Here are some ideas to inspire your own schemes to raise money towards the cost of your tour. You’ll be surprised at the support you receive if you show real initiative and effort. Use your persuasive powers to get any help you can for your event, from business equipment donations to offers to bake cakes or serve drinks by kind relatives and friends. Why not create a Facebook page for your trip to get the word out about your event and share pictures, and ask everyone you know to tweet about it?
Sports event
Arrange your own sponsored challenge, or join an organised event, such as the runs, abseils and boat races run by our partners, World Challenge. More demanding or extreme events such as full marathons or white-knuckle abseils inspire potential sponsors to pledge the most cash.
Open day
If you have the people power, go all out for an outdoor fun day. Persuade a band or other entertainment to play for free, and dream up any number of fundraising stalls. Throwing wet sponges at teachers never loses its appeal, but you can charge for anything from face painting to ferret racing.
X-Factor evening
Let your inner performing divas shine, or just make an exhibition of yourselves at your own X-Factor evening. Charge a few pounds to enter and sell drinks and snacks on the night. You could post the best and the worst performances on your trip’s Facebook page to further promote your trip.
Raffle
People don’t mind parting with a couple of pounds for the chance of winning a decent prize. See if you can talk someone into donating a desirable item to be raffled. You could even run it as an auction via eBay, so you can open up bidding beyond your local community to the rest of the world.
Fancy dress
Any fundraising event, from car washing to running, is more fun and gets more attention in fancy dress. You can post the silly pictures online after to great more awareness of your trip and even kick-start more fundraising.
Cake bake-off
Ask talented mums, grannies, fellow students and TV-chef-inspired dads and uncles to get busy in the kitchen and produce the goods for a bake sale. Delicious buns and cakes are so easy to sell, and you can create one large impressive cake and sell tickets to guess its weight.
Eating competition
See who can eat the most mashed potato, ice cream, pies or boiled eggs in a short space of time. This is a great way to show commitment to your cause, and raise money through sponsorship, although it might interfere with your fitness plan!
Lauren Hopkins, Marketing Executive, Edwin Doran Sports Tours
