The Premier Club

FUNDRAISING TIPS

Doing the walk is a fun day out, but you can also increase your personal contribution to the effort if you can raise a good few quid for the cancer charities we support at the same time. Try out some of these 10 fundraising tips below to swell your sponsorship coffers, and maybe get into our prestigious Premier Club

Tip 1. Get family and friends to write their sponsorship amount on the sponsorship form first. They tend to be the most generous and it will also set the standard for everyone who sees the form after them. (Sponsors will very rarely want to sponsor you for a pound if everyone on the form above them is giving a fiver).

Tip 2. Ask people to give you the money straight away. This will speed up the collection time after the event, and probably save you from having to continually pester people for the money. Also, make sure that you always carry an amount of change with you. That way, people can’t claim not to have the right money on them.

Tip 3. Make sure you get your sponsorship Gift-Aided. If your sponsor is a taxpayer ask them to tick the Gift Aid box on the form and include their full name, home address, and postcode. This allows us to claim Gift Aid, which will increase the value of the donation by 28 per cent at no extra cost to your sponsor.

Tip 4. If you’re part of a large firm send an article and photo to your staff newspaper or newsletter. Make sure you include details of how they can sponsor you, and include telephone numbers etc so that they can contact you.

Tip 5. Approach your work colleagues, your employer and any local companies you might deal with or know for donations. Why not try out any local shops you buy from. They might find it hard to refuse you if you are a one of their regular customers. Remember that companies can claim the sponsorship as tax relief so they may be prepared to give you higher value sponsorship than friends or other personal sponsors. (Carry a notepad so that you can give company sponsors a small receipt showing your name and address and the amount they have sponsored you for.)

Tip 6. Fax or email a copy of the sponsorship form to your suppliers and clients, asking them to sponsor you. If you don’t ask them they won’t sponsor you. If you do ask them they’ll probably have no reason to turn you down.

Tip 7. If your employer is a member of a matched giving scheme, ask them if they will match the amount you have raised.

Tip 8. Ask family and friends to collect sponsorship on your behalf. Give them a copy of the sponsorship form and these fundraising tips. Copy any sponsors you get onto your main form. It will give your sponsorship effort more credibility if there are a lot of sponsor names on the form.

Tip 9. Always keep a list of the people who sponsored you and for how much. This will allow you to approach the same people again. You can use the opportunity to call on them next year, tell them about your walk, and thank them for their valued sponsorship. Just when you’ve got them feeling proud of themselves for their valued generosity and goodwill you can then ask them for sponsorship for the coming years event.

And lastly...

Tip 10. Point your prospective sponsors towards www.threepeakschallenge.com. Our aim is always to clearly show every years’ corporate sponsors, individual walkers, how much has been raised on any particular event, and the Fund-To-Date Total. We also show exactly how much and to which charities the raised monies are going. It will prove to your prospective sponsors that they are contributing to a worthwhile effort and that you’re not collecting for a fly-by-night fund raiser.

Get these Fundraising Tips on a separate download sheet >>

Raising sponsorship money...

Don’t worry if you’re not in any of the ‘premier’ clubs on this page. If you’ve taken part in any of the walks and contributed anything, no matter how small, you deserve a pat on the back.
Some walkers may have large families, or a large group of friends who they can cajole into sponsoring them. Others may work in a large company where the opportunities to raise sponsorship is much easier than if working in a small organisation. Some larger corporations will also ‘ fund-match’ the amount of sponsorship raised by an employee (very often up to £500.00), and this will naturally increase the value returned by the individual.

And there’s always the other reason... sometimes it’s just plain hard work to get money out of people! If you’ve contributed in any way you’re helping towards boosting the whole fund, and maybe you had an enjoyable day out walking with us also!

Tip : To increase sponsorship why not try out some of our Fundraising Tips (see below) to gain that extra edge in collecting sponsored funds.

The GOLD 1000 Club is a special elite company of walkers who have contributed a staggering £1000.00 minimum for an annual walk. We can only think they’ve probably robbed a bank! When the Dave Owens and Frank Goodall Memorial Fund Three Peaks Challenge Walk was first started by Gerard, he thought (in his own words) he “could raise a bob or two for charity”. We never thought anyone would bring this sort of sponsorship in !

The SILVER 500 Club is a special distinction club for the walkers who have contributed a minimum of £500.00 for an annual walk. For those who by extra hard work, effort (and probably endless badgering) have managed to raise themselves into a special band of fund raisers.

The BRONZE 250 Club is for all the walkers who have contributed a minimum of £250.00 for an annual walk. Raising this amount of money is only done by hard work and effort on behalf of the walker, and is worthy of recognition in our Premier Charts.