Emails are one of the most effective ways to spread the word about your fundraising. Do share your news far and wide.  

If you're looking for inspiration, consider borrowing from our e-mail templates, below: 

Initial email | Nudge email | Final email | Other tips

Initial email to everyone

remember to change link to your own fundraising page, as appropriate. 

Dear friends, family and colleagues, 

On Friday 2nd October, I will be giving up my warm bed in my comfortable home to sleep rough on the street. Why? Alongside some of the highest-value property in the country, West London also has one of the highest numbers of rough sleepers. I would like to do what I can by raising funds for a very worthwhile local charity, Glass Door Homeless Charity.  Glass Door runs London's largest emergency winter night shelter for people affected by homelessness and offers casework to get people into stable accommodation and work.  

I can't pretend it will be as frightening for me to sleep <outside or on my floor> as it must be for people who are truly homeless, alone and with no other option but to sleep on the street. It probably won't be too cold (let's hope it doesn't rain) and it's only for one night. Then we'll be back in our own homes and beds. The men and women who come to Glass Door's emergency winter night shelters have no such comfortable expectation, and nowhere else to turn.  

I know you have many calls on your generosity, but if you would like to help, please sponsor me at https://www.glassdoor.org.uk/YOURPAGENAMEHERE

Funds raised can provide someone with support to move beyond homelessness.

To find out more about the charity, go to www.glassdoor.org.uk.

Thanks in part to the success of last year's sleep out, 829 individuals were able to find shelter last winter. More than 200 individuals moved into more permanent housing thanks to support of Glass Door caseworkers. The website also shares stories of some of the men and women they have helped. 

Many thanks for reading this and for supporting me if you choose to do so. I'll let you know how I get on!  

Yours, 

Nudge email to everyone 

There’s just xx days to go until the big Sleep Out on Friday 2nd October, and I’m just over XX% of the way to achieving my fundraising target of £xxxx. If you’ve been thinking about sponsoring me, it would be great if you could help me get there before the big night. 

I’m raising money for Glass Door Homeless Charity, London's largest emergency winter night shelter. They're also one of the few shelters that are open to all.

The overall target for the event is to raise £200,000, which will help to bring more people inside every night from November to April. The charity is looking to open an extra shelter this winter to get 35 more people inside every night next winter. 

A few facts and figures:

• £15 could provide a guest with an advice session, helping provide practical assistance for guests in isolation.
  
• £80 could provide four guests restricted to their hotel with a mobile phone and credit to stay in touch with their caseworkers
  
• £220 could fund a "move-on" package with personalised support sessions and the deposit needed for someone to move into a stable accommodation

 

Glass Door doesn’t just provide crisis relief over winter. Caseworkers offer support and advice to all the men and women who stay with them, and help many of them find a way out of homelessness into more secure accommodation and a better future. Last year, 829 individuals found shelter with the charity, and well over 1,000 people used their services to replace lost ID, open bank accounts, find jobs and move into more permanent accommodations. 

If you can, please sponsor me to sleep out with just a sleeping bag and mat for comfort –whatever the weather. 

https://www.glassdoor.org.uk/YOURPAGENAMEHERE

Thank you – any donation, no matter how small, will be very much appreciated.

Final email

Dear friends, family and colleagues

As you may already know, I recently joined more than xxx individuals giving up our bed for the night to raise awareness of homelessness and funds to help keep shelters open to all in need.

It was an eye-opening experience. With Covid-19 at large, the Sleep Out went virtual. With Storm Alex raging on 2 October, I ended up giving up my bed to sleep <on the floor/in a tent/shed/car>. If you want to find out more, do check out Glass Door's live-streamed Sleep Out programme, which included Colin Firth, Jim Carter, Dame Judie Dench and many others sending messages of support and sharing insights into homelessness and the importance of sleep.

The next morning it hit me: What would I do if I had no home to go to now? I crawled into my bed and found I was physically shattered for the next 24 hours. While I lay in bed, I could hear the rain pelting down outside the window.

I found myself thinking: What if I had to do this every night? What if I had to find somewhere dry to stay and my joints ached and I had to carry everything I owned with me everywhere? The experience gave me a small insight into some of the challenges faced by rough sleepers.

As the evenings get shorter and the weather starts to turn cold, I’m reminded how crucial Glass Door’s services are. This charity partners with churches to provide safe shelter and support for people who need it most. And their services are free to all in need.

If you’ve already sponsored me: Thank You very much. £15 could provide a guest with an advice session, helping them move towards a life beyond homelessness.  My goal is to raise £500, which could fund two "move-on" packages, complete with personalised support sessions and the deposit needed for someone to move into more stable accommodation.

Glass Door does need the support of the community to keep their services going. Any final donations for my Sleep Out page to help Glass Door reach their target would be greatly appreciated. You can find my page here: https://www.glassdoor.org.uk/PAGENAMEHERE 

Sincerely,

 

Xxxx

Other tips

• Change your email signature to include the link to your fundraising page.
• Use photographs and videos to tell your fundraising story. Show people how much effort you are putting into your fundraising and remind them to sponsor you.
• Use links to the website (Our impact, About us, Who we help) to show how your sponsors are helping homeless people in London.