Figure out how much you can spend and stick to it. Then choose the most important pieces in your budget, for you it may be the mascot hero that visits, or the cake and the balloons, for others it may be the banners and plates - prioritise those pieces.
Mascot Hire
Mascot hire makes a great option for a cost effective party! You can offer photos and meet and greets plus you can include the mascot in the party! It helps to pull the whole theme of your party together and make sure that your event is completely unforgettable
DIY Cake
Cakes these days can cost up to £70 for a kids party, sometimes more. Buy a plain cake from a high street shop or Costco and then decorate it with your kids own toys!! If you are having a LEGO theme, then use mini-figures to create a theme on top of the cake! Remove them before cutting teh cake and voila, cake on a budget
Plan ahead and save up
Get an old box and keep all of your purchases for your next party safe. If you start planning the year before, you can often pick up party goods in sales and on discounted isles - remember Halloween, stuff is often just orange or black, and Xmas, plates and table covers are often just red or green - so choose pattern free items and build these into your theme and buy all year round.
Shop around for Supplies
Check out Facebook and Ebay for left over stock from other people. Very often people order too much and have spare party goods and sell them off cheaply. Remember to check out high street stores too - remember your local store may sell themed plates and often can discount them if they fail to sell as many people now buy online- so keep your eyes peeled
Pick A Theme AND a pallet of colours
Heavily characterised party goods can be expensive, so buy 1 or 2 key pieces which are branded, perhaps balloons or napkins, then buy the rest in the colour theme that matches the characters - this is cheaper and more transferable to over events you may be able to use them for.
Send E-Vites
Save on postage, create a free evite (google there are lots out there) to create your invites and keep a tally of your acceptance replies - this helps you to ensure you do not waste money by over catering too!
DIY
Make make make - visit our Pinterest page for loads of ideas oh how to make your own DIY party goods and games to entertain your guests on a budget - it doesn't have to be very fancy, it can be a case of just printing images and sticking them up, to creating home made photo booths !
Give your guests jobs to help!
Why not ask your guests to pitch in - everyone loves to be helpful - bring a bottle of pop or a bag of snacks or even a secret Santa style present - under £3 rather than a present - you can hand this out the the children as they leave - this means you save on making the party bags all together - the options are endless
Party Bags
This varies a lot from party to party - the cheapest way is to dodge them all together (see above) or also acceptable is to hand them a small bag of sweets, such as Haribo - easy and simple - if you want to make more of an effort, buy some small plain paper bags and get the kids to colour or stamp their own bags as a craft activity at the party - you can have a tub of sweets after they have finished that they can then dip into to put into their bag !
We have lots of entertainment ideas on our Pinterest page so be sure to take a look!
Think about how much you need to raise and how much you hope to raise. Having something to aim for will help you stay motivated, but it’s also an important storyline for donors that can make an ask feel more concrete. Can you tie in a mascot or character to your cause, eg Fireman sam for fire-figher causes.
Your timeline will help you build your structure, a campaign calendar. Are you fundraising for an event, in response to something?
Also, think about how much of your time you can dedicate to this campaign. Different structures and ideas take different amounts of time.
Once you have an idea of how much you want and need to raise, start thinking about how much you can spend to get there.
While it may seem counterintuitive to spend money when you’re trying to raise money, and it may feel like all funds should go directly towards your mission, you can often make a bigger impact by putting a percentage of your proceeds towards fundraising endeavors.
For example hiring a mascot will help to raise far more money than you spend on the hire.
Ads in newspapers, on social media, and on radio or tv can go a long way in reaching a broader audience, and new potential donors and create interest in your cause if it includes a character.
Before you can successfully reach out to people, you need to know who you’re communicating with and who you’re targeting. What is the typical gender, age, and locality of your audience? Who is most likely to give, and how much? Where do they consume content: on their phone, over email, through physical mail, or in person? For example, if they have very small children, perhaps iggle piggle or Peppa pig may bring in a wider audience, or perhaps Minions or Lego mascots for an older audience
Your audience is probably pretty diverse. T
Physical mail and email are other important ways to reach out to people, particularly your dedicated audience AND this medium can be accompanied by photos of your chosen mascot to help the impact. You can share more information with these methods, too, and get creative with your content and design.
A successful fundraising campaign will use several different mediums and strategies, but the language, message, and imagery should be consistent across platforms.
Be clear on what you’re fundraising for, where the money’s going, why people should give, and what your goals are. A descriptive and catchy slogan, as well as an image of the hero mascot that will be involved for perhaps a MEET AND GREET , are great ways to tie your outreach methods together.
One of the most important parts of any non-profit fundraising strategy is the donation landing page on your website.
you can then book advance meet and greet / photo slots online to plan your fundraising with a mascot and ensure you maximise the time you have the mascot raising money
You are not alone when it comes to fundraising. When you look around your network, you’re sure to find seasoned fundraisers who can help you get started. Ensure you get a few back ups for mascot wearers. Ensure they are over 18 years old. Read the hints and tips we provide on how to perform in the costumes
The easier it is to donate, the more likely someone who is interested in donating will actually give. Make the donation process take as few steps as possible- take cash and card - you can do this easily by PayPal on your phone. Ensure less barriers to pay eg. when their child is tugging on their arm to meet the mascot and have a photo - you want it to be easy to allow them to pay.
Why are you doing this? The best way to sell your organization and mission to donors is to remember why it’s important to you in the first place.
How can they help? Tell them about your organization and what a difference it’s making.
When you’re asking people to donate, don’t be vague about how it will help your organization, be specific and ask them directly.
What will a £1 donation pay for, as opposed to a £3 one? Where is the money going and who is it helping?
The language that you use in your fundraising campaign is incredibly important. You want to let people know who, and how, they’re helping. You also want them to know that they’ll be making a difference.
Use positive language telling them about positive outcomes, instead of negative situations.
Encourage potential donors to give, or give more, by showing them how you’ve used previous donations, or how your last fundraiser went - if you used a mascot last time, circulate the photos
If you have someone’s attention with a donation plea, they are most likely to follow through. Ease is one way of encouraging people to donate when they first consider it, but another is urgency.
Why should someone donate today? Is there a specific goal with a deadline, like a new building?
Many people respond better to images and video than language. It creates an immediate, visceral reaction to actually see what your organization does. Mascots are colourful and make great video content - you can create your own images and videos for future promotions and future call to actions for your cause
One of the most important fundraising tips is to follow up with your donors. Whenever you send personal letters or emails, you should always follow up.
If a person has donated once, they’re likely to donate again. Make recurring donations easy and affordable so that donors only have to fill their information out once and don’t have to remember to donate again.
Keeping track of donations is important on a few levels. It will help you remember who donated, when, and how much, which will help you with personalized outreach in the future.
Fundraising is about relationships. You want to make people feel like their donation was special and made a unique difference because it did.
Send thank-you letters out after campaigns and fundraising events, and pictures of people showing what a great time they had meeting the mascot, and how next time they could meet another mascot
Volunteers are one of the most important assets of fundraising. They not only help you on the ground but also enable you to raise funds in more than one way. Don't forget to ask your donors to share their mascot images, make them your hidden arm of advertising volunteers for your cause!
]]>We know that times are tough at the moment, and a special 'hello' from a hero makes all the difference. We will be adding more characters soon so we can cater for everyone.
Our price is rock bottom low at just £5 so anyone can now feel special on their birthday - order yours instantly HERE!
If you need a more personalied message we can do that too so get in touch!
]]>Hiring a self wear costume is one of the most reliable services for a celebration as you wear the costume - there are no extra contact restrictions - no 7th person to wear the costume - it can all be worn by a house hold member over 18.
Our prices start from £29.99 + delivery anywhere in the UK
A mascot is brilliant to raise the spirits, create amazing memories and unforgettable photos to share with all of your loved ones even when you cant see them.
We also offer a personalised Message service including your fav. mascot too! Our prices are from £5 for a standard message or up to £15 for a personalised message directly to your phone - or send it as a gift to cheer someone up.
Contact us via the check availability button to ask ANY questions :)
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