Your guide to fundraising for Group B Strep Support

Preventing life-threatening GBS infection in newborn babies

About Group B Strep Support

Why fundraise?

What’s it all for?

What can I do?

Hints and tips for fundraising success

How we can help

PO Box 203, Haywards Heath RH16 1GF Tel: 01444 416176 Fax: 0870 803 0024

Email: info@gbss.org.uk

Reg charity 1112065 Company Reg No: 5587535

About Group B Strep Support

Group B Strep Support is a national charity, which was founded in 1996 by our chief executive,

Jane Plumb MBE and is supported by an expert medical advisory panel.

Group B Strep (GBS) is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies in

the UK. GBS causes serious infections such as sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis in babies, typically

in their first few days of life. By age three months, GBS infections in babies are rare. Most babies

recover from their GBS infection but, even with the best medical care, one in ten of these sick

babies will die and some of the survivors will be left with life-long disabilities. Yet most Group B

Strep infections in newborn babies could be prevented. Your fundraising will help enable us to

increase awareness and improve prevention.

At GBSS, we want to see routine antenatal and intrapartum care where:

Every pregnant woman in the UK is given accurate information about group B Strep

Every pregnant woman in the UK is offered the opportunity to be tested for group B Strep

Women found to be carrying group B Strep, plus those with other risk factors that mean their

babies are at raised risk of developing GBS infection, are to be offered protective intravenous

antibiotics in labour

Why fundraise?

Group B Strep Support does not receive any funding from the Government and relies upon

donations and fundraising efforts among its members and supporters.

Fundraising is essential to the charity to help it reach its objectives, which are to:

Offer information and support to pregnant woman and families affected by GBS

Inform health professionals and individuals how most GBS infections in newborn babies can be

prevented

Generate continued support for research into preventing GBS infections

Support and create much greater awareness of GBS and bring about change in UK prevention and

management strategies

What’s it all for?

If you’re raising money for the charity, it’s good to know how we’ll spend it:

It costs approximately 5p to print a basic GBS information leaflet to be given to pregnant women as

part of their routine antenatal care.

It costs approximately £500 a month for our helpline to be manned for 40 hours, responding to

more than 200 families and health professionals – we spend a huge amount of time offering

information either via the phone, website, email or social media.

It costs over £5,000 to send out 500 medical packs to midwives and health professionals in

maternity units throughout the UK, providing vital information that will protect babies at risk from

GBS.

It costs around £2000 for us to attend a relevant one-day national conference, with a manned stand

from which we will distribute information packs and talk to pregnant women, health professionals

and others working in maternity or neonatal care.

What can I do?

There are plenty of ways you can help us; volunteer, donate, fundraise, take part in active

challenges or have fun organising something on your own, on behalf of the charity. Just decide

what you would like to do and please do get in touch with us – we’d love to know what you’re

doing and might be able to offer you some help and advice.

If you are stuck for inspiration, here is a pick of our top fundraising ideas.

Everyday fundraising:

Organise a cake or coffee morning, or a cheese and wine night

Organise a golf day at your local club

Consider organising a themed event at certain times of the year:

o Spring – Spring bingo, fashion show, Easter Egg hunt, plant sale, Easter bonnet parade

o Summer – BBQ, barn dance, summer garden party

o Autumn – pub quiz, bonfire party night, Halloween fancy dress, spooky themed cake sale,

pumpkin carving competition

Host an open house or garden

Cook for friends and family and charge them! Visit DINNER4GOOD www.dinner4good.com

for ideas on how to raise money and enjoy a meal with friends.

Have your poetry published with POETRY4CHARITY www.poetry4charity.webs.com a website

dedicated to raising money for charity

Active fundraising:

Take part in a sponsored swim

Run your first (or perhaps umpteenth) 5k, 10k, half, full or ultra-marathon

Cycle ride or take a sponsored walk across the dales or through your town

Organise to take part in a charity sports tournament – maybe five-a-side football, netball, hockey,

tennis

Join one of the many runs, cycle rides, skydives or zipwire challenges that are organised around the

country

The fun and daring fundraising:

Dress down day at work or school, or a themed dress day at work or school – GBSS colours for

the day?

Endurance – sponsor people to eat the most pies, dance the longest, keep the quietest

Sponsored hair or beard shaving, or waxing.

The Big Occasion fundraising:

Charity ball

Themed night – 80’s night, karaoke night, Bollywood night

Auction or quiz night

Ladies’ Day Out/Ladies’ Evening

New Year’s Eve fundraiser

Fundraising with children:

Sweetie guessing games - fill the Smartie tube with £12 worth of 20p or £27 worth of £1 coins. It

can quickly raise a large amount – and don’t forget to eat the contents first!

Fundraise at school – dress up day, face painting

Sponsored car wash

Bring and buy sale

Netball/footie or hockey sponsored match

School disco

Visit http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/guidance/about-fundraising/fundraising-

with-children/

Recycle, declutter and sell your stuff:

Sell your unwanted things on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-

profile/?NP_ID=14003 and buy through AMAZON www.astore.amazon.co.uk/grobstrup-21

Organise a bring-and-buy sale (perhaps bring, but don’t buy too much!)

Scrap your old unwanted car with GIVECAR www.giveacar.co.uk/charities/group-b-strep-

support?cat=health?page=2 – they come and collect

Recycle your old mobile phones, toners and cartridges with RECYCLE4CHARITY

www.recycle4charity.co.uk/register/C629

Shop your way to fundraising:

Ask your friends to buy from the GBSS shop – seasonal and gift cards, wedding favours, car

stickers, lapel pins

Sign up to Give As You Live www.giveasyoulive.com You’ll be raising funds for GBSS while you

shop.

When giving flowers, buy through CHARITYFLOWERSDIRECT www.charityflowers.co.uk

Sign up with The Italian Wardrobe www.theitalianwardrobe.co.uk, a discount designer clothes

shop that specialises in occasion wear and donates 10% of the purchase price to GBSS

Buy educational gifts, arts and crafts through YELLOW MOON

http://www.yellowmoon.org.uk/request-a-catalogue and we will receive up to 25% of the purchase

price. Enter code SGR10511

Take part in organised events:

There are lots of events that GBSS partners with each year who offer the opportunity for

fundraisers to take part in and help raise funds for us.

The Big Fun Run

The annual 5k park runs take place all around the country and are suitable for all ages and abilities,

from the novice first-time runner to the experienced.

British 10K

This scenic run takes in the highlights of London – a bit like a marathon but nowhere near as long.

GBSS offers guaranteed places on a first come first serve basis each year.

Zipslides UK

Great fun! If you fancy taking part in something a bit different, Zipslides UK host events all around

the country. Get your friends to sponsor your daring feat!

Bike Events

There are a number of open events each year to take part in and nominate GBSS as your chosen

charity

Great Swim

Lists 5 open events of outdoor swims and a choice of destinations

Visit www.gbss.org.uk/fundraising

Hints and tips for fundraising success

Think about the best time to hold your event; check the date to avoid any clashes, either within

your local community or big calendar events such as FA Cup Finals, etc!

Give yourself bags of time to plan and organise the event. Ask friends for help

If you have set yourself a big target, think about how you are going to go about organising it; set

achievable goals and timeframes

Think of where you are going to have your event and provide alternatives if your event is to be

outside, just in case of bad weather; also, remember to book early if it is to be in a hall or other

venue

Manage your costs well and set a budget. Ask for charity rates where you can, you will be

surprised just how willing people are to help

Please let GBSS know of your planned event. We have so much information we can give you;

leaflets, posters, collecting tins, t-shirts, stickers, balloons. Get in touch as soon as you have

decided on your fundraising event – or before if you would like help with ideas

Publicise the event

Tell everyone!

Get social media working for you – set up a personalised fundraising page and use it to get

donations from your Facebook and Twitter friends. Add photos to your fundraising page to keep it

fresh and interesting leading up to and after your event. Link to GBSS webpage at www.gbss.org.uk

Contact your local press - for a GBSS press release template visit

www.gbss.org.uk/content.php?section_id=13&sub_id=143&content=Local%20media

Count-down

On the day: make sure you have your checklist and contingency plans ready, just in case. Make

sure you have all the equipment you need – change, tickets, pens and pads, etc and someone is

taking photos! We would love to see them too.

After the event: Thank all your supporters who helped out, either with planning or on the day.

Send out another press release to your local press heralding your success; how much raised; how

many people came, etc and include pictures.

Don’t forget to ‘gift-aid’ it; if you or your donors are UK tax-payers you can get more money for

GBSS via the taxman if you claim gift aid. Please email info@gbss.org.uk for more information.

Safety and legalities

It is fantastic that you have chosen to fundraise on behalf of GBSS, but we want to make sure that

you carry out your fundraising safely and within the law.

Visit The Health and Safety Executive (www.HSE.gov.uk) for further information

If selling food, make sure you contact the Environmental Health Department or your local council

for advice

If fundraising with children, make sure that young children are supervised and make sure you carry

out any background checks on people who are having unsupervised access to children visit

http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/guidance/about-fundraising/fundraising-with-children/

Check with your local council if you need any type of permissions for your event – access/special

licences

There are laws around raffles and lotteries – ask your local authority or please contact GBSS and

we will be pleased to let you know of any legalities. You can also visit

www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk for information.

Street collections are governed by council laws. Make sure you have obtained any

licenses/permissions prior to the event

Consider insurance for your event – holding events is an integral part of an effective fundraising

strategy for charities. And whilst you will want to focus as much energy into raising money, it is

equally important to arrange adequate protection against the unforeseen such as cancellations,

injury and damage to either property or persons to protect you against risks

Group B Strep Support cannot accept any liability or responsibility for your event or anyone taking part in it.

How we can help

We have a number of resources to help with your fundraising:

Leaflets/posters/collection tins/banners/balloons/pens and stickers/tabards/t-shirts/wristbands (for

sale)

We can help you set up a donations page

We can help you with local media if you are unsure as to how to go about it

On behalf of GBSS, we would like to thank you so much for wanting to raise money for GBSS.

One of the objectives of the charity is to effect change in pregnant women’s antenatal care during

labour and delivery. However, as we said in our introduction, our intentions are huge, our

resources small and needed funds are constant as we do not receive any funding from the

Government. The opportunities to replenish our funds means we can send more information to

health professionals, help and support expectant families and parents of babies affected by GBS as

well raise much needed awareness of this life-threatening infection in newborns. We thank you all

for your support and kindness in helping us fulfil our many objectives.

Thank you

Fundraising tool kit