How To Fundraise

Never fundraised before? Contact us!

If you have never fundraised before and are keen to support people with MS, please feel free to contact us. We are available to make it easy for everyone to achieve their fundraising goal to help people living with MS. Call 1300 705 340 or email msc@msaustralia.org.au

Before you get started, read about our fantastic 2011 fundraisers and team captains to see how they successfully helped people with MS. Click here to download your participant fundraising tips.

Six simple steps to successful fundraising

1.Set a fundraising goal

Setting a fundraising goal communicates to sponsors that you have a personal target to achieve. Let your sponsors be part of that experience of contributing towards something bigger than a simple donation. People donate because they respect the person asking them. They will feel good about their donation because they are supporting you personally and they are helping you reach your personal fundraising goal.

2. Set a fundraising plan to achieve your goal

Setting a plan to achieve your goal is the best way to ensure success! Look at your strengths and contacts to work out the most efficient way to use your time to achieve a great result. More often than not you will surpass your goal just because you executed your fundraising plan and your sponsors noticed how passionate you were and so they respond by exceeding your expectations.

Easy example: If you decided to set a goal of $4,000 you could plan to:

  • Run a trivia night for 100 people (get 10 people to organise a table each) - $2,000
  • Ask for online sponsorship from friends and co-workers (20 people x $50) - $1,000
  • Ask for matched funding ($4,000) or a company donation - $1,000

3. Read about MS and where your money goes

Educate yourself about multiple sclerosis. It is also a great idea to read about MS Australia's programs and services offered for the benefit of people living with MS.

Call us and we can organise for you to talk to a specialist about MS. For more of a first hand discussion, we can organise one of our great MS Ambassadors to come out and meet with you and/or your team members or work colleagues to understand what MS means for them personally.

4. Promote your efforts

Let everyone know about what you plan to achieve and promote this great thing you are doing to help people living with MS. People want to help and may offer a donation or even their time to help with your fundraising. People give because they want to support you and your fundraising, why not let them!

Great ways to promote your efforts are:

  • Send an email with a link to your webpage asking for sponsorship. You may be surprised by the amount of support you receive in such a short space of time.
  • Place a notice on your company Intranet or sporting/community newsletter.
  • Send an invite for people to sponsor you on Facebook.
  • Why not ask if you can send something out in your company’s payslips that are sent to employees.
  • Place sponsorship posters up around your workplace.
  • Insert a fundraising banner and link to your webpage on your email auto signature.
  • Join the MS Melbourne Cycle Facebook Page.

5. Collect Donations

Collecting donations via receipt books is a great way to personally communicate your goal (and appreciation) to your sponsors face to face. If someone sponsors you for the ride, you can write them a tax deductible receipt on the spot! Keep your book with you at all times and it's also useful to have it at your workplace for people that give you cash in person. Sponsors can donate per kilometre or give you a straight out donation.

We can send you a fundraisers kit with a receipt book, sponsorship posters, tally sheet, information on MS and further fundraising ideas. Display the posters at work asking for sponsorship so your co-workers support you. Whether you receive a donation or a pledge in person, you can still enter this on your fundraising web page to ensure all your sponsors get the credit they deserve.

You can request a fundraisers kit while registering online or feel free to call 1300 705 340 or email msc@msaustralia.org.au and we will send it out to you.

6. Banking your money

The last page of the receipt book is a deposit slip. Use the slip to bank all your fundraising money at any Westpac Bank branch. Remember to send the book(s) back to us. All receipt books must be returned to us whether used or not (as required by law). Please deposit all money by 30 April 2012.