How to Host a Charity Coffee Morning | Rumba
- by Bronte Farenden
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- 28 Mar, 2019
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While there are plenty of ways you can fundraise for your chosen charity, a coffee morning is one of the most popular events to host and for good reason too. Not only is putting on a spread of warming beverages and lovingly homemade treats a great way to encourage people to donate but a coffee morning also presents a fantastic opportunity to get your local community together to show their support for your chosen charity. If you’re planning on hosting a charity coffee morning, here are our top tips to ensure it is a roaring success!
1. Choose Your Venue Wisely
The first thing to do when hosting any event is decide on the venue; where will your coffee morning be held? Choosing a venue that has a capacity large enough to cater for all of the guests you would like to invite is important. However, ensuring that your venue also has sufficient facilities to make this an inclusive event such as disabled access, baby changing facilities etc. is also a must to help it appeal to as many people as possible.
If you are planning on hosting your charity coffee morning for family and friends only, you may choose to host it in your home or garden as this can help to create a familiar and friendly atmosphere where your guests can relax. Alternatively, if you are inviting people that you do not know as well or members of the wider community, you may feel more comfortable hosting your event in a more public venue such as a community centre, library or village hall.
2. Set an Appropriate Date
Once you have decided on where it’s time to choose when you will be hosting your charity coffee morning. However, before you set a date for the big event, be sure to check the calendar to identify any other events, holidays or generally busy periods that may clash or prevent people from attending as the result of other commitments, e.g. half term.
Additionally, as well as giving other people plenty of notice, make sure you set a date that will enable you to have enough time to fully prepare for and promote your coffee morning by making all the necessary arrangements in advance.
3. Invite Your Chosen Guests
4. Create a Welcoming Atmosphere
To help your guests feel relaxed and enjoy your coffee morning, you will need to create a welcoming atmosphere. To do this, make a list of some the essential items you’ll need to provide a top-notch experience and encourage people to donate. Even if you don’t have the biggest budget, small items can make a big difference.
If you’re hosting your event at home or in a place where equipment such as plates and saucers, cups and cake stands is readily available, you won’t need to splash out on these essentials. Instead, invest in items such as a table cloth, paper napkins, bunting and flowers, all of which you can use to decorate your venue and create a friendly atmosphere.
Additionally, a nice thing to do at charity events is to provide your guests with the opportunity to write a message or provide feedback in some way, perhaps in the form of a wish or thank you box.
5. Get Your Bake On
6. Say Thank You
If you would like to help us in our mission to support the development of ground-breaking veterinary research here at Rumba, a coffee morning is just one of several easy fundraising ideas for animal lovers to try. Alternatively, one-off animal donations can be made via our website, so why not show your support today? You can donate directly or purchase one of our gorgeous hand-made cards for an animal lover in your life!
We’re immensely proud of Rumba Ambassador Simon Rymes, who launched himself out of plane on Sunday 26th May in a sponsored skydive for The Rumba Foundation. Read Simon’s account of his amazing adventure, and the story behind it:
“This wasn’t my first skydive; in 2011 I made a jump to raise funds for the NSPCC, but this time it was a lot more personal. I lost my beloved dog Alfie to prostate cancer last year. I had taken him to three specialists in the hope of finding a cure, but the only treatment available would have prolonged his life for just a few weeks. Even so, I knew that cancer doesn’t always have to mean a death sentence for pets. So, in honour of Alfie, I decided to lend whatever support I could to organisations working to save or extend the lives of other animals.
And that’s how my partner Sherry and I came into contact with The Rumba Foundation. Having researched several charities, we were really impressed by the way that money raised by Rumba goes directly to fund pioneering research and therapies for animal patients. We’d found our home!
When Rumba’s Founding Trustees, Jim and Fiona Hindle, invited us to become Ambassadors for the charity we were delighted. I was keen to start contributing to its fundraising mission as soon as possible.
Which is why, a few months later, I found myself climbing into an aircraft and preparing to take that 13,000 ft leap. I really wanted to do my best for Alfie and the charity.
First-time skydivers have to undertake a ground training session. This covers general safety guidelines and shows you how to leave the plane and land. Having done it before, though, I didn't need much preparation, except to book the day, turn up and jump – and this is one of the reasons why it seemed the most attractive fundraising route for me.
The skydive had originally been scheduled for a few weeks earlier, but when the day came, the jump had to be cancelled due to bad weather. And even when we got the go-ahead for 26th May, we had to wait around for several hours to make absolutely sure the conditions were right.
During those tense hours, my emotions were pretty mixed as we didn’t know for certain that the weather would let us do the jump, so it was a relief to finally get the all-clear.
In the plane on that day were four students, four tutors and two cameramen – these were for the jumpers who were having their skydive filmed (me being one of them).
My nerves were calm until I got near the door of the plane and then I had a flutter of panic. But once I was flying through the clouds, it was obvious there was no turning back. I just kept thinking about Alfie during the 60 seconds of free fall.
I’d love to say the whole exercise was a stroll in the park – but to be honest, I don’t like heights, so even doing that second jump was a big challenge for me. But once I was back on the ground, I was overjoyed to have been able to raise a substantial amount of money for The Rumba Foundation in Alfie’s name. It was so worthwhile – and who knows, I may even consider having another go in the future. Watch this space …”
Simon covered the costs of the skydive himself and succeeded in raising almost £2,000, including gift aid. On the day, he was supported by Rumba Founding Trustee Jim Hindle, as well as his family and friends.
Everyone at Rumba sends heartfelt thanks to Simon. The funds he has raised will have a direct impact on the lives of animals. What a brilliant tribute to his special dog, Alfie!
If you’ve been inspired to support Simon’s skydive, you can do so via his JustGiving page .
