Chester’s Top Fundraising Tips

How to stash that cash – Squirrel style!

In these tough times, you might think that fundraising could be a tad tricky – but a bit of thought, a little energy and some persistence go a very long way! Luckily Chester is an expert in gathering funds (and nuts of course) so he’s agreed to share his top tricks for hitting the £300 target.

• Ask your richest or most generous friends to support you first – the first donation on your webpage or sponsorship form will set the trend for everyone that follows. If it’s sizeable then others may follow suit.

• Ask everybody, absolutely everybody! – ask everybody you know for a donation and make it easy for them by sending them the link to your fundraising page. No matter how big or small, it’ll all add up and you’ll sail towards the target in no time.

• The clever kitty – get all your friends to give you a £5 note with their name written on it. Once you’ve collected everyone’s contribution, pull out a note at random. The person’s fiver you choose wins half your kitty and you donate the other half to Team Squirrel, genius!

• Have a spring clean – edge towards your target by selling any unwanted, re-usable items on eBay or at a car boot fair. It’s always amazing what people will take off your hands

• Create a facebook group – If you’re on facebook, set up a group and ask each member for £1 (or more if you like). The average facebook user has 130 friends which will tot-up to a tidy £130. It’s also a fantastic way to keep your supporters up to date with your training, how you did on race day and the work of the Royal Parks Foundation.

• Counteract the Friday afternoon “slump” – set up a regular “chocolate run” in the office and charge a small fee per bar – even 50p on top of the cost would soon add up. Use an “Outlook” reminder for the team and you’ll soon find people coming to you with their money!

• Doubling your funds – ask your company if they will “match” your fundraising efforts. Some companies have match funding schemes, but even if yours hasn’t there’s no harm in asking. Essentially a company donates £1 for every £1 that you raise.

• Lastly - ask people if they’d like to give you the cash up front as soon as they pledge to sponsor you. This will make your life much easier when it comes to collecting donations.