Residents' Association fundraising
Money is needed by most Residents' Associations. Printing papers for meeting, leaflets and hiring meeting rooms all have to be paid for.
The main ways of raising money are through fundraising and grants.
A well run organisation with a constitution is well placed to apply for grants. These can be for activities and events that benefit local people.
The York Council for Voluntary Service website grants and funds finder is useful to help find appropriate funding streams. You'll need to complete the application and send any information asked for with it.
Make sure to keep records of how you spend the funding to include in your report.
Fundraising events can be hard work but there are many advantages. It is a good way of letting people know what you are doing and brings the community together.
There are many fundraising events and activities, such as:
- coffee mornings
- raffles
- car boot or jumble sales
- seasonal celebrations and fairs
- community barbeques
Before deciding on your event think about:
- the reason you need funding
- the venue
- promoting your event
When you have thought about these the tasks that need to be done will be clear.
Remember to think about Health and Safety. You may need to complete a risk assessment. These help you to focus on any areas which might cause hazards.
See more information on the Health and Safety Executive website.
Write everything that needs doing in a plan. Include a timeframe because some of them will need doing immediately, some nearer the event and some will need to be done on the day. Make a note of who will be doing the tasks.
In a meeting after the event, talk about what was good and what areas you might need to improve.
Don’t forget to let the community know if the event was a success and how much money was raised. This will be a good topic for a newsletter.