So, you’ve decided what you’re doing, the planning’s underway, now to make some noise about it. The more people that join in with or support your fundraising, the more fun you’ll have and the more life-changing cash you’ll raise.

Each method of communication in this guide is designed to reach a different group of people, so we recommend going all-out, using:

l Customisable posters to reach people nearby

l A social media guide to reach friends and family

l A press release template to reach your local community

Of course, precisely when you decide to do all this will depend on your plans, but we recommend starting at least a few weeks in advance.

GUIDE

promote your

poster power

Drum up some excitement about your fundraising event or activity by using our customisable event posters. You can download them at rednoseday.com/posters

For even more tools, tips and resources, get your free Fundraising Kit at rednoseday.com/kit

Whether you’re asking for sponsorship or inviting people to buy tickets to an event, social media is perhaps the best way to raise awareness about your fundraising. Here are some ways to make the most of it:

Giving PageIf you have a Red Nose Day Giving Page, use the social media sharing buttons to encourage people to sponsor you or join in. You can also encourage them to share it with their friends too!

FacebookCreate a Facebook Event and invite all your friends to attend. In the Facebook Event description, make sure you include all the key information (start time, location, date and how to support).

HashtagCreate a hashtag for your event to use when tweeting and encourage attendees to use it too. You could also hashtag #RND15 and tag @Comic Relief: Red Nose Day on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to tell us what you’re up to.

VideoCreate a short, punchy/funny video to promote what you’re doing, and maybe even regular videos to update people in the run-up to your fundraising. Upload these to Youtube and Instagram (for 15-second videos), Vine (for six-second videos) or other video channels of your choice.

Tag friendsTag friends who’ve recently sponsored you to say thank you – it’ll appear on their Facebook wall and make them feel appreciated. It might even prompt people you might not expect to support you. You could even convert the amount they donated into something tangible that it could fund: ‘Thank you to Joe Bloggs for sponsoring me £10. That’s enough to enable a young person, living with a disability in the UK, to take part in a sports activity of their choice.’ For more examples, download our Where Your Money Goes guide.

LogoChange your profile picture to reflect your fundraising or use the ‘Fundraising for Red Nose Day’ logo. Make sure you read the guidelines that are provided when you download the logo.

social media

The following is a guide to creating your own press release. You can also download our editable Word template at rednoseday.com/pressrelease. Simply fill in your own details and information about your fundraising and send it on to your chosen media.

We recommend you complete the template with all the relevant information and send it out to your local media (local radio stations, TV programmes and newspapers) via email the day before you’d like the story to hit the news. Remember to check that the paper/radio station covers your area; you’re more likely to be successful if you target your local media.

It might be helpful to look on newspapersoc.org.uk which is a comprehensive list of local publications and how to contact them.

Sometimes it may be worth calling them to see whether they’re keen to cover the story. It’s also worth sending in pictures, video links or broadcast clips, if you have them. An eye-catching/quirky/fun photo of the event increases the chance that it’ll get published.

press release

RND15/073 Comic Relief, registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland). Photo credits: Jon Cottam, Jack Lawson.

Good luck and here’s to your fundraising being big news.