Virgin Money Giving

By setting up a Virgin Money Giving page you can be sure that your donations, and gift aid, will come directly to us, without you having to do the leg work of chasing your sponsors!

Other fantastic features are that you can reach friends and family further afield, and you can keep your sponsors up to date with how your preparations are going.

Oxfam’s preferred e-fundraising site is Virgin Money Giving based on the low costs and the great support they’re offering. Oxfam can still receive donations from other sites such as JustGiving but to ensure that more of your fundraising reaches the people that need it most we recommend that you use Virgin Money Giving to promote your fundraising.

Make the most of going online

Describe the event you are doing, so your sponsors get an idea of the challenges and the commitment involved.

Encourage people to sponsor you for all of your effort, including your training.

Tell people how much you want to raise.

Personalise your page with your own photos.

Use some examples of what each donation could mean for Oxfam.

£10 could buy fishing nets to support fishing communities.

£25 could buy five radios, used to broadcast health education and advice to remote communities.

£100 could buy essential medicines for a whole village for 6 months.

£250 could buy 10 teaching kits providing essential educational equipment.

£500 could pay for the care of 10 orphans or vulnerable children.

£1,700 could pay for a whole classroom.

Get publicity

Have a think about all the different people who might be likely to support you, and the best way to communicate with them.

• Make a list of the best media to contact – local radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, specialist publications and journals or company newsletters.
• Ask about putting up posters in community centres, doctors’/dentists' surgeries, libraries, shops, post offices, schools, churches – but remember fly-posting is illegal.
• Contact your local Oxfam shop – or call our Shop Support Team on 0845 3000 311, and they’ll be able to tell you if your local shop will be able to help.

Any publicity you do should also comply with charity law. See rules and regulations section for all the details.

To comply with charity law, all publicity materials must include the following statements:

• ‘All proceeds/profits will be donated to Oxfam.’
• ‘Oxfam GB is a member of Oxfam International, registered as a charity in England and Wales (no 202918) and Scotland (SC039042).’
• ‘Oxfam works with others to overcome poverty and suffering.’

You need to make it clear that you are raising money in aid of Oxfam. If you are not an Oxfam employee, you should also make it clear that you don't represent Oxfam.

Write a press release

To get coverage in your local media you need to make your story newsworthy. This means:

• including details of the event that you’re taking part in
• the fact that you’re raising money for Oxfam
• the total that you are hoping to raise.

Write the words ‘press release’ at the top. Include the date, and an attention-grabbing headline. Under the heading ‘Notes for Editors’, put your contact details.

Below the contact details please include this short description of Oxfam:

Oxfam GB is a campaigning and development aid agency, which works with others in more than 70 countries around the world to tackle poverty and save lives, and campaigns to deliver long-lasting change. See: http://www.oxfam.org.uk

If you wish to use the Oxfam logo in any of your materials there are certain ‘dos and don’ts’ – take a look at the ‘Using our logo’ section.

If possible your release should include an interesting quote – perhaps about your decision to support Oxfam.

Try to get all the crucial information up front in your release. The things that a journalist will always want to know:

• Who – is this story about?
  What – are they doing (that makes this interesting/unusual)?
  Why – are they doing it (and why should we print it)?
  Where – is it happening?
  When – is it happening?
  How – are they going to do it?

It should be typed, double spaced for legibility, and no longer than one side.

Show us the money

You need to get the money you’ve raised to us by a specific deadline.

The best ways of getting your money to us after your event are:

• Pay in your money online:
  
  Trailwalker: (fundraising deadline: 30 September 2010)
  Pay in the money you’ve raised for Trailwalker
  
  Trailtrekker: (fundraising deadline: 1 September 2010)
  Pay in the money you’ve raised for Trailtrekker
  
  Oxfam Walk: (fundraising deadline: 31 July 2010)
  Pay in the money you’ve raised for Oxfam Walk
  
  
• Write a cheque for the total amount payable to ‘Oxfam’, then send this, along with your fully completed paying-in form to:
  
  [Name of event],
  Oxfam Events Team,
  Oxfam GB,
  John Smith Drive,
  Cowley,
  Oxford OX4 2JY

• You can send your sponsorship money by postal order – but please do not send cash through the post.
• Please don’t take your fundraising money to an Oxfam shop either, because this will only be recorded as a ‘public donation’, and we won’t have a record of how much you’ve raised.

Remember whenever you’re fundraising to ask people to tick the Gift Aid box.

Extras

Trailwalker resources

Trailwalker press release template

Trailwalker presentation (15MB, .exe file)

Trailwalker brochure

Trailtrekker resources

Trailtrekker press release template

Trailtrekker presentation (14MB, .exe file)

Trailtrekker brochure

London Marathon resources

Oxfam's London Marathon brochure

• Phil’s marathon guide