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

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.