YOUR Fundraising

Just Asking?

Modest sums can often be raised from family/friends just by asking.  If you ’re going to help at the NOTDEC Children ’s Centre in Uganda for 3 weeks, you could simply ask for donations.  Provided your family/friends aren ’t short of a bob or two, they may well sort it for you.  Of course, you could make the giving and receiving the cash a bit less embarrassing by setting up a fundraising page on Virgin Money Giving.  (Donations would then go direct to NOTDEC UK and wouldn ’t attract Gift Aid: your folks can’t get tax relief to send you on what might sound like a holiday!)  But if it ’s that easy, you may want to keep it simple.  Job done!  

Enjoy what you do

To stand on your own two feet and for larger sums, you 'll probably need some kind of event, product, physical challenge or “gimmick”.  Sadly, useful tasks such as litter-picking or mowing OAPs' lawns attract less support than “pointless” effort like running marathons and climbing mountains.  If this is the game you ’re in and you don’t like cycling or knitting, don ’t even consider cycling from John O’Groats to Lands’ End or knitting the world 's longest scarf.  Your fundraising will be so much easier if it ’s something you like.

A big idea?

Truly imaginative fundraising ideas are like buses: you wait for years, then three go by in short order.  If you can come up with anyting as original as the ice bucket challenge or the no make-up selfie, great!  But genuinely brilliant new concepts are hit-and-miss.  They may catch the public imagination.  They may not.   Unless you're set on raising a five figure sum, you can do without that level of risk.  The "wow" factor is fantastic, but life is rarely that exciting.   Something more ordinary, will still cut the mustard — provided you do it well and stick at it.

Little and often

If big ideas really are your thing, think about what NOTDEC really needs.  Construction is largely finished: NOTDEC's main expenses now are the on-going costs of feeding and caring for the childrem, getting them back with their wider families if this is the best option, and checking that they're properly looked after there.  No-one will complain if you conjure up a windfall lorry-load of cash.  But monthly deliveries from the money-van would be much nearer to the mark. For NOTDEC, the real need is on-going commitments to giving — regular income, not just the odd birthday present.  If you have an idea that makes standing orders sexy, we want to hear about it.

Where to look for ideas

Find out what other people have done.  What worked for them may work for you.  And if you know someone who 's tried it, they should be able to tell you the best approach and warn you about some of the pitfalls.  If that draws a blank, watch BBC Children in Need.  Or try the fundraising websites, most of which provide fundraisers' advice, case studies and templates.  NOTDEC UK is signed up with Virgin Money Giving, so that's where to go to take donations on-line; but you can also look at competing sites (Just Giving, Givey etc.) for ideas.  As you home-in on the kind of fundraising you 'd like to do — barbecue, bungee jump or bike ride — use Google to find people who 've done something similar and see how they got on.  Then try to make it better or easier.  And think about how you'll get people talking about what you're doing.

Ask for advice

Once you 've arrived at a more-or-less viable plan, talk about it with any- and every-one who may be able to help – with constructive criticism, or concrete suggestions about how to tackle any practical challenges that you 've identified.  Lateral thinking and problem-solving don 't come naturally to everyone; and twenty heads are better than one.

If your plans include on-line giving (via Virgin Money Giving etc.), it's worth talking to someone who 's used an online donation platform or knows about website design.  Before it goes live, your fundraising page will also need to be approved by NOTDEC UK.  The rules covering Gift Aid and Charities are pretty complicated, and — for legal reasons — we at NOTDEC UK need to check that what you've written won't land either of us in hot water!  So please ... don 't leave it to the last minute: tell us about your plans asap, and get the benefit of our experience and advice.

Get help

While you shouldn 't expect other people to do all the donkey work for you, there 's no great virtue in doing literally everything single-handed.  Increasing awareness of Third World issues can be very constructive; and the kids in Uganda aren 't going to know either way.  Practically, the more you aim to raise, the more you 'll need help from others.  Talk about your plans from the outset, and you may find people offer to give a hand before you ever make a direct request.  For more help, ask colleagues, friends and family once you've settled on your plan: you're almost certain to find a few will be happy to help. After all, helping children in Uganda is a very good cause indeed.