Version: 13.03
Dear GVI Volunteer, Letter from GVI. Congratulations on choosing to join GVI in the field, you ve taken the first step on what could be a real life changing adventure; not only for you but for the community, wildlife and habitat that you are going to be contributing your time, skills and energy to. You might even be thinking what have I got myself into? Rule number one is don t panic! We know it can be daunting when you are faced with the prospect of raising the required funds to take part in a GVI program. However, with proper planning, a good imagination and lots of friendly determination, fundraising will be successful and can even be fun. Please don t forget that there is no harm in raising more money than the contribution fee, which can be used by the project director to help our local partners in the field. GVI is here to support you all the way. As well as providing you with the following hints and tips on tried and tested methods of fundraising, GVI is happy to provide you with additional materials (such as posters and information specific to your expedition) to help you in your fundraising campaign. Also check out our success website www.gviworld.com for some great facts and stories about the work we are doing and that you will be getting involved with in the field. We hope the following information is useful and encouraging. Don t hesitate to contact us for further information or to put you in contact with ex-volunteers who have successfully raised the funds and more for their expedition. Good luck and have fun from the GVI team!
It s in your hands
Planning and Preparation Your fundraising campaign will be more successful if it is planned and organised. For this, you will need to prepare by defining achievable goals within a realistic timeframe. Consider the following: What am I trying to achieve? How much time have I got? How much money am I trying to raise? What are my motives for doing this expedition? Who do I know that can help? What am I good at that can help me raise money? Be Realistic with Time and Resources Don t make your job even harder by trying to raise all of the contribution fees the month before you travel. By looking at the time you have available before your trip and planning properly make a realistic and achievable goal to work towards. Remember there are payment deadlines for your program so don t get caught out! Get Your Facts Straight To successfully convince your friends, family, colleagues and others around you to part with their hard earned cash in order for you to jet off to exotic lands, you need to be able to give these potential funders a concrete idea of what you are doing and who you are doing it for. You are much more likely to raise the money you need by really knowing your stuff. consider the following: Getting started... Who is GVI? Which local partners are involved in the expedition? How are you helping by joining the expedition? Who benefits? (For example, local communities, NGOs, the environment) For example, by joining the Marine Conservation Expedition to Mexico, you will spend 10 amazing weeks living by the Caribbean Sea, scuba diving most days and living the simple life. Yet you are also supporting the largest marine conservation project of its kind, assisting one of the largest NGO s in Mexico in key conservation projects along the Mesoamerican barrier reef and among the communities of the Mayan Riviera. Your input is crucial on this expedition in order to provide the manpower and funding necessary for these habitatsaving initiatives to continue and relieve the pressure caused by over-tourism on the Yucatan peninsular.
Getting started... GVI will of course help out where possible in providing information on GVI, GVI expeditions and our local partners but our website is a great place to find out more about your project at www.gvi.co.uk but also check out our country blog for more information about what is happening now in the field www.gvi.co.uk/blogs What makes a good fundraiser? In order to be a successful fundraiser you should remember to: Be positive Be persistent Be enthusiastic Research and use your contacts Get creative and use your imagination Don t be afraid to ask everyone you know Be organised Keep your goals in sight Get your facts straight Have confidence in your expedition Never be afraid to ask Smile!
A to Z of Fundraising... Chances are you already have a good idea about how you re going to fundraise. If not, here is our A -Z of fundraising - you will find plenty of fantastic ideas here! Remember, no matter how big or small your event, or how much money you raise, you can be sure that every penny will make a difference. You could: A Abandon your car - drive everywhere? Leave your car at home and help the environment and get sponsored to walk, run, bike or bus your way through life. Aerobathon challenge Art exhibitions- Ask local companies, artists, celebrities to donate goods and organise an auction (include gifts of time or goodwill) Auctions C Cake sale Calendar Candy sale Car boot sale Card making Car show Car washing Carol concert /Carol singing Cat show Climb a Mountain Clothes show Collections Coffee morning Coin Mile - organise coins around the office, school or town centre - any distance will do Come Dine with us - cook a meal worth paying for and invite your friends Craft fair Cricket tournaments B Bag-packing - contact your local supermarket and pack bags with friends and family for the day Baked bean bath or get gunged - get sponsored to take a dip Band night Beauty evening Beer tasting Be very swish - get your friends together to swap gorgeous clothes. Everyone brings at least one good accessory - sold to the highest bidder or have a party and a fashion show auction. A great opportunity to get those modelling careers going! Bingo benefit Bonfire night Book sale Bridge Evening Bring & Buy D Dance competition Darts tournament - link it in with a pub quiz at your local Disco Dodge ball Dog show - with a race for good measure Dress down day Duck races
A to Z of Fundraising... E Easter egg hunt Education day - everyday is a school day so let s get educated! Eighties night Entertainment Everyday s a school day - always wanted to juggle, swim 1km, learn a language or play the bagpipes Get sponsored and invite everyone to a show to demonstrate your new skill. Why not get your friends to set the challenge! G Garage sale Garden shows Give it up for charity! - give up something you like to raise a few pounds, from chocolate to shaving, smoking or drinking we all could do with a break from something! Golf tournaments Grand National Guess the weight of Guess the winner - pick a name out of a hat events are great for football tournaments Grand National winners, reality TV shows and well, anything where there s a chance of victory. I Indulgence evening Insect racing - safely! International party F Fancy dress - never fails to make a party a great night! Fashion shows Festival Fetes - you can incorporate lots of different elements into a fete, host it in a parish hall, community centre or school and have a raffle, jumble sale, quiz, cake sale and lots more! Film night Fire walks Fireworks night Five-a-side footie Fun run H Halloween party Head shave Heroes & Heroines party Hill walking Hold a dress down (or up!) day -people will pay good money to wear their own clothes. They ll probably pay even more to come in their ball dresses and tuxedos. Or you could get that bad taste tie or tights out for one day. J Jazz night organise a local Jazz night and include some raffles and money fundraising ideas during the event as well as collecting money for tickets. Jump rope competition - it s tougher than it was at school! Job swap Jumble sale
A to Z of Fundraising... K Karaoke - no need to say more, no-one can resist karaoke! Kiss-o-grams - it s all for charity! Why not play cupid and get people to pay to send a kiss-o-gram to someone they like Knitting for charity - easy, fun and gratifying invite your friends and sell your work M Mastermind Match funding - whatever your idea if you know a local company or have an employer ask them to match fund your total in return for publicity Model car racing Musical evening O Obstacle course Office party Office Olympics - why should three legged racers be only for kids! A space hopperrace is great for teambuilding - or if you re feeling more adventurous set up your own It s a Knockout! 1 in 365 - give up a day s salary and persuade your colleagues to do the same. Ask if your employer is willing to match fund. Q Quiz evening Quizzes & games - from bridge, bingo to poker, put on a games night or why not persuade your club or pub to put on a quiz. L Ladies lunch Leg waxing N National day party Netball tournament Non uniform day P Pantomimes Paper Airplane Competition Parachuting Parties Pie eating competition Pamper parties Photo competitions - guess who from baby photos to caption competitions Pub quiz Punk party R Race night Raffle - ask local companies to give you prizes in return for publicity Raft race Rounders competition - do it in your local park or at school and get people to bring a team Run for fun - find your own route and distance (or just run on the spot!) or join a local running event
A to Z of Fundraising... S Salsa evening Shiver me timbers my hearties - devise some clever clues on where to find the loot, get sponsored and away you go Silent auction 60 s / 70 s Party Snail race night Speed dating Spelling bee - hold your very own spelling competition and get parents to sponsor you for each word Sponsored quiz - get sponsored and challenge your teachers to a lunchtime quiz Sponsored shave /Sponsored silence /Sponsored slim /Sponsored wax Sports days Sports tournament Street party Strictly dancing - put on a dance night (or marathon!). Swear box Swimming Swap shop - swop paperclip for a pen, and keep trading until you have something to auction off U Ultimate Challenge University Challenge T Talent competition Treasure hunt Tug o war V Valentines Gifts Sale Valentines Party/Dinner Variety Show Volleyball competition X Xmas Fair Xmas Party Xmas Gift wrapping service Xmas Market Xmas Fair X Factor party / Competition Z W Walks Sponsored walk, ghost walks, fun walks What day is it?- Select a special day such as 4th July or St David s day and have a party Zumba Party Zoo Animal fancy dress party Zzzzzz Sleep a thon Y Yoga Class/Competition Yazee Contest
Online Support... Online Donations Go Fund Me www.gofundme.com Go Fund Me site allows you to set up your own fundraising page for your project. By selecting and setting up a personal donations campaign on this site people are able to donate online and you can set up a profile of what you will be doing and update it regularly with photos and posts on how your fundraising is getting on. When you sign up to the site US fundraisers are set up with a WePay account and International fundraisers are set up with PayPal account. Both WePay and PayPal collect the money for you people are donating and charge a 2.9%+$0.30 per transaction fee when you withdraw the funds from the accounts (bank transfer). Having an online sponsorship site such as this allows you share the link and promote your fundraising on social media sites. Online sales and auctions Ebay- Ebay is a very useful site and many people have made lots of cash from putting old stuff found in the loft, games you no longer use etc. E-bay attracts an International audience and items auctioned are then able to be posted and you can include the postal costs in the auction costs. However you do have to pay a listing cost for your advert so you need to make sure it is stuff you can sell and make a profit on. http://ebay.com Gumtree- A growing successful network which you can list items to sell for free and attract a local audience that will collect items and pay cash on collection. This is a great way to fund your trip and clean out the house at the same time! http://gumtree.co.uk Fiverr- A fun site set up where you can sell any advice, services, support for a fiver, have a look at the site for ideas. http://fiverr.com/ or http://www.fivesquids.co.uk/ Online resources for fundraising www.fundraising.co.uk www.fundraising.com www.fundraising-ideas.com www.faze.com/rtbi (Round Tables in Britain and Ireland) www.lionsclubs.org www.rotary-ribi.org Just giving and Global giving sites These sites are specifically for our charitable arm and you will find GVI Charitable Trust on Justgiving and globalgiving sites but these sites can not be used to fundraise and pay for the project fee with GVI therefore we recommend use of gofundme sites.
Contacting the Press Publicity is very important as it gets your message over to more people. We don t mean beam yourself over international television -that really is difficult to achieve, but target the local press: your local weekly newspaper or even radio station. They are usually crying out for local stories and achievements. All it takes is call to the paper and explain who you are and what you are doing. Points to remember: Find out the names of the relevant feature writer/reporters Think about what makes your story unique Give you story an interesting angle. Prepare and write down a few minutes of introduction before you telephone and have these notes in front of you while you are phoning. This will help you feel more confident and will assure that you don t forget key points. The object of your call is to a) get an email address of someone to send some information to b) actually speak to a journalist on the paper and tell them your story. Think about what you are trying to get publicity for? For example, you might say: Hello my name is xxxxxxxx, can I speak to the features editor? I am trying to raise money for an expedition to the Rainforest of Costa Rica. I will be running a marathon / holding a car boot sale, etc. in two weeks time in order to raise the funds. I am looking for sponsors. Have all the information ready about GVI, the expedition you are joining, the expedition focus and its local partners. Remember to know your facts - what you are doing, why and how you are doing it, and who it is benefiting from you volunteering. It may even help to prepare a press release on yourself and what you are hoping to achieve. Phone up and find out who to email or post press releases to and don t forget to follow up with a phone call after you have sent it. Press love pictures too, so have one of yourself ready, and you can always ask GVI for one of our pictures from our website if necessary. Remember to think about what makes your story unique. Building up a good relationship with the press is always beneficial and they may even like the idea of publishing some of your diary extracts when you return
Advice on fundraising Talks and Presentations Offering to give talks at schools, local groups and travel clubs is another way of publicising your expedition and fundraising activities, and can also raise money. Some local groups even pay to have speakers. Groups include:- Schools/colleges/universities Round Table Rotary Clubs (www.rotary-ribi.org) Lions Clubs (www.lionsclubs.org) WI Safety at Events When you run an event it is important for you to recognise that GVI has no responsibility for managing or organising any fundraising events and does not accept any liability arising from these events for theft or loss of or damage to property, personal injury, death or other losses (except as mentioned below). As you are responsible for these events you should therefore ensure that any necessary safety precautions are put in place. However, GVI accepts liability for death or personal injury arising solely out of its own negligence. Legal Guidelines Bear in mind that some fundraising exercises will need a licence or permission from the relevant person, so it s always worth checking beforehand! GVI are really pleased that you are taking the effort to raise funds to volunteer abroad but we can t accept liability for your fundraising event or activity you do. We want you to have fun and be creative and here are a few guidelines: Liquor Licensing Laws - If you wish to sell alcohol at an event, you should check with the licensing officer at the police station local to the event whether you need a licence to do so. Public Entertainment Licences - If your event involves some public entertainment (e.g. performance of live music, playing of recorded music, making music or dancing), you may need a licence from the local licensing authority. Most public buildings like church halls or community centres already have these. However, you should check with your local authority whether a licence is needed. Manufacturers- follow the advice of the manufactures of any equipment you are using. Collections- to collect funds you will likely need a licence from your local public authority so get in touch with them. If you are collecting or promoting on private property such as supermarkets then it is best to obtain written permission from the owner or management first. Raffles and lotteries- It is important that you sure these are legal and you follow the game laws for the area from the local authority. Make sure you seek their advice beforehand.
Advice on fundraising What are you good at? If you are stuck for original ideas or your plans just simply aren t working, try thinking about what you are good at and, most importantly, what you enjoy doing. See how those activities and skills can be incorporated into a fun fundraiser (e.g. cooking, typing, playing football, running, baby-sitting, shopping, or singing). Offer Your Services You can just simply offer your services to people, to wash cars, cut the grass, offer to do people s shopping, clean shoes, iron shirts, walk dogs, baby sit etc. Remember every penny counts towards going on your expedition of a lifetime! Get Creative Innovative and creative fundraising ideas can give you the leverage to approach larger audiences and are more fun. Get the Timing Right This is where strategy comes in to play! Ever noticed how much more readily people part with their money after pay day? Or when they are our socialising? Why not include a little note in with your Christmas cards asking for donations? Always Have a Plan B Tempting as it may be, try to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket (i.e. don t bank on the fact that your three-legged pub crawl will raise all the money you need in one evening). Always have a plan B or, better still, a variety of different methods and ideas that you are using to raise your funds. Stay Positive Its sounds like a cliché but a positive attitude will help you through those low times when things don t seem to be going your way. Remember, who you would rather give your money to support: a) Someone who s a bit down in the dumps and stressed out b) Someone who is bright and chirpy and full of enthusiasm for their up and coming expedition? GVI Brand It is natural that you will be presenting GVI facts and information and using us as part of your fundraising campaign however we are unable to provide letter headed paper or use of GVI branded documents without approval from us and therefore it is worth considering creating your own personal templates to use for your campaign.
Top Tips... Have fun and choose a fundraising project that you will enjoy. If you re having a good time people are more likely to respond. When will you do it? Think weather & avoid clashes with public holidays/big events. Where will you hold your event? Can you do it at home, school, church, or will you need to hire a venue? If you re holding a sponsored run/walk, is your route safe? Who will help you to plan and carry out your event? Who do you want to attend or take part? Make sure you give everyone plenty of notice Keep it simple the best fundraising projects are the simplest. Be realistic & cost out your event carefully. Keep a checklist so you know what needs to be done. Keep it legal have a look at our legal advice and check out with your local council to check you are doing it legally Do your sums make sure you keep an accurate report of all financial Transactions if you are using online and offline sponsor forms. Remember to keep your target insight Tell us about it we d love to hear what you re planning and how it goes. Send us news and photos and help inspire others to get involved. Always say thank you to everyone that supports you!
Charity Challenges If you are joining GVI on one of our Charity Challenge adventures then you will be free to fundraise for the project fee as well as then fundraising further or collecting sponsorships for the challenge which is the money you will be raising to donate to the charitable trust. Below is some important information for anyone that is joining a challenge and looking to fundraise for it. Fundraising for the fee You have an option of self funding the challenge fee yourself or fundraising for it. If you decide to fundraise for the fee or look for sponsorship GVI can not confirm your place until a deposit is paid. This project fee is paid directly to GVI and covers the running of this project along with your food and accommodation. You can fundraise and look for sponsorship to cover this cost but you can not use any charity donation sites such as justgiving.co.uk or globalgiving.com. This does not mean you can not fundraise for the project fee but you will have to use alternative platforms as mentioned in this manual. Fundraising and sponsorship for the challenge Once you have paid for the challenge and further sponsorship or fundraising you do will be donated to the charitable trust. If your being sponsored by UK tax payers then we can claim gift aid for any funds raised that are going directly to the charitable trust (you can not claim gift aid for money raised to pay for the challenge fee) Collecting Gift Aid Money you raise to pay for the challenge fee is not tax deductible or eligible for gift aid. After paying your challenge fee any further donations are going to the charity and therefore we are able to claim Gift Aid on these donations. To Claim it we must have either a tick box or signed confirmation from the UK tax payer that they wish to gift aid their donation. If they agree to this we also need their full name and address including postcode to claim it back. We are able to claim 25p for every 1 donated by a UK tax payer. If you are using gofundme or paper sponsorship forms get in contact with us and we send you some more information and template sponsorship forms to use. If you have any questions the please get in touch with us for advice.
Top Tips...
Letter... 1 GVI ROAD GVI LAND GVI GVI Date: Re: Fundraising to make a difference in South Africa Dear Sir, As one of the most successful local businesses in Bristol, I would like to ask for your assistance in a conservation expedition that I will be joining in September. I am taking part in the GVI expedition to Edeni Game Reserve to join wildlife researchers and participate in key conservation programmes which will go towards the future of South Africa s Game Reserves. The expedition has been running for over four years and has already provided landowners and game reserve managers with critical information to help them understand wild animal behaviour. If you have ever had the opportunity to experience an African Safari, you will agree that seeing animals in the wild is wonderful experience and we should make every effort possible to ensure that animals on reserves are managed properly. Please help me to raise funds for this expedition I would welcome sponsorship for the trip, donation of an auction prize or perhaps you could encourage your staff to attend a fundraising Fancy dress party that I am holding at Southbury Village Hall on Saturday February 26th 2004 8pm- 1am. I will be pleased to acknowledge your help in any advertising that I produce over the next few weeks. If you would like more information about the project then please email me on xxxxxxxxxxxxxx You can also visit the website I have set up on xxxxxxxxxx. For more information about Global Vision International please visit www.gvi.co.uk I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, Steph Thorns RGN Volunteer
Awareness Days Month Date Activity Notes January 22 nd Sustainability Awareness Share sustainability ideas and promote GVI Sustainability projects February 11 th -16 th National Student Volunteering Week Raise awareness and volunteer for this week with GVI 11 th - 17 th Go Green Week Meat free Monday Travel light Tuesday Waste-Not Wednesday Switch Off Thursday Friday Day of Action 14th UK National Gold Heart Day Hold a Gold party, Gold Heart, Donate Gold. Make a difference March 4 th -10 th British Pie Week Sell traditional pie and mash 4 th - 11 th World Orphan Week A child loses a parent every 2.2 seconds 13 th No smoking Day Get smokers to stop for smoking a day and donate their cigarette money. A average pack of 20 from 2012 budget now costs from 7.47 a pack (37p a cigarette) 15 th Red Nose Day 22 nd World Water Day Construction and community projects with GVI, Take a look at how much we have done for water supplies to our communities at www.gviworld.com April 7 th World Health Day GVI Health projects promotion, check out www.gviworld.com 22 nd World Earth Day Environmental projects with GVI awareness 29 th International Dance Day Dance festival/competition. GVI Latin Dance in Central America. GVI Arts and Dance projects promotion 29 th -5 th May Save the Children Week GVI work with Save the Children in Mexico May 4 th -11 th Get Walking Week (UK) Sponsored walk, encourage everyone to walk to work and donate 50% of their petrol cost they saved! 14 th -18 th Walk to Work week & Green Office Week 20 th 20 TH June National Smile Week Put a smile on a face in our GVI Communities and support volunteers to get away to help! 23 rd World Turtle Day GVI Turtle conservation awareness 28 th 3 rd June National BBQ Week (UK) BBQ Week, time to light up the BBQ and have a summer BBQ Come dine with me competition with friends! June 1 st -7 th Volunteering Week Volunteer week- get friends and family to volunteer with GVI 5 th World Environment Day See Earth Day 8 th World Oceans Day Our Oceans are a big part of our planet and our research in Mexico, Seychelles and Fiji is essential
Awareness Days 10 th -14 th Bike Week Bike to work and donate 50% of your petrol savings 20 th 26 th Recycle week Recycle and clear out week, do a car boot July 1 st 7 th Clean Beaches Week Help with GVI Beach clean or arrange your own! 29 th International Tiger Day Fancy dress time and Wildlife awareness August 12 th International Youth Day September All month Organic September Grow your own organic veg and sell locally during September 20 th -23 rd Beach Watch weekend Beach clean 22 nd No Car Day See car day 23 RD Rural Health Week TBA World s biggest coffee morning Coffee and cake sale October 22 nd World Planting Day Plant a tree and ask for donations November Last week European Week for Waste Reduction See recycling December 11 th International Mountain Day Climb a Mountain 25th Christmas Day Donate a present to GVI *These dates are based on 2013. Future years please check online for dates.
Special Days... Event Burns Night St Andrews Day St Patricks Day St Georges Day St David s Day Australia Day Mexico Flag Day Mexico Independence Day Fiji National Day Seychelles National Day Thai New Year Costa Rica Dia de las Culturas (Costa Rica Culture Day) India Independence Day Kenya Mashujua Day (Hero s Day) South African Heritage Day Good Friday Easter Sunday Easter Monday Halloween Date 25 th January 30 th November 17 th March 23 rd April 1 st March 26 th January 24 th February 16 th September 10 th October 18 th June 13 th April 12 th October 15 th August 20 th October 24 th September 29 th March 31 st March 1 st April 31 st October Guy Fawkes Christmas Eve Christmas Day Boxing Day Valentine s Day Pancake/Shrove Tuesday May Day USA Independence Day Mother s Day Father s Day Diwali 24 th December 25th December 26 th December 14 th February 12 th February 1 st May 4 th July 10 th March 16 th June 4 th November
Good luck... Keep in contact and let us know what you are doing! gvifans @gviworld