Lifeline Community Fundraising
- Raise Funds Your Own Way
A Fundraising Kit to help guide you along the way.
Table of Contents
WELCOME ...................................................................................................................3
1.
How your fundraising will help Lifeline connect people with care .................4
2.
Organising an Event ............................................................................................6
3.
Fundraising Event Checklist...............................................................................9
4.
Online Fundraising Page...................................................................................11
5.
How Lifeline can help you .................................................................................12
6.
Sending funds to Lifeline ..................................................................................13
7.
Other ways you can be involved with Lifeline.................................................15
© The copyright in this document is the property of Lifeline. Lifeline supplies this
document on the express terms that it shall be treated as confidential and that it may
not be copied, used or disclosed to others for any purpose except as authorised in
writing by this organisation.
© Lifeline
Lifeline Community Fundraising - Raise Funds Your Own Way – Fundraising Kit
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WELCOME
Thank you for choosing Lifeline as a charity beneficiary for your upcoming community
fundraising event. This Fundraising Kit will help to make your fundraising event a
success and assist you in raising funds.
Funds raised will enable us to answer more calls on our 24 hour telephone crisis
support service - 13 11 14; to recruit and train more volunteers; and to continue to
provide and expand our suicide prevention and mental health support programs
nationally.
Alarming statistics show that…

Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australia for
males under the age of 44

Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australia for
females under the age of 34

The national road toll is around 1600, however over 2000
people die by suicide each year

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
report that 1 in 5 Australians will experience a mental
health disorder in a twelve month period and 45% will
experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime

Lifeline answers a new call every minute, and around 50
calls a day are related to suicide
* ABS Causes of Death Report 2007
* Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Mental Health Services in Australia Report 2006-07
© Lifeline
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1.
How your fundraising will help Lifeline connect people
with care
Lifeline is a national not-for-profit organisation that relies on financial support from the
community to continue providing opportunities for people to benefit from and contribute
to quality services in local communities across Australia.
Lifeline offers access to a national, 24 hour telephone crisis support service on 13 11
14 and provides a range of services that connect people with care including crisis
support, suicide prevention, mental health support, self help resources and information
about community services and training. Lifeline’s services operate from 60 locations
nationally, with a presence in every State and Territory within Australia. In 2009 Lifeline
connected with over a million people via telephone, face to face and online mediums.
Lifeline’s dedicated staff and volunteers work tirelessly on our services and programs
to ensure that our mission, to place services that support living and wellbeing, in reach
of everyone, becomes a reality. Over 11,000 volunteers dedicate their time and skills to
deliver services, fundraise and support the operation of Lifeline.
By choosing to support Lifeline, you are choosing to help Lifeline continue connecting
over 1250 Australians each day, with one of our telephone volunteers. For some, these
conversations are life-saving.
Look how your funds raised can make a difference to someone’s life or contribute to
your local community:
Answer a call to Lifeline - $40
You can connect someone in need of care and
emotional support in their time of crisis. Each call
to Lifeline costs us $40 in training, time and
technology costs. Help Lifeline to answer one
more call today.
Help to create suicide safer communities - $75 – $850
Lifeline has a vision for suicide safer communities. We believe everyone can help make
this vision a reality in the lives of people and communities around us. We invite you to
share in this work through our training programs. To learn more about Lifeline’s suicide
intervention training, please contact Living Works Australia on (02) 6215 9499 or visit
www.livingworks.org.au
© Lifeline
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Train a Lifeline Telephone Counsellor and/or provide on-going
support, training and supervision of our Telephone Counsellors
each year - $1500 - $2500
Lifeline's 24 hour crisis support service would not exist
without our team of 3,500 telephone volunteers. Each person
must be put through a 4-6 month program of practical
counsellor training before being accredited as a Lifeline
Telephone Counsellor. Lifeline must raise enough money
each year to run training programs to ensure we have
enough trained people to answer more than 450,000 calls to
our service each year. Help us train more people to be there 24/7 in your community.
Provide a Lifeline Suicide Crisis Support
Program for a local community - $30,000
Lifeline’s Suicide Crisis Support Program offers short term
phone support by an experienced counsellor for those experiencing suicidal thoughts,
or concerned family members. The aim of this program is to provide encouragement for
the person to make contact with a doctor, counsellor, psychologist or psychiatrist, and
to support them. These programs are offered via Lifeline Centres, direct to local
communities.
Contribute to the costs of running
Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support service$3.2 million
Lifeline’s 13 11 14 service is staffed by trained telephone
volunteers who are ready to take calls 24 hours a day, any day of the week, from
anywhere in Australia. These volunteers operate from 42 Lifeline Centres in every
State and Territory around Australia. Lifeline answers around 450,000 calls per year
from people needing emotional support.
Anyone can call Lifeline. The 13 11 14 service offers a support service that respects
everyone’s right to be heard, understood and cared for. We also provide information
and referral to other support services that are available in communities around
Australia.
Somewhere in Australia there is a new call to Lifeline every minute. People call about
many things and needs of callers vary across genders, age groups, cultures and
between rural and metropolitan areas.
Lifeline telephone volunteers are ready to talk and listen no matter how big or how
small the problem might seem. They are trained to offer emotional support in times of
crisis or when callers may be feeling down.
© Lifeline
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2.
Organising an Event
Every year, ordinary (and ultimately extraordinary) individuals, schools, workplaces,
clubs and community groups raise funds by organising a unique event to support
Lifeline.
Fundraising ideas vary from events like trivia nights, walkathons and fun runs, to dress
up days, morning teas and raffles. Here are few fundraising ideas to get your brain
ticking over. Find one that suits you or come up with your own idea!
 Get mobile for charity – enter a fun run, walk, or bike ride event and have family,
friends and colleagues sponsor you.
 Undertake a personal challenge and be sponsored - weight loss, hair
dye/shave, give up chocolate or learn a new skill.
 Gala ball with a theme – add a donation in the price of tickets and speak with
clubs or hotels that have a function room, they may offer to reduce their price of the
function room or food for a charity event.
 Trivia night – hold a trivia night and charge an entry fee, or if you hold it in a pub,
restaurant, club or café, persuade the owner to donate some takings from the trivia
night.
 Dress up day – or even better, dress the principal or the boss up! Get together with
your school mates or colleagues and sponsor the principal or boss to dress up for
the day… persuade them to match the funds raised and donate themselves!
 Dinner and Auction – organise a dinner with friends, family and colleagues and
include an auction to raise more funds, seek out local businesses who may be
interested in donating goods to auction.
 Donations in lieu of gifts – instead of Christmas, wedding or birthday gifts, why
not consider asking for donations instead.
 Girls/Boys night in – ask your friends to bring a dish, have a night in and donate
what money would usually be spent on a night out.
 Wash cars, mow lawns or other odd jobs – offer your services to friends, family
and neighbours and get them to make a donation in lieu of what they would
normally be charged.
 Movie marathon – get together with friends, share your favourite movies, grab
some ice cream and popcorn and donate what it would usually cost to go to the
cinema.
 Seasonal or themed fair – hold a Valentines, Easter or Christmas fair selling
crafts, cakes, cards and home made gifts.
 Second hand clothing fashion parade and sale – get together with friends and
donate clothing that isn’t wanted anymore, price the items, hold a fashion parade
and sell them to the highest bidder.
 Hold a talent quest or karaoke night – dare your friends to perform by sponsoring
their talent!
 Giant raffle – approach local businesses and encourage them to donate prizes for
the raffle and ask if you can advertise the raffle in their business windows – the
business gains attention for supporting a good cause and at the same time it
creates greater attention for your raffle.
© Lifeline
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There are many more fundraising ideas, and it goes without saying that not all of the
ideas listed above will be suitable for all situation or people of all ages. If these ideas
don’t suit you, please contact the National Fundraising Team at Lifeline Australia who
will be happy to provide advice and tips for turning ideas into something that works for
you. We want to make your fundraising experience fun, rewarding and stress free!
Here are a few examples of what others have done…
The Connect Dinner
Sydney's vibrant art and film community came together at a dinner on the 7th March
2009, raising over $8,000 for Lifeline’s 24 hour crisis support service.
The dinner event, with Larry Emdur as Master of Ceremonies, was held at the stunning
Tim Olsen Gallery in Woollahra and aimed to bring friends and industry together to
encourage a sense of community.
The ‘Connect’ themed evening was organised independently by Yolande Dewey, Jane
Johnson and Sacha Hodgson (pictured) who worked tirelessly to provide a special
evening of fine food, good company and great music.
Lifeline is very grateful and gives many thanks for the hard work and dedication of the
‘Connect Dinner’ organisers.
A Ride for a Life - Riding 3000km to raise awareness
Every year, Australians choose to get mobile on behalf of Lifeline by organising a
unique event. They are often motivated by personal experience and want to show their
support by doing something unique to help raise funds or awareness for Lifeline.
One such person is Richard Jansen who is undertook a massive solo bike ride from
Melbourne to Cairns to raise awareness about depression and to help raise funds for
Lifeline. Richard, a father of three, lost a close friend to suicide and has experienced
depression himself.
The purpose for undertaking this challenging ride was to raise awareness about
depression and to break the stigma surrounding this issue.
© Lifeline
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“I’ve met some amazing people on this journey
and it’s changed my whole outlook on life,”
Richard said from Mackay, Queensland.
“I really feel like I’ve had a positive impact on
others. People who haven’t been able to find a
voice have opened up and shared their
experiences about their own battles with
depression and mental illness. Some people
have been very flattering, telling me that what
I’m doing is inspiring. In fact, it’s often the
people I meet who inspire me.”
Richard visited a number of Lifeline Centres along the way and was regularly
interviewed by local media on his journey. All funds raised were used to support
Lifeline’s suicide prevention work.
Visit www.arideforalife.com.au to find out more about Richard’s journey and gain a
unique insight by reading his journal.
Men In Uniform Photo Shoot
Our help inspires fundraising for Lifeline
Ian Horncastle lost a loved one on Christmas
Day in 2008 and he turned to Lifeline for
support. As a way of saying ‘thank you’ for our
help, Ian decided to raise awareness and funds
for Lifeline by selling merchandise from his Men
In Uniform photoshoot.
Ian is a professional photographer and works
with some of Australia’s top stylists, makeup
artists and models. The Men In Uniform project
was launched in Sydney in 2009 with live music and entertainment. Dawn O’Neil,
Lifeline Australia’s CEO, spoke at the event and representatives from Lifeline Harbour
to Hawkesbury talked to guests and gave out information about our services. The
proceeds from tickets and merchandise, such as postcards and larger prints went
towards Lifeline’s suicide prevention fund, which supports programs such as the
Lifeline Suicide Crisis Support Program.
Lifeline was supportive of Ian’s efforts to raise money
with an opportunity that also allowed him to grieve for
his loss and make it a little easier for him to move
forward in his life.
Ian has worked on a number of charity projects in the
past however; he said that this
project is the one that changed his
life forever.
© Lifeline
Lifeline Community Fundraising - Raise Funds Your Own Way – Fundraising Kit
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3.
Fundraising Event Checklist
We realise all fundraising events are different. Each event will have its own special set
of circumstances and requirements. Whilst most fundraising events do have similar
circumstances and requirements the checklist below is not meant to be definitive, nor
will each point in each category apply to all events. It’s here as a guide for you to use it
as you would any planning tool and tailor it to your needs. We hope it helps you
successfully implement your very own fundraising event from start to finish.
1.
Register
2.
Plan your event
Done
-
get some help or form a committee - attempting to run an event on
your own can be stressful!
-
set a financial goal
-
set other objectives for the event
-
create a budget
-
choose a date (be mindful of local competition or holidays)
-
choose venue/location
-
be organised
3.
Location & Venue
□
-
think about season or weather conditions
-
confirm venue
-
negotiate prices – often venues reduce their prices for charity events
-
plan food and beverage arrangements
-
plan audio visual arrangements
-
plan room set up (i.e. information about the charity, displays, photos,
music, plants etc
-
confirm agenda and set up times
-
check on housekeeping – parking, toilets, wheelchair access etc
-
confirm rules when displaying posters, photos etc
-
security and insurance
-
be careful to check venue contracts for costs, payment schedule,
minimum numbers, cancellation policies, etc.
4.
© Lifeline
□
□
Support and Promotion
□
-
be clear in communicating why you are supporting Lifeline
-
decide on key message(s)
-
source sponsorship and support – ensure sponsor is relevant to event
or list benefits to them
-
source support from businesses for giveaways or prizes
-
prepare promotional materials
Lifeline Community Fundraising - Raise Funds Your Own Way – Fundraising Kit
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-
send out invitations/e-mails or use Facebook or Twitter to encourage
support from your friends
-
post or hand out flyers around your workplace, school, local area or in
café or shopping centre notice boards
-
contact local media – know the local paper/TV/radio deadlines
-
create an online fundraising page
5.
The day of your Event
-
BE ORGANISED!
-
talk about why you are supporting Lifeline
-
bring receipt books and donor receipt template form in case people
request a receipt for their donation
-
bring extra notes/coins incase people request change from their
donation
-
collect donations – ensure you have a safe place to store donations
-
most importantly HAVE FUN!!!!
6.
© Lifeline
□
After your Event
□
-
complete your Fundraising Results Summary Page
-
send money raised (along with the donation return slip, Fundraising ID
Card, the completed Fundraising Results Summary Page and donor
receipt template) to Lifeline
-
send leftover receipt books or marketing collateral to Lifeline
-
send acknowledgement thank you letters or certificates
Lifeline Community Fundraising - Raise Funds Your Own Way – Fundraising Kit
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4.
Online Fundraising Page
Create your own personal online fundraising event page. This will allow you to set a
fundraising target, and supporters can make online donations direct to your event
page. Your online donations facility enables you to take credit card donations seven
days a week, 24 hours a day. Along with collecting donations via the internet, it will also
be possible for you to keep donors up to date with your progress and enable you to
post photos or blogs.
Become an Everyday Hero
Create your own fundraising Hero page for Lifeline at
www.everydayhero.com.au
Register to raise money as part of your own event, or for
participating in a public event like the Sydney City 2 Surf fun
run. Your friends and supporters can donate to Lifeline
through your own Everyday Hero page, whilst also posting you
messages of support. You can also keep track of your funds raised through your web
page. This is a wonderful and interactive process. Become a hero, register your web
page and choose Lifeline today!
5.
How Lifeline can help you
To support your event, the Lifeline National Fundraising team can:
-
answer any queries you have regarding your event and offer advice and
encouragement;
-
under some circumstances and if time allows, may be able to offer a staff
member to appear at an event or at a cheque presentation;
-
provide a Lifeline banner or marketing collateral for use at your event (subject to
availability);
-
provide a letter of support to validate the authenticity of your event or project
and it’s organisers;
-
provide the following templates to assist you in making your event a success:
o
Fundraising Results Summary Page
o
Donor receipt template
o
Donor or Supporter thank you letter template
o
Certificate of Appreciation template
A copy of each of the above mentioned templates are available on the Lifeline website
www.lifeline.org.au in the Community Fundraising Kit section.
These templates are a guide only. You are welcome to use them as they are currently
set up, or you can tailor the content to suit your own needs. We do however ask that
the Lifeline logo remains untouched and unaltered, and is only used for approved
purposes (for further information surrounding the use of the Lifeline name and logo
please refer to page 5 of the Essential Information document under Lifeline Fundraising
Guidelines).
To support your event, the Lifeline National Fundraising team cannot:
-
release donor, volunteer, employee or other mailing lists for the purpose of
additional solicitation of funds from outside groups;
-
allow Lifeline staff to solicit monetary or in-kind sponsors or donors on your
events behalf;
-
offer funding for an event or reimburse event organisers for expenses incurred
to put on an event;
-
guarantee promotion of your event or fundraiser in Lifeline publications, on our
website or by other in house Lifeline electronic means;
-
be responsible for selling tickets to your event; and
-
guarantee Lifeline staff attendance at your event.
© Lifeline
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6.
Sending funds to Lifeline
Once your event is over and you have paid all your expenses and collected donations
you will need to send the money to Lifeline. You can do this in four ways:
Deposit at your local branch:
Simply take your proceeds to your bank branch. Fill out a branch deposit slip with the
following details:
Account Name:
Account No:
BSB:
Institution:
Lifeline Gift Fund
483311793
112-908
St. George
Be sure to keep your deposit receipt, attach it to your donation return slip and then post
it to:
Lifeline Australia
National Fundraising Team
PO Box 173
Deakin West, ACT, 2600
Electronic transfer direct to Lifeline:
Simply transfer the funds (using your Community Fundraising event name as the
reference name) to:
Account Name:
Account No:
BSB:
Institution:
Lifeline Gift Fund
483311793
112-908
St. George
After you have transferred funds across to our bank account, please send your
donation return slip to Lifeline so as to allow us to confirm your deposit transfer date,
the reference name of the deposit and the amount deposited with our records.
Donation via cheque/cash or money order:
Please ensure your cheques or money orders are made payable to Lifeline, attach
them to your donation return slip and send them directly to:
Lifeline Australia
National Fundraising Team
PO Box 173
Deakin West, ACT, 2600
Online donations:
For all online credit card donations, please visit www.lifeline.org.au
Please also ensure you complete and return the Fundraiser Results Summary page
and also the donor receipt template if any donors have requested a receipt (donations
of over $2.00 or more are tax-deductible). If you have leftover receipt books or any left
over marketing collateral please send this back to Lifeline at the same time.
Lifeline will send you a letter to acknowledge the funds were received. Donors will also
receive a letter of acknowledgement along with a tax-deductible receipt.
Thanks for your valuable support!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Donation Return Slip
Community Fundraising Event ID:
<<LCF001>>
Contact:
<<First Name>><<Surname>>
There are a number of ways to send your event proceeds to Lifeline:
Staple any
paperwork here
and post to
Lifeline
Australia
1. Deposit at your local bank:
2. Deposit via EFT funds transfer:
Simply take your proceeds to your bank
branch. Fill out a branch deposit slip with
the following details:
Simply transfer your proceeds via EFT
(Internet banking).
Account Name:
Lifeline Gift Fund
Account Name:
Lifeline Gift Fund
Account No:
483311793
Account No:
483311793
BSB:
112-908
BSB:
112-908
Institution:
St. George
Institution:
St. George
Reference name: Event ID <<LCF001>>
Reference name: Event ID <<LCF001>>
Be sure to keep your deposit receipt (to
attach to this Donation Return Slip so we
can acknowledge your donation)
You can also print a record of the
transaction and attach to this Donation
Return Slip to help us acknowledge your
donation
3. Deposit via Credit Card Payment:
4. Donation via Cheque or Money Order:
Visit www.lifeline.org.au and click on the
Donate button on the homepage
You can post a cheque or money order
made out to Lifeline and attach that to this
Donation Return Slip and send to:
Please include your Community
Fundraising Event ID: <<LCF001>> in the
‘comments’ section so we can
acknowledge your donation.
Lifeline Australia
National Fundraising Team
PO Box 173
Deakin West, ACT, 2600
© Lifeline
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7.
Other ways you can be involved with Lifeline
Lifeline relies on community support to help fund vital services. You can support
Lifeline by:
 Making a personal donation
 Leaving a bequest to Lifeline in your Will
 Volunteering your services by becoming a telephone volunteer
 Working in a retail store
Lifeline also welcomes contact from corporate organisations interested in partnering
with Lifeline.
Our dedicated volunteers, donors and supporters form a valued part of the Lifeline
community and continue to connect those in need with care.
To learn more about others way in which you can be involved with Lifeline, telephone
the National Fundraising Team on 1800 800 768 or please e-mail at the National
Fundraising Team at [email protected]
© Lifeline
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