Great news, you have decided to take on that big challenge for charity! The only problem is that you have just discovered that fundraising is not quite as easy as you thought. Coming up with the right fundraising ideas for your charity can seem like a real minefield, there are so many ways that you can start but the question everyone always asks is, where do I start?

Being a great fundraiser is no fluke, Shakespeare said that some people are born great, some people achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them! Being a great fundraiser is all about achieving greatness which we all can do. At Run for charity we believe it's all about doing the right thing at the right time and realising what kind of fundraiser you are to start with.

Here are our top 5 tips to becoming a true fundraising superstar;

1. Learn about your charity and learn how to ask for sponsorship - most people connect to the person they are sponsoring so make your plea real and moving but don't forget to make it personal. If you don't have the courage to ask people to sponsor you, your fundraising endeavors will be very tough.

2. Ask for help and fundraise as a team - two heads are always better than one and everyone has different skills and personality traits, all of which can be used as fundraising tools. Get your best friend, your husband, your sister, your boss and anyone else you know to help! Don't just ask for money from people, ask for help.

3. Plan your fundraising - the best fundraisers will have a plan, it sounds a little boring but as with everything, good planning means good results. Well, most of the time! Work out how much money you need to raise in the allotted time and plan events, social media and any other fundraising activities around this.

4. Use technology - there are so many amazing tools out there, facebook being the obvious one to create interest and justgiving to take donations. Our favourite is Text Giving. The key is not to use it until you have received donations from all of your friends and family as they will donate higher amounts to your cause when you are there to encourage them. The key is to use it when participating in fundraising activities that reach beyond your social circles. People will be happy to make small donations via their mobile phone, if they can't see the money it's almost as if they didn't have it in the first place.

5. Be original, there is no one way to do things - People love originality and will be far more interested in your fundraising activities if they are a little different. Don't collect money dressed in your work clothes, wear fancy dress, don't do a wine party do a wines of the world party. Just like Frank Sinatra, at the end, say you did it my way!