The myth about fundraising!

The myth about fundraising!

Charities and good causes rely on fundraising, especially today when grants that were available are no longer there and what is available is being sought after by a much bigger audience!

So what’s this myth? What’s it all about?

You’ve decided to fund-raise for a cause you care about. The obvious choice is a raffle! Most people will go out and collect prizes ranging from big items to smaller items. They’ll advertise the prizes they have, sell tickets on the day or if they have a licence sell them over a longer period. People will win and the money raised will be counted. The announcement will be money raised for charity. All this is great, so what’s the myth?

Whenever you fund-raise especially with raffles, auctions, etc you should always consider the value of the donations you have. We think that because something has been given at no cost that it has no value. Why? Have we become an easy come easy go society? Of course we thank the person/business/organisation donating because that’s the right thing to do. However, if we place no value on their donation, then we’re not valuing their contribution!

So if someone gives you a voucher for a meal for two worth £25 the value is £25. If you get a holiday worth £400 the value is £400 and so on.

An example, Mrs Smith and her friends want to raise money for a local children’s charity and as part of their efforts they hold a raffle. The prizes donated add up to a value of £1500. After their event they find the raffle has raised £500. Has it raised £500 or has it lost £1000? An accountant would tell you the latter is true! Of course the good cause has an extra £500 it wouldn’t have had without their efforts but how much more could be done if Mrs Smith and her friends had broken even with their fundraising, i.e. raised £1500? If they had placed a value on their donations they could have!

The myth about fundraising is a lack of understanding and a lack of placing a value on the donations given.

Could your raffle or game of chance be breaking the law?

Could your raffle or game of chance be breaking the law?

Many of us want to raise money for a good cause or charity. As human beings we want to help others. What seems like the easiest way is holding a raffle, choosing a square or other game of chance. We will often see these advertised on social media or friends will tell us. Do you know the laws surrounding this?

The law is simple. The only way you can lawfully do this kind of fundraising is by doing it in the following ways:

1. An incidental lottery – these must be held at an event (either commercial or noncommercial).Participants buy tickets or pay to take part on the day of the event examples include; a charity dinner, exhibition, festival, fete.

2. Private lottery – there are three types:
(a) Private society lottery where only members of the society or club and those on the society premises can take part.
(b) Work lottery – where only people who work together on the same premises can take part.
(c) Residents’ lottery – where only people who live at the same premises can take part.

Anything else that does not fit in with the two points above where chance plays a part in what you win will mean you getting a Gambling Licence from the Gambling Commission or from the Local Authority.

Going outside the law doesn’t just mean breaking the law but it can leave the person doing the raffle open to others making unfounded accusations.

Of course we all want to raise vital money for a cause but let’s do it within the law! If in doubt check with your Local Authority.

Could your raffle or game of chance be breaking the law?

Puppies! You have no idea!

Puppies! You have no idea!

We all see puppies out there and think how cute they are. Indeed we’re right they are cute. Some of us take on one pup and those of us who have know it’s hard work at times. However, having a litter of pups is on another level and unless you’ve been there, you have no clue!

Nineteen weeks ago the journey of having a litter of pups began with Lady Bass having a mini break at Rodney’s! Once we knew pups were on the way the air was full of excitement. A scan six weeks in, showed that Lady Bass was full of pups! Shihtzu litters are normally between three and five, so we reckoned on five at most but possibly six. By the end poor Lady Bass could hardly walk and her tummy was centimetres from the floor!

Saturday 15th July 2017 will be a day none of us could forget. A day of excitement, happiness but saddness too. As the pups came thick and fast at first their was sheer joy. One, two, three, four! How easy was this we thought! Lady Bass was brilliant she knew what to do and just got on with it!

Pup five arrived, no bag, fetal distress and unresponsive. It was time for the humans to step in, vet on the mobile giving instructions to guide. A loud “Jonny Five is alive” the pup was breathing! Now to see if Mum would accept it. Sure enough Lady Bass was happy to have her baby. Jonny Five is her name, she was initially sexed as a boy but she’s a girl! Having a boy’s name somehow suits her!

Puppy six came and we instantly knew something was very wrong. The bag was so thick it couldn’t be broken, so again the humans stepped in. This time there was to be no surviving pup. Angel pup was never going to be! A severe birth deformity had taken our beautiful pup. We were gutted, Lady Bass looked at us, wishing the pup to wake up. Angel will always be with us because its buried in Dad’s garden.

After more hours pup seven arrived! We were shocked! Seven pups is a huge litter for such a small dog. We all thought that was it! There couldn’t possibly be any more pups! We waited and waited, no more pups arrived for many more hours. That’s it, we’re done! There we were sitting having a cuppa, talking about the day and then suddenly another pup arrived. This time we were faced with fetal distress and half a puppy delivered. The humans again had to step in, deliver the pup and revive it! Lucky Number Eight is our girl and to see her today you’d never know!

Over the last ten weeks we’ve watched them grow, given them love, prepared their food, cleaned up lots of poo ……….. well more than lots!! We’ve played with them and we’ve seen how much each of them is developing their own character. There’s been pup updates on Facebook, lots of phone calls and video chats and all about the pups.

After all the hard work (and it has been hard work), its time for them to leave. Its been much harder than we ever could have imagined! As each pup leaves, we feel sad and blessed because although they’re leaving us behind, each of them has a home where we know they will always be loved. They are lucky puppies each and every one.

Would we do it again? I’m not sure our nerves could stand it! But we’ll never forget this incredible experience and we’ll always love those seven little ones we once took care of at the start of their life journey.

The joy, the sadness, the journey and the roller-coaster.

Puppies! You have no idea!

If you don’t plan properly you are planning to fail!!!

If you don’t plan properly you are planning to fail!

Even worse is, if those who should be supporting you don’t and ignore to plan or ignore the plan you’ve put in place!

The lessons I’ve learned myself and through observing others within the business world is, those who work hard and plan, seem to succeed in what they do. Those who support those who plan, succeed too!

Promoting your business and getting it recognised is about more than putting up social media posts! Its about planning! Planning a strategy, designing your own business road map that will get you from A to B with realistic targets and tangible outcomes!

In your plan will be your brand and strategies about web presence – including social media, on the ground presence, marketing and PR – including press, TV, etc, income, and networking and of course who can I work with!

All these individual strategies will converge into your plan, the bigger picture! Without all this you might have a business that trades for a short while or even for longer but think how much more successful you’d have been with a plan? Every plan needs a risk assessment, a plan B or even plans C & D if things potentially don’t go the way you’d originally planned. It sets out how likely the risk is and says what you plan to do about it!

So the plan is the most important part of your business success and should be the thing you take the most time to work on.

I’ve seen so many great people get a good business idea, rush into their business thinking they know it all and are soon left realising that things are not going the way they wanted so they give up and try something else, they repeat the process and then give up and move on! Years down the line they are left wondering why others have had the success they’ve not! Its simple, those who are successful, planned and in doing so achieved their goal.

For myself I’m looking at options and am busy creating personal plans. I’m not sure where the road will take me but one things for sure, I’m going to make sure that I plan!

Remember, if you don’t plan properly you are planning to fail!

Finding love when you’re over 50 it’s a different kettle of fish!

Finding love when you’re over 50 it’s a different kettle of fish!

When you’re young you go out, you embrace and enjoy life. You find someone you fancy or even lust over, you’re not afraid to take a chance and even if you’re knocked back you bounce back up and carry on with life. When you’re young you are fearless! Okay so each persons sense of fearlessness will differ because we’re not all the same but I’m sure that each of us looks back knowing that things we would do or attempt to do when we were younger, seem alien to us now!

What happens to us in the intervening years? As we get older our zest for life and fearlessness seems to diminish? Has life really been that cruel to us? Is it because we’ve felt the pain that relationship break ups cause? Do we think rejection is failure? Do we suddenly become more self-consciousness about the way we look or what others think of us?

For me its kind of a bit of all of the above in a way! I’ve been on my own now for almost twenty years! “Get back into the driving seat” people say and all the while I’m thinking, driving seat? “I wasn’t good the first time round in the driving seat and in the last 20 years I’ve lost the manual!” I find myself in need of a set of instructions! In some ways climbing Mount Snowden would seem an easier challenge right now and it was bloody hard the first time and that was over thirty years ago!

Being over 50 seems to be no longer about finding someone you fancy and if you do you probably have even more to worry about because how the hell do you start by letting a complete stranger know that you fancy them? I currently have this dilemma and I have no idea where to start? If I use the same approach I would have used in my twenties he might think of me as some nut and steer clear!

My Nan used to say that looks aren’t everything as long as you get butterflies when you see someone, that you have laughter and some of the same interests, enough to be compatible but others that are different because it gives you things to talk about. She was a wise woman and I miss not having her here to talk to.

My children encourage me to find someone, my family and close friends are behind me supporting me as they always are but it’s a fact that finding love when you’re over 50 it’s a different kettle of fish!

Good luck in your quest to find love! There are people who successfully find love when they’re over 50 so I know it’s not an impossible dream and I remain hopeful!

What kind of society are we becoming? Which Scrooge are you?

What kind of society are we becoming? Which Scrooge are you?

Through my work I’m helping and supporting so many people each facing challenges that the rest of us could never imagine. There are those having their benefits reduced because of a DWP mistakes years ago (sometimes more than four years ago). Should anyone be without money because of a mistake beyond their control?

There are those without any money for up to twenty six weeks, those with disabilities that have never been recognised trying to navigate the road that is life made even more difficult because of their disability.
The homeless ex-serviceman, discharged on medical grounds, the parents of a child with a learning disability that no one seems to be listening to! The list goes on and on!

Should anyone today have to live like this today? Have we really learnt nothing? The truth is as a society we’re spoon fed the media version of life and like fools this is what people believe. The reality is lost! Are we immune to really caring? What kind of society are we becoming? Do we only care when we can be publicly seen to care? What’s happened to our sense of being responsibility for one another?

“Look after our own first,” is the cry I often hear! Who do the people saying this think should be doing this? Are they in fact doing it themselves or are these words for others to do it instead? The truth is we should all look out for one another!

“Charity begins at home!” Is this a justification of not to give or do we mean we should look after our neighbours and fellow citizens because they are the nearest?

Through my charity work I’ve out a number of public appeals, which for the most part have been successful however, they’ve also been seen by some as an opportunity to offload junk rather than really help! It’s the reality! For every person publicly helped, there’s ten who aren’t!

This weekend I’ve read about a charity that’s closing due to lack of support and the business support dwindling. We live in difficult times but kindness costs nothing, having a heart costs nothing. We can give our money but we can also give our time too!

One of my favourite Christmas stories is A Christmas Carol where the main character Scrooge changes the person he is in time for Christmas. Do we resemble Scrooge before the change? Are we just self, self, self?

In the words of ‘Scrooge’ in the modern film ‘Scrooged'(based on ‘A Christmas Carol’):

“Christmas Eve is the one night of the year where we act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the year we are the people that we always hoped we’d be. It’s a miracle …..”

“You have to do something, you have to take a chance, you do have to get involved. There are people having trouble making their miracle happen. There are people who don’t have enough to eat, there are people who are cold. You could go out and say hello to these people, you could take them a blanket, make them a sandwich and say oh by the way, here.”

“I get it now and if you give then it can happen, then the miracle can happen to you. It’s not just the poor and hungry its everybody, who’s got to have this miracle and it can happen tonight for all of you, if you believe, then this miracle will happen and you’ll want it to happen everyday ………”

“You’ve just got to want that feeling and if you like it and you want it, you’ll get greedy for it and you’ll want it every day for the rest of your life ….”

What kind of society are we becoming? Which Scrooge are you? Only you the reader can answer this question and only you are responsible for the choices and decisions you make! Christmas is around the corner, use this time to start afresh; be the Scrooge who found a heart and the true meaning of Christmas.

https://www.gofundme.com/healsxmaswinappeal

http://www.healsmalmesbury.com

Can anyone really be isolated? It’s the 21st Century!

Can anyone really be isolated? It’s the 21st Century! According to the dictionary to be isolated is to be: far away from places, buildings or people or minimal contact.

The simple answer is yes! Think of the people you passed on the street, those you stood behind in a queue at the shops, banks or at the bus stop, you’ll probably find at least one feels isolated. It could be the older lady or man living alone, the single parent, those who’ve suffered a crime or Domestic Violence, the families at work struggling to make ends meet or just cover the cost of things, the people who’ve lost a loved one and who are struggling with their grief, those who care for loved ones, those in poverty, those who have no place to call their own, those with disabilities or Autism or who are vulnerable and the servicemen and women who feel lost having left the services due to ill health or having suffered injury serving our country.

These are the people we meet on the street everyday. These are the people we walk past every day, the people we don’t notice, thus reinforcing their feelings of isolation or even worse these are the people who we allow to be bullied, intimidated or treated badly because after all ‘its not our problem’ its their life!

What you probably don’t realise or may have never thought about is one day without warning you could be isolated just like them. Its easy to get a warm fuzzy feeling about putting a tin, packet of pasta or box of breakfast cereal or bottle in a basket. And its easy to feel good that you’ve put your loose change in a charity box. Of course both of these go a long way to help people and because of they do, we should continue to do them because every small thing we do today will help someone tomorrow.

Christmas is fast approaching its the season of goodwill to all. For many it will be a season of happiness, presents, time shared with loved ones, great expense and over indulgence. For others it is yet another reminder of what they don’t have and why they feel isolated.

When you live in a rural community where the cost of living is higher, where public transport does not run regularly, the feeling of isolation is worse! There are reminders of things you want to be involved in but are isolated from. I see this every day and whilst the numbers in comparison to the population might be low, their need is great. Think about them, especially this Christmas. What would you do if you were them? Our lives can change in an instance without warning!

The reality of the modern age is, we can’t help everyone. If can do one small but extra thing this Christmas to make a significant thing you’ll have done something that will help another. If you’re not in a position to help then please support those who are helping by donating, supporting an event, visiting someone you think may be in need or volunteering.

Can anyone really be isolated? It’s the 21st Century! Yes they can but by being the difference you’ll make a difference.

https://www.gofundme.com/healsxmaswinappeal

What would Dickens say today?

What would Dickens say today?

In the last few days my youngest daughter (Alex) and I had the privilege of meeting Matthew in London. Matthew is homeless, he grew up in care, left care at 16, went to college and successfully became a plumber. Matthew felt he’d achieved something, he told us he was proud of who he’d become. He met a young lady and had a daughter. Life seemed perfect for Matthew, life couldn’t get any better! His young daughter became ill and Matthew couldn’t cope with the prospect of this and after his daughter passed away aged 6 years, his partner asked him to leave the family home. She couldn’t deal with her own grief and Matthews too so Matthew found himself homeless, on the streets with no one to support him! He lost the job he’d worked so hard to get and was proud of, he’d lost his daughter and his home! Matthew felt low. He’s contemplated giving up on life but despite everything he wants to prove he can achieve once again.

He told us that two years ago while he was still in grief he had a brief relationship with a homeless girl who had his son. She got off the streets and has a home. She didn’t want Matthew to live with her because he was still not emotionally ready and the authorities wouldn’t let Matthew move with her and so she now brings his son to visit London once a month.

Matthew is desperate for someone to give him a chance. He can’t get a job, claim benefits or register with a GP/Dentist because he has no home! He told us that he doesn’t want to claim benefits, he desperately wants to work! He wants to be someone, a someone who helps others! It struck us that despite what life had thrown at him, here he was wanting to give to others. We admired that strength and courage.

Alex and I took him to somewhere to eat as our guest. The server looked at Matthew and started to say “we don’t serve ….” I stopped her and told her that Matthew was my guest, I was spending my money and she was going to serve me or I would make a scene! I reminded her that Matthew is a person and he deserves the same respect and customer service as any other customer! Needless to say she could tell, I meant it! She continued to stare as did many others but we didn’t care.

Matthew had a drink, a burger and fries. He ate everything including the garnish salad and pickle! I’ve never seen a human devour food like he did, a starving dog but not a human being. Matthew told us very few people were kind to him, even those who give him money don’t speak to him! People walked past every day. It got me thinking about each of us in our daily lives, how many of us walk past people not ever knowing or caring what life is about for them. Have we really become a society that doesn’t care? I’d like to think not!

Matthew told us how well meaning people are giving out items like soap, toothbrushes, food etc. I learnt from him that without a place to go these items although well meaning were useless but that he could sell them for money for food.

Matthew also shared the horror stories of life on the streets. How he’s seen friends die, of the people who encourage the homeless to deal drugs for more money and a place to stay, how people abuse those who are homeless by kicking them or throwing buckets of cold water over them, to listen to Matthew was heart breaking and it was difficult to hold back the tears! He was determined that the drugs people weren’t going to ‘use him’ and to avoid them he moves around! He’d thought about getting a dog because they help keep the homeless warm, they offer companionship and because friends who had dogs were given more money from people passing. Matthew went to Battersea but they said no! Matthew shared how he’d asked local gyms if he could use their showers to wash, even offering to pay, he was turned down! You didn’t need much to realise that Matthew probably hadn’t washed in weeks even months but Alex and I didn’t care.

We gave Matthew food, our small change and most importantly we gave him our time! On these cold nights, I’ve thought about Matthew often and all those whose lives are just like him. We all live on the edge in life and in an instance any one of us could find ourselves facing adversity. Imagine what would happen if each one of us helped someone like Matthew every single day? A word of kindness, companionship, support, these things aren’t big but to someone like Matthew they mean the world.

Matthew would love to get out of London and start afresh but let’s face it, he’s never going to be able to. He’s trapped on a never ending merry go round of poverty and despair! Moved on from tourist places because heaven forbid they see the reality of our country!

Matthew is looking forward to Christmas Eve because then Church Halls and community centres across London open their doors and give the homeless, fresh clothes, bathing facilities, a piece of foam to lay their sleeping bags on, new sleeping bags and clothes if they need it and three hot meals a day. On January 2nd Matthew will be back on the streets, living an unbearable life but hoping that someone, one day will just give him a chance!

Why do I do what I do? Why did I set up HEALS of Malmesbury? To help all those like Matthew, those who struggle, those whose lives are difficult. If there were no HEALS I’d still help when I could. My mother tells me, it’s been who I am all my life!

Both Alex and I left Matthew with tears in our eyes and sadness in our hearts. No one should have to endure this hardship, not in this country in 2016! This is why HEALS exists! You can help by donating your time or money to HEALS or any other charity helping today!

What would Dickens say today? I think he’d be horrified! At least in his day there were places for the poor! These no longer exist and where they do they are over subscribed with people to help! So the next time you walk down the street, think about those you pass. We all live on the edge, in an instance we can be like Matthew, let’s hope unlike Matthew, there’s someone there to help!

http://www.healsmalmesbury.com

When death creates the action that life failed to do!

When death creates the action that life failed to do!

The death of a loved one hits us all hard. I’ve experienced this and I know how much pain it can cause. Why is it then that sometimes in certain circumstances the death of a loved one, spurs some people into action in a way they never did when the person was alive?

If you never in life visited them, helped them, offered them no comfort at their lowest times (no matter how hard it got), even deterring others from offering them help and made awful comments about them, why would you then after death suddenly rally around and be seen to want to help or even then ask others to do it for you? It makes no sense!

Surely its been better to help our loved ones in life, when they need us the most. This of course isn’t always easy. Loved ones struggling will take out their anxieties, frustrations and anger on those they love the most and that has to be the hardest thing for relatives and loved ones to endure. I’ve been there and worn the t-shirt, as have other family members. However, its at the hardest and most difficult times our loved ones need us the most. Our loved ones are ours and we should help and not be absent!

Perhaps death somehow makes people see, understand and is a reminder of what they should have done in life? Its a question that only those involved can answer and if they feel the need to make amends then that’s down to them but should they be asking others to pay for things that perhaps they themselves should and could have done?

For me its about being their for those we love while we still have them because we should love no matter what and unconditionally. Of course loving someone doesn’t mean liking their life choices, their actions or what they say because we don’t but love, real love goes beyond that.

Billy Ocean made a song called ‘When the going gets tough’ and the line says ‘the tough get going’. Well I guess in some cases that’s true and in those cases its sad. So today and everyday, show you care for friends, neighbours but especially for those we are related to, those we should love, no matter what because one day they may not be here and then it’ll be too late for them and too late to put right your actions. Once they’re gone you can’t put things right and asking others to pay for the things you should have done right will not ease your own conscience.

Its strange that in some situations death creates the action that life failed to do!

Every small action today will build a brighter tomorrow.

Every small action today will build a brighter tomorrow.

For a very long while we’ve been aware of the war in Syria and the horrors people face. We’ve seen the growing number of refugees/migrants in Calais and other places for even longer. The world stood by, perhaps we felt helpless, maybe we thought it was their problem, some might have not cared or maybe we buried our heads in the sand hoping someone else would do something. Whatever our view point, little has been done and the problem has escalated and now we are faced with an unimaginable crisis.

Recently we’ve seen scenes on social media and in the papers that have shown things we probably never thought we’d ever see. We’ve seen pictures of a small innocent child smiling with so much hope for the future and that same small child’s lifeless body with all hope gone. My heart goes out to all those who’s lives are so horrendous they are willing to risk their own safety and that of their children in the hope of a better life. We’ve heard about unscrupulous people taking money from these desperate people with the promise that they will take them to safety. These accounts are comparable to stories told by many Jewish people during the 1930’s and 40’s where families paid individuals to take them to safety too so that they could escape the horrors from the Nazis. Just like the stories emerging today, many lost their lives because the money was taken and they were abandoned. The images we’ve seen and the stories we’re hearing, mean that the world is no longer willing to stand by and let these people suffer. They’ve brought the reality home and many are doing the things they can to help.

I’ve heard people say “these people should fight back” would we given the same circumstances? We’d do what they are doing, we’d run to have a chance of living. Would we stay, fight and face certain death? Of course we wouldn’t! Man’s basic instinct is to survive. Others say we should fight but this means committing the lives of our brave service men and women.

Some say don’t help these people, instead we should focus on helping those at home. Some of those saying this won’t help those at home, they’ll use the ‘helping those at home’ argument to justify not helping at all.

For me, what’s happened cannot be changed, it can be learnt by and I hope those in governance and power across the world do learn from this. I doubt they will but hope they will.

As individuals we can all should reach out to those in need be they from home or away. Each and everyone of us must follow our heart and our conscience to do what we can in whatever way we can to help. No matter what everyone will have a ‘view’ on how to solve this crisis.

There are many selfless people going out to Calais and other places to do what they can. Who are we to judge what they are doing? I’ve heard it said that those in Calais are dressed in designer clothes with iPhones! I’ve heard first hand from those ‘processing’ refugees that the reality is those they come across are frightened, dirty, starving individuals who have scabies and lice because of the terrible prolonged conditions they’ve been living in. Perhaps those suggesting otherwise come from the school of thinking that now says the plight of the Jewish people in the second world war was made up! People say this and some believe it! Thank goodness many more know this is complete rubbish! There may be a small minority of people taking advantage of this crisis with iPhones, wearing designer clothes but the majority are people who need our compassion and kindness. Thankfully, there are people doing just that and I’m proud to say I know some of these incredible people.

Is there a definitive answer to this crisis? I’m not sure there is and I know whatever the answer is it will take a huge and combined world effort. My Nan used to say words are meaningless actions speak louder. So make your actions count by supporting those in need at home or away and if you can’t, use your actions to support those who are, in the end we can all only do what we can and give hope to some.

In the words of a Michael Jackson song written for a different plight but nevertheless relevant to this crisis,
“Heal the world, make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race, there are people dying
if you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me …”

Every small action today will build a brighter tomorrow.

http://www.alisoncross-jones.com