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Royal Life Saving Society UK Fundraising Pack Your essential guide to fundraising for RLSS UK

www.rlss.org.uk/fundraise

Dear fundraiser… Thank you for beginning your journey fundraising for RLSS UK. You are now part of the RLSS UK family, working together to make a difference by fundraising with us. We have created an essential guide to fundraising filled with ways to maximise your donations whilst sharing your success along the way. From sponsorship forms, ways to donate, tips, ideas and success stories. This guide will set you up for success in your fundraising with us.

Lee Heard Charity Director

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‘When the opportunity arose to participate in another RLSS UK fundraising event, I jumped at the chance and participated in the half marathon. Raising funds for a great cause always feel rewarding especially for a charity I feel so strongly about.’ ‘We are already looking for more fundraising events to create awareness and fundraise for RLSS UK. It’s such a great feeling to be a part of these fantastic society events, I would highly recommend it!’

David and Tom - RLSS UK Fundraisers

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How your funds will make a difference Raising funds is vital to our success in reducing the amount of drowning tragedies and accidents that happen every year. Whatever you do for RLSS UK, and however much you raise, we pledge to make every penny count. It all adds up to help

Your generosity will help to

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reduce and prevent deaths caused by drowning in the UK and support our work giving as many people as possible the opportunity to enjoy water safely.

o save lives

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Ways to donate We are proud of our fundraisers and the amazing work they do in helping the nation to enjoy water safely so we want to help promote your successes! … a donation to suit everyone

You are amazing! Create a fundraising page designed to promote YOU! www.rlss.org.uk/fundraisers 6

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Making donating easy There are many ways to donate or pay in money raised to RLSS UK:

Donate by text To donate £3, text RLSSUK001 to 70331 To donate £5, text RLSSUK001 to 70970 To donate £10,text RLSSUK001 to 70191 You can also use your mobile phone to support us in our vital work.

Donate on our website www.rlss.org.uk/donate/support-our-drowning-prevention-efforts

Donate by bank transfer Name of Bank Sort code Account Number

Coutts & Co 18-00-02 03627012

The Royal Life Saving Society UK IBAN - GB94COUT18000203627012 Swift - COUTGB22

Donate by cheque Cheques made payable to RLSS UK can be sent to: Royal Life Saving Society UK Red Hill House 227 London Road Worcester WR5 2JG

Donate via JustGiving www.justgiving.com/rlssuk JustGiving is a national organisation that facilitates collection of monies raised for charities.

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Take part in one of our fantastic challenges! Do you want to do something extraordinary? We have a fantastic range of fundraising activities for you to choose from on our website, whether you want to try something new or set yourself a new personal best, give it a go and make a difference whilst fundraising too! We are here to support you with your fundraising. Once you have signed up for one of our fundraising challenges, we will send you a free fundraising pack with everything you need to get started including a branded t-shirt, sponsorship forms and our top tips for fundraising success! (Minimum fundraising targets are set for all fundraising challenges)

Sign up for a skydive We will pay for your charity skydive in return for you raising a minimum amount of £500 (excluding gift aid) for RLSS UK. By doing this, you get to jump for free!

Sign up for a marathon Whether you want to participate in a virtual race or take on an in-person run we have a marathon event for you.

Extreme Challenges

RLSS UK has teamed up with some great partners to give our fundraisers the opportunity to raise money for us whilst taking on some exciting challenges. rlss.org.uk

New You goals with RLSS UK’s Make a Splash challenge! Want to be the best version of yourself, physically and mentally? Prepare to smash your own personal goals whilst fundraising to help everyone across the UK enjoy water safely. Make a Splash is a sponsored distance challenge that you can complete in a location, timescale and manner that suits you! Whether you choose to swim, canoe, or stand up paddleboard (SUP), we will offer full support throughout your challenge and keep you motivated. Simply choose the distance to reach of 10, 25, 50 or 100km in 2022, completing the challenge your way. Why not get a friend, family member or colleague to join you in your set challenge and then post about it on their social media accounts, sharing your fundraising page with their networks. Or, you could even encourage them to join the ‘Make A Splash’ challenge themselves and set up their own fundraising page! Share your page on social media at peak days and times, which are usually Friday evenings, Saturday and Sundays, and around 9am and 8pm. People usually feel more generous and are in a better position to donate after payday so coincide your posts accordingly.

What are you waiting for? Take the plunge, sign up today! www.rlss.org.uk/take-part-in-one-of-our-challenges

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Do something extraordinary… ‘When I saw the Royal Lifesaving Society UK looking for people to take part in a charity event... I was straight in there! ‘A crazy idea + adventure + adrenaline ... all for something that I feel so strongly about - what was there to think about?’

Bethan Laker raised £1,095 taking on one of our challenges

Need some inspiration? We have some top fundraising ideas that our supporters love…

Hold a coffee morning

Sponsored water challenge

Get people together for a coffee morning asking attendees to make a donation. Why not get baking and sell a slice of cake too!

If you enjoy diving into the water for a refreshing swim, why not start a challenge and get sponsored by friends and family for every mile you swim.

Need further help? 10

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We are always here to help you organise an RLSS UK fundraising event. Email fundraising@rlss.org.uk to get in touch with our fundraising team who will be happy to help.

Pop up charity shop/ car boot

The Great RLSS UK Bake Off

Sell things no longer needed and donate the funds raised to RLSS UK.

Sell cakes whole or by slice, get people to vote for their favourite bake.

6 Share your skills Have you got a skill that you are proud of and want to share? Hold a class charging people to attend and donate to RLSS UK.

5 Kindness Jars Make jars filled with kind messages and sell.

or, why not build your own challenge… Fancy challenging yourself to do something a little out of the ordinary? Fundraise for us by doing a sponsored car wash, dance marathon, sports day, football match, golf day, the list is endless!

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@RLSSUK

Top tips for sharing your fundraising on social media Personalise your fundraising page before sharing it, for example, you could explain why you are taking on the challenge or why you think it’s important to support the work of RLSS UK. Pages which include a personal summary get 36% more donations! Kickstart your fundraising with a good first donation before you share your page. You could make your own donation or ask a close friend or family member to donate to get the ball rolling. A good first donation will encourage subsequent donors to give generously. Use images and videos when posting on social media because algorithms mean people are more likely to see these than text only. You could share graphics from

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our fundraising pack or film a video explaining the challenge you’re doing and the impact people’s donations to RLSS UK will make. Publicly thank your supporters on social media and tag them in the post. This will make them feel good and more likely to donate again in future, but also means all their friends will see your post too and might share or donate!

Tag RLSS UK in your posts on social media Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get lots of donations the first time you share your page. Research shows that the top 20% of fundraising pages are shared 12 times and the top 5% shared 20 times, so ask people you know to share your page too. Posting regular updates throughout the year about the progress of your challenge and fundraising will demonstrate your commitment and encourage people to donate. On average, people who post updates get 8% more donations! Show people the impact their donation could make and put the amount into context, for example £6 could teach someone lifesaving skills that could save

a life. Most people would happily spend £6 on a bottle of wine or a cocktail, so it’s a small sacrifice to make for a great cause. Also think beyond traditional social media platforms, e.g. you could share a link to your page in your email signature and email any friends and family who aren’t on social media to let them know about your challenge. Keep posting on social media once you’ve completed your challenge. 20% of donations come after an event has ended so make sure you post an update to say you’ve successfully completed your challenge!

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The legal bit We are here to support you. Please visit www.rlss.org.uk to read through our full rules and regulations on keeping us all safe whilst fundraising.

Collection tins

If you are placing a collection tin, please let us know where this will be situated. Providing a contact name and number will ensure we have audit records keeping donations safe.

Gift Aid

Gift Aid is an easy way to increase your donation. However, there are strict rules linking to this. Gift Aid cannot be claimed on sales on tickets, auctions or raffles. More information can be found here: www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid

Letter of authority

Having a letter of authority whist fundraising in public reassures donors that you have permission to fundraise for RLSS UK and that there money is safe to donate. Please make sure that it is clear that you are fundraising for RLSS UK. Email fundraising@rlss.org.uk to request a letter of authority from our fundraising team.

License to fundraise

Licenses are an essential requirement in many public places when fundraising. Please ensure you speak to a member of the fundraising team when fundraising in public.

Raffles and lotteries

Holding an auction or raffle is a great way of generating funds with minimal costs. There are strict laws relating to all lotteries and raffles so please be sure that you are familiar with these and operate your auction or raffle accordingly. There may be circumstances when a license may be required depending on the amount of participants and where it is held. For more information please take a look at the Fundraising Regulator’s website: https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/code/specific-fundraising-methods/lotteries-prizecompetitionsand-free-draws and gamblingcommission.gov.uk for more Information.

To ensure you are legally fundraising for RLSS UK and are fully supported, email fundraising@rlss.org.uk to speak to a fundraising team member who will support you all the way.

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We are the charity that enhances communities, so everyone can enjoy being in, on or near water safely, because every life is worth saving. Every day we give children the chance to enjoy a lifetime of fun in the water safely through:

Engagement,

Investing in

Training lifesavers

education and

local community

and lifeguards

campaigns

projects

Thank you for your incredible support. Facebook: Instagram: Twitter: TikTok:

Royal Life Saving Society UK – RLSS UK @RLSSUK @RLSSUK @RLSSUK

Website: www.rlss.org.uk Email: fundraising@rlss.org.uk The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) is a registered charity in England, Wales (1046060), and Scotland (SC037912). Registered office: RLSS UK, Red Hill House, 227 London Road, Worcester, WR5 2JG