The Christmas period is a great time for fundraising!

We have been chatting to you over the last few weeks about fundraising ideas for Christmas and you have been sending in some great ideas. For those of you that need some last minute ideas for the festive period, you have come to the right place!

Here are a few festive ideas which don't need much preparation.

• Carol singing- Get your World Challenge t-shirts on, Christmas hats and buckets........ and a singing voice!
• Christmas cake decorating competition- Get some posters outm charge £5 to enter and aplit the profit with the winner.
• Sell Christmas cards at school- Get crafty this weekend! go and buy some card making materials and create some lovely homemade cards to sell. You could even charge to deliver them to your friends classmates at School.
• Christmas odd-job service- Christmas party baby-sitting service, wrappnig presents, and (if there is snow) cleariong paths, are all small jobs which you could complere in return for a donation.

Many of you have told us that you have organsed some bag packing at your local supermarkets. We've included our top tips for bag packing below:

A Challenger's Christmas fete last year

• Make sure you let people know what you are raising money for, they may be more likely to donate.
• Do some research on your destination, including what you will be doing in-country and take it with you.
• Remember to have fun and smile,everyone loves a friendly bag packer!

Christmas prize draw

Please remember to bring your account up to date by the 16th December 2011 to be entered in our Christmas prize draw and be in for a chance to wion £500 off your final balance! check out the next blog to see details of this years winners.

We'd love to hear what you will be doing for your Christmas fundraising so email us at the usual address: fundraisingsupport@world-challenge.co.uk. We love to hear your stories!

Hosting a music gig

As we get into the long and cold winter nights, we understand that fundraising can become more of a challenge. It needn’t be though; we hear so many great fundraising ideas we thought we would share with you all a series of fundraising case studies. I’m sure they will inspire you as much as they did us!

 Have you ever thought about hosting a music gig to raise funds for your expedition? We spoke to Jordan, who organised an amazing gig night and raised £600 towards his expedition in the process.

What made you choose a music gig?

It was mostly due to personal preference, I have been to a lot of music gigs in the past and I wanted to have a go at doing one myself and raising lots of money in the process!

What steps did you have to take to achieve it?

I was lucky enough to be friends with a talented performer in school who had a lot of contacts, so it was fairly easy to get people to play along, they also were very happy with doing it for free. 

I then got in contact with a few local venues and asked them how much they would charge for hire, I was lucky enough to find one who was happy to let me hire it for free.

After I had a line-up of acts and a venue I had to publicise the event. Facebook was key in advertising and we also printed flyers that we distributed in town and schools that not only advertised the event but directed them to the Facebook page. I think using Facebook was a good idea because it relates to the target audience of the gig  :)    Also handing out flyers and most of all pestering as many people as you can to come along and spread the word!

Did anyone help out and if so what roles did they have?

There was one friend in particular that helped me out a lot by keeping in contact with the acts, advertising heavily and doing as much as she can really. There was also about 10 friends spread around the area at different schools and with different friendship groups selling tickets, this was a good idea because it brought a big mixture of people along!

Did you provide refreshments or any other ways to aid with the fundraising?

No we didn't. The venue had a bar which they kept all the profits from but that would be to compensate for the free venue hire, in the future I may look at paying for the venue for a cut of the refreshments too.

What feedback did you receive?

Very positive feedback; everybody had an amazing time and a lot of people were encouraging me to do it again.. I definitely will be!

What would be your top tip for organising a music gig?

Biggest tip would be to always have a backup plan! Always have reserves in place for your acts because our biggest problem was that two of the five acts dropped out, one of which was the morning of the gig! But we were lucky to be able to find replacements last minute.

Also don't be afraid to annoy people with advertising! It really pays off and get as many people to help out from different places, it’s much easier to make people pay attention to it if it’s coming from a number of people and not just yourself.


Would you do it again?

I would definitely do it again! Not only did I raise lots of money I had a really good night out! :)

Did you have fun?

Yessss! It was very stressful and busy to begin with but was definitely worth while!

Well there you have it!, well done Jordan! :D

Have you got a fundraising success story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you and feature you in our next case study. Please send details of your fundraising idea/event along with photos to our email address:

 fundraisingsupoprt@world-challenge.co.uk

Halloween in the office!

On Thursday 27th October 2011 the World Challenge office got spooky for charity! Many of the team dressed up for a £1, brought in cakes and treats to sell and took part in the Halloween quiz.

Have a look at some photos of what we got up to in the office.





The Canteen was dressed up for the occasion and was the haunting location for our Halloween quiz.

We even had a pumpkin carving competition, although we discovered we were not very good at this!

All in all we had a fantastic day and managed to raise £135.00 for our charities.

In the coming weeks we will be posting up your fundraising events and activities as case studies to help inspire other Challengers with your great ideas. Please drop us an email with details of your fundraising event or idea, along with photographs, to fundraisingsupport@world-challenge.co.uk and we might feature your idea in our next post!

Halloween

Halloween is a perfect excuse to have a party and why not try and fundraise while having a good time!

Many Challengers have been telling us this month they will be holding Halloween parties but how can they make more money than the ticket price.

Here are a few tips to gain extra funds during your party:

1. Your ticket price needs to include something- make sure all your Halloween games are free.
2. Earn extra funds by charging for refreshments e.g. toffee apples.
3. Put on a raffle and sell the tickets- get prizes from local businesses, you can find letters for these on the My World Challenge Website.

At School or at a local youth club you could charge people to enter a pumpkin carving competition. You could even collect the spare pumpkin and make pumpkin pie or soup to sell at the event!

Here in the office the charity committee has bee planning a Halloween day at work; everyone who wants to dress up for the day will pay a £1. All monies raised will go to the Thomas Ball Children’s Cancer fund and save the children.

                                                     Set sail with World Challenge

We have just announced the launch of our 25^th anniversary expedition, World Challenge are looking for two teams of students and teachers to join us on the voyage of a lifetime, sailing the T.S. Pelican, between Weymouth and Morocco. You can find out more information here!

Also don't for get about our....

Challenger events- you can find out more information on the My World Challenge website, make sure you sign up, abseil places are filling fast!

Set sail with World Challenge in 2012

We’re looking for two teams of students and teachers to join us on the voyage of a lifetime, sailing a historic tall ship, the T.S. Pelican, between Weymouth and Morocco.

To add to the adventure, the teams will also complete a rewarding project in the beautiful Rif Mountains in Morocco. This one of a kind expedition will be complemented by our World Challenge ethos as you overcome all the usual expedition obstacles, but on the open seas


The details...
We’re looking for 48 students and 4 teachers to create our two teams.

The expedition is three weeks long with one team setting sail from Weymouth to Morocco and flying home three weeks later and the second team flying out to Morocco then sailing back to Weymouth in time for the opening ceremony of the Olympics!


Find out more here www.world-challenge.co.uk/pages/25-years.asp

Sponsorship and Hooty Owls!

Well it has been a very busy month for the Fundraising Support Team and all the Challengers out there! 

Most Challengers are now back at School and College and are getting back into their fundraising. We have spoken to lots of Challengers who have already held meetings and are halfway through planning there first round of events.

We heard that four crafty Year 8 girls from South Hampstead High School ran their second successful Hooty Owl cushion stall today. Alice, Molly, Riya and Alex - all of whom are going to Romania in 2012, sold Hooty Owls, Hooty Owl bags, baby Hooty Owls cushions and cats to an enthusiastic audience of mothers and children alike.

The girls have now sewn over 100 Hooty Owl Cushions and these, in addition to knitted teddy bears and massive cup cakes have assisted their fundraising efforts. They are running several more stalls before Christmas, and even have to take orders from customers as their stock runs out!

They all managed to earn £210 each from this event, well done!

Fundraising in the office is at a high, Will Green from the Customer Support Team completed his cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats in only 8 days, and he expected it would take the trio 10 days, what a result! They have raised £18,500 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Well done Will!

Ishia from the Business Support Team has just completed her very first Marathon this month raising money for the South Bucks hospice.

It was a particularly tough marathon with mixed terrain and very steep hills. She was also required to navigate her way round, which she found extremely difficult but in the end Ishia managed to raise over £300!

Last year over £270,000 was raised by Challengers completing Challenger events!

The dates for the Challenger events were released last week. This is a great opportunity for you all to raise money, get fit and meet other Challengers.

 

What’s on offer?

You can either sign up to the Challenger abseils and/or the Challenger runs. This year we have tried to add a few more venues to get you involved and raising money.

You can find out how you can sign up, where the venues are and when they are to take place on the My World Challenge website https://expedition.world-challenge.co.uk/login.asp.

Fundraising ideas for October

It’s obvious isn’t it… Halloween! Its great excuse to have a party but also to raise some money! Hold a Halloween party and charge entry, or charge to take part in apple bobbing or pin the head on the zombie.

Harvest festival

This time of year local towns and villages may be holding small events where there will be stalls available, how about baking bread and selling it on a stall or selling crafts.

It is good to get the majority of your fundraising completed in the next few months before all of your exams start, it’ll save you stress and you will have less to worry about.

If you need any more ideas or hints and tips please feel free to call the Fundraising Support Team on 01494 427 601 or email us at fundraisingsupport@world-challenge.co.uk.

Summer ideas and back to school

As we write this blog, most of our teams have returned expedition and from looking at our Facebook page we can see they have had a great time! Take a look for yourself and see that the fundraising is worth the effort!

The Fundraising Support Team have been contacting our 2012 teams to see how they have been getting on with their fundraising. We have seen that over the summer fundraising has slowed down because Challengers are away from school and find it hard to keep in touch with the rest of their team. One team had a great idea to create a Facebook page to keep in touch. They posted their fundraising ideas and plans so everyone could get involved.

Many Challengers have been making the most of the weather we have been having this summer by getting out there and taking part in car boot sales and car washing. We have also heard that a couple of Challengers have cycled from John ‘O’ Groats to Lands end!

Another popular choice this summer for fundraising was to provide services in the local area e.g. babysitting and lawn mowing. Below is a copy of an odd job leaflet, use it to help you write your own.

This is a great way to show you are raising money for a fantastic opportunity to go and experience a new culture, learn new skills and give to another community. 

Most Challengers will be heading back to school in the next couple of weeks, so this is a perfect time to hold a meeting and catch up. Have a look on the My World Challenge website there are loads of ideas and action plans that you could take to your first meeting.

One of our many 2012 Challengers, Alisha, that have already raised their funds has kindly answered a few of our questions.

1. How did you raise your funds?

I raised the money by:
    1. sponsored event - swimming 5k
    2. Big quiz night with side events going on like selling cards, raffle and heads & tails
    3. Selling cards
    4. Babysitting - first I dropped around flyers to advertise myself and got the clients from there
    5. Paper round.

2. How long did it take you?

It took me from November to the end of June

3.What fundraiser brought in the best money?

 The funder-raiser was the quiz night because I had so many teams coming and everyone there was really nice and took part in the games, raffle and brought cards. But the sponsored event wasn’t far behind the main thing that helped me, which was just asking people to give £5 and it all added up.

4. What advice would you give to Challenger fundraising at the moment?

 Look at events that target different areas of people e.g. school, family, friends, neighbours etc. So your not asking for money from the same people each time. Try and just do one big event with everything packed in.

Next week Customer Service Advisor, Will Green, will be leaving for his cycle for charity, in our next blog we will let you know how he got on!

Well, it’s been a very busy few weeks for us in the Fundraising Support Team. We have been through some changes and now have a full team, which includes K’an, Charlea, Emma and Todd.

Emma and Todd have been settling in the last few weeks and are enjoying their new roles.

Challenger Run

Emma and Todd attended the last of the challenger runs on Sunday 8^th May. The weather was great and it was good to catch up with challengers and hear about their fundraising successes!

There was a competition for the best fancy dress and the fruit won! Also we had Atlas running around encouraging Challengers and joining in on their warm up! It was a fab day and we also had great weather.

Summer is a great time to get some big fundraising ideas in. Try a Battle of the bands night in a local hall or a mass BBQ. Set up stalls like refreshments or face painting, it’s always a success at a summer fête. Remember we are here throughout the summer to help you with your fundraising, to give you ideas and resources, so drop us an email or give us a call.

Fundraising in the World Challenge office:  It is not just you guys who are fundraising! We have been fundraising here at the World Challenge Head office and Will Green in our Customer Support Team is fundraising for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and this is what he has to say:

“Around 6 months ago one of my best friends Uncles who he is very close to was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease and told that he would have less than 2 years to live. My friend whose uncle has the disease another friend and I decided we should do something to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and also as nice gesture for Rory’s Uncle. We came up with the idea of cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End. Its around 850 miles from the northern most point of mainland Britain to the Southern most point and the three of us hope to cover the distance in 10 days, which means cycling between 80-90 miles per day. It is supposedly a very spectacular but gruelling route as we will go through areas such as the highlands of Scotland and the peak district to name a few. None of us have really done any cycling before so it’s going to be a massive Challenge and a race to get fit with the event taking place from the 7^th to the 17^th of September.”      

We wish Will all the best with his training and in completing the ride; we will keep everyone updated on the blog.

Thomas Ball Foundation- Midnight walk. Charlea, Emma, Bex and Laura from World Challenge completed a 6 mile midnight walk to raise funds for The Thomas Ball Children’s Cancer Fund along with a couple of cake sales they managed to raise over £300!

Fundraising Ideas- Please don’t forget to log in to your “My World Challenge” website and check out the fundraising sections, as there are loads of tips and ideas to help you fundraise over the summer. Also don’t forget to add us on Facebook and Twitter.

Also this month we have been contacting challengers to find out how they fundraised their expedition fee and below are a few of their top tips!

1. Plan first, think of the best options, try your best to achieve goals and put in as much effort as possible and when the event is complete think how to improve it and start another one.

2. Start early so you don't panic at the last minute.

3. The main thing to do is just find events where you can sell something or do something to get money that is the main thing. Look for opportunities where you can get money

4. Do events that you will enjoy.

5. A casual or part-time job is a great way to get the ball moving.

6. Just keep remembering how good your expedition will be because that keeps you going!

7. Hold weekly meetings about the events you want to put on.

8. Start as soon as possible.

9. Teaming up with someone is good as you can share ideas and get money easily

10. Believe that you can do it. People will say that your not trying hard enough, ignore them and do your best. It is not as bad as it sounds, and fundraising is quite fun.

Hope these tips help, remember these challengers have successfully fundraised and have been on expedition. It is possible!

2011 Challenger events take the fundraising total to over £1million!

Since 2008 nearly 6000 Challengers have taking part in Challenger events raising a combined total from sponsorship of £1,219,250. The average amount raised by a Challenger is over £200!

Our Challenger events have gone from strength to strength since they began and are a great way for Challengers to fundraise without the added stress of having to organise the event. All they need to worry about is sorting transport to and from the event and we plan the rest! In 2011 we made the Challenger events bigger and better than ever before.  Our Fundraising Support team were also giving out handy tips and advice on fundraising towards your expedition.

For the first time we organised a Scottish Challenger Run in addition to our North and South Challenger Run and Challengers raised a combined total of £143,000 at these three events.  Please see some of the photos from the events below.  If you would like to see more please follow World Challenge on Facebook.


The Events team are currently planning the 2012 Challenger events calendar so if you have any suggestions for a venue please contact challengerevents@world-challenge.co.uk
 

The first of our Middlesbrough Challenger Abseils takes place...

...with 24 Challengers taking part raising just over £6,000.

Challengers are kitted up in their harnesses and helmet and then have a safety briefing with our Technical Instructor.

They then climb up the stairs in the tower and then walking across the length of the bridge to the abseil platform. 

All our photos from the event will be going on Facebook soon but here are a few more...

Challenger raise over £14,000 at Bridge 75 Challenger Abseil

On Saturday, 19th March 2011 70 Challengers took part in the Challenger Abseil at Bridge 75 in Millersdale near Buxton and raised just over £14,000.

It was a fantastic day and the Cotswold Outdoor store in Bakewell were at the event giving expedition kit advice.

More photos will be on our Facebook page soon but in the meantime here are a few:

The Challengers have their safety briefing...

The view from the top...

Challengers collect their t-shirts after completing the abseil...

Challengers raise £20,000 at our fourth Challenger Abseil

The Water Tower at Mannings Heath, Poole marked the second of the new venues for 2011.  This fully functional water tower at a height of 110ft is a somewhat daunting venue with Challengers saying the worst part was the steep climb up the ladders to get to the top.  All 75 Challengers completed the abseil and raised over £20,000 towards their expedition.

Her is some feedback from our Challengers on the day:

“Really want to do it again please!! It was amazing” Katie Waite, Bushey Meads School
“Absolutely brilliant.  You raise loads of money and would happily do it again now just for fun” George McDonald, Fulston Manor School

More photos will be posted on our Facebook page soon.

Atlas the Aped Crusader takes a trip to the Bristol Challenger Abseil

Bristol was the third stop for the Challenger Abseils.  74 Challengers took part and raised over £16,000 towards their expedition.  One Challenger chose to celebrate his 18th birthday by abseiling of the gorge bringing his whole family along to support him and Atlas the Aped Crusader was greeting Challengers and waiting for them at the bottom.

Cotswold Outdoors were also at the event offering expedition kit advice to Challengers.  Please see below for more photos from the day and look out on our facebook page for more photos coming soon.

Challenger Abseil at Clydebank

The Titan Crane at Clydebank is our highest Challenger Abseil event.  We had 90 Challengers take part in this fundraising event raising over £22,000 towards their expedition. 

At 150ft tall this is one of our scariest abseil events but every Challenger abseiled.  See below for a view from the top!

With more and more Scottish schools taking part in World Challenge expeditions, we are excited to have our first Challenger Run taking place on Sunday, 10th April to give Challengers the opportunity to take part in an abseil and a run during their two year programme.  For more information contact challengerevents@world-challenge.co.uk.

The Event season kicks off with our first Challenger Abseil!

Every year World Challenge organises a variety of Challenger Abseils which are open to all our Challengers going on expedition.

The Manchester Challenger Abseil at the velodrome marked the start of the season and is a brand new venue for 2011.  Challengers were taken along a walkway in the roof of the building and then abseiled the 40m down into the centre of the arena.

To add to the atmosphere cyclists were training on the circuit which was pretty impressive to watch!

We had 72 Challengers take part with everyone abseiling and they raised a fantastic combined total of £18,000 towards their expedition.  All our Challengers and School Leaders who took part said it was a great way to raise sponsorship and at a cost of only £20 all they had to do was arrange their travel to and from the venue.

All Challengers receive a t-shirt and certificate to mark their acheivement of taking part and it also acts as proof to all the people who have sponsored them that they did it!

Congratulations to everyone who took part and check our Facebook page for more photos from the event coming soon!