Why are we fundraising?
It's no secret we are huge dog fans here at Neon Caffeine. Rob is a volunteer for Guide Dogs 🦮 and cares for future guide dogs, hosting them at home for the first year of their life. We've decided to set ourselves a fundraising challenge, as right now charities need all the help they can get. We're aiming to raise £2,500 to Name a Puppy who we hope will go on to be a future guide dog. Before you ask, yes there will be a chance to suggest (sensible) names once we've raised the full amount. There are a few naming rules we need to follow, nobody wants to calling out to a really random name in the middle of the park.
We're finding our own creative ways to develop digital opportunities to raise the funds to hit target, and we're sharing some of those with you in this blog.
The amazing news is that so far we've already raised over £900, only another £1,600 to go. 💷
[UPDATE 3 November 2020] We've hit the £1,000 mark and we begin the journey to the next milestone of £1,500.
The numbers
If you're wondering why fundraising for the charity matters so much, here are the important figures you need to know.
"In 2018, it cost around £63,000 to breed, train and support a guide dog from birth to retirement...the cost of a guide dog was broken down as follows:
Breeding and puppy walking cost – £10,100
Cost to breed, train and partnership – £48,100
Ongoing support – £2,500
A guide dog owner may have as many as eight guide dogs in their lifetime bringing the total cost to around £500,000."
More information about the costs of raising guide dogs can be found on the charity's "How your money is helping" page.
How can you help us to reach our target?
Here are three ways you can join us in our mission to reach our fundraising target of £2,500.
Office sweepstake
With office teams spread out and unlikely to be gathering in large groups for the foreseeable future, the Guide Dogs office sweepstake can be a bit of lighthearted fun. We've successfully run one of these online, and we can help you to set it up and do all the admin work too.
If you'd like to get involved and can use your charm to find 24 people who can donate a minimum of £2, with the chance of winning £15, get in touch. This is a fun way to raise at least £33 once the prize money has been deducted. You'll often find donors want to give more and some even donate the prize back (although we never ask or encourage this).
Donations
If time isn't a luxury, the simplest way to get involved is to donate direct to our fundraising page. The added bonus for the charity is that donations made via this route are eligible for Gift Aid, increasing the overall amount their receive. Whether it's a £1 or more, each and every donation is appreciated.
Fundraise with us
We're a team of two at Neon Caffeine and we'd love to welcome you with open (socially distanced) arms to our fundraising team. Morgan is plotting an activity around cycling, his biggest passion. If you want to create your own activity you can join our team at https://www.justgiving.com/team/neoncaffeineteam.