There are so many ways you can help raise funds for ME Research UK – from organising a coffee morning to running a marathon! Please have a look at the recent activities on our Facebook page for ideas or visit Justgiving to see what other supporters are doing to help our cause.
For more information, advice and ideas, you can also have a read of our fundraising guide.
Most supporters raise funds using JustGiving, which advertises events and receives donations online from family and friends. Everything you need to know about how JustGiving works can be found in the video below.
To setup your own JustGiving page, just click this button:
They’ve even created a fundraising page toolkit with practical advice on how best to personalise your fundraising page to achieve your fundraising goal.
Alternatively, you could use use Wonderful.org instead.
Sponsored events of any kind are generally successful but there are numerous other ways to raise money – you can find some ideas to get you started here.
Charity professionals say that the most successful fundraisers are those who are clear about why they are raising money. We would encourage you to read some of our literature, especially the most recent copies of our Breakthrough magazine, to familiarise yourself with the issues, and with our current and past research projects so you can speak knowledgeably about the charity to anyone who enquires. Also, your friends, family and colleagues (who will be your best supporters) may want to know more about ME Research UK and how the money is spent.
We have two bank accounts, a general account and a research account, and we are happy for donors to stipulate that they want money raised from fundraising events to go specifically to our research account.
Of course, fundraising needs determination and time – without these, your efforts may be unrewarding. We recommend that your plans go through a 4-stage process:
1. Planning
Draw up a fundraising plan to include what, when and how you are going to achieve your goals. You could arrange potential funding sources according to likelihood of support and priority of effort. For example, you could set a target of £5,000 in a year and consider those activities which would be most likely to raise this amount. Use our fundraising ideas or make up your own list from ideas on the internet or from family and friends.
Develop a calendar to plan your efforts. Experts say that 90% of your target should have been achieved around a month before the planned event. Have a clear idea of how much you are likely to raise from these sources. Remember to keep accurate records.
2. Diversity (in fundraising events)
Experience tells us that the most successful fundraising plans include a range of activities. Diversity in your fundraising projects will make your plans more flexible and more likely to succeed, providing you with a greater margin of safety for those inevitable times when things do not work.
3. Legality
Staying on the right side of the law avoids bringing ME Research UK and ME research generally into disrepute and, more importantly, protects you too! Read more here. In particular, ME Research UK’s insurance does not cover volunteers who are deemed to act independently of the charity.
4. Publicity
No matter how well organised your event is you will want to attract as much support as possible, so you need to promote your fundraising. This will increase the numbers taking part, spread the message about ME/CFS and, hopefully, increase the money you raise. There are a number of things you can do to get noticed. Flyers and posters can be produced (download one of our own posters below), possible supporters contacted, and local newspapers and radio stations targeted with a press release.
Publicity information should make clear what your event is, where it is to be held, when it will be, who it is for, why you are raising funds, and how it will raise money. Include a contact name and address so interested people can contact you.
