Ideas

Organise a fun event for colleagues or friends

People are often keen to join in with a fun evening that will raise money for charity. Why not plan a pub quiz night, treasure hunt, Trivial Pursuit evening, cheese and wine tasting or a Bowls Evening. We have listed a few more ideas for fundraising events below, in addition to our A-Z of fundraising.

Auction of promises

Ask people in your office, or a group you are a member of to write down an activity that they will promise to carry out for the successful bidder. This could be to make tea every day for a month, or to teach the successful bidder a new skill (eg. give free juggling lessons). Remember to collect the bidding money quickly. Hold the same auction at home, eg. ‘I promise to do the washing up for a week’ and auction to your family and neighbours.

Bring and Buy sales (books and CDs)

Ask people to donate unwanted items (in good condition) and then sell them to friends and colleagues.

Car boot sale

Sell items you no longer want, and ask friends and family to donate them. Your local paper will usually advertise car boot sales taking place in your area.

Dress down or theme day

Ask everyone to come to work (or a party) ‘dressed down’ in jeans etc or according to a particular theme, e.g. the 1970s or Rock n’ Roll or famous film stars. Charge £1 entry fee for those who do and a fine of £2 for those who don’t!

Sponsored personal challenge

Why not ask people for a donation to see you shave your head, or even lose weight!

Gift aid

If you are taking part in a sponsored event don’t forget about the fantastic new Gift Aid section on our sponsor forms. Gift Aid is a government scheme that allows us to reclaim the tax that you have paid on a donation or pledge.

For example if someone sponsors you £1 and they tick the gift aid box, we can reclaim the tax to increase the donation to £1.28. There's no extra cost - all they have to do is make a Gift Aid declaration. This simply means that they confirm that they are a UK tax payer and that they are happy for us to reclaim the tax. Imagine what a difference that could make, and it doesn't cost you a penny.

Justgiving

If you are fed up with the hassle of going around with sponsor forms why not create your own justgiving page. Justgiving is an online system, which enables a fundraiser to set up a sponsorship page where people can go and make a donation or a pledge.Donating through the site is fast, simple and secure. Also if you are a UK taxpayer 28 per cent in tax will be added to your gift at no extra cost to you.

Charges made to Epilepsy Action from this site are minimal, and in the long run a justgiving page will save time and money for Epilepsy Action. You can create a fundraising page by going to http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/invovled/justgiving.html and following the instructions. If you would like a simple step-by-step guide of how to set up your Justgiving page please contact the fundraising team.

Matched giving

Does your employer have a matched giving program? Many companies support their employees fundraising efforts for charity by matching the money raised pound for pound or up to a certain limit. Matched giving is a great way for companies to recognise and support the fundraising efforts of their employees. Why not ask your employer if they have a matched giving program to support you with your fundraising.

Sporty ideas

Organise a fun event on a sporty theme. This could be a football, squash, badminton or a tennis tournament, or a sponsored swim, bike ride or three-legged race. Either charge an entry fee per person, or ask each team to raise a minimum amount to take part. You could even do the whole event in fancy dress to make it more interesting.

Fundraising guide

Index · Advice · Ideas · Money · Publicity · Training plans
A to Z of fundraising ideas

• Download or print our fundraising guide
• Download or print a sponsorship form
• Get one of our excellent Epilepsy Action events T-shirts