Some of these tips will be relevant to your event, others not. You may also have some different ideas!
Date: Decide on the date (try to avoid clashing with other events, including football matches on TV)
Venue: Decide on the venue/location. Try to make it as easy as possible for people to attend/support you, so a central location is useful, but if you have a particular connection to a venue/location and you have support from the venue owner/manager, that can be just as important.
Garda Permit: If you are collecting in public places, including going house-to-house, you must have a Garda Permit. Call in to your local Garda station and fill out the application form. They will issue the permit within a couple of week.
Fundraising – Sponsorship Cards: Many people use sponsorship cards for fundraising. Just let us know how many cards you would like and we will provide them.
Promotion – Posters: Try to keep your costs down by producing your own posters on your computer, or see if you know anyone in a printing company who might sponsor your posters or give you a reduced rate. The MS North West Therapy Centre Logo should be included on your poster. – just let us know.
Promotion – Publicity: If you know anyone who works in your local newspaper, ask them to help you place your story. The important thing is to make a story – why is it interesting? Think of an ‘angle’. Remember the paper receives lots of information about fundraisers, so if you can think of a way that it might capture the reader’s imagination, you’re on to a winner.
A picture is worth a thousand words – it it’s a good picture! Try to think of an interesting angle/idea for your photo, for example, if you’re doing a run, include something about the location/destination in the photo. The most important thing, however, is that the photo is clear and of a high resolution. Aim for a photo of 1 mb in size for newspaper production. Lower resolution photos are fine for Facebook/websites, but they will not reproduce clearly in print.
Local Notes: The local notes in your local paper are a good way to communicate your message. Make use of your local connection.
Deadlines: Remember, the earlier you send your story to the paper, the better your chances of it being published. For example, The Sligo Champion comes out on a Tuesday, so send in your info by email that day for the following week’s paper and phone them to make sure they got it.
Parish Newsletter: Depending on where you are, some people find the local parish newsletter can be a good way to publicise events. Send in your info on a Monday for the following Sunday.
Radio: The Community Diary on Ocean FM is very useful. Email a short piece (approx. 60 words) to studio@oceanfm.ie For Shannonside, email info@shannonside.ie
Online: We will publicise your event on our website and Facebook page.
Contact: MS North West Therapy Centre, Ballytivnan, Sligo. Tel: 071 9144748
Please donate to MS North West Therapy Centre Sligo, and support us in our efforts
