Your guide to becoming a fundraising hero

All the information, inspiration and motivation you’ll need to get started.

www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

Thank you! Thanks to you, more people’s lives will be improved. The Medical Research Foundation aims to advance medical research, improve human health and change people’s lives.

In this booklet you will find some ideas, hints and tips to help you along the way and our fundraising team are always on hand to help too.

Contact usPlease contact our fundraising team if you have any questions or would like to order more fundraising materials

support@medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk 020 7395 2268

Thank you for helping us to change medicine today and change lives tomorrow.

We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for fundraising for us and being part of the #ResearchRacers Team!

£4.2m In 2016/17 we funded 55 new projects and researchers, investing £4.2m in research that will improve human health.

What you will find in this fundraising toolkit

Our top 5 tips to get started 02

Fundraising ideas 03

Spreading the word 04

How your fundraising will advance medical research 05

How to send us your donations 06

Gift Aid 07

Guidelines 08

Contact details 09

Your next challenge See insert

1

Our top 5 tips to get started

35%35% of donations are made after events happen!

Thanks to you, we can change more people’s lives.

1. Set up a JustGiving page where your friends, family and colleagues can sponsor you online: www.justgiving.com/medicalresearchfoundation

4. Get your sponsors to tick the Gift Aid box (if they are tax payers) – this adds an extra 25p to every £1 donated at no cost to you or your sponsor.

5. Ask, ask and ask again – it often takes three reminders for people to sponsor you, so don’t be afraid to ask people a few times. Why not send an email and post on social media:

when you sign up for the challenge

again halfway through your training

a week before the big day

follow up when you have completed your event as 35% of donations are made after events happen!

2. Ask your employer if they offer a matched funding scheme, which could double your total.

3. Spread the word – use your social media accounts to tell more people about your event and add a link to your JustGiving page.

You can find more helpful tips here: www.help.justgiving.com

Angela Hind Chief Executive, Medical Research Foundation

2

Fundraising ideas A few other ideas:

– Host a cheese and wine tasting event.

– Have a clear out and raise money in the process by holding a car boot or online second hand sale.

– Offer your services in return for a donation. Could be gardening, haircuts, cleaning, car wash, tutoring or dog-walking!

– Rock, paper, scissors tournament – complete with referees! No equipment or training required.

Don’t forget the Gift Aid! The tax relief Gift Aid provides increases the value of your charity donations by 25%.

The Great ‘insert name’ Bake Off Everyone loves a good bake off, whether you’re a baker or just like eating cake! Add your company or last name to personalize your bake-off and away you go. Simply ask bakers to donate a cake and then ask friends / colleagues for a small donation of between £2-3 to sample the cakes and to vote for their favourite!

Sweepstake Dig deep and rack your brain for fun things that you can get people to guess. How about putting on a “guess my race time” sweepstake or use a big event like the Grand National or football World Cup to hold an office sweepstake?

Guess the number of sweets in the jar With a small suggested donation of 50p or £1 – pop it on a busy reception desk, your work kitchen or communal canteen. Why not use the stickers provided to up-cycle an empty box or jar to collect the cash.

A quintessentially British Quiz nightYour local pub, village hall, sports centre, best mate’s garden or even a work canteen are all great venues for hosting a quiz. Decide on a venue and a date and then get working on those questions.

Will the theme change by rounds or will your quiz be more niche, with all questions specific to a particular band, film or book? You host the night and guests pay to play. The prize might be a small proportion of the entry fee or a bottle of bubbly donated by the pub.

3www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

Spreading the word

Set up a JustGiving page and use their social media buttons and widgets to help create fun twitter, facebook and instagram posts.

Email signatureAdd your JustGiving page to your email signature (if your work place is happy for you to do so).

Social mediaIf you are on social media, use your account to share.

EmailEmail your friends, family and colleagues to let them know you are taking on an epic challenge. Emails are a great way to reach those not on social media.

Use those selfies for good! Add a full range of selfie images on your JustGiving and social media pages.

Don’t forget to use #ResearchRacers and tag @MedResFdn on social media!

TWITTER Facebook-square Linkedin-In

Tell everyone you know (and maybe those you don’t yet know) about your upcoming challenge:

Keep everyone updatedShare your progress from start to finish – people love to know how you’re getting on and why you’re taking part.

Say thank you! Always follow up with a thank you and let all your supporters know how their sponsorship has helped (we can help you with this bit).

4

Thanks to support from other sources, such as office space provided by the MRC and investment income, 100% of your donations will directly support medical research.

The health and wellbeing of millions of people depends upon continual medical advances. A challenge needing immense support, innovation and persistence.

Although significant resources are being spent on developing exciting new treatments and therapies, there are areas of medical need that receive little or no support – and people’s lives that see no improvement.

That’s where we step in. The Medical Research Foundation funds promising medical research in areas of high clinical need but where investment is low.

You can choose to where your donation goes:– You can support the best medical

research as it arises by supporting our general medical research fund, which allows us to respond to emerging research opportunities and health problems. For example, we are currently raising funds for mental health research and antimicrobial resistance.

– Or, if you prefer, you can specify an area of medical research that you would like your gift to support.

How your fundraising, sweat and tears will help to advance medical research

Don’t forget to use #ResearchRacers and tag @MedResFdn on social media!

TWITTER Facebook-square Linkedin-In 5www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

100%100% of your donations are invested in medical research (thanks to other income sources that cover our low running costs).

How to send us your donations

JustGiving If you collected your donations online through JustGiving, sit back and relax as it will come into us automatically, along with any Gift Aid.

Send a cheque You can bank all the funds raised and simply send us a cheque made payable to ‘Medical Research Foundation’ and send it to us at:

Fundraising Team Medical Research Foundation c/o Medical Research Council One Kemble Street London WC2B 4AN

Donate directly into our bank account If you would prefer to make a direct bank transfer, please use your name as the reference, and transfer your donation to:

Medical Research Foundation Lloyds Bank Account no: 01506552 Sort code: 30-97-81

Donate online Visit the donation page on our website to donate.

Please remember to send us your sponsorship form or an email to let us know how your money was raised, so that we can identify your donation and send you a well-earned thank you card.

Congratulations on completing your fundraising event!

Here’s how you can send us your hard-earned donations to the Foundation.

6

Don’t forget the Gift Aid!Gift Aid is an income tax relief managed by HMRC, designed to benefit charities. If you and your supporters are UK tax payers, Gift Aid increases the value of your donation by 25%.

As a result, the Medical Research Foundation (Reg. Charity No. 1138223) can reclaim 25p for every £1 donated – at no extra cost to you or your supporters.

If you have set up a JustGiving page, your sponsors will be asked to tick the Gift Aid box and the Gift Aid will be automatically added to their donation.

If you are collecting cash donations, please use the sponsorship form provided to ask your donors for Gift Aid, if eligible.

The health and wellbeing of millions of people depends upon continual medical advances, more of which can be funded thanks to your support.

7

Guidelines

Your responsibilities In law, you will be a trustee of funds raised and must ensure that all donations and sponsorship money from your event is paid to the Medical Research Foundation. You must inform potential donors if any of the funds you raise will not be paid to the charity.

Please understand that if you do something that threatens or damages the name or reputation of the Medical Research Foundation we will ask you to stop fundraising.

Raffles, lotteries and collections You may need to apply for a licence from your local authority if you are collecting money in a public place, selling alcohol or holding a raffle. Make sure you check the latest information and advice at: www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk

Health and safety It’s all about common sense, so make sure you read instructions and follow advice carefully if you’re organising your own event. To make sure your event is safe, why not contact your local branch of St John’s Ambulance or the British Red Cross for advice?

Food hygieneThis is vital: you obviously don’t want to make your donors ill! Please take great care when handling food and work to basic rules for safe preparation, storage, and display. Visit www.food.gov.uk for more details.

Data protectionMake sure any record about those involved in your fundraising event, whether electronic or paper record, complies with the General Data Protection Regulation. Don’t share information or data about someone without their permission. More information can be found at www.ico.gov.uk

To keep the fun in fundraising, make sure you abide by any regulations and stay safe if you are organising your own activities.

Publicity materialWhen you are writing about your event you need to say it is being held ‘in support of the Medical Research Foundation.’ Please contact us if you wish to use our logo on your own materials. Please also include our registered charity number using these words: Registered Charity no. 1138223 (England and Wales)

Under 18sIf you are under 18, your parent /guardian is responsible for you – please show them this pack and make sure they are happy with what you’ve chosen to do.

A few helpful links and contacts:Institute of Fundraising www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk Tel: 020 7840 1000

St. John Ambulance www.sja.org.uk Tel: 0870 010 4950

British Red Cross UK www.redcross.org.uk Tel: 0344 871 1111

8 www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

Contact us

We are always happy to help, so if you have any questions please contact the fundraising team:

Email us anytime on support@medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

Call us on 020 7395 2268 (during work hours Monday to Friday)

Visit our website www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk where you might find the answers to your question.

Thank you for helping us to change medicine today and change lives tomorrow.

Professor Nicholas Lemoine Chair, Medical Research Foundation

Contact us Call 020 7395 2268

Email support@medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

Visit www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

Write to Medical Research Foundation c/o MRC, One Kemble St London WC2B 4AN

Registered charity number: 1138223

When you fundraise for us you are helping to fund research that could make a difference to human health for decades to come.