When taking up a charity running event of any sort the key to getting sponsorship is knowing how to ask people for their support. It is not as simple as asking a to borrow a tenner from a friend as in this case you may not know the person and you wont be giving the money back.

Asking for sponsoship - its harder than it sounds

Finding the right person to ask for you is key, this can sound strange to some people but it really is important. People will respond well to people they know so don't just rely on your own skills of persuasion ask you friends and family to help drum up support for you. If your Dad works at a school get him to ask all of the other teachers to sponsor you, if your brother is a banker get him to ask all of his work colleagues the more people you ask for help the more money you will raise.

The best fundraisers will make sure they understand the cause they are supporting. Being able to give accurate information about how the money you are raising will help make a real difference to the sponsorship levels. Ask the charity you are sponsoring for key information that you can repeat at any given time. This will become reflective in the way you ask people for their support. Try making your request an invitation. Please join me in helping save the lives of cancer sufferers in the UK this approach immediately draws attention away from the request for money and the need to help people.

Finally make sure you ask for the right amount from each individual, you need to be honest and fair about how you do this so ensure you can quantify what their donation will help achieve. If you know the person you can ask for more than if you are asking a stranger but in both cases provide information on what the money will achieve. Every pound raised can feed a child for a week or £20 will provide clean water for a village for a month. Help potential supporters visualise where there money is going.

Don't forget, if you don't ask you don't get!