Happy Halloween

Photo courtesy of  hanna_horwarth on Flickr

Whatever spooky and scary plans you have made for today, Raise2Give would like to wish everyone a very happy Halloween! 

Like all big celebrations, Halloween is a fantastic opportunity to get involved in fundraising and we have been thinking of some frighteningly good money making methods. So, if you are looking for a nice boost for an event you are doing or you just want to make some money for a good cause, read on for a few of our top Halloween tips.

Photo courtesy of Looking Glass on Flickr

• Perhaps more than any other occasion, Halloween is a great excuse to dress up. Why not make the most out of the brilliant, terrible and sometimes bizarre fancy dress on offer by holding a Halloween fancy dress competition? Simply charge people to enter, get hold of a small prize and find someone unbiased to judge the entries. The competition will tap into people's competitive sides and will produce a better quality of costumes on show (although this can't always be guaranteed!)

• One of the biggest features of Halloween is food. Whether it's trick or treating or parties, Halloween offers the chance to spoil yourself with lots of sweets and other edible treats. Why make your own delicious Halloween feast? There are lots of easy to follow recipes online and the ingredients will not cost very much at all, so you can sell your ghoulish creations for a nice profit that can be put towards your fundraising. BBC food have compiled a list of simple recipes to use. The great thing about Halloween is that you can really go over the top with the decorations on all of your treats!

Photo courtesy of  StarMama on Flickr

• Lots of people love to celebrate Halloween with a good party. After all, what better excuse to get the fancy dress out and get over zealous with make up and fake blood? Holding a Halloween party or pre-drinks and asking people for a small donation for charity to come along is an easy way to raise a sizable amount of money. You could also sell your Halloween treats to people once they have turned up or concoct a Halloween punch or cocktail that people have to donate to be able to drink.

• A variation on the party idea could be asking for a donation for people to come along to a scary film evening. If the idea of a party and dressing up isn't your cup of tea then make things simple. Either rent out a horror film or watch one of the many that will undoubtedly be on TV in the evening. The added bonus is that the more people you have round, the better the atmosphere will be to watch the film!

Photo courtesy of jason_baker84 on Flickr

Choosing your Challenge

Mount Kilimanjaro
One of the most popular student fundraising challenges

With freshers period coming to an end, attention for most students is brought (slightly) away from purely nights out and onto lectures, coursework and separate activities to take part in.

Here at Raise2Give, we know how much taking part in a fundraising activity can really enhance your university experience. They offer fun, challenging, CV building opportunities with plenty of scope for travel and experiences that sometimes really are 'once-in-a-lifetime' events.

But which one do you choose? We have been looking at the different factors students should consider when choosing their challenge...

Have you got a lot on your plate?

Is your course intensive in terms of hours? Do you already take part in a number of societies and sports teams? Chances are, if this description fits you choosing an event that requires a large amounts of fundraising or training, such as climbing Mount. Kilimanjaro or trekking Machu Picchu, may not be the best thing to do. If you fall behind with fundraising, your experience will turn into something that becomes a pressure as opposed to being enjoyable.

Of course if you are pushed for time but still want to take part in one of these trips, don't let this commitment put you off; any fundraising total can be broken down into something manageable with diligent planning, just be prepared to put the effort in!

However if an international event does not fit into your schedule, there are plenty of smaller events that very well may do. Most Rag organisations will hold some form of charity hitchhike, or why not try skydiving or bungee jumping as alternatives?

Skydives have smaller fundraising targets and
 take less time to complete than most other challenges

Do you have any personal aspirations?

Every single person has aims and goals that they wish to complete in life and therefore, will naturally be drawn towards certain fundraising events. For some, reaching the peak of Kilimanjaro, often dubbed 'the rooftop of Africa', is both an awe inspiring and unbeatable experience. For others, running through the city streets and central park of New York as part of the world's largest marathon will create this same sensation.

When looking at events to take part in, always stick to what you personally want to do. Whilst it might be fun to be with a group of your friends, taking part in a challenge should be a personal decision. Whatever you sign up to do, the opportunity to meet new people and form friendships will arise. If your heart isn't really set for the event you are fundraising for, then it makes it incredibly difficult to motivate yourself to do so.

The New York Marathon
An event on many people's bucket list

Are you looking to challenge yourself?

Going for an event outside of your comfort zone tends to be a big reason why a lot of people sign up to a challenge. The increasing flexibility in fundraising events means that even the most experienced student fundraisers can have scope to push themselves even further.

Taking part in treks that are now available at a lot of universities could provide the perfect start point to start challenging yourself for charity. Arctic exploration adventures, sailing events and extended volunteering visits are all part of the rapidly growing area of external trips. This means that there should be something completely different on offer to fundraise for, even if you think you have seen it all before.

Dog Sledding and arctic exploration are new events
that are sure to grow in popularity with students

And what about the charity?

Before signing up for any charity event or challenge, it is paramount to gain an understanding of the cause that you will be fundraising for. How can you hope to get any donations if you don't understand where the money you are raising is going? Charities are just as focused on increasing awareness about their cause as they are raising money so use their resources and information to develop your own understanding of what they do and why.

When considering which event to go for, be careful to examine what is on offer from the charities that you are fundraising for. A £1000 plus fundraising target is a figure that most people cannot reach simply through donations from family and friends. Charities should provide raids and fundraising information to help you achieve your aim. Finding out that you are not going to be able to raise enough money six months in to fundraising is never a pleasant experience!

The staggering views on offer at Machu Picchu
Would this be your challenge?

So, whilst you consider all of the above, do not forget to get in contact with your fundraising organisation or charity and make sure you choose the right challenge for you. Here at Raise2Give, we can also give you advice about what challenges are on offer, who to contact and how to reach the ever important fundraising goal.

Counting down the days till Rag Conference 2012!

Loughborough Students Rag host Rag Conference 2012                     

In less than a week, Loughborough will be hosting the annual Rag Conference for 2012 and here at Raise2Give we cant wait!

Rag Conference is an opportunity for student fundraising organisations and UK charities to come together to share knowledge and help each other grow successfully, whilst of course having a whole lot of fun in the process! Raise2Give are not only to be attending the conference, but will also be continuing our history of commitment to student fundraising by sponsoring part of conference 2012 itself! (Which part exactly we will keep as a secret for now)

For anyone who hasn't heard about us before, Raise2Give is an online fundraising platform predominantly aimed at the student fundraising market. With our fundraising platform, we firmly believe that creating a page is only the beginning of where the service should start and with our experience and expertise we can help fundraisers across the UK reach their goals.

Our dedicated team of former student fundraisers are on hand to answer any queries and provide extensive advice and support throughout the fundraising process. This has also allowed us to introduce a new free consultancy service, which we will be rolling out following the conference.

Throughout all of this change, our core values have stayed the same. Our 3% service fee remains intact, as we understand importance of keeping costs low. We also remain as an independent body, meaning you can fundraise for any event and any charity and our advice will also remain impartial.

Our ever dependable tracking system for student hitchhikes also remains in place. Our experience from running a significant number of hitchhikes over the last year, including the UK's largest hitchhike LEGGIT, gives us the expertise to help make any hitchhike be successful whilst providing a quality and reliable service at market leading prices.

As you can tell we are very excited about what we offer and cant wait to meet all the delegates at Loughborough Rag Conference 2012.

Post Olympic Blues

All images courtesy of London 2012

We all knew this day was coming. The dreaded Monday back to reality after the fabulous Olympic fortnight. Over the last few weeks we have been treated to some of the best sporting action imaginable as the Olympics has taken over not just London but the entire United Kingdom. Great Britain has enjoyed immense success both in and outside of the sporting arena. Our athletes have delivered in almost every sport, whilst our enthusiastic support and incredible volunteers have become the envy the world over.

At Raise2Give we have been looking back over the games and picked some of our top inspirational moments that should hopefully ward off the Olympic blues, at least until the Paralympics begins in a fortnights time!

Proud to be British
Nobody was sure what to expect from Danny Boyle's imagination to open the games. There was a lot of cynicism about costs and trepidation in following the celebrated and climactic scenes from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. What we got was a night so uniquely British that it couldn't help but win you over. Britain was able to revel in celebrating its culture with our typically individual sense of humour. Nods towards the industrial revolution, literature, technology and our influence upon popular music reminded us how much our island has contributed to the world. James Bond and the Queen skydiving into the ceremony surely had to be the highlight of the evening. 

Issaka 'the Otter'
Hamado Djibo Issaka embodies everything about the Olympics that is often forgotten behind the medals and world records: the sheer desire to enjoy taking part. The 35 year old, who had previously worked as a gardener and pool cleaner in land-locked Niger, received a wild card entry to take part in the men's single sculls rowing. He only took up the sport three months before the Olympics, was his countries sole competitor and had to travel to Tunisia to train. He finished dead last in the event by quite some distance but his journey and desire to participate deserve as much credit as any medal won.

Gemma Gibbons and Kayla Harrison
Undoubtedly, one of the defining images from London will be Britain's Gemma Gibbons mouthing, 'I love you mum' to the sky after securing at least a silver medal in Judo. Gibbons had unfortunately lost her mum, Jeanette, to Leukemia when she was 17. Her 8 year journey to Olympic silver from then was a great example of triumph in the face of adversity. Her opponent in the final and eventual gold medalist, Kayla Harrison, showed great courage herself in recovering from psychological damage caused by sexual abuse from her former coach to reach the pinnacle of her sport.

Tom's Story
It is hard to believe that Tom Daley is still only 18, such is the stretch of the time he has spent in the public eye. Seen as a great medal hope from long before 2012, the diver has had to cope with this pressure whilst at the same time having to deal with growing up and leading a normal life. In 2011 Daley's father, a huge influence in his life, passed away after a long battle with a brain tumor. This would be hard enough for any young person to deal with, but added to the expectation of a nation the pressure must have been huge. The poster boy of the games delivered though: A bronze medal and straight A's at A level to boot are credit to a truly inspirational young athlete and person.

Higher, Faster, Stronger
The Olympic motto is always inspired by those athletes who push the very levels of their sport to astounding heights in success as world records tumble and international fame rises up around them. Take Usain Bolt, who blew away all sprinting competition in Beijing and Michael Phelps, who won a record 8 gold medals in those same games. Both came to London with doubts over form and fitness yet ultimately prevailed. Bolt retained all of his Olympic titles whilst Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time. With so many incredible performances produced it is hard to choose a single moment, however David Rudisha's breathtaking display in winning the 800 metres title in world record time will live long in the memory.

Golden girl at last
Katherine Grainger could be forgiven for thinking that her time would never come. Six times a world rowing champion, she'd fallen just short of achieving Olympic success at three successive games. In Beijing, her narrow defeat into silver medal position was agonising, having led with her crew for the majority of the race. For most, experiencing this pain would be enough to dampen their spirits but Grainger showed dedication and perseverance to push her body through the necessary training to reach the very top of of her sport and this time at last found golden success with partner Anna Watkins.

Changing of the guard
In track and now road cycling, it would be hard to argue that Britain is not the strongest nation in the world. With Bradley Wiggins having already won the Tour de France, the first Brit to do so in the competition's 99 year history, before adding Olympic gold in the road time trial, the track cyclists had a tough act to follow. But as seems to be the way with British cycling, targets are there to be broken. Great Britain dominated the velodrome, Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton competed for the final time at the games, winning 3 golds between them. Rising stars such as Jason Kenny and Laura Trott also shone, showing that far be it from the end of an era of domination, Britain's cycling prowess may long continue. Such was the extent of Britain's success, other nations started calling foul. However British cycling chief Dave Brailsford, mastermind of British cycling success, jokingly quipped that it was down to the British team possessing 'rounder wheels'.

Blind ambition
Im Dong-Hyun would struggle to make out the words in a book in front of him. The South Korean Olympian suffers from 20/200 vision in his left eye and 20/100 vision in his right eye, meaning that he has to be approximately 10 times closer to an object than someone with perfect sight. Legally registered as blind, this would be a significant hindrance in most Olympic events especially as his chosen event is archery. And is he there simply to make up the numbers? Certainly not. Having set a new world record in the 72 arrow men's individual event to take gold, Dong-Hyun also moved on to scoop gold in the team event as well. Just another example of how London 2012 marked a significant breakthrough for differently-abled athletes. 

Gold rush
Ultimately, London 2012 was going to be judged to a great extent by the success of Team GB. 65 medals, including 29 gold, more than exceeded expectations. Whether it was athletes who had long been a part of the Olympic games, for example sailing's Ben Ainslie who had won a silver medal at the Atlanta games of 1996 and then a gold at each games since, or Anthony Joshua, whose gold medal at Super Heavyweight boxing signaled the very start of his sporting career, each athlete had an incredible story in their journey towards success. Perhaps the greatest night of the games for British athletes was 'Super Saturday', when Jess Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won gold inside the iconic Olympic stadium within the space of an hour. That night, as well as Britain's success across the entire games, will endure long in the memory.

Games Makers
Very simply, 'games makers' were the glue that held the Olympics together. They were present at every single event at every venue and assisted to a huge extent with the millions of visitors who came to view all of the sport. A huge proportion of those who volunteered were from the United Kingdom and had taken time away from work and study to help make the games the incredible spectacle that it became. Raise2Give were fortunate enough to travel to some of the events throughout the Olympics and were taken back by the cheerfulness and good will exhibited by games makers. In light of all of the amazing athletic feats and achievement, it was very telling that the biggest cheer at the closing ceremony came for the people who had given their time up for free in order to make the Olympic games the spectacle that it was. Every volunteer was a reminder of the good will that still remains in all of us.

Fundraising with the Olympics

All images courtesy of London 2012

With Great Britain captured by Olympic fever and a number of important fundraising deadlines coming up, there is a huge opportunity to capitalise on the Games to boost your fundraising total. Here at Raise2Give we have managed to tear our eyes away from our TV screens for long enough to give you the lowdown about how you can make the most from London 2012!

In Gold Medal Position- Host Olympic parties..
Just as with both the Diamond Jubilee and Royal Wedding, the Olympics provides the ideal opportunity for a get together with family, neighbors and friends. 
Hosting an Olympic party is fairly simple as the main thing you need is a TV and some space for people to crowd around it! The key consideration involves turning people attending into money raised but this can be achieved in a number of ways;

Selling cakes and treats could be a simple way to get people to part with their money throughout the evening. Cheap to buy from any supermarket or easy to make and personalise yourself for an added homemade bonus. Any leftovers can then also be sold on afterwards or kept as a well earned treat!

Often undervalued in comparison to more elaborate fundraising ideas, simply speaking to people about the fundraising event you are doing and the cause you are doing it for. The biggest reason that puts potential donators off is a failure to connect with either the event or the cause, and simply taking to potential donors could really increase your total. You could also produce your own business cards with a link to your fundraising page to give to people as a reminder to donate. (There are lots of website who can make these very cheaply)

Silver Medal goes to- Run a sweepstake..
Another fun way to both fundraise and add to the excitement of the sporting action can be achieved through running mini sweepstakes for events throughout the evening. Very simply each guest could put forward a small donation in each race or event that occurs and will be randomly allocated an athlete competing. All that would be needed would be a suitable prize and soon you will have drawn everyone’s competitive side out!

Sweepstakes are very quick and easy to organise and can make a significant amount of money in a short space of time without having to worry about the logistical issues of getting a group of people to attend a specific event. Specifically in relation to the Olympics, a sweepstake could work fantastically for a number of events, whether it be the Football that takes place throughout the games or the men’s 100 metres, which only lasts for a couple of days. For those who think they could get a lot of friends involved, why not try and do a sweepstake for the 200 odd countries that are involved, with the person who picks the nation that gets the most medals winning. You could also run a sweepstake where entrants have to guess Great Britain’s medal haul.

When attracting people to take part in a sweepstake, don’t get hung up on having to offer a fantastic prize in return. Whilst this definitely draws people in, it could come at great expense to you and a huge enjoyment of a sweepstake is the fun in taking part! A nice bottle of wine or a gift voucher should be enough to sway friends and family to take part! Alternatively, you could split the sweepstake money 50/50 with the winner and your fundraising cause.

In Bronze- Make the most of social media..
A recent study has shown 40% of British Facebook users would use the social networking site to celebrate Olympic success. It has been pretty clear since the Games started that every key Olympic moment has been met with a huge surge of traffic on both Facebook and Twitter. This is an ideal opportunity to get people who will be coming online to celebrate the success of winning Gold or to discuss a certain event to become interested in your fundraising exploits. Posting a link to your fundraising page will stand out against everybody else talking about the Olympics. 

The most important thing is to raise awareness about your event and the cause you are doing it for. If people don’t know they can’t donate. Time your posts right and you might see donations fly in at olympic speed.

Let the Games Begin - London 2012!

Image courtesy of London 2012

With the opening ceremony only hours away, the hype for the London 2012 Olympics Games has truly began! Here at Raise2Give we have been in awe of many of the planning aspects of the Olympic games and cannot wait till it all begins!

Volunteers 

One of the most impressive aspects of London 2012 is the pure scale of volunteers. Titled as 'Games Makers' nearly 70,000 people have given up their time to help make the games extra special. LOCOG recently reported that they received over 240,000 volunteer applications which is amongst the highest for any Olympic Games! 

Venue's

As with any charity event, the location is nearly as important as the event itself. We are not talking about hosting the olympics in our capital, but moreover the arena's and historical destinations used to host the individual sports. From beach volleyball at the Horse Guard's Parade to Archery at the famous Lord's Cricket Ground, going to the olympics will become not only a day of sport but the opportunity to see some of Great Britain's most popular venues.

Sport's

Whilst there has been lots of talk whether certain sports should or shouldn't be included in the olympic games, here at Raise2Give we believe that the 36 disciplines across the 26 sports, not only show the variety range and breathe of competition but also provide enough entertainment to truly inspire a generation.

Wherever you are in the world, we hope you enjoy the London 2012 Olympic Games as a time to spend with family and friends, learn a new sport or two and most importantly draw inspiration from the volunteers, athletes and spectators who promise to deliver two weeks of thrills, spills and no doubt a few tears. 

And of course don't forget the Paralympic Games start on the 29th August 2012!

How to Hitch...

Raise2Give has hosted a number of hitchhikes all over the country, and we often get asked by participants "how do i do it?" So we thought we put together a few top tips on how to hitch...

Our first piece of advise is to always BE POLITE! There are many fantastic people in this world, so remembering to say 'please' and 'thank-you' will never do any harm. Also be patient, the last thing someone needs is a bunch of pushy students asking for free travel when they have a queue of paying customers waiting.

Secondly, make yourself STAND OUT! Wearing a fancy dress costume, matching outfits or just some bright colours can really help you look approachable. Signs are also great for getting noticed, but be careful when choosing your outfit, for example something scary may put people off.

Thirdly, make sure you MEET PEOPLE. Popping into a local pub, grocery store or even a petrol station is a great way to meet local people and explain to them what you are doing. It is getting more unlikely that people pick up hitchhikers off the street so make that extra effort to talk to people who could potentially help you on your journey.

And finally... STAY SAFE! Your gut instinct is usually right so if you don't feel safe in what you are doing or who you are with, then don't do it. After all charity hitchhikes are meant to be fun and creative ways of fundraising for good causes.

And as our director says "it's not about the distance, it's about the journey"

Good Luck!

Breaking out... All the way to Morocco

Brighton Breakout Tracking Map

Last weekend Raise2Give was the host to Brighton Breakout, a university hitchhike held by Sussex Rag. With 46 participants all eager to get to the furthest destination in 36 hours, once again we couldn't keep our eyes off the tracking map!


With messages coming in from Paris, Brussels and even Amsterdam, it was team Ramin that got us all glued. How far would they go?

By saturday night the news came in that a flight had been booked and team Ramin were off to Madrid on Air Europa. So impressed with their efforts, we were telling everyone and anyone, however we soon learnt they weren't finished... Team Ramin were aiming for Morroco!!

Surely not we said to ourselves, but after a long train journey and two ferries, Team Ramin arrived in Morocco and truly earned the winning prize!


The whole event raised an amazing £2972.29 and we would like to say a huge thank-you to everyone that donated, participated or helped in this event.

Welcome to 2012

Happy New Year to you all! Did you see the London Fireworks? We thought they were great! The new year has also brought some new users to Raise2Give and we would like to wish them a warm welcome and good luck with all your fundraising.

Merry Christmas!

Here at Raise2Give we have all been very busy, but we thought we would take the time to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!