Millie's Fundraising Story: Consistency is Key

The Summer of 2024 brings with it an expedition to Borneo for Millie who has been inspired to embrace new cultures and work with the local communities as she contributes to our sustainable project work!  Millie was keen to get stuck into her fundraising straight away but in her words was a little ‘clueless’ on how to start.  Taking time to think about a plan and using some ideas from a Camps International Fundraising Presentation, Millie is staying focused on her goal with a variety of fundraising activities from dog biscuits, quiz nights to maths tutoring to reach her target.

Dog treats and accessories

Bobby and Bailey, two cheeky Lhasa brothers, were great ambassadors for Millie’s fundraising activities. Not only did they get to taste test all the yummy dog biscuits, but they modelled their Coronation bandanas and bows in style.

Millie’s Top Tips:

• Recipes containing egg will reduce the shelf life of dog biscuits.
• Dogs seem to love peanut butter but make sure it does not contain Xylitol. Make sure you find a good version that excludes this ingredient.
• Millie shopped at ALDI to help ensure she was sourcing her ingredients for the best possible price!

Millie has been using a variety of channels to sell her dog treats and has embraced various special events such as Christmas and the Coronation to maximise sales. Here are some highlights:

• Millie’s first social media post got over 50 orders!
• A local café sells around 30 bags per week on Millie’s behalf.
• For Christmas, Millie created advent calendars and made customised Christmas baubles filled with dog treats.
• Millie kept the cost of her dog treats to $1.90 per bag – making them affordable to buy and try.

Millie has so far made $905 from this fundraising activity and has also diversified on her dog themed fundraising making bandanas and bows for the Coronation raising an additional $522.

Community Social Events

From Quiz Nights, Steak Nights to Zumba fun, Millie and other members of her expedition team used the power of bringing friends, family, and the local community together to help raise funds for their expedition.

The Quiz Night
Posters were put up around the village to advertise the evening and Facebook was used to spread the word. 10 questions for each 6 question rounds were created and Millie’s dad was recruited to be the quizmaster.  A cake sale and raffle (from prizes donated by local businesses) helped maximise the takings on the night.  A collective total of $738 was raised.

Steak Night
Millie and her friends joining on the expedition team held a steak night at the local Men’s Working Club. Tickets were sold for $28, and the venue took $9.50 for the cost of the food. The event made $1140 between them.

Zumbathon
Millie and her friends danced away to raise another $230 towards their expedition to Borneo.

Millie’s Top Tip: Start advertising early to get more people to join in.

Millie provided us with a full list of events and activities that she has been doing. We hope this gives you more inspiration!

1. Regular car-washing for family and friends – $628
2. Car boot sales – $495
3. Quiz night including raffle – $738 (between the 6 girls on the expedition team)
4. Cake sales at football matches – $325
5. Gained sponsorship – $1094
6. Made and sold dog biscuits – $905
7. Made dog bandanas and bows – $523 (made a lot for Coronation bows and bandanas)
8. Sold items at Christmas fayres – $84
9. Odd jobs for grandparents etc – $222
10. Tutoring younger children in Maths – $75

Challenges

We all know that organising events can present challenges and it’s how we address these that counts.  Millie found the hardest month to raise funds was in January.  Her top piece of advice is to make the most of Christmas sales and use January to do activities such as car washing and car boot sales.

Millie is looking forward to…

Millie is looking forward to opening her eyes to different lifestyles and stepping into a different culture. She is also very excited about learning to scuba diving!

From everyone at Camps, a huge shout out to Millie for her wonderful fundraising efforts so far and here’s to your countdown as you edge towards Borneo 2024; a trip that will be incredibly well deserved!