Where do I start?
We have some great ideas to get you started on your community fundraising journey! But before you get into full planning mode, there are a few things you should consider before choosing your fundraising activity.
Try to keep these things in mind as you’ll have a lot more fun fundraising if you do:
Who will be available to help?
Where are you holding this event?
When are you holding this event?
Do you have enough time to prepare or promote the event?
What other resources will you need?
Is there a challenge already going on that you can join in on?
If you’re ready to start fundraising and have an awesome activity already in mind, you can head straight to our registration page.
Inspiration and ideas
We have stories from amazing fundraisers who have already supported the Foundation - read how Heather challenged herself to a 24 hour walk, Wilbur went bald for the brain, and Mark swam for a cause.
If you’re are still looking for the perfect idea for your fundraising activity, why not try one of these!
Get your family and friends involved!
- Bake off – See who can bake the best cake, biscuits, pies or slice
- Sausage Sizzle – Any excuse to have a barbecue! Whatever the occasion everyone loves an ice-cold beverage and a sausage on a bun on a hot summer day
- Swear jar – Teach your kids the importance of not swearing and make a donation at the same time
Take it to work or school!
- Mufti Day – There are so many neurological days to take part in throughout the year, donate $2.00 and dress down for the day
- Celebrate Occasions – Have a favourite teacher? Maybe it’s your assistant’s birthday, whatever the occasion you can raise money in celebration of someone
- Fitness goal – Compete with workmates or classmates to walk 10,000 steps a day for a week
Get social!
- Karaoke evening – Warm up those vocal cords, and strut your best Stan Walker, Bruce Springsteen or Whitney Houston
- Get sporty – Have a netball or volleyball tournament, where the entry fee is donated and winner has bragging rights
- Speed dating – Host a speed dating night and rekindle that hope for romance
Take on a challenge!
- Head shave – Sponsored head shave anyone? Bald is beautiful after all
- Breaking the Habit – Kick a habit with an added bonus, people can sponsor you for giving up cigarettes, chewing gum, biting your nails or any bad habit you’d like to kick
Sponsored events
- Visit find a sponsored sports event like Round the Bays, or Swim the Bridge.
We want to be able to celebrate with you every step of the way, so register as a community fundraiser and we’ll be there to support you on your journey!
Activities the Neurological Foundation will not support
There’s never a bad idea, but there are a few that the Neurological Foundation will not support. We’ve provided a handy list just to make sure your fundraising campaign is on the right track from the start.
- Any event to do with boxing
- Contact boxing has been linked to traumatic brain injuries and as a Foundation thriving to fund treatments and therapies to do with neurological conditions, we cannot in good conscience support any boxing activities
- Any event or activity to do with firearms, drugs, alcohol or gambling
- Any event or activity that will bring harm to any person or animal
- Any event that will put you in immediate danger
Let’s get you raising some hope!
When you decide to fundraise for the Neurological Foundation, you’re spreading hope all across New Zealand. Hope that treatment will soon be discovered, hope that research can continue, hope that you can somehow make a difference. You are raising hope when you raise funds for the Neurological Foundation, which is why we have aptly named our community fundraising brand, ‘Raising Hope’. With this brand comes the responsibility of being a community leader with the full force of the Neurological Foundation behind you.
We have created an array of branded digital collateral for you to utilise while you prepare for your community fundraising campaign. If at any time you require any of these collateral items, please contact our community engagement team at events@neurological.org.nz or call, 0508 BRAINS (0508 272 467) ext. 3.
Digital collateral available to you on request:
- Facebook banner
- Facebook event banner
- Twitter banner
- Instagram post image
- Instagram story image
- LinkedIn banner
- Email signature
You may also request the Raising Hope logo to use on any additional collateral you may need to create like posters, sign-up sheets or donation forms. These items will need to be approved by our community engagement team.
Use of the Neurological Foundation name and logo cannot be used without permission from the Neurological Foundation. If you wish to use any branded items at your fundraising activity, please discuss this with us first to ensure they are within our branding guidelines. Please do not use variations of our name such as, the “Neurological Association” or the “Neuro Foundation”.
When naming your event, please note that the Foundation’s name is not to be used as part of the event name as this would indicate that the event is hosted by the Neurological Foundation. However, we encourage the use of our name to indicate the funds will support the organisation.
The following are some examples of acceptable name use:
- Sausage Sizzle, proudly supporting the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand
- Quiz Night, with net proceeds to the Neurological Foundation
- $2 of this month’s Mufti Day will be donated to the Neurological Foundation
Please make sure that you do not use our name in any way that would reduce respect for our brand, guarantee the quality of your fundraising, or create any confusion in the minds of the public between your fundraising campaign and the Neurological Foundation. Under no circumstances are organisers allowed to manufacture, sell or license any goods bearing the name or logo of the Neurological Foundation, otherwise known as unofficial merchandise.
If you are unsure at any time please contact our community engagement team at events@neurological.org.nz, or by calling 0508 BRAINS (0508 272 467) ext. 3.
Your fundraising campaign is over, what next?
You’ve done it! You’ve completed your fundraising campaign, congratulations! But you may be asking yourself ‘what next?’ Well, now it’s time to take all those generous donations you’ve received and send them through to us. There are multiple ways you can go about doing this and we’ve suggested a few below.
Online fundraising page
If you have created your own online fundraising page as part of an ongoing event or your own campaign, then you don’t need to do anything else. Everyone who has donated through your fundraising page has been issued a tax receipt, and we’re able to automatically collect the money when your campaign is over. If in addition you have collected cash, cheques or money transfers, and they have been made out to you, you may deposit any of those funds straight onto your page using your own credit card, and we will issue you a receipt for the amount. This is a great way to show friends and family exactly how much you raised, and the easiest and safest way for us to collect the donations.
Online bank transfer
You can transfer money directly to the Neurological Foundation through your bank to:
Account Name: The Neurological Foundation of New Zealand
Account Number: 06 0287 0133301 07
Please include your name as a reference and, if you know your supporter ID number, please also include it. Then contact us via events@neurological.org.nz with further details of the donation so we can issue you with a receipt and inform our finance department.
Cash
Do not send cash by post as there is a risk that it will not reach us - please send a cheque, call us or deliver the cash personally to our office at 66 Grafton Road in Auckland. The Neurological Foundation will then send you an acknowledgement letter to show that the funds have been received.
Tell us how it went!
We’d love to hear all about your event as your stories and photos can be very inspirational to other fundraisers - plus it is really exciting for us to see what our community is doing out there! If you do want to send in some photos, please make sure you send a signed Photo Release Form.
While we want to say a big THANK YOU to you, because without your awesome community fundraising campaign none of what we do would be possible, don’t forget to say thank you to all the people and businesses that helped you during your fundraising campaign. Showing your appreciation can go a long way, and they will probably be keen to help out with your next event.