Nurture Africa

Fundraising Handbook …All the information that you need to plan & start your

fundraising activities!

Registered Charity Number:

CHY 15459

Introduction

Thank you for downloading our fundraising handbook which is an

important step in deciding to fundraise with Nurture Africa.

If you’re feeling a little apprehensive at this point, don’t be….

90% of our volunteers claim that fundraising is the most

daunting thought when initially considering

volunteering with us; yet 85% of our overseas volunteers

reach, or achieve in excess of their fundraising target!

Inside this handbook you will find the DO’s (and not so much of the

don’ts) of successful plans from past and present fundraisers.

Hopefully you can find some inspiration for your own fundraising

activities too!

Nurture Africa will seek to support you as much as possible during

your fundraising activities and we are always just a phone call or

email away.

You’re more than welcome to pop into the office too for a chat

and work through some ideas for your fundraising strategy!

This handbook seeks to outline what you need to consider when

planning and organising successful fundraising events. Our most

important piece of advice is simply…….

THINK POSITIVE, COMMIT TO ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR EVENT &

ENJOY IT!

As with everything in life……You’ll only get out of it, what you put

into it!

LET’S GET STARTED!

Guidelines for planning your Fundraising Strategy

These steps will help put some structure into your planning which

will ensure the smooth running of your event and will help you keep

the fun in fundraising.

PEN AND NOTEPAD READY…..

PLAN

Planning is a key part of any fundraising event. So, were to begin??

Break down your fundraising target/events over the available

timeframe (One large or several smaller events)

Involve other people (friends & family) in the planning process.

Ask for opinions, accept any offer of help & delegate roles.

Are you a member of a team or a club/group? How might

they be able to get involved?

Can you ” Piggy back” on events already in place? Mini-

Marathon or local race for example!

With good planning, not only will you achieve your fundraising

target…you’ll have great fun doing so too!

Budget

Calculate how much money you can realistically raise from

each of your events.

What are your costs? (Keep your costs as low as possible in

order to maximise your profit).

Do you require a venue?

Local businesses are usually very helpful and may sponsor

food, beverages and spot prizes for your event.

Volunteers Angela O’Sullivan, Valerie Hickey & Laura O’Connell with

friends during their fundraising Table Quiz

Sponsor

We can provide you with volunteer verification letters, a letter

requesting a prize & sponsorship cards for your event.

If a potential sponsor wants to give you products rather than a

cash donation, gratefully accept these and organise a raffle!

Family & Friends

Remember you cannot do everything yourself.

It’s very helpful & more enjoyable to work in a team; so rally

friends and family around to help you with your event.

Most importantly - Make sure that everyone involved knows

what tasks they have to complete.

I hosted a card night in my local

Community with the support of

family & friends and raised €820

on the night. Some local businesses

donated items like vouchers,

chocolates and bottles of wine

which enabled me have a raffle

too, which was a great help!

- Aisling O’Sullivan

Why You Are Fundraising

Be sure to know your stuff regarding the work Nurture Africa.

It’s important that you are able to relay this to any potential

supporters who may want to know where their cash is going.

Your events can act as brilliant awareness raising events too!

It’s of VITAL importance that you can distinguish between

cash being fundraised for Nurture Africa & that which may be

used to fund your own expenses, if you are using your event to

fund personal costs for a volunteer placement, for example.

Resources

Let us know if you would like a copy of any resources to show

at workplaces or events to illustrate how our work is impacting

upon the lives of HIV affected families in Uganda.

We have t-shirts and money-buckets available for you to

borrow for your fundraising events so please get in touch if

you require any.

Venue

Depending on the type and size of your event you may need

to choose a venue.

Venues to consider are your home/garden, community

centre, local pub, church, local school/playground or your

workplace.

Pubs may allow you to hire a function room for free, if your

event promises plenty of customers! If your event is taking

place outdoors, you will need to be prepared for bad

weather, so you may need to have a contingency plan in

place!

Advertise

You will need to drum up as much interest in your event as possible.

Get word of your event out through social networking sites like

Facebook and Twitter.

Create an “Event Page” on Facebook, invite friends & ask

them to invite friends too! Please also ‘Like’ the Nurture Africa

Facebook page:www.facebook.com/nurtureafrica

Set up your personal fundraising page in the fundraising

section on the Nurture Africa website.

Display posters on/in community notice boards, shop fronts &

local pubs. (Seek permission first)

Approach local radio stations & newspapers, who may offer

free advertisement for your event.

In Your Workplace

If you are doing a fundraising event in your work place:

Ask your company to sponsor you for the events – some

companies will give €1 for every €1 that their employees raise.

This can be very good PR for the company.

Your colleagues will support you – why not send them all a link

to your personal fundraising page on payday?!

See if you can obtain a donation from your company’s charity

budget.

Always take photos of any events you have at work. Your company

may wish to use them in its own publications and local papers may

use them.

Grants

If you are a member of a professional union, find out if funding

is available through it.

Permits

Garda Permits are generally required for ANY event (for

example: street collection) being held outside your

home/workplace or in an external/public venue. Please check

with your local Garda Station well in advance of your planned

event to see if you need a permit.

If your event is on private property, you won’t need a Garda

permit but will need to have permission from the owner of the

property.

Health & Safety/Public Liability Insurance

If you are using a venue for an event:

Please ensure that the location is safe for all those taking part.

Ensure that you announce the location of fire exits before you

begin.

As a Nurture Africa Volunteer, you will be covered under our

Public Liability Insurance Policy. Please get in touch if you

require a copy for your event.

Now that you’ve thought the planning process through and are

beginning to formulise a plan of action for you fundraising events,

please continue to read through some fundraising activities that

have worked well for past Nurture Africa volunteers; from those very

volunteers themselves!

Fundraising Ideas

Personal Fundraising Page (Social Media)

Pub/Table Quiz Coffee Morning

Hike one of Ireland’s highest peaks or

Croagh Patrick

Golf Outing Head-Shave Raffle

Local Street bucket collection Mini-Marathon

Non-Uniform day for school children

Supermarket Bag Pack BBQ

Fun Run/Challenge – (Run-a-Muck or Hell & Back)

Marathon/triathlon Race Night

Cake sale Wax-a-thon (for guys!)

Laughter Lounge Comedy Night

Sponsored Silence Church Collection

Mini-tournament (if you’re a sports club member)

Fundraising Stories

“I’m not a member of a club or organisation so initially I thought fundraising

would be very difficult! I decided on a Coffee Morning in my local Parish Hall,

on a Saturday morning, as it was central and when people were most likely

to be off work and in town. I tried to use all resources available to advertise

the Coffee Morning. I made up some flyers & advertising began! We handed

them out at local churches, with the full support of my parish priest. My

grandmother has some great connections, having done a lot of fundraisers

in the past, and was great for advice! She got me advertisement in the local

newsletters and on the radio "Community Diary"! I put posters in all the local

shops, post office, pubs and GAA pitches to raise awareness. I visited my old

school too with leaflets to send home in school bags! On the day, my family

kept the tea, coffee and cakes flowing whilst I talked about my upcoming

trip to Uganda. We held a raffle on the morning too. We managed to

fundraise €1200 on the day and through word of mouth and awareness of

the event, I received many more donations from people who could not

make it on the day, taking my total to €1900! I was absolutely delighted with

this! I definitely feel the key to the success of my event was the work that

myself, family & friends put in to advertising the event.” - Diane Rothwell

Pictures: Me (Diane Rothwell) along with my friends Janet Levingstone &

Niamh Curran who were great help during my Coffee Morning.

“I work in a pub, so decided to hold a fundraising disco there. I advertised

the event, through a Facebook event page and had posters made which

were put up around my community. I decorated the room with

Nurture Africa posters, balloons (the same colour as the flag of Uganda) and

the Nurture Africa donation buckets. There was finger food and a raffle with

prizes that were very kindly donated by local businesses.

It was a ticket event and I charged €10 for an adult and €5 for students.

The event made just over €1000 and I really enjoyed the night.”

- Doireann O’Brien

Pictures: Me (Doireann O’Brien) with friends before and during my Disco

Fundraiser.

TOP TIP!

“Try to do an event or activity that friends or family can enjoy, as well as

donate to. Try to offer something, for a person’s donation. A breakfast

morning is great for parents and neighbours, while events like Run-a-Muck

allowed me to get friends involved and they got sponsored for taking part

too, which helped a lot!” – Saoirse Duffy

Picture: Tara Walsh and Saoirse Duffy upon

completion of the Run-a-Muck challenge

Your use of Images & Messages

Everyone has their perceptions and “vision” of Africa. Some

positive, others negative! As a continent, Africa, just like Europe, is

very diverse! If you have not been to any part of sub-Saharan

Africa yourself, you too will of course have your own vision of how

Uganda looks…or right now, you might be thinking “Actually, I have

no idea at all!”

Nurture Africa is a signatory to a set of principals known as the

Dochas Code of Conduct on Images and Messages. Essentially the

code ensures that Nurture Africa strives to:

Use images & related messages based on values of respect,

equality, solidarity & justice.

Avoid images & messages that potentially stereotype,

sensationalise or discriminate against people, situations or places.

We ask, that for any fundraising events, you don’t download a

random photograph of a child or children in Africa and use it for

advertisement or on display at your event. We will be delighted to

provide you with appropriate images if you require and encourage

you to get in touch with us if necessary.

Nurture Africa is an Irish founded, internationally registered Non-

Governmental Organisation that works in Uganda with a targeted

focus upon Healthcare, Education, Child Protection & Gender

Equality and Economic Empowerment through business training

and micro-finance projects. We are a non-denominational and

non-political organisation.

We facilitate structured & tailored short term overseas volunteer

placements for Third Level Students & Professionals who are willing

to offer their invaluable time, skills and energy to assist in our work.

Address: Nurture Africa, 157 Thomas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.

Email: info@nurtureafrica.ie

Phone: +353 (0) 1 5424177/8

Registered Charity Number: CHY 15459