Organising your own event

Organising your own fundraising event for Refuge can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. It could be anything from a coffee morning to a netball tournament, to a sponsored cycle ride or slim. Whatever you decide, your fundraising will help thousands of women experiencing abuse. And we're here to support you however we can.

If you're organizing an event, think of something you enjoy doing and find a way to raise funds from it.

If you're organizing a sponsored activity, remember that the bigger the challenge, the more you are likely to raise!

Here are some quick tips to get you started:

• Plan well in advance
• Recruit family or friends to help you out
• Contact everyone you know and ask them to contact everyone they know
• Be creative - something quirky will catch the attention and interest of the general public & maybe the most effective way of encouraging people to sponsor you or to get coverage of an event
• Ask your employer if they'll match what you raise
• Contact your local paper - contact us for help with this
• Convey your enthusiasm for the cause
• Explain how your event will help women experiencing domestic violence
• Download our A-Z of fundraising below orcontact us with your name and address for a comprehensive Refuge fundraising pack:

Download A-Z Fundraising Ideas

Organsing a sponsored event?

Contact us with your name, address and event for your Refuge sponsor forms and fundraising pack

Set up a free online sponsorship page through Justgiving and get all your friends to donate using a credit or debit card. All you have to do is email the link to everyone you know and it saves the hassle of collecting the money yourself!

Gift Aid It! Ask UK taxpayers to tick the Gift Aid box so we can reclaim an extra 28p in every £1 at no cost to you, the donor or us. Please ask for full names and home addresses as without these, we can't make the claim.

Refuge's fundraising team is here to help - call 0207 395 7724 or email fundraising@refuge.org.uk

Don't forget to send us a photo.........

Supporter's own events

Gideon gets the chop

Gideon Adey, 38, from Pinner, lost his last remnant of 80s cool when he did away with his much-loved ponytail to raise money for Refuge.

The big chop took place on Wednesday 14 March and saw Gideon, a Group Account Director at media agency Kinetic, raise over £8,500 for Refuge.

Deciding to do away with his treasured tresses was not entirely Gideon's idea. His boss had originally joked to a client that he was going to do it for charity, but unfortunately for Gideon it had not been forgotten, when one of his colleagues decided to announce it to the whole company.

Realising there was no escape, Gideon chose to go for the chop and raise the money for Refuge - a charity close to his wife Kath's heart. Kath is currently studying law and intends to become an advocate solicitor for people experiencing domestic violence. Reluctant to see her husband's ponytail disappear, Kath is happy knowing the money raised will help to save the lives of women and children escaping domestic violence.

If you'd like to sponsor Gideon, visit his webpage at www.justgiving.com/chopthepony.

The Dreaded Moment

We would like to say a huge thank you to Refuge supporter Lizzie Curren who after over 4 years of growing her impressive dreadlocks made the very brave decision to cut them all off in order to raise vital funds for Refuge’s services. If you would like to contribute towards Lizzie’s fantastic fundraising, please visit www.justgiving.com/LizzieCurren to donate online.