Fundraising Pack

Whether you’re organising a car boot sale, a golf outing, running a marathon or fundraising in your community, we hope you find this pack useful.

Download NCBI's Fundraising Pack [DOC, 243 KB].

Fundraising Pack

How to Get Involved

There are lots of ways to get involved with the NCBI from registering to take part in an NCBI run event, making a donation, becoming a volunteer or organising your own fundraising event in your local community, school or club.

Your support is very much appreciated and without your help we would not be able to continue our services for people who are blind or vison impaired here in Ireland. Each year we rely on the generosity of the public to raise much needed funds to carry out our work.

The people who are blind or vison impaired who we work with, have the potential to change their lives and with your support, the NCBI has the potential to enable them to do so. From fundraising events to individual donations, we will ensure that every gift goes towards helping people who are blind or visually impaired to overcome the barriers that impede their independence and participation in society.

Volunteering

We are always looking for volunteers for our services, to assist the Fundraising Team, and to take part in our events and appeals. Whatever time you can spare, we would love to hear from you. Your efforts truly can make a difference.

Events and Appeals

• Register for an NCBI event or appeal
• Sponsor a friend
• Take part in one of our fundraising activities

Sponsored Events

Throughout the year our fundraising team run numerous events and appeals such as golf competitions, parachute jumps, fun runs and marathons

You can take part in any of these events by contacting the fundraising team and we’ll send you a registration pack. Once you have signed up you can begin collecting sponsorship money form your friends, family, colleagues etc. Our fundraising team are always on hand to assist you every step of the way.

Find out more about these events

Challenges

Challenges are open to anyone who would like to raise money for NCBI. These challenges allow participants to pick from a wide range of activities to suit their abilities. Whether you would like to walk, climb or run there are plenty of options to choose from.

Challenge events are extremely rewarding and participants always get a great sense of the good work they are doing for NCBI. The Challenge teams push themselves to complete the event whether it is mountain biking in Thailand, walking in Cape Town or running the Mini Marathon.

Community Fundraising

Take the initiative in your community and help the NCBI reach its goals whilst having fun, making friends, learning new skills and fulfilling one of your ambitions – all at the same time. Whatever your interest we have something to suit you. In this pack you can find a list of fundraising ideas as well as valuable tips on how to organise your event. If you are interested in getting involved with us in any way please contact the fundraising team in NCBI on
Locall: 1850 33 43 53 or Email: fundraising@ncbi.ie

A to Z of Fundraising

Perhaps you are not in a position to register and take part in one of our NCBI fundraising events and would like to organise your own event, at a time that suits you.

Here are some easy ideas to get you going.

• If you have children, nieces/nephews or young neighbours at a local school, try and get the school to organise a non-uniform day in aid of NCBI.
• Promise auction: you will need the help of all your friends with special skills (e.g. Hairdressing, decorating, cooking, gardening etc.). Ask them to donate some of their time then organize an auction.
• Sponsored beard-shave, beard-grow chest wax etc… Anything that would amuse your friends & colleagues usually works best.
• Cake sale at work. Ask a few people to bring in cakes which can be sold at tea time in return for a donation.
• Arrange a €15 menu at a local restaurant on one of their quiet nights and charge friends €30.
• Arrange a football / basketball / rounder’s match. Charge everyone to play and maybe even run a sweepstake on the result. This is a good one for a large workplace.
• Car boot sales – ask friends & neighbours to have a clear out in the name of charity!
• Wash people’s cars in a supermarket car park while they do their shopping in return for a donation.
• Hold a dinner/barbeque/party at home for friends who each pay €10.

If you are using a sponsorship card here are some tips:

• Make sure the first person to sign your card gives you a reasonably large amount of money. Others often follow their example.
• Keep your sponsorship card with you at all times with the NCBI information leaflet. If necessary have several cards on the go at once – one at home, one at work, one in the car etc.
• Put your sponsorship card up on your staff-room or canteen notice board.
• Enlist family and friends to help you find sponsors.”

To make things easier for you we have included an A-Z list of fundraising which has lots of ideas to choose from including tips on how to plan and organise your event and ways that can support you

A

Afternoon Tea Party
Alternative Marathon
Angling Competition
Antiques Fair
Art Exhibition
Arts and Crafts Fair

B

Baby sitting
Bag Packing at Supermarket
Balloon Race
Barbecue
Bridge Night
Bazaar
Beard Shave
Bedroom tidying
Bingo
Book Sale
Bring and Buy Sale
Buffet Lunch

C

Cake sale
Car Boot sale – get the neighbors involved
Car Wash
Car Draw
Carol singing – special permission required if held in public
Casual day at work
Cheese & Wine Party
Children’s sports day
Church fete
Coffee Morning
Computer games marathon
Concert
Cookery Demonstration
Craft Fair
Crazy Golf Match

D

Dog walking
Dress Down Day

E

Easter egg hunt
E- Fundraising
Egg and Spoon Race
Exhibitions

F

Face Painting
Fete
Film Premiere
Flag Day
Flower Arranging Demonstration
Football Match
Fun Run

G

Garden Party
Garage Sale
Golf Tournament

H

Halloween Party
Hat Sale
Head Shave sponsorship
How many... sweets in a jar?
Hula Hoop Contest

I

International food dinner party

J

Jelly Eating Competition
Jumble Sale

K

Karaoke Night

L

Line Dancing
Loud Tie Day
Lunchtime quiz

M

Magic Show
Make Up Demonstration
Marathon
Market

N

Non-Uniform Day

O

Odd Job Day
Open Garden
Orienteering
Outward Bound Event

P

Pancake Race
Parachute jump
Pizza Party
Poetry Reading
Pram Race
Pub Quiz

Q

Quiz Night

R

Race Night
Raffle
Read-a-Thon
Record Breaking Attempt
Rugby Match

S

Sailing Race
Sale of Work – Local community Hall, GAA premises etc.
Skipathon
Soccer Expert game
Sponsored Silence
Sponsored Swim
Sports Day
Staff Payroll Donations
Street party
Street/shopping centre collection
Swear box

T

Table quiz
Talent Show
Tennis tournament
Theme Evening
Three Legged Race
Treasure Hunt
Tug-o-war

U

Unwanted Gift Sale

V

W

Walks and Cycles
Welly Throwing Competition
Windsurfing Competition
Wine and cheese evening
Wine tasting
Work Fundraiser

X

Xylophone Concert

Y

Yacht Race
Yodelling Competition
Yoga Marathon
Yo Yo Competition

Z

Zany Clothes Day
Zoo Trip

Planning Your Event

So, after reading our A-Z of fundraising ideas, you will have decided on the type of fundraising event you want to organise. These steps will help the smooth running of your event and will help you keep the fun in fundraising.

Plan

Planning is a key part of any fundraising event. Firstly, decide on what your fundraising target is, and then look at the various steps you will need to make in order to achieve this. Send the fundraising team an outline of your fundraising plan. This helps us to help you.

Budget

Once you have decided on how much you wish to raise from your event, you need to decide what your costs are. As this is a charity event, it’s important to keep your costs as low as possible. Local businesses are usually very helpful and will sponsor food,beverages and spot prizes for your event. In some cases you may be able to obtain the venue or entertainment for free.

Sponsor

We will supply you with a sample letter requesting sponsorship which you can tailor to your event for distribution to local businesses in your community. We will also provide you with a letter of authorisation stating that you are fundraising on our behalf. You should include a copy of this letter, when requesting sponsorship from your contacts.

If a potential sponsor wants to give you products rather than money, organise a raffle.

Family & Friend – Remember you cannot do everything yourself. It’s very useful and more enjoyable to work in a team so rally friends and family around to help you with your event. Make sure that everyone involved knows what task they have to complete

Why You Are Fundraising

Make sure everyone involved knows why their help is so important follow the link to see some of the case studies where NCBI have really helped blind and vision impaired people improve their lives.

Venue

Depending on the type and size of your event you may need to choose a venue. The types of venues to consider are your home/garden, community centre, local pub, local school/playground or even your workplace. If you event is taking place outdoors, you will need to be prepared for bad weather, so you may need to consider alternative arrangements.

Advertise

You will need to drum up as much interest in your event as possible. We have attached a sample press release which you can tailor and distribute to your local newspaper or radio station. Distribute flyers all around you. Use Community notice boards, shop fronts and local pubs and make sure as many people as possible know about your event. Get local celebrities or perhaps your local GAA/soccer or rugby team involved.

In Your Workplace

if you are doing a fundraising event in your work place Many companies sponsor their employers for these type of events – some give €1 for every €1 that their employees raise. This can be very good PR for the company.
Your colleagues will support you,. Do you have e-mail? – can you get to all the staff at your company with a well-prepared e-mail?
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.

Permits

Check with your local Garda Station to see if you require a permit. This is normally required for events taking place in a public area e.g. street collections etc.

Health & Safety

Please make sure that the venue where your event is taking place is safe for all those taking part.

Merchandise

As we have limited resources the publicity that we gain from your fundraising events is just as important to us as the money that you will raise. You will often find that when people attend a charity event, they have come to support their friend/relative and are often unaware of what charity they are supporting. We need your help to make our name known to people. If you are producing any posters / quiz sheets etc.. for your event, please make sure to add our name to it. We can help you with this by providing you with all the materials you will need – don’t be afraid to ask for help, that is what we are here for!

The Fundraising team can supply you with merchandise to make your event a success. Items can be collected from the fundraising office or alternatively we can send them out to you.

• Sponsor cards
• T-Shirts
• NCBI Stickers
• Event Posters
• Collection Buckets
• Collection Bucket stickers

NCBI Support

At NCBI we are always happy to attend your organised event and give a short speech to show our thanks for your support and let you know how the money can help. Please let us know in advance if you would like an NCBI representative at your event and we will do our best to accommodate. Also if you would like us to write a note of thanks to relevant people we would be delighted to do so.

Car Draw

Use the NCBI Car draw by networking books of tickets with colleagues and friends.

After the Event - It is important to remember that there is still work to be done even after your event has taken place. You may need to follow up on monies still outstanding and please remember to thank everyone for their support and involvement. Hopefully they will get involved in other NCBI events. You can also send thank you letters or even placing a notice and some pictures in the local paper with details of the total amount raised.

Guidelines for Fundraisers

These guidelines have been prepared to:

• Protect our fundraisers from allegations of fraud.
• Respect the need of the public to know what you do in the broad name of “Charity” , and in NCBI’s name in particular, is governed by standards and a code of practice which you are prepared to adopt and to adhere to .
• Ensure that all NCBI Fundraisers continue to protect the right of the persons with whom we work to have their dignity respected at all times and not diminished by fundraising practises or statements which promote helplessness or generate unfocused pity.

"Registration Form"

We ask you to complete a registration form below so that we have your details. We require two passport photos, one of which will be used to create an official badge which must be worn when fundraising.

Specific Letter of Authorisation

We will issue a specific letter of authorisation. This letter will detail the authorisation from the NCBI for you to fundraise for a certain period.

State Clearly the Event - When raising funds you must state clearly the event and the purpose for which the funds are being raised e.g. Support the NCBI Quiz night in (name and location) to raise funds for the National Council for the Blind of Ireland’ and not just “Support the National Council for the Blind of Ireland”

Receipts – All money should be receipted if its value exceeds €50.

Are there any up front costs, if so what are they and will your fundraising activity be able to absorb the costs and still leave you with a reasonable profit?

NCBI normally ensure that costs on Fundraising Events are no higher than 10% of expected income and we would recommend this as a guideline for any event.

Any promotional material that will describe NCBI and its services needs to be approved by the Fundraising Team in NCBI. Find out more about NCBI services

Anticipate the worst – what could go wrong? What is your contingency plan?

All publicity must carry the charity number (CHY4626) & address (Whitworth Rd, Drumcondra, Dublin 9)

What to do with the Funds Raised

Once you have received all the funds from you event and paid out all costs, you will need to return the final amount to the NCBI. Please ensure that two people count the money and remember to keep a copy of any receipts you have,

You can send the money to the NCBI by any of these methods:

• Call in or send a cheque/postal order or bank draft (made payable to NCBI) to NCBI Head Office, Whitworth Rd, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.

• Lodge the cash into our bank account :
  
  Ulster Bank,
  College Green,
  Dublin 2,
  NCBI (NAME OF ACCOUNT)
  Sort Code: 985010
  Account Number: 07590078

• Locall NCBI 1850 33 43 53 and lodge your monies by credit or laser card.

Whichever option you decide, please ensure to include your contact details so that we can acknowledge receipt of your funds and issue you with a receipt and thank you letter.

Also if you would like to hold a cheque presentation with one of our staff members, please let us know about it in advance and we will do our best to arrange.

The Fundraising Team, NCBI, Whitworth Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9
Locall: 1850 33 43 53
Email: fundraising@ncbi.ie

Thank You – Where your Money Goes

We greatly appreciate your work and your support and want to thank you for the money you raise as it will be used to help us continue to provide services for people who are blind or vision impaired in Ireland. Here are a few sample case studies to help you understand how the money you raise helps us.

Mary’s Story

Mary aged 61 has no sight as she suffers from Glaucoma. From NCBI she received support services including learning how to get around safely and how to use the computer. From being isolated, unmotivated and dependent she is now independent, busy, participates in social activities and communicates with family and friends by email and Skype.

John’s Story

John age 26 was suffering from diabetic retinopathy and was vision impaired, living with relatives. He was unable to work as an electrician. After receiving support from NCBI he now lives independently, has changed his career and has a busy social life.

• We have changed the person’s real name in the interests of anonymity.

Any amount can help us:

€5 a week could fund phone counselling sessions

€10 a month could fund weekly IT training sessions to make it easier to access printed information

€40 could fund materials in our Early Learning Centre for children with vision impairments up to six years of age

€100 could fund independent living and mobility training sessions

€400 could fund a Low Vision Clinic Session.

€1500 could cover the cost of recruiting new volunteers who are crucial to helping us

€3000 could cover the cost of distributing CDs, DVDs and tapes from our Library and Media centre for a month

€40,000 could fund the development of NCBI’s IT service