Raising Sponsorship

Here are some tips to help you get started!

1. Ask your family members to pledge money first on your sponsorship form, if they are generous this might set a standard for people to follow!
2. Ensure sponsors read the gift aid statement and tick the box if they are eligible to do so.
3. Encourage your employer or any local companies you have links with to sponsor you.  Ask your employer if they have a match giving scheme you could use.
4. Start raising sponsorship money early, take your sponsorship form everywhere you go!  Extra forms are available to download if needed.
5. Keep people who have sponsored you informed of your progress and how much you have raised for Grove House. 
6. Try and collect your money straight away in order to save time after the event.
7. Set up an online giving page such as Virgin or Justgiving.

Online top 10 fundraising tips

1. Personalise your message
The best fundraising pages tell a really good story. Let people know why you're going to the trouble of raising money, and they're much more likely to take the time to donate. Explain why Grove House deserves your support and what their donations will buy.

We need to raise £1.5 million every year to be able to offer our vital services for people suffering from cancer. Every penny you raise in sponsorship will go directly to help someone suffering from cancer. Someone like Keith who says, “At Grove House I was treated as a person. During my weekly visits to Day Hospice I was surrounded by people who were genuinely concerned about my physical and emotional welfare.”

2. Add photos and video
Personal photos make your page much more engaging.

3. Tell everyone about your page
Before you email your entire address book, ask your closest friends and family to donate first. An empty page can be a bit intimidating, so having a couple of donations on the page should encourage other sponsors. People tend to match the amounts already listed on the page, so if they’re generous ones, all the better!

Email your other contacts in groups — colleagues, running club, friends overseas, etc - personalising your message each time.
Use your own email system to set up groups, send emails to large numbers of people and keep your communications personal. Potential supporters are more likely to open an email that comes from you than an email address they don’t recognise.

4. Publicise your page
Print some Moo cards with your page URL on the back and give them out to everyone you meet! You can also share your page on Facebook  and on your blogs and websites with our widget or badges. Ask your company if they’ll link to your page from their website or intranet. Put up posters in your gym, college, church or school too.

If you would like any HERTS 10K posters please call us on 01727 731002 and we will happily send some out in the post.

5. Put a link in your email signature
Add your page's web address, or one of our 'sponsor me' badges, to your email signature. That way, every email you send raises awareness of your fundraising and attracts more donations.

6. Keep your page up to date
Post regular updates on your progress and upload new photos. It gives people a reason to come back to your page and encourages them to donate again or to send your page on to their friends.

Tell people how your training is going.

7. Send a follow-up email
Be persistent. It takes more than one round of emails to reach your target. You know what it's like - people mean to donate, but sometimes they don't quite get round to it on the first request. Remember to thank the people who've already supported you, and to ask them to send your page to their contacts.

8. Personalise your thank-you
You can edit the thank-you email that we automatically send to people who donate by logging in to your account and going to 'Edit your thank-you message'. Make sure you encourage people to send your page on to friends who might be interested in sponsoring you.