Raising funds via a coffee morning - an idiots guide

This is not a standard blog post....it's exactly as advertised so you don't need to read this unless you've come here specially to find out how to organise a coffee morning. Or you're bored and just want to read something. Either way.... Welcome.

I was requested to write this guide by Natalia Spencer whom I, along with my lovely friends, held a coffee morning for a few weeks ago.
We raised £1925 for The Grand Appeal.

Step my step guide for idiots like me on how to raise money via a coffee morning. 

1. Book a large hall. 

Think facilities for hot drinks, plenty of seating and tables, buggy room, room for children's activities and stalls. Say it's for charity and you may get it free or for a reduced price. 2-3 hours for event and an hour to set up and an hour to clean up.

2. Rope in friends and family. This is so much easier as a team. Delegate roles and play to people's strengths. The more the merrier. We defo had jobs for everyone and you also need people floating about to say hello to people and move floats about etc.

3. Blag raffle prizes! Local businesses are usually happy to donate something. If they need a bit of a nudge offer free advertising for them via a shout out on social media. 

4. Advertise on all local Facebook sites for face painters, balloon modellers, messy play, disco babies, book people, cup cake decorators. All these people will usually do sessions for free and they can give out leaflets about their businesses. If you can't get face painters then rope in an artistic friend and buy some 'snazaroo' paints off of Amazon. Get them to have a practice before the event. If they are good you can charge £2 a face or get some stencils and do for £1-£1.50. Same with balloon modellers. You can rope someone in to knock together a dog etc. Advertise the event immediately and you can update it with what's happening as soon as you know. Put posters up around the town and contact the local press for a free article. Get on the radio. 

5. Sell the raffle tickets as soon as you rope in the first prizes. Keep updating the list of prizes on Facebook before the event and inform people who they can buy them off and that they can also buy them on the day. Everyone who is organising can be given a some to sell. Make sure people write their name and number on the back if they aren't present for the draw. We sold ours for £1 a ticket.

6. Get baking!!!!!! Get as many cakes in as us possibly can. Sell them for £1 a slice at least or 2 small ones for £1. 

7. Charge adults to get in but kids free. Suggest and entry fee of at least £1.

8. Have buckets dotted all over the hall for donations. 

9. Stalls. We arranged a tombola, guess the sweets jar, colouring competition and lucky dip that we ran ourselves and we had local businesses come in for free and do cupcake making (all decorating items donated by Sainsburys), disco babies, messy play, a spinning businesses brought bikes in for the kids to zoom about on, we had Elsa and Anna from frozen come in for free from a local mascot business. We sold teas, coffees and drinks with straws (no cups needed) and we drew the raffle at the very end of the event. 

By having so much for the kids to do, it kept the adults there and they bought more teas, coffee and cakes. 

At the end of the event if you are left with anything you can ask people to take what they want and drop a donation in the bucket. That way you aren't left with anything and you can collect more money. 

10. Have thank you letters to send out to all business's that have helped and donated.

11. You'll need to buy teas, coffees, plastic cups if the venue don't provide them, plastic bags for rubbish, buckets for money. You'll need to arrange a float for each stand. Delegate a person for each table and they can make posters and decorate their own tables. Ask everyone to bring a cake stand with their cakes to present them nicely. We just gave ours out on napkins and it's good to have sandwich bags for people to take cakes home.