There are many ways you can support The Canterbury Gift with its important conservation and development work. These include making a donation, running a fundraising event or even donating some of your time as a volunteer.

However you choose to help, your efforts will help us to spread the word about the invaluable work carried out by The Canterbury Gift and your support will be greatly appreciated.

Organise an event

The Canterbury Gift team can offer support to help make your event a success. By working together, we can help to raise funds that will make a real difference. Well planned events can help to raise awareness of the important development and conservation work carried out by The Canterbury Gift.

Our support might include:

PR & marketing advice
Posters or banners to help advertise your event
Branded sealed collection boxes or buckets
Stickers
A representative to attend your event, if appropriate (subject to availability)
Sponsor forms, if required

You will also need a signed Authority to Fundraise form from us confirming you are fundraising for The Canterbury Gift.

If you would like to organise an event on behalf of The Canterbury Gift but are unsure of exactly what to do, get in touch and together we might be able to come up with a few ideas. We can also provide you with some innovative fundraising tips.

The Canterbury Gift is always very keen to say thank you for any efforts of support. Please get in touch if you would like to present your donation to a member of the fundraising team.

Our small but dedicated team can be very busy so the more notice you can give them the better. Contact the fundraising team by phone on 01227 865346 or info@thecanterburygift.com.

Fundraising tips

When planning a fundraising event, there may be a few questions you wish to ask. Whether it is in the initial planning stages or even a few days before the event itself, we're here to answer your queries and give you any advice we can.

The list of fundraising tips that follows is by no means exhaustive and not a substitute for proper legal advice but it will help you to understand the main points before planning any fundraising event.

Consider it a handy checklist when planning your event but remember that each event is different and you may need to bear other considerations in mind.

1. Keep it legal

Here are some legal considerations you will need to be aware of for the activity you are planning:

You will need to obtain permission from the appropriate local authority if your event involves collecting money or selling goods in a public place.

You will need permission from the owner or manager if the event takes place on private property.

Please don't collect money door-to-door as this is illegal without a licence.

Small, one-day raffles are fine as long as they do not contain cash or alcoholic prizes. Other raffles may require a licence from the local authority so please check with us first.

If you are planning to raise more than £5,000, you need to tell us in advance how you are planning to raise it.

All of your fundraising material should bear the following words: In aid of The Canterbury Gift, Registered Charity No. 1112590 and Private Limited Company No. 5588837.

2. Safety First

Here are a few ways to ensure your event is as safe as possible:

You must always comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and other relevant legislation. Ensure that no one is fundraising, working or spectating in an unsafe environment. You can obtain more information on Health and Safety at www.hse.gov.uk.

The Canterbury Gift cannot accept responsibility for any accidents, so make sure your event is safe for all concerned.

Take care of your personal security and use a familiar route if you are going to be carrying money around.

3. After the event

Please make sure the money you raised reaches The Canterbury Gift as quickly and safely as possible.

Always make sure the money is counted by two people to avoid errors.

Make cheques payable to THE CANTERBURY GIFT and send them to the address on the contact page together with a brief description of how and where the money was raised.

Don't forget to include your name, address and postcode with your donation so we can send you a letter of thanks.

If possible please send us photos (preferably digital) and any funny stories about the event. They could end up in the local paper.

4. Publicity

The Canterbury Gift sends out information to media outlets on a regular basis and we have found that they are more receptive when it comes to promoting or attending events. Of course, The Canterbury Gift will do all it can to promote your event in our newsletter and online.

5. Ticket sales

Although our fundraising team will do all it can to promote your event, we are unfortunately unable to sell tickets for events or raffles.

6. Prizes

The fundraising team will provide you with the official documentation that you'll need to approach local businesses for raffle prize donations. However, we are unable to source prizes directly for individual events and must maintain a neutral relationship with local businesses and suppliers. This also applies to auction lots.

Collection boxes

Collection boxes are a simple and effective way or raising both money and awareness for the important work of The Canterbury Gift.

Our collection boxes can be placed in many visible locations such as shops, sports clubs and hotels - in fact, the list of possible locations for boxes is endless.

Volunteers with photo identification empty all of our collection boxes so you won't need to worry about handling any money.

For more information, or to request a collection box, please contact our fundraising team on 01227 865346.