 for details of how to lodge funds). Don’t forget to thank everyone who helped! A phone call is nice; a personal note even better.
Page 1 and 2: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO FUNDRAISING
Page 3: OF THE 5,000 PEOPLE ACCESSING HOMEL
Page 7 and 8: FUNDRAISING GUIDELINES Fundraising
Page 9 and 10: Fundraising Form Name: Organisation
Page 11: WHAT NEXT? Call us on (01) 881 5900

Community Fundraising Guide - Focus Ireland

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