CHIPS fundraising pack

Why not contact us for a no-obligation copy of our fundraising pack, which includes lots of ideas along with advice and handy tips on how to make your fundraiser a success?

 

Our innovative fundraising platform

We use a fundraising platform called Givepenny for our sponsored activities. GivePenny allows you to set up an attractive personal challenge page quickly, and makes it super-easy to share your challenge with others.

It also has some special features. For example, you can connect your fitness apps, such as Strava to your challenge or set up a Spotify playlist that people can add to by making a donation. Supporters can also choose to pledge now, and pay later if they prefer, or to donate per kilometre or per mile.

Donations like these account for more than half of donations across the platform and have been proven to increase donations by 300% – that’s a lot!

Take a look at our Givepenny page, and set up your own challenge any time. Just ask us for a hand if you need some inspiration or assistance – you can email us here.

 

Six ideas

Here are six of our top ideas for fundraising. Would you be up for one of these or do you have an idea of your own?

• From Brixton to Bimbilla… We are trying to cover, through sponsored events, the 3,500-mile distance between Brixton to Bimbilla, where our Ghana project is based. From sponsored walks to runs and bike rides, we’d love your help to complete the journey!
• Walking for peace… How about setting up or joining a walk in your area and burning off some calories? You can choose anything from a short ramble to a major hike and ask your friends and family to sponsor you. If you’re feeling brave, you could also check out some of these ideas from Action Challenge!
• Food and drink… Maybe you’re more of a Mary Berry? Whether you hold them virtually or face-to-face, sponsored bakes, cake sales, coffee mornings (or even just old-fashioned pub quizzes) are all great ways to raise money while having fun!
• Celebrate your birthday with us… Facebook birthday fundraisers have raised around £800 million for good causes. Simply create your post, click on the three dots on the right-hand side, select ‘Support Charity’ and add CHIPS!
• Get active! Are you an adrenaline junkie? How about a sponsored bungee jump, skydive, zip slide, dive or swim?
• Sponsored shave… One person we know recently raised over £2,000 for a good cause by shaving off his decades-old beard in church. Shaving your head or growing a moustache next ‘Movember’ are other ideas.

Or just leave it to us! If you tell us what sort of activity you are interested in, we’ll research and shortlist some ideas for you. We can also help you promote it on social media.

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Feature case study: 100km in 24 hours with Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson, Co-Director of Development at CHIPS, walked 100km for CHIPS in 24 hours for the second year running!

Congratulations Andrew! What inspired you to take on the challenge?

Thanks, I wanted to do something that I knew would stretch me while having a fighting chance of success! I know peacemaking can be a long and hard process, and I wanted to identify in some way with our teams in Ghana and Brixton who are actually doing the hard work at grassroots level.  Of course, I also wanted to show my personal commitment to fundraising for CHIPS – not just asking other people to do it!

 

What was the highlight for you this year?

The challenge is very well organised and the early part of the Thames Path is ‘home from home’ for me which is nice – I grew up in that area and I’m able to meet my family en route (we actually walked past the end of the road where I used to live). I also really enjoyed walking and talking with my friend Mike who I co-opted to join me this year (thanks Mike…) I have to say the most inspiring section was the walk from Cookham to Henley on Sunday as the sun rose and a beautiful late summer morning dawned.  The river looked spectacular and that helped ease the pain – a bit!

 

And what was most challenging for you?

The worst part was the halfway point.  It wasn’t good. Both Mike and I found ourselves feeling unwell and, for a while, I really wasn’t sure I could carry on.  We hadn’t eaten enough of the right things over the first 50km and we were now paying the price. At moments like this, you really have to rely on your inner strength but it was also hugely inspiring to see how other people were willing to help us out. I was very grateful that our wives were able to meet us with a bowl of pasta, and a very kind fellow walker gave me an energy gel to add to my water.  The recovery was so miraculous that Mike started calling me Lazarus!!

 

How did you go about fundraising and what difference will the money make at CHIPS?

I set up a fundraising page for the event on give.net and then started asking people to sponsor me through social media and emails.  I set a high target and, just as last year, was so grateful for people’s generosity and support.

Together, Mike and I raised over £2,800 this year and I’m so grateful for the amazing support. Every pound makes a big difference to us to us at CHIPS.  Alongside regular monthly giving, the money raised from sponsored events is one of the most important ways of fundraising for CHIPS.

 

What would you say to others who may be thinking of fundraising for CHIPS?

Please do it! Sponsored personal activities really make a difference for CHIPS and we will give you all the support we can.  My experience is that once people hear about the work of CHIPS, they are inspired and will want to support you. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a marathon or a long walk – there are a lot of creative ideas out there for sponsored events and they don’t have to involve sore feet and blisters!