Help us to eradicate Military Veteran Suicide.
We depend on volunteer fundraisers like you to ensure that we can keep providing our unique programmes for veterans suffering from severe PTSD. Our charity is incredibly financially 'lean': your event, challenge or community gathering really does make a huge difference to our progress in achieving our mission of eradicating military veteran suicide. Your help will change lives.
Get inspiration from other energetic volunteers who have supported us!
You could do anything from running an ultra-marathon to organising a baking sale at home. It all depends on your imagination, your energy and the size of your fundraising event team! We can help you organise your event, make it simple to collect donations - including the processing of Gift Aid (adding an extra 25% to each donation at no cost) and advise you to ensure your event is safe and effective.
Past fundraisers have completed a wide variety of activities including running marathons, swimming across huge lakes, hosting formal dinner nights, driving a rickshaw across the Himalayas and even a psychic medium who organised a very special evening in support of our work.
Here are just a few ideas to fire up your imagination!!
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Run a local 10km race event
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Enter a marathon - either locally, or a big national event
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Are you a good swimmer or cyclist?
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A sponsored walk between two cities
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Tackle a series of peak climbs - in the UK or abroad!
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A sponsored rowing at your local gym - row the equivalent of an actual river!
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A cross-fit challenge
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Golf - 100 holes in a day!
WHAT?
In choosing your event, think about what your hobbies, passions and interests are. Consider what your friends, family, neighbours and work colleagues enjoy or participate in. What are the interests in your local community? Do you have other charitable organisations in your local neighbourhood?
WHERE?
Think of the suitablility of your planned venue. Is it large enough? Could you possibly use a local venue for free - let the management know that it will be for a charitable cause. Check your venue is H&S compliant and has disabled access and enough facilities for what you have planned.
WHEN?
Think about a suitable date and a suitable time of day? Is it better to select a weekend (where it might attract families) or a weekday evening? Check your planned date so that it doesn't clash with major sporting or other events that will draw people away from your event.
HOW?
If you are organising a community event, or one in your workplace then consider putting together a small team. Find other teams of people to advertise the event and display your marketing material. Consider whether selling tickets will work - it's a great way of guaranteeing attendance and planning for the total number.
Putting your event together!
Organising your Event
We want to assist in any way we can so that you can run your event as smoothly as possible. We have listed below some of the categories that are most important to event organisers.
You are welcome to get in touch about your event - we can help you if this is your first time and tell you how others have gone about it in the past. Please drop us a line at myevent@mountainway.org and we can offer advice or call you if you prefer.
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Can I use Mountain Way logos and designs?Yes. You need to use a version of our logo that includes the word 'Supporting the...' You can use this logo to publicise your events and use on marketing or display material to brand your event. The link is below and you can also go to our Fundraiser Resources page here: Fundraiser Resources
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Do you have a sponsorship form I can use for my event?Yes we do! The sponsorship form allows you to capture all information from a sponsor and includes a tick-box column for applying Gift-Aid to their donation. The form also has our bank details and other information - you can download and print as many copies as you need. This can be downloaded from our Fundraiser Resources page here.
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Can I use JustGiving?Yes. JustGiving is one of the easiest ways to organise your event. You can brand your event on your own JustGiving page and send donation links to all your sponsors and donors. The link to our own Mountain Way JustGiving page is here.
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What if a donor wants to wire a larger donation in support of my event?Donors are welcome to wire funds directly to our account in support of your event. Be sure to ask them if they would like to Gift-Aid their donation (this adds 25% to their donation at no cost) and ask them to fill in our separate Gift-Aid form which can be downloaded from our 'Fundraiser Resources' page. Once they have completed the Gift-Aid form, kindly scan it and send to myevent@mountainway.org You should provide them with our Bank details which are: Bank Name: Virgin Money Bank Address: 7, Gold Street, NORTHAMPTON, NN1 1EN ​ Account Name: The Mountain Way ​ Account Number: 09040782 ​ Sort Code: 05-02-00
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Can I claim Gift Aid on the money I have raised?Provided the donor is eligible for Gift-Aid then yes, individual sponsors of your event can Gift-Aid their donations. There is information about Gift Aid on our sponsorship form and you should ensure that when they complete their details in the sponsorship form, they place a tick in the Gift-Aid column. More information about Gift-Aid can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid
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How can I promote my event on social media?Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to promote your event. If you are using a JustGiving page - which is an excellent way to do it - you can post links directly to your event campaign page on JustGiving. Remember to use @MountainWay and any tags you are using. Keep everyone up to date on the progress of your fundraising and with details of the event. Be sure to thank donors as pledges come in to encourage others, and also after the event has finished - a large proportion of donations tend to come in after an event has finished and the story is out!
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Will The Mountain Way also promote my event?Yes we will! We would love to do anything we can to promote your event and will link to it in all of our social media in addition to giving it a place on our website so that donors can donate directly or go directly to your JustGiving page. Please provide us with any images, video or other media so we can use it effectively.
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InsuranceYou are responsible for the activity you undertake in supporting the Mountain Way Charity. Our charity insurance does not cover individuals or groups conducting fundraising events on our behalf
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FoodIf you are offering or selling food, please check with your local council for any food safety regulations that may apply. Guidelines on food hygiene regulations can be found at food.gov.uk
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AlcoholSelling alcohol at an event requires a licence. If your venue is not licensed you will need to contact your local authority to obtain a temporary licence at least ten days before the event. Please visit www.gov.uk/temporary-events-notice for more information.
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Health and SafetyRemember to carry out a risk assessment on your venue. Don’t forget to check there is wheelchair access. Check first aid provision, fire safety equipment and emergency evacuation procedures are in place for your chosen venue. For larger events you can contact the British Red Cross or St John Ambulance to arrange for trained first aiders to be present. Always be careful with your own personal safety when carrying collection tins and money.
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CollectionsYou need to contact your local authority for a licence before you can run public, street and door-to-door collections. Collections on a private property require the land or property owner’s permission. All under 16s must be accompanied by an adult when collecting money for charity. Please let us know if you are planning to leave a collection tin at a private property such as a shop, pub or club so we keep a record of where it is being held.
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Lotteries and RafflesThe same laws and rules apply to lotteries and raffles. There are three types of lottery and raffle, and each has its own rules. You do not require a licence for: 1. Private lotteries or raffles Definition: those held at a workplace or club and run by someone within the organisation. Rules: The lottery or raffle can only be advertised and offered on the premises Tickets must state price, name and address of the promoter, and who is eligible to participate 2. Small lotteries or raffles where they are not the main focus Definition: those held as part of a larger event that are not the main focus or draw Rules: Cash prizes cannot be offered The ticket sales and announcement of the results must all take place during the event No more than £250 can be spent on buying the prizes but there is no limit to the value of any prizes donated But you do need to register with your local council to obtain a license for: 3. Public lotteries or raffles Definition: those open to the public OR with tickets sold outside of any event OR with cash prizes OR with over £250 spend on buying prizes The rules regarding lotteries and raffles can be found at www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk (for England, Scotland & Wales) and Collections for Charities and Donors | NICVA (for Northern Ireland).
How to collect money raised
One of the simplest ways to organise the collection of money you raise is to use our JustGiving page. We have our own 'Mountain Way' JustGiving page that is already set up for you to create your own event page that links to us. Go to our Just Giving page here. You will be able to learn about Gift Aid on the JustGiving page.
Using JustGiving is an excellent method since you will have a JustGiving link that you can use on your social media and email. You can even use it on others' websites, with their permission, of course. The JustGiving site has full instructions on how to set up an event and campaign for a charity.
Cash and Cheques
Any money raised through JustGiving will be automatically sent to us, but if you have collected cash or cheques then this will need to be paid into our account.
Cash
Paying the money directly into our account - our bank details are:​
The Mountain Way
Virgin Money
7 Gold Street
Northampton
NN1 1EN​​
Account Name: The Mountain Way
Account no.: 09040782​​​
Sort Code: 05-02-00
Cheques
Please ensure that the cheques are made payable to ' The Mountain Way' and send them to:​
The Treasurer
The Mountain Way Charity
1 Lime View
Victoria Park
NEWBURY. RG14 1EL
Please include a reference i.e. your name, or the event name so that we can be sure of where the money came from. Thank you.