Fundraising for the TackleAfrica Football Marathon
Everything you need to know
If you follow these simple steps in roughly this order with enough conviction you will hit or exceed your
fundraising targets:
1. Don’t leave it all to the last minute. The earlier you start the better, but your whole team should be
actively fundraising no later than a month before the event
2. Ask your employer TODAY if they will contribute or match the funds you raise. Have a look on your
company website or contact someone in HR or CSR to advise you on the company policy and which
steps to take. Make sure your whole team does the same – you may be able to double your money
for little extra effort. You can also check here for a list of some of the companies who have
contributed to their employees’ Football Marathon fundraising over the years.
3. Set up a team Justgiving online fundraising webpage and textgiving code which allows your supporters
to give by text at no extra cost
4. Email the link and code to friends, family and colleagues with a short compelling message (see
examples below) about once a week in the 6 weeks or so leading up to the event (removing those
who’ve already donated from the email list!)
5. Post the link & code regularly on your facebook profile and any other social media sites you use
6. Stick a poster up in your office, send an email around telling people what you’re doing and do the
rounds with the sponsorship form in the week before the event
7. After the big day, chase up any pledges or outstanding donations ASAP. The longer you leave it, the
harder it gets
Tips on how to ask for money
Many people feel nervous about asking people for money for charity. Don’t. As long as you’re not
aggressive or pushy you won’t offend anyone – in fact most people like giving money to charity as it makes
them feel good.
Here are a few tips:
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Keep it short and to the point
Highlight that what you are doing is very painful for you and extremely beneficial for people in
Africa
Use humour
Include the link to your online fundraising page at the start AND end of your email
Consider suggesting an amount that people might donate – whilst also making it clear that any
amount is appreciated
Don’t be shy – you’re doing an incredibly positive thing that will help change lives
Most people need reminding – so don’t be afraid to ask more than once
Send a brief email to your sponsors after the event saying thanks and including a photo or two
Remember there will be big tournament incentives for teams that hit their fundraising target before the
day of the event.
Templates
This suggested text may be useful for your online fundraising page or fundraising emails:
Dear xxxxxxxx
On 30th May I will be playing football for 12 hours to raise money for TackleAfrica. Please sponsor me at <insert link to page>, or
by texting INSERT CODE £10 to 70070.
The TackleAfrica Football Marathon is an incredible event that has raised over a million pounds over the last 12 years. Teams play
football for 12 hours in a fundraising super-tournament – it’s extremely hard work and on average players will run about 40km,
about the same as running the London Marathon.
All the money raised goes to fund TackleAfrica’s work educating young people in Africa about HIV and AIDS through football
coaching. To find out more about their amazing work, visit www.tackleafrica.org, and for a short video about their work in Africa,
click here.
My fundraising target is £x so if you can spare a donation of £x or whatever you can afford that’d be hugely appreciated by me
and the charity. Also if you’re around on the day please come and cheer me on!
The link again is <insert link to page>, or text INSERT CODE £10 to 70070
Thank you
For a more informal approach:
If you haven’t yet sponsored me for this year’s Football Marathon, don’t worry! It’s not too late. Please sponsor me at <insert
link to page> or text INSERT CODE £10 to 70070
You should sponsor me because:
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I’ll run about 40km on the day
It’ll probably rain
It’ll really hurt
My toenails will probably fall off
I won’t be able to walk properly for a week
It’ll help save lives in Africa
It’s an amazing event that’s been going for 12 years now, raising over a million pounds. I’ll be one of 500 people playing this year,
raising money to support TackleAfrica’s work delivering HIV education through football coaching to young people.
It takes place at Les Quennevais Sport Centre on 30th May – I’ll be there from 7am til 9pm if you want to point and laugh.
The link again is: <insert link to page> - or text INSERT CODE £10 to 70070
Thanks
Text Templates:
I’m playing football for 12 hours on 30th May to raise money for awesome HIV charity TackleAfrica. Fancy sponsoring me? You
can do so by visiting <insertlinktopage> or by texting INSERT CODE £10 to 70070. Thank you!
Twitter Template:
Playing 12hrs of football to raise £ for @tackleafrica to help kids in Africa. Pls help! (insert link/text code) #footballmarathon
(add optional photo of yourself in football kit looking terrified etc.)
Facebook status update:
I’m going to play football for 12 hours on 30th May to raise money for the awesome TackleAfrica to help kids affected by HIV in
Africa. I’ll run/limp about 40km on the day – same as a marathon – and it’ll really hurt. Please sponsor me at <insertlinktopage>
or text INSERT CODE £10 to 70070.
Where the money goes
Funds raised by the football marathon play a huge part in TackleAfrica’s work with young people in Africa.
We train and support a network of over 400 African coaches in 4 countries to deliver regular HIV education
through football coaching sessions to 15,000 young people in their communities.
We work with some of the world’s most disadvantaged young people in communities where HIV continues
to have a huge impact on people’s health and livelihoods. By designing football coaching sessions with
built-in HIV messaging we can teach young people in a way they enjoy, remember and understand, and
reach people who may not be able to go to school or find it hard to learn in classrooms.
We work with both boys and girls aged roughly 12-18, and we teach about a range of different issues
related to HIV, as well as improving the confidence and life skills that enable young people to make safer
decisions.
About half of our annual funding comes from Football Marathons.
Here are some examples of how your sponsorship money helps:
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£5 pays for a 60-page TackleAfrica coaching manual with dozens of HIV education sessions
£10 buys a locally produced durable leather football with health messages printed on it
£40 pays for a week’s training for a coach in HIV education through football coaching
£220 – your fundraising target – pays for a coach to be fully trained, resourced and supported to
deliver a year’s coaching with a team of young Africans
A short video of one of our projects in Africa can be viewed here
Photos of our projects can be seen on our flickr site here
More information can be found on our website here
We are always happy to come to your club or workplace to talk about TackleAfrica and how our work helps – just
ask.