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Fundraising for travelling and volunteering

Fundraiser of the month: Becky Wiltshire

Name: Becky Wiltshire
Age: 21
From: Norwich
Amount raised: £1400 so far

Hi there Becky and congratulations on being December's fundraiser of the month! What exactly are you raising the cash for then?

Thanks, it's an honour! The money is all going towards my upcoming expedition to Chile booked with Raleigh International, which starts September 2005. I hope to also book an African leg with Madventurer starting February 2006, where I'll be teaching in Kenya for 5 weeks and then travelling from Nairobi to Cape Town. All very exciting, but no exactly easy on the student account!

Doesn't sound like it! So how much money do you need and how much of it are you hoping to get through fundraising?

I need about £3500 to cover the cost of my flight and the expedition to Chile, of which I hope to raise about £2500 through fundraising. I've already paid the deposit for my trip from my own savings and have now managed to raise a further £1400 through my fundraising efforts and Christmas money, so I'm well on my way!

£1400 is a pretty impressive total, we assume you didn't rob a bank, so how exactly did you raise all that cash?

Aside from the Christmas money I received, the rest of that total has been made solely through fundraising. I've done lots of different things - some more successful than others - but every one of them has helped in some small way.

Sell cakes that I have baked has been a brilliant money spinner. I even had orders for mince pies over the Christmas period - I baked about 80 in a week and never want to see another one as long as I live! I'm not very good at asking people for money, especially when I know them and so I decided the best way would be to give people something in return for their money. By simply asking for 'donations' in return for my cakes, people were very generous and I raised loads more than if I had charged a set amount. I made about £60 from this

Mmmm... cakes. Couldn't rustle us up a batch of mine pies could you?! Anyway, apart from 'doing a Delia', how else did you get the money to pour in?

I also sold a lot of my coursebooks from my first degree through Amazon online. This is a very easy way to make a lot of money, especially if they are text books, which are often quite expensive. If all my books sell, I'll make over £100.

I also arranged a 'table-top' sale, which is like an indoor carboot sale. This raised about £50 and also helped me clear more space in my room! Although this wasn't the most lucrative event, it helped to let people know what I was doing as it was held in my village. The publicity I received will probably
be worth more than what I made from selling things since people were coming up to me saying they would make a donation at some point.

Letter writing has also been a huge source of income. I've been incredibly lucky in that I've had a couple of responses pledging huge amounts of money (£500 and £200). I think people often overlook the fact that there is basically 'free money' available out there. Although I wouldn't advise anyone to use this as their only source of fundraising.

Finally a friend and I went out collecting on Saturday night around some pubs in Norwich. I was amazed at how generous people were and we raised £220 in one hour. I will definitely do this again, as it was loads of fun, as well as being a good way to raise cash.

You certainly have tried a lot of different things - which of these did you find to be the easiest way to raise money?

Collections in pubs, definitely. Although sorting out the licence was a hassle and getting landlords to agree to let us collect was difficult at times (about half of the we asked pubs refused us.) This was, without doubt the most fun I've had fundraising and the easiest money I've made so far. I think it helped that people were half cut and that they were feeling especially generous as it was Christmas!

Did you find it harder to convince people to donate to your cause as you were raising money for a gap year, as opposed to a charity?

As Raleigh International is a registered charity, which I suspect makes my job a lot easier. I was very careful when I went around the pubs to tell them about the work Raleigh do in this country and abroad, so that people didn't think they were paying for my holiday.

The important thing is to emphasise the work you'll be doing on your gap year. If people think it's a good cause, they'll be very generous, I've been bowled over by people's generosity. The other problem to combat is the 'elitest student' persona, which often surrounds a lot of these things. Again Raleigh is good since they do a lot of work with people from disadvantaged backrounds in this country, so I've been able to talk about that as well.

Have you had any journalists hounding you then, wanting to cover your successful fundraising events?

I have an article in my Parish Newsletter this month, which will give me more publicity in my local area. I will also contact my local paper later on this year, when I finalise the plans for a 10km run. I figure that if people see that I'm slogging my guts out for money, they'll be more likely to donate than if they just see me running round pubs!

Also, I'm not sure if this counts as press coverage, but my justgiving website has been really useful since many of my friends are dotted around the country. By making it easier for people to donate, they're more likely to give you money. I think that this website will be very useful when I do my 10km run.

Click here >> for Becky's website

As you've still got eight months or so until your placement - and about £2000 more to raise - what other events have you got up your sleeve?

I've been in touch with my old High School to ask if they would hold an event for me. In return, I'll go in to give them a talk when I get back. I'm still waiting to hear from them but fingers crossed, they'll be able to help me out somehow.

I'm also going to do a 10km run in March, which I hope to gain publicity through. I've got several trusts that I'm waiting to hear back from too. I'll also be going round the pubs again as this, in my experience, is the best way to raise money.

As Fundraiser of the month, what top tips would you give to any other people desperate to raise money for their gap year?

Here are my five top tips for lots of lolly:

1. Start early, I've heard of so many people booking their gap year and a year later only have £200 to put towards it.
2. Try and give people something for their money, even if it's only a slice of flapjack.
3. Stick to your strengths. I'm a 'people person' and so I'm pretty good at going round a pub and getting people to part with their money. Musical people can go busking, sporty people can organise a tournament or something.
4. Never underestimate the power of letter writing. It has been a huge shock to me the amount of money I have been able to raise in this way.
5. Finally, stay positive. It's really tough at times when you're running out of ideas and you're only half way to your target, but people would much rather give money to a smiling face.

Sound advice. Any other pearls of wisdom to share?

Just to keep reminding yourself that it'll all be worth it. I've always wanted to travel the world and the effort I'm putting in at the moment will make that happen.

Thanks Becky and congrats once again. Keep up the good work and good luck in reaching that target!

Thanks guys - I've got enough time left, so there's no reason why I shouldn't!

Further info

Click here >> to sponsor Becky
Click here >> for fundraising ideas
Click here >> for placements in Chile
Click here >> for placements offered by Raleigh International

Click here >> to nominate yourself - or someone else - as Fundraiser of the Month

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