The more people who know about your event or activity, the more support you’re likely to gain. One way you can do that is by posting on social media or sharing your story with the local press.
Before we share some tips, it’s important to say you don’t need to use the press or social media. Talking about this subject and CALM can be incredibly personal, so doing a fundraiser is an amazing thing regardless!
If you feel comfortable, share your story about why you’re fundraising.
Explain why your fundraiser matters and the impact CALM has.
Use visual content like photos and videos of you and your fundraiser.
Posting regularly.
Encourage shares, likes and comments and share your content with workmates and friends.
Just showing up honestly and authentically online; telling your story and sharing the journey of your fundraiser.
And most of all, don’t forget to tag CALM in your posts - @thecalmzone.
Local newspaper, radio and TV often love to hear about fundraisers making a difference. Get in touch with your local media teams - and remember to be clear about what you're doing and why it's important to you - it can make all the difference.
Rather than writing a press release, we’d recommend just putting the information in an email to a journalist from your local paper, media, and radio. Here’s what to keep in mind:
Keep it short if you want a busy journalist to read it.
Grab attention - be creative with your subject headline.
Make sure you state WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY.
Include links to your fundraising page and social media accounts for the fundraiser.
Ahead of speaking with a journalist, we’d advise:
Share a link to the PRESS AND MEDIA CENTRE with the journalist and encourage them to reach out to the CALM press team with any questions.
Look at the How to talk about CALM (below), so you have all the latest information about our charity and how the money you’re raising will make a difference.
If you’d like some support ahead of an interview, please reach out to our fundraising team. If you're not already in contact with the team use fundraise@thecalmzone.net.
If you are talking about someone you have lost to suicide, we’d also recommend letting friends and family know when the interview is going to be published.
Talking about this subject can be difficult, so we recommend taking some time to pause and decompress after an interview - especially if you are talking about personal experiences.
CALM has loads of support on our website if you are struggling.
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is a suicide prevention charity.
CALM’s support is open to anyone affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts.
CALM runs a life-saving helpline. It’s free, anonymous and open from 5pm to midnight every day.
It costs £12.20 to fund a life-saving call to our helpline.
CALM also run vital campaigns to increase awareness, smash stereotypes, and change the culture around suicide prevention.
You can find the latest stats on suicide prevention here.
Don’t use the term ‘commit’ or ‘committed’ suicide - instead, we would say ‘died by suicide’.
Don’t speculate about or discuss suicide methods - this has been shown to influence vulnerable people and has been linked to increases in suicide rates.
Don’t discuss suicide locations for the same reasons as above.
Alongside press and social, it's also important to tell those in your circle.
Do you have an intranet, office newsletter, or work WhatsApp group? Share your fundraising page and explain what you’re doing to help generate sponsorship. Get permission to add your donation page link to your email signature.
Find out if your employer offers matched giving or would like to give a donation. Many firms will match your fundraising pound for pound.
Unfortunately, as we only have a small amount of time with any of our Ambassadors and as they give their time totally for free, we can't guarantee any specific appearances, posts or other requests.
If you would like a comment from CALM, please contact fundraise@thecalmzone.net.
You can find the latest stats on suicide prevention here.
Please do tag us in any content you post on socials - @thecalmzone.
However, as our socials are mainly used for support and signposting our support services, we aren’t able to share all of our fundraising stories on our page.
As a small team, we’re not able to provide support for capturing/filming content.