THE FUN! Leicester to Paris Bike Ride

5th - 9th August 2011

Congratulations for getting this far on the journey!

Now the fun part begins – the FUNdraising! Here’s our

guide to help you on your way to reach the £500

fundraising target.

In this guide you will find:

Fundraising ideas and guidance

How we can support you

About the cause you’re supporting

Q&A

Contact information

WHY FUNDRAISE? Leicester to Paris Bike Ride

5th - 9th August 2011

Riding 300 miles on two wheels in four days is no walk

in the park! People just can’t help but to admire the

effort needed to complete the challenge. So you can

expect some social brownie points!

Fundraising is a great way to let people know what

you’re doing and an opportunity to show their support.

It also raises awareness about the foundation and

good work we’re doing.

Fundraising is a great way to show off your creativity!

It’s almost too easy to dig into your pockets and slap

the sponsorship money on the table. Think about all

the creative ideas you’ve wanted to do... here’s a

chance to do them, get everyone involved and have

a laugh!

Step 1 Set a SMART goal

Specific – well-defined and clear

Measurable – in terms of progress towards the goal

Agreed – all key stakeholders agree to the goal and

have a stake in it

Realistic – don’t be too ambitious

Timely – a time frame is built in.

Step 2 Plan a fundraising calendar

With a firm goal and a timeframe in which to attain it,

you can plan a fundraising calendar.

Think about:

• What’s happening in your locality? Can you

piggyback a fundraising effort off another?

• Who are your supporters? What appeals to them?

• Parents and best friends may support you

unconditionally – but ask yourself why others

would. What’s in it for them? Your choice of

fundraising activities needs to provide some small

benefit to others

• How much time can you really devote to the

fundraising?

Step 3 Decide on the fundraiser that best suits you

Events — like a-thons, trivia nights, comedy dinners or

barbeques — need lead-time to organise.

When time is short, direct sales programs are best.

This is where you order a product and sell it

immediately. Examples of direct sales program

products are chocolates and lollies, silicone

wristbands, you can sell Krispy Kreme donuts, cakes

and cookies.

Get active. walk-a-thons, swim-a-thons, sports

tournaments. These are natural if you’re sporty and

can generate a lot of interest if you manage to get

other people involved.

Bring community together, combining

fundraising with a social activity such as a trivia night

and pub quiz: great fun for all ages.

FUND RAISING GUIDELINES Leicester to Paris Bike Ride 5th - 9th August 2011

Step 4 Spread the Word!

You want as many people as possible to know that

you’re fundraising for a cause and the amount of

effort this bike ride requires.

Some Useful Tips:

Establish and maintain a blog or Facebook page:

Include information about what you want to

achieve and why

Provide information about upcoming fundraising

events or activities

Thank supporters — particularly businesses

Keep blogging when you set off on the ‘dream to

Paris’. Provide details and pictures to confirm that

supporters’ faith in you was well placed

Email all your friends, work mates, and family

Invite them to become ‘fans’ of your Facebook

page or subscribe to updates. You are creating a

database of supporters

Keep that contact alive by providing updates on

progress

Talk to your local radio station too

Ask local businesses, the library, and your council

member to display a poster promoting your

fundraising

Step 5 Kick off your fundraising effort and drive it

home!

Successful fundraising drives have a beginning, middle

and an end.

Launch your fundraising drive with some publicity

such as local newspaper or the good old social media

tools like Facebook Twitter and blogs.

Maintain the momentum over the next couple of

weeks with posters, reminder announcements and let

people know how you’re getting on by announcing

your progress on through your social media channels.

Drive it home in the last few days.

Step 6 Share the outcome with your community

Too often, a fundraiser just fades away. Share the

result with all who took part.

Use your Facebook or blog to post updates. If a local

journalist has shown interest, follow it up.

And when you are off on your way to the Eiffel Tower,

don’t forget your supporters: let them live the dream

with you through your updates.

BEST OF LUCK!

THINK BIG!

The sponsorship level for the Leicester to

Paris Bike Ride 2011 is £500 so in this guide

we have given some tried and tested ideas

to get you started...

Start by asking everyone you know – the more people

you ask, the more you will raise! Try to get payment

upfront to halve the effort, and ALWAYS start each

sponsorship with a generous sponsor as this will set a

high standard for the rest. (It really does work!)

Ask your employer to sponsor you – many companies

actually match pound for pound!

BE CREATIVE... !

Here are some ideas:

Arrange a £10 menu at a local restaurant

on one of their quiet nights and charge 10

friends £15! (Do this twice as it’s so easy)

£100

A car boot sale (get your family and

friends to have a clear out!)

£50

Ask your local school to hold a non-

uniform day

£50

Dinner party or barbeque for 10 friends

who each pay £10

£100

Hold a skills auction where you rope in

friends with certain skills (hairdressing /

reflexology etc) to donate their skills for

free

£100

Persuade a friend to shave their

head/legs/sit in a bath of custard!

£100

Ask friends and family for sponsorship

money instead of birthday presents

£50

Hold a Krispy Kreme donut sale stall £100

Hold a sports tournament with a group of

friends

£50

Hold a bake sale (preferably not opposite

a cake shop)

£50

Hold a quiz night with a raffle £50

TOTAL £800!

SPREADING THE

GOODNESS SCHEME

You may have a charity you’d like to support. We

want to help support you support whoever you’d like

to support... because we’re quite supportive!

For every £1 you raise after the initial £500

sponsorship you can donate 50p to a

charity of your choice!

Just let us know which charity you have nominated at

the second induction on the 20th July. We will make

the donation in your name.

You’ll know when your nominated charity has

received your donation because you’ll get a thank

you letter through the post and a confirmation from us

beforehand.

The Spreading the Goodness scheme is our

commitment to help as many people as we possibly

can. We value the charitable sector in the whole

sense so we’re giving you the freedom to decide

which cause you’d like to support.

PRIZES!

We can’t get enough of creative people and

creative ideas! We want to celebrate and promote

your creativity.

We’ve got prizes for:

The most innovative and creative

fundraising idea!

The weirdest fundraising idea!

The person who got the whole group

involved!

The person who raised the most, of course!

So please share your stories!

MEET OUR

FUNDRAISING GURU

Yogesh Mistry

Yogesh raised £2,000 within 6 months to go to Borneo

to volunteer with an international development

charity called Raleigh International.

The Challenge...

I had to raise £2,000 in 6 months

How I did it...

• Swim-athon

• Raffle

• Word of mouth

• Sold a Man United shirt for £80 (good

riddance!)

Why did you fundraise?

1. To raise awareness of the cause I was

supporting

2. To win the prize for most creative fundraising

activity

3. Personal Development. I developed the

ability to communicate effectively and build

trust amongst new people.

4. Finally, for the fun of it!

ADVICE, GUIDANCE

AND SUPPORT

Your personal fundraising Guru is here to

help so just get in touch if you need and

advice, support or guidance!

Get in touch so we can:

• We can help with generating ideas

• Setting up a fundraiser

• Advice on venues

• Media contact

• Promote your fundraiser

• Any other advice, support or guidance

Don’t forget to share your stories and

thoughts with us so we can promote your

experiences!

Get other participants involved in fundraising. It would

be great to get everyone together before the actual

ride.

HOW WE CAN SUPPORT YOU Leicester to Paris Bike Ride 5th - 9th August 2011

ONLINE DONATIONS

Trusted sites

There are a lot of online fundraising websites. Be

careful to choose the most trusted ones. Below are

the ones we recommend.

You will be given our charity number and details to set

up your own online donations account.

This way you can get friends and family to

sponsor you from anywhere in the world –

making fundraising that little easier!

SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook

• Remember that random people will join your

group don’t expect everyone to sponsor you

• Hide the people who are not attending any

event you organise. It usually turns people off if

there are more people not attending than

attending. Just to be safe it’s better to make that

information unavailable to the public if possible

• Invite friends to groups and tell your close friends

to invite thier friends as well

• Don’t bombard people with group messages –

people quickly become desensetised to the

same information

• If you write an ‘@’ in front of someone’s name in

the ‘what’s on your mind’ box it will appear on

their wall

Blogs

• Can be linked in with facebook so it magnifies

activity

• Regularly update it with a variety of stories you

may want to designate a slot in your diary every

Sunday evening just to write a bit about how

you’re doing

• You can attach pictures on your blogs. Pictures

capture people’s attention quicker than

paragraphs

Twitter

• Type ‘#’ in front of a word and it’s more likely to

appear on people’s newsfeed

• It’s good for quick updates

• You can follow relevant groups, people and

media

THE CAUSE

What we’re riding for

We’re raising money for the Noel O’Sullivan

Scholarship Fund to provide financial support for

children’s education in Leicester.

The scholarships support the Star Plus Programme

delivered by the Institute for Global Change UK.

The Star Plus Programme helps talented children

unlock their potential to realise a brighter future – it

has helped over 500 children in Leicestershire during

the past five years and continues to add value to our

community.

We’ve helped over 95 children so far

Every year the Noel O’Sullivan Scholarship Fund

sponsors students who struggle with financial support.

So far, the scholarship fund has helped 95 students!

To find out more about the Star Plus Programme or the

Institute for Global Change go onto

www.globalchange.org.uk

We believe it is more important than ever to support

the coming generations. Giving these children the

opportunity to build a better future for themselves has

to be one of the greatest gifts! You will be making a

difference to someone’s life!

Q&A

Can I team up with other participants for

fundraising?

Definitely! Share your ideas with fellow participants

and teaming up will make that fundraising event even

better.

When do the donations need to be

collected by?

The deadline to send your donations is the 20th July

2011. Sponsorship money can be given directly to the

Open Dreams Foundation. Cheques must be made

payable to the ‘Open Dreams Foundation’. If you wish

to post a cheque, we advise you to record your

delivery and send it to ‘The Open Dreams Foundation’

Leicester to Paris Bike Ride 2011, 2 Vantage Park,

Hamilton, Leicester, LE4 9LJ.

Will I be able to raise the sponsorship

money?

Yes! Once you have started you will find that raising

the minimum sponsorship is easy and most importantly

fun! We will suggest some fundraising ideas and of

course help you along the way.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION Leicester to Paris Bike Ride 5th - 9th August 2011

Contact us:

The Open Dreams Foundation

www.leic2paris2011.wordpress.com

@ Info@opendreams.org.uk

07742788145