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Your own fundraising event

Organising your own charity event is a great way to raise money for us and there are lots of ways to get involved. Here are some ideas.

Your own fundraising event  

Organising your own charity event is a great way to raise money for us and there are lots of ways to get involved. Here are some ideas.

  • Quiz night – Decide where you want to hold your quiz, whether it is at home, or in a pub or other venue. Work on those questions and invite friends. Make it interesting by doing themed rounds.
  • Head shave – Are you brave enough to shave your head or if you’re not quite brave enough why not dye your hair or beard?
  • Bake sale – Are you inspired by Mary Berry? Gather some budding chefs and hold a bake off.
  • Games night – Decide what you are going to play, send invitations out, ask for a donation to play the game. Why not make it an even more fun evening and include dinner?

Take a look at our “A-Z of fundraising ideas”, below, for further inspiration!

A to Z fundraising ideas

Would you like to raise money for House of Opportunity, but are not sure where to start? Whether you are new to fundraising or a regular fundraiser we have put together an A-Z of fundraising ideas to suit everyone. All of these have been done in the past by other fundraisers.

A
Afternoon tea. Why don’t you host an afternoon tea? You could do this at home, work or at a suitable venue.
Abseil. Are you brave enough to abseil off the side of a building or a cliff? Then why not try this fun and exhilarating activity!

B
Bake sale. Are you a budding Mary Berry? Gather fellow chefs for a fun filled bake fest.
Beards. Dye it a different colour or style it an an unusual manner and get your friends, colleagues, or family to sponsor you.

C
Coffee morning. Another very popular fundraising activity. Gather a few friends or work colleagues
Car boot sale. Why not take all the things you don’t want to a car boot sale and donate the proceeds?
Car wash. Offer to wash your friends, family or colleague’s car, you do a lunch with it.

D
Dress down/up day.
Dog show or a dog walk.
Dinner party. You could make it a themed night to make it more interesting.

E
Easter egg hunt.

F
Fancy dress days.
Fashion show.

G
Give something up
Games night. This could be at home or in the office.
Garden party.

H
Head shave. Are you brave enough to shave your head? Or if not you could always dye it.

I
It’s a knockout. This is a lot of fun and the ultimate sports day for adults! You could approach a local businesses to donate prizes. They will be helping a great cause and could get exposure if you got the press involved.
International night. Hold a country themed night.

J
Jumble sale.
Jewellery making.

K
Karaoke night.

L
Ladies who lunch.

M
Marathons. There are varying levels of marathons you can take part in from half marathons to full marathons.
Match giving. Ask your organisation to match your fundraising target. This is a great way of doubling the amount your fundraise.
Murder mystery night. Another popular fundraising activity.
Movie night. This could be a Netflix evening or even a film on the television, but why not make a night of it with nibbles or more substantial food like dinner.

N
New Year party. If you are hosting a New Year party, why not charge your guests a cheaper rate than if you were going to pub and donate the fee.
Non uniform day.
No snacks day (donate whatever you would have spent of snacks).

O
Open garden.
Office Olympics.
Obstacle course. You could set up a course for adults and a much easier one for children

P
Payroll giving. Donating through your pay makes a real difference and is the most tax-efficient way to give.
Pancake day competition.
Pamper night.

Q
Quiz night. To make this more interesting, try doing a themed quiz making it more entertaining.

R
Raffle.
Race night. Why not set yourself a challenge? It could be to run a few steps or running 5k. Invite your friends for a group run.
Read-a-thon.

S
Step challenge. Challenge yourself to walk 5 steps to 500 or 5,000 or 10,000 steps a day for a week, two weeks or a month.
Sponsored silence.
Swear box.
Skydive. Do you like heights and have this urge to feel like a bird, then take on this high-flying challenge. There are lots of companies (for example, Go Skydive) out there but do your research on the best one.

T
Tea party.
Theme party. 

Tough Mudder. Have you got the physical and mental attitude to take yourself out of your comfort zone? If you have why not try this challenge. It’s called tough for a reason! This is also a fantastic team building activity, so why not get your friends or work colleagues to do it with you.
Treasure hunt.
Treks.

U
University challenge. This is a great one if you are a student, why don’t you get other students to come and watch for a more authentic atmosphere. Tickets fees can then be donated.
Uniform free day.

V
Virtual challenge. This could be anything that fits in with your lifestyle. Running, walking, rowing, knitting, swimming, gaming, yoga. You can either do it on your own or with friends, family, or colleagues. There doesn’t have to be a time limit, so it could be during your lunch break throughout the day, or even over a month. Its entirely up to you. If you would like any support, then contact our friendly fundraising team 01722 580192 or email maria.montgomery@fscinet.org.

W
Walk. Any distance that you would find challenging.
Wine tasting. This could be a normal wine tasting or you could do guess the wine, grape or even country to make it more interesting. You could ask a local wine shop to donate a bottle of wine as a winning prize.

X
X factor night.
X box challenge.

Y
Yoga-thon.
Yes day.

Z
Zumba-thon.
Zip wire. Are you an adrenaline junkie? Then this is the challenge for you. Make sure you do your research to find the right legitimate zip wire company and then encourage friends and family to sponsor you. You could also set up a Go Fund Meor Stewardship page.

Fundraising for House of Opportunity - FAQ's

Where can I get a fundraising pack and sponsorship form?

Please download our fundraising pack.

You can find our sponsorship form here. After your event, you can send your form to House of Opportunity, St Pauls Community Centre, Fisherton Street, Salisbury, SP2 7QW.

How do I set up my own online fundraising page?

Sponsors can be encouraged and donations collected online via Just Giving or Stewardship.org.uk – search for “House of Opportunity” and follow their instructions.

Online fundraising pages are a great way to fundraise, and you can easily keep track of donations coming in. You can personalise your page with stories and photos. You can also send a link out to your family and friends.

Planning a big challenge? We could set up a dedicated donation page on our website – get in touch to talk about this option.

Can I claim Gift Aid on the money I have raised?

Gift Aid can be claimed where a donor is eligible. House of Opportunity, a registered charity in England & Wales under the name FSCI (UK), can claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated through gift aid. Gift Aid can be claimed via digital or physical forms. To claim gift aid, donors must be a UK tax payer and will need to provide their name and address including postcode. They will also need to state how much has been donated, the donation date, and will need to give permission for Gift Aid to be collected, usually via a tick box.

Can I use your logo on my marketing materials?

If you or a third party would like to use our logo, images or reference the charity, please contact us.

Can I follow you on social media channels?

Yes absolutely! We would love for you to follow us and tag us into any fundraising activity you do.  You can find us here:
https://twitter.com/fsciuk/
https://www.facebook.com/FSCInet/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fsci-uk1/
https://www.instagram.com/house_of_opportunity/

How does data protection impact my fundraising?

Always ask for consent if you are taking a photo.

Only ask for the minimum data and keep it safe.

Don’t collect extra data.

Don’t leave any data lying around.

A detailed guide on data protection can be found here: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/guidance/topics/data-protection

How do I pay in the money I have raised?

Bank Transfer. You can pay your money direct into House of Opportunity’s (FSCI) bank account. Please quote your name and fundraising activity. If you are able, we would love for you to email us to let us know you have paid funds in.

Account name:   FSCI (UK)
Sort code:           09 01 29
Account no:        11340290
Bank addressSantander, 53 Silver Street, Salisbury, SP1 2NG

By post. You can send a cheque (payable to “FSCI (UK)”) to FSCI, St Pauls Church, Fisherton Street, Salisbury, SP2 7QW.

Fundraising page. If you have set up an online fundraising page, direct payments to FSCI (UK) will take place automatically.

Resources to help with your event

Fundraising pack

Full of ideas and guidance to help you with your event.

My to do list

Keep a track of all the actions you need to take to make your event or challenge a success.

Sponsorship form

Collect donations from your supporters, with Gift Aid permission.

Poster

Add your event or challenge details in the space provided to help you spread the word.

You can find further resources here.

Get in touch
We would love to hear your ideas or answer any questions you may have, so you if think you’d like to arrange an event, please contact Maria Montgomery on 07562 794444 or email maria.montgomery@houseofopportunity.org. Alternativley, you can use the form below to tell us about your event.