Make sure that all your helpers/ volunteers know what each other is doing. The best way to do this is to draw up a timetable and move the volunteers from job to job every couple of hours. This way your volunteers won't get bored and will hopefully be willing to help you again in the future. For example, it's very boring standing on the entry door for six hours at a time – why not position someone there for one hour and move them on to selling raffle tickets for one hour, then on to tea/ coffee duty, etc?
Always thank your volunteers and helpers both on the day and with a follow up letter or card.
Try and enjoy the day. You've put a lot of time and effort into your event – relax. You've planned well, don't worry about things going wrong! If anything does go wrong, deal with it there and then.
What will you need on the day?
- Notification to the police
- Insurance cover
- Licences or permits (alcohol, lottery, etc.)
- Boxes, floats, receipt book, bank bags
- Calculator
- Night safe facility at bank – only for notes and cheques, collection by a security firm – talk to the bank about collection
- Spare cash for emergencies, coins for payphones
- Literature on your organisation: current leaflet, newsletter or fact sheet
- Publicity for next meeting or event
- Membership forms and cards
- Display materials, sales goods
- Name tags for committee, helpers, everyone
- All necessary phone numbers – band, entertainers, hosts, speakers, hire firms, caterers
- 'Gofer' – someone to run errands for emergencies and forgotten things
- Emergency numbers for police, fire, vet
- First aid kit, first aid service – St John's Ambulance, British Red Cross
- Name of a doctor or nurse who will be present
- Pens, tape, scissors, poster board and markers, draw pins, blu-tac, paper, elastic bands, safety pins
- Spare table cloths
- Boiled sweets (great if the speaker or others start coughing at the vital moment)
- Comfortable shoes
- Sense of humour, tact, patience and imagination and something for headaches!
The next thing you will need to be aware of is charity law ...
For further information, please contact the Community Fundraising team:
Telephone: 020 7424 1000
Email: community@diabetes.org.uk