Contributed Post
We live in a society where the individual is prioritised. We tend to put ourselves and our closest loved ones before others and work to ensure that we and they are always safe, secure, and comfortable. But every now and then, we should turn our attention to others in the world who are less fortunate than ourselves. There are a whole variety of reasons that people can be suffering – poverty, illness, prejudice, the list goes on and on – but there are ways to tackle this and charities tend to dedicate their time and resources towards challenging these issues and making the world a better place. You can help them by holding events to raise funds that will give them the opportunity to progress at a much faster rate and altogether more effectively. So, how should you go about this? Here’s everything you need to know in order to run a successful charity event.
Choose a Charity
First things first, you’re going to need to choose a charity who you want to support. Now, this can be relatively difficult. After all, there are so many great causes out there that whittling your options down can be an almighty task in itself. Generally speaking, people will donate to a charity whose cause is personal to them. They might support a charity that has helped them or a loved one in the past. They might donate to a cause which is finding a cure for an illness that they or themselves have experienced. The best way to choose is to take a cause that is either working to change a situation that you feel is unjust, or which is aiming to improve a certain aspect of the world that you believe is of great importance. Popular charities tend to include children’s charities, animal charities, charities for the sick, charities for the elderly, and charities challenging prejudice, as they are helping some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
Choosing Your Type of Event
There are all sorts of charity events that you can try to organise. A good idea is to target a specific demographic in order to cater to their tastes and needs with a well organised niche day out. The more the individuals enjoy themselves, the more they are likely to donate. So consider morning cake and coffee meetings with an entry fee, music events where you can charge entry on the door, or shows which charge for admission. This will guarantee you a larger sum than change donations thrown into a bucket will alone.
Let People Track Your Progress
People like to see that their donations are actually contributing towards something positive. So it’s important that you let people see and track your progress. This is why so many people set up donation pages where people can see how much they have earnt in total. Just remember to check out the policies of the giving pages, as some will take fees for using their services. The lower the fee, the more preferable, as it means less is being taken out of the donations which are intended for the charity. Alternatively, if people are donating funds to you in exchange for seeing you do something productive, you could set up some sort of page like the Bayswater Charity Drive Infographic. This is an excellent example of two charity workers and their journey to support the children’s charity Variety, which helps to empower Australian children who are sick, disadvantaged, or have special needs. Not only is it interactive, but it effectively charts the charity workers’ progress.
Banking Your Earnings
The last step on your charitable journey is to bank the money that you’ve managed to raise. Generally speaking, it’s best to count the total yourself first. This may be time-consuming (as a large proportion of donations are likely to be change), but it will give you a good idea of what should enter the charity’s account. A cashier at the bank will be able to double check all of your figures for you. However, it is also possible to enlist the help of private foundation management to ensure that you can keep on top of things. Companies like this will make sure that transactions are processed smoothly and that all amounts are correct to prevent any potential error, as well as ensuring compliance with all of the regulations. Make sure that you have the correct and up-to-date bank details for your given charity too. Once everything has been banked, your work is complete and the funds will be going straight to a good cause! Additionally, it would be a good idea to check out vat relief for charities as well, so you can see how that factors into your finances and how you can save money when taxed.
As you can see, running a charity event can be time consuming and entail a whole lot of effort. But as long as you do everything by the book, things should go swimmingly and you should earn a whole lot of cash for your chosen charity in no time!
