Fundraising

How we raise our money?

The short answer is - we rely on you!

Last year, we were really worried that Dr. Kinsler's research would stop due to lack of funds. We asked everyone to pitch in and you did!

As a result, we had our best fundraising year yet. Over £44,000 was raised. Later in the financial year came a very generous legacy donation from the Hoar Family and success with grant applications including the Wellcome Trust Grant (Nov09) and Jean for Genes (Nov09).

How we spend our money

This pie chart shows you where we spent our money the past financial year (Apr09-Apr10). Administration and fundraising costs are kept to a minimum – these costs are primarily the fees we need to pay to use 'Just Giving' (an online charity fundraising platform and Gift Aid claims process) and to carry out the day to day running of an expanding charity such as postage, stationery, phone bills, etc.

Thanks to the Wellcome Trust Grant for the CMN Research received at the end of 2009, Caring Matters Now was required to pay a smaller percentage of our funds than originally anticipated to research.

So, the trustees agreed to use some of the funds to develop and produce the age specific support materials, update the medical information booklet/leaflets, strengthen our brand awareness and web presence and increase our branded merchandise. We were able to increase the number of family days across the UK and organise a regional support network training and information day.

CMN research and support

Caring Matters Now has contributed over £76,000 towards CMN Research conducted at GOSH. Research costs are approximately £30,000 per annum but increasing each year.

2011 fundraising target - £45,000!!

We've set the fundraising target this year at £45,000 which would cover additional research we want to fund for Dr. Kinsler. With 240 families on the register, it amounts to £188 per family. Don't you think this is achievable?

How can you help?

Make a direct donation

Direct Debit/Standing Order

Which can start from as little as £2 per month. If this is something you would like to do, please email Lucy for relevant bank details required.

Currently we are unable to offer on-line direct debit due to the costs involved in setting this up and maintaining this service. The best way to do this is to contact your bank directly.

Payroll Giving

Tax efficient way to donate! – a very easy, tax effective way to donate to charities, so it costs you less to give more. This enables you to give to CMN straight from your gross pay, before tax is deducted.

Payroll donations will provide Caring Matters Now with a regular, reliable income stream that will enable us to plan and budget for the future.

Employee

You will need to approach your Payroll Department or HR Department to find out if your employer offers this service.

For more information visit the Payroll Giving Centre website.

Employer

If you are an employer and would like to offer this service to your employees then please visit the Payroll Giving Centre for simple ways to set this up.

Online Donation

Caring Matters Now Support Group is a member of Charity Choice, which is a secure on-line service for charitable donations.

Just Giving

You can also give online at Just Giving

Send A Donation

Please make cheques payable to "Caring Matters Now" and post to:
CMN
PO Box 732
CAMBRIDGE
CB1 0QF

Gift Aid

Gift Aid increases the value of donations to UK charities by allowing them to reclaim basic rate tax on your gift, if you are a UK tax payer.

Remember to indicate if you are Gift Aid eligible on the JustGiving website or fill out a Gift Aid Form if you are sending a cheque. This allows us to collect an additional 28 pence for every pound donated from the UK government.

Use Easyfundraising for your online shopping

When you shop online, you can make a donation to the CMN support group through no extra cost! Please follow the instructions below and you will make a difference.

All major shopping stores and websites (including eBay, Amazon, ebookers, Expedia) are registered with www.easyfundraising.org.uk. If you go through the following link before shopping online, you will automatically donate a percentage of your retail purchase towards the CMN support group with absolutely no extra cost.

Click Here to go to Easyfundraising

You need to first follow some simple registration steps:

go to Easyfundraising and click on ‘Register as a User’
find an organisation
Click on ‘C’ and scroll down to ‘Caring Matters Now’
Enter your e-mail address, name and make up a password
Then log in from the home page

Please note biggest donations are from the insurance companies (house or car) and on-line travel booking companies.
Some companies are offering up to £32 donation per transaction or 3% cashback (that is £60 on a £3,000 family holiday!).

Organise a Fundraising Event

The best way of raising funds is to get involved and organise an event yourself! In every case you will be amazed how many of your family and friends want to support and help you. Having the idea and getting going is the hard part.

The list that follows is not exhaustive but is designed to stimulate your imagination:

Promises auction – approach friends to commit.
Babysitting evening or Taxi journey, add this to local companies donating hampers or gifts and then run an auction in a local club function room.
Fashion Show – maybe at School.
Trivia Quiz - Pop, Sport, General Knowledge etc.
Fete, Raffle, Car Boot Sale
Sponsored Haircut
Five or Seven a side Football, Rugby, Hockey etc.
Approach the company that you work for to sponsor Caring Matters Now as their chosen charity for the year.
Sponsored sports events - Runs, walks, cycles

A note about the Great North Run and London Marathon

The Great North Run and London Marathon are extremely popular runs in the UK and for many charities, represent very important fundraising events. Unfortunately, as demand far outstrips supply, Bond places which guarantee charity places to runners are impossible to obtain for smaller charities like Caring Matters Now.

Well, so we thought! We have managed to secure a dedicated CMN charity place in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon.

If you are interested, click here for more information.

If you have already secured a spot via the public ballot system (or if you have a place because you are a super fast runner!), we would love it if you ran on behalf of Caring Matters Now and can obtain sponsorship money. The links to our fundraising packs and sponsorship forms are listed below. Let us know and we will be sure to send a Caring Matters Now cheering squad to the event!

Contact us here at CMN for a Fundraising Pack, Sponsorship Forms and more Fundraising Tips including sample media releases.

Sell Items On Ebay

If you are selling items on Ebay, you can donate a percentage of your final selling price to CMN. You will also receive a fee credit on your basic insertion and final value fees equal to the percentage you donate every time you list an item for charity. It's simple!

Once you're ready to sell your item, go to the Sell hub and select Advanced Selling.
As you're filling out the details, look out for the charity box just below where you set your price. Select "Caring Matters Now" to support and the percentage (10%-100%) of your final selling price that you'd like to donate.
Note: The minimum donation is £1 per listing.
A week after your item sells, MissionFish (eBay's charity partner) will automatically collect the donation from you.

See items currently being sold for Caring Matters Now here!

Fundraising Resources

Set up a personal JustGiving website so your sponsors can make online donations for your event – follow the instructions on www.justgiving.com
Contact us here at CMN for Fundraising pack, Sponsorship Forms and more Fundraising Tips including sample media releases
For T-shirts and other merchandise to support your event, please contact us

Buy our Caring Matters Now Merchandise

Click here to go to our Merchandise page.

Tips for Effective Fundraising

Once you have chosen your event there are many areas that you must cover to make it a success. The keyword is PLANNING - allow plenty of time to look at the various aspects of the challenge that lies before you.

Discuss with friends, colleagues, and management how easily the event can be organised.
Do we have the people to make all parts of the project run smoothly?
Will the event cost us anything to get off the ground?
Arrange a date.
What resources (people transport venue tickets) do we need?
How do we publicise the event? Flyers, leaflets, advert?
What could go wrong? Weather, venue.
Can we get a celebrity? (There are generally tame celeb's in your local area, or people who may give their time)

Publicising the event
Your event must be well publicised if it is to be a success.

At work: Work notice boards, Company magazine, Word of mouth, Mums on the school run, children/toddler groups.

At home: Leaflets to families, Leaflets to local suppliers, Announced on local radio, Advertisement in local paper, Notices placed in public places in the community, for example, surgeries, libraries, local shops.

The Media
If you are able to get the support of your local Radio and TV station your event's profile is taken onto another level. You will find it invaluable when approaching people in the local business community. If they think that they might be able to get some good (and cheap) local PR, they are more likely to help.

The person to get in touch with in the local paper is the news editor. If you know a reporter use the personal contact as this always works better than the cold contact. Find out the paper's deadlines for copy and photographs. They must always know:

What the event is
Who is involved?
Why the event is taking place
When, where and what time?
Contact name for further information

Handy hints when seeking sponsors

Set your sponsorship target - aim high! Most Big companies have a CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility team who have a fund to support ‘local’ events. – Don’t be afraid to ask the local Bank or building society Supermarket or employer.
e.g. Nationwide Building society donated £100 to a recent charity event for CMN in the midlands when asked to provide an oversized cheque!!
Seek help from your friends - network, friends of friends - you will collect more than you thought possible, but you need to work at it.
Start your sponsorship early - well in advance of the event.
When you approach people for sponsorship, ask them if they would mind giving you the money NOW - offer a receipt (we can provide you with a book if you need it).
It is easier to give money back should you have to pull out of the event, as opposed to trying to collect after the event - people lose interest quickly, and often find excuses for not giving you the money.
Always maintain a record of your sponsors and ensure that your list reflects those who have paid and those who have still to give you their contribution.
If you belong to a club or association, get them involved either as a sponsor, by organising a fundraising event, or by 'matching' the funds you raise.
Ask local companies or firms to sponsor you in return for wearing their logo on your T-shirt.
Think about organising small events, a coffee morning, disco, jumble sale or a car boot sale - whatever you feel comfortable with.