Getting a spot in the London Marathon is a dream come true for many and running for charity adds an extra sprinkling of the feels. But raising the agreed sponsorship can be a worry, especially if you’re the type that feels awkward asking for money. (You’re not alone – it’s a British thing!) Give these smart ideas a whirl and you’ll be able to focus on your training plan, knowing that you’ve raised a pocketful for your chosen charity, in no time.
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1 Unleash your friends’ competitive side Choose a sport and organise a charity match – simple! A female favourite has to be netball but if you want to get the lads involved and almost guarantee a sold-out event, organise a football or rugby competition. Charge an entry fee and sell tickets for spectators. A half-time or end-of-match bake sale will probably go down nicely too!
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2 Indulge your colleagues’ inner cookie monster Talking of bake sales… why not feed the office? We’re always a sucker for a slice of Victoria sponge at 11am and don’t even bother giving us a plate when it comes to chocolate brownies – we’ll bite your hand off instead.
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3 Test your nearest and dearest’s general knowledge Who doesn’t love a quiz night? A little more difficult to organise but sure to bring in mega bucks for your charity especially if you throw in a raffle. Try to get people to donate the prizes (a great excuse to get rid of unwanted Christmas presents) and purchase some extra desirable items at purse-friendly prices. We’d buy £5 worth of tickets if it meant we could win a bottle or two of wine, but maybe that’s just us.
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4 Tickle your neighbours’ love for a flutter Possibly the easiest way to guarantee the pounds come rolling in is to organise a quick numbers game. Sell the numbers 1 – 100 for £2 each, draw one at random and the winner will win a cash prize (maybe £50). The remainder goes toward your charity. If you have super generous friends, why not ask them to pay £3 per number… or maybe £5 and increase the prize to £100?
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5 Help your loved ones do the chores… for a price Wash some cars, cut the grass, hoover the house and even do the (shudders) ironing – you’ll find people are more likely to donate if they’re getting something in return and these easy tasks come overhead-free… it’ll only cost you your time.
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6 Ignite your love of man’s best friend To smash any endurance test you need to up your fitness levels so why not turn this into another money spinner? Walking is proven to strengthen your heart and lungs and studies suggest it offers the same benefits of jogging with a much lower risk of injury – result. Start a daily dog walking service to boost your health and fitness levels as well as making some cold hard cash.
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7 Exploit everyone’s love for Ryan Gosling We challenge you to find us someone who doesn’t turn into gooey mess when they clap eyes on this hunky A-lister so why not host a home-cinema night? Charge for tickets (obvs) and any extras such as home-made popcorn, nachos, cakes… anyone else noticing a bit of a theme here?
