I keep being offered the chance to Ride London for the Anthony Nolan Trust but am not sure I can raise the £600 sponsorship. I know in the the T&Cs that it says that you have to pay it out of your own funds and I guess this is to ensure that people don’t just use it as a cheap entry to the event. Anyone any idea of ways to raise it?

Do lots of overtime, sell stuff on ebay, etc and pay the £600 yourself
Organise eg a curry and quiz night so that your sponsors get something for their money
Ask your employer (some will even match what you raise)

Have you emailed Anthony Nolan?

They should be able to point you in the right direction, maybe a fundraisers pack?

Alternatively set up a Just Giving account and email details to anyone you’ve ever met (and people you haven’t) and tell them what a hard thing it is you are doing and what a great Charity it is and watch the funds come flooding in….maybe! 8)

As said above – create a Just giving page. Put the link on every email, text letter you send. Always prompt folk to donate.

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to raise money actually.

I did RL last year and raised over £400 for Christian Aid, supporting their maternal health projects in Kenya.

It seems you just need to give people the opportunity to donate and they will.

Got a turbo trainer? Set it up outside your local super market and spin, ideally with a branded bucket and whilst wearing branded clothing.
Sponsored bag pack at the local supermarket?
Bake cakes and sell them at work?
Buy and iPad or similar and raffle it?
Make stuff to sell/raffle?
Auction yourself out, if you can do DIY well or are good in the garden then all the better.

You’re supposed to raise sponsorship money? I did it last year and didn’t raise anything at all; I do charity work for Africans anyway.

I did see some charities offering places with no minimum donation amount. can’t remember who.

I rode for BLISS last year and raised about £1500, as others have said its relatively easy with a Just Giving account, particulary if you have a connection to the charitable cause. My wife is riding this year for BLISS and I’ll be cheering instead.

You’re supposed to raise sponsorship money?

you don’t have to, but like most big oversubscribed events, charities offer guaranteed places in exchange for raising a certain amount.

Thanks all – I am more than happy to raise money I am just concerned that if I don’t (I don’t have that much free time)then I will end up having to pay the difference – not that I mind giving to charity (in fact the opposite is true and why I wont to do the ride) its just that I don’t want to stitch myself up…

Thanks all – I am more than happy to raise money I am just concerned that if I don’t (I don’t have that much free time)then I will end up having to pay the difference – not that I mind giving to charity (in fact the opposite is true and why I wont to do the ride) its just that I don’t want to stitch myself up…

Which basically reads as “I want to do the event for free”…

And why shouldn’t he be able to ride it for free?

Do another event instead ? loads around its just yet another sportive

And why shouldn’t he be able to ride it for free?

because the charity is likely to have paid for a place, will probably have staff present on the day to look after their riders but, mainly, because they’ve made a moral commitment to raise the money and to ride as if they had would be wrong.

And why shouldn’t he be able to ride it for free?

He can, through a ballot place next year.

I’m riding for Mind this year, not concerned about raising the £750 minimum as its a cause I believe in and am affected by so am motivated to raise as much as possible for them.

Just doing it for a charity as a way to get a place isn’t the best place to start from when asking people for their cash!

No – I don’t want to ride it for free – I can raise some money but I am not confident I can raise it all – would a charity rather someone ride it and bring in some money or not ride it at all? I have actually given quite a bit of money to the Anthony Nolan Trust already as it is a cause I believe in which is why I wanted to ride it for them in the first place.. Fully understand why they set high amounts though…

And why shouldn’t he be able to ride it for free?

You can, just not when you’ve committed to do it though a charity.

would a charity rather someone ride it and bring in some money or not ride it at all

given demand maybe they have a reserve list of people who can reach the minimum. talk to them?

I recall many years ago (Okay 1987 to be exact) a friend phoned me on the Weds before the Ldn Marathon (sunday) and asked me if I wanted his friends place as he’d dropped out through injury. It was through SPARKS a handicapped kids charity I believe, so being a bit gung ho (stoopid!) I said yes and immediately felt inclined to raise some money which I did…about £200 at the time.

I subsequently discovered that the Chap (****) who dropped out AND my Pal had not raised a penny, which I thought was a very poor effort. I feel that if you are taking a place, you should do your best to raise the money….they need it!

Two interesting articles here

http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/charities-start-tough-london-marathon-runners-fail-deliver-sponsorship-money/fundraising/article/991700http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-networ…

http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2014/apr/11/how-small-charities-miss-out-on-marathon-fundraising

You need to remember that the Charity has bought the place – not sure what they cost for this event, but I think Charity places for the London marathon are in the region of £200+
Therefore they need a decent return on their investment, as they’ll spend a bit more than just the cost of the entry in admin/mailshots/supporting you prior to/during the event.
The £600 is not unreasonable, as many London Marathon Charity places want well over £1k.

I’d suggest you set up a ‘just giving’ page, and punt it around work/facebook.. the money will come in..