Those who know me well, know that I do love a nice afternoon tea, with Earl Grey, real china cups, tiny sandwiches and of course those divine little cakes (thanks to Charlotte Briggs of Frog Hollow Catering for this lovely picture, check her out here).  I make sure that I’m able to plan in this little treat from time to time, because it’s one of life’s great pleasures for me.

And it got me thinking… time is such a very precious thing for us all, for most of us who are trying to juggle a million things at once, there simply isn’t  enough of it.  This is especially true for those who run charitable organisations of all kinds – from the school PTA, trying to raise funds for play equipment, to the charity that supports those who are seriously ill – and their families, time is the one thing we need more of, to allow us to do the great things we are aiming to achieve.

Many charitable groups are set up by just one or two people who have been affected by a major event taking place at some point in their lives. When we are personally affected in this way, we often have a burning desire to change things for others, to help them in some small way so that they do not have to ‘go through what we did’.

But all too often, we find that with our day to day work and home life commitments, together with the fact that often we are taking a very hands on approach in supporting others, not to mention the essential Trustee and Committee meetings, our ‘cause’ can eat into our precious time, leaving us feeling quite frazzled and stressed.

So, when you are faced with the very necessary task of raising funds to make sure you achieve the aims and objects of the charity – on top of everything else – you might well get a horrible sinking feeling of dread.  How on earth can you fit in yet another drain on your time and energy?

Because I also have shared the experience of running a small charity virtually single handedly, I completely understand what a catch 22 situation you can find yourself in. Desperately needing to keep funding coming in, yet having very little time to do anything about it.

This is one of the main reasons I created my business, to help small charitable organisations by taking on the task of organising spectacular fundraising events on your behalf.

So, whether you are a new small community group just starting out who would like to do something unusual and spectacular to get yourself noticed locally, or if you are an established charity that doesn’t have a dedicated fundraising team, I’m just the person to help you out in a very powerful way!

All of the groups I work with enjoy a personalised approach and a service that is completely tailored to suit their needs.  I will do as much or as little as you need me to do, and the very best thing of all;

It costs the charitable organisation absolutely nothing!

As with any business, there are costs involved, and these are all covered by the participant’s registration fee which, for a fundraising firewalk, is typically £50.
£50 is fantastic value to enjoy the experience of a lifetime – not only will it be a life changing event, it will really get your supporters (and the community) involved and engaged.

I’m sure you will agree that having me free up more time for you, is priceless.

…But, what has all this got to do with cake I hear you ask?  Well, just think of the time it takes to organise an event… the emails, the phone calls, talking to the press, the radio interviews, the effort of getting people to take part… I can do all of this on your behalf, leaving you with plenty of free time to go out and enjoy the lovely traditional experience of afternoon tea, with CAKE!

If you are involved in a charitable organisation and this is of interest to you, please take a look at my website: www.thefundraisingchallenger.com or give me a call on 01249 824866.

If you know of someone who might benefit from what I offer, please feel free to forward this to them – you never know, they might invite you along for afternoon tea and CAKE too!

Forthcoming Charity Fundraising Firewalks:

September – Cystic Fibrosis Kids (Portsmouth)
October – Mixed Charity Event (Warwickshire)
November – Pancreatic Cancer UK (London/Sussex)
December – Provisionally Booked (Newton Abbot)
January/February – Provisionally Booked (North Hampshire)
March – available
April – available

It sounds too good to be true doesn’t it. To hold an event which could potentially raise thousands of pounds in one go – an event which costs you absolutely nothing to put on.

Some people might feel that giving participants a sponsorship target of £100 is a big ask of them. I would say that the bigger the challenge, the better the outcome for you and the more committed the participant will be!  Of course, if you wished to lower the fundraising bar – that is entirely up you – you are absolutely free to dictate how much or how little you would like people to raise for you!

Let me put it like this; you can have a cupcake sale and sell cakes – you might make £30.  Or you can have a Firewalk – with advertising, radio air time, publicity and fundraising opportunities in abundance.

If each participant has 20 work colleagues, family members and friends, and they each agree to sponsor them to walk on hot coals for the price of one large cappuchino and a biscuit – already they have raised £100 in sponsorship. Multiply that that by say 10 people doing the firewalk on behalf of your group and that is £1000 straight away.

Spectators could be invited to make a donation to watch and enjoy the buzz, music, and excitiment.

You could have a BBQ for even more fundraising. The possibilities are endless. It’s all about how much you want to raise!

On 30th June, in Torquay, Devon, I will be running an event to raise money for a little girl called Olivia Holmes (and other charities). Let me share a little bit of information about Olivia and her parents, taken from their Facebook Page:

“In July 2009 at the tender age of 3 and a half Olivia was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma – a rare form of bone cancer in her lower spine. Only a handful of cases are identified in the UK every year. Despite the size of the tumour Olivia managed to survive the gruelling chemotherapy, radiotherapy and operations.

After living with the treatment of cancer and side effects for over a year Nicholas and Lisa decided that they wanted to use their knowledge and experience to improve the lives of other children and their families who also experience the treatment of cancer.

With initial donations from family and friends they set up the Olivia Holmes Foundation as a charity to raise awareness of childhood cancer – to improve the hospital room environment, outside space and lives of those children and families affected.

The Olivia Holmes Foundation is a Newton Abbot based charity set up by Olivia’s parents Nicholas and Lisa Holmes in October 2010 when Olivia received her first all clear from a childhood cancer. The foundation received charity status in January 2011.”

YOU can help to raise funds by taking part in this amazing firewalk experience.  Book your place HERE