Race to Raise: The Multiplier Challenge

Taking part in Race to Raise is simple and flexible for your organisation.

1. Register your team via our online form (link above)
2. We’ll be in touch to confirm your place and share how to access your £50 starter fund.
3. You’ll receive a digital fundraising pack and details for logging into our Partner Portal.
4. You use your £50 starter loan to kick-start your fundraising, then throughout March (1–31 March) your team works together to multiply it — raising as much funding as possible for grieving children and young people.

The original £50 loan is returned at the end of the challenge, with all additional funds raised donated to Winston’s Wish.

If you have any questions, please email corporate@winstonswish.org.

For this first year of Race to Raise, we are inviting one team per organisation. If there is strong interest across different departments, please get in touch on corporate@winstonswish.org

Race to Raise works for small and large teams.

• There is no strict minimum or maximum team size.
• Some businesses choose a core group of 3–8 people; others involve entire departments.
• What matters most is that your team works together, has fun, shares ideas and keep your fundraising safe and inclusive.

Your £50 starter fund is designed to help you get your fundraising off the ground without needing to spend your own money.

• Upon receiving an invoice from you, Winston’s Wish will provide a £50 starter loan to your team.
• You can use it to create or purchase something that helps you raise more money.  For example, ingredients for a bake sale, supplies for a pop-up café, prizes for a raffle, or materials for a quiz night.
• At the end of the challenge, you return the original £50 starter loan, with all additional funds raised donated to Winston’s Wish.

This approach makes the challenge accessible to teams of all sizes and gives everyone a fair, confident starting point.

Please note: you don’t have to access the £50 starter fund if you’d prefer not to, or if your organisation’s charity committee already provides a fundraising budget -you’re very welcome to take part in whatever way works best for your team.

Yes! The £50 starter fund is a loan to your team and must be returned, but it also counts towards your overall fundraising total.

• If you raise £300 in total, you return the £50 starter fund and £250 is a donation to Winston’s Wish.
• If you only raise £50 using the starter fund, you return the £50 and there is no additional donation this time – but your support and awareness-raising still make a difference.
• Even if you don’t raise any extra funds, the £50 must still be returned.

All funds (including the starter fund) should be paid to Winston’s Wish by 30th April 2026.

Yes. If your organisation prefers to fund the challenge itself or start from £0 and grow donations from there, you can choose not to receive the £50 starter fund on your sign up form.

Keen, but don’t know where to start? You won’t be doing this alone – we’ll be with you at every step.

When you sign up, your team will receive:

• A digital fundraising pack with ready-to-use ideas, posters, and social media assets tailored to Race to Raise.
• Access to our Partner Portal at winstonswish.org/media-resources where you can download resources, logos and templates. To request or reset your password, please email corporate@winstonswish.org.
• Our Corporate Partnerships Team is here to support you with fundraising ideas, and to answer any practical questions you may have – please email corporate@winstonswish.org

We’ve created 11 ready-to-go ideas and more are available in the fundraising pack and on our portal:

1. The Power Lunch – Buy supplies with your £50, invite colleagues to donate £10 to join, add a raffle
2. Coffee with a Cause – Run an office café using your seed money, charge for drinks
3. The Trade Up Challenge – Start with £50 and see how far you can trade/swap/upcycle
4. Quiz or Bingo Night – Charge entry fees, add paid question skips or clue purchases
5. Pop-Up Book or Clothes Sale – Source pre-loved items, host a sale
6. The Spring Clean Pop-Up – Collect quality items, sell on Vinted or in-office
7. The Bake Investment – Host a workplace bake-off, charge for slices
8. Charity Lottery, Sweepstake or Lucky Dip – Sell tickets for small prizes
9. Seeds of Hope – Sell mini plants with hope-themed messages
10. Kindness Kits – Create and sell packs of encouragement items
11. The Reverse Raffle – Everyone donates £5 to enter; last ticket drawn wins

 

Other ideas:

• Don’t forget to ask if you can access matched funding from your employer (could double your total!)
• Auction of skills or experiences
• Workplace sweepstakes

We’d be delighted to talk through any ideas – just get in touch! corporate@winstonswish.org

You can collect and pay in donations in the way that works best for your organisation:

Typical options include:

• Online fundraising pages (e.g. JustGiving), which make it easy for colleagues, clients and friends to give and allows Gift Aid to be added where eligible. Please note that Company donations themselves are not eligible for Gift Aid.
• Tin or bucket collections at events such as bake sales, raffles, quizzes or pop-up cafés ( we can send you collection tins/boxes)
• QR codes linking directly to your online fundraising page or the Winston’s Wish website, which can be used on posters, tables or at in-person fundraising events.
• Donations made via your organisation’s internal giving platforms (such as Benevity or other employer giving portals). If this applies to your organisation, please let the Corporate Partnerships Team know so we can ensure donations are recorded correctly as part of Race to Raise.
• Donations made directly via the Winston’s Wish website, where colleagues or supporters prefer to give online rather than via a fundraising page. winstonswish.org/donate-online

Full details on how to set up Team pages and handle different types of donations will be provided in your fundraising pack.

All money raised – including the £50 starter fund should be paid to Winston’s Wish as soon as possible after the challenge and no later than 30th April 2026. Our preferred method is via BACS and/or a JustGiving page.

You will receive a “how to pay in” sheet with:

• Winston’s Wish bank details
• Our charity name and number
• Details on how to let us know the amount your team has raised.

Race to Raise runs from 1st March to 31st March 2026, giving your team 31 days to turn £50 into as much impact as possible.

We ask that all funds (including the starter fund) are paid to Winston’s Wish by 30th April 2026 so we can announce totals, update the leaderboard and celebrate your achievements.

The Race to Raise leaderboard will show how much each organisation has raised during the challenge.

• Each business /Team will appear once on the leaderboard with a single total,
• We will update the leaderboard regularly during the challenge, using the donations paid in and any online fundraising totals you share with us

We will celebrate the teams that raise the most and those that show creativity, teamwork and spirit.

Recognition may include:

• Seeing your name at the top of the leaderboard
• Being named Race to Raise Champions for 2026.
• A certificate for your organisation and team.
• Features on our website and social media channels.

Every team taking part is helping make sure no child has to face grief alone, and we are grateful for your support – whatever your final total.

To release your £50 starter fund, we’ll ask your organisation to raise an invoice to Winston’s Wish.

Once your invoice has been received and processed, the £50 starter fund will be paid to your organisation (not an individual) by bank transfer using the details on the invoice.

Full invoicing details (including the address, charity number and reference to use) will be included in your registration confirmation and finance information sheet.

Return deadline: By 30 April 2026

Please return the £50 starter fund separately from your fundraising income. The starter fund should be sent back via bank transfer and should not be included on your JustGiving page (which should only be used for donations you’ve raised from colleagues and supporters).

How to send money back:

Option 1: Direct Bank Transfer

• Winston’s Wish bank details provided in your welcome pack
• Include your team name and “Race to Raise 2026” as reference
• Email confirmation to corporate@winstonswish.org with transfer details

What to send:

• Original £50 starter fund
• ALL additional funds raised during the challenge

Questions? Contact corporate@winstonswish.org

We’re here to help!

Contact the Corporate Partnerships Team:

• Email: corporate@winstonswish.org
• Partner Portal: https://winstonswish.org/media-resources/ (email corporate@winstonswish.org for password)
• Named corporate team contacts: Louise and Amirah

Support available for:

• Fundraising ideas and planning
• Technical questions about fundraising pages
• Reporting donations
• Timeline and deadline questions
• Resource requests

That’s okay – just let us know.

If you withdraw:

• Before receiving funds: Simply withdraw your registration
• After receiving the £50: Please return it to Winston’s Wish
• If you’ve started fundraising: Return the £50 plus any funds already raised

No penalties. We appreciate your interest and hope you take part next year!

Yes, for promotional use during the challenge.

You can:

• Use Winston’s Wish logo in your fundraising materials
• Share information about our work in your communications
• Post about your involvement on social media

Absolutely! We’d love to see them.

What we can do with your content:

• Post on our social media and digital channels
• Use in future marketing (with your permission)

How to share:

• Email to corporate@winstonswish.org
• Include photo captions and participants’ names
• Confirm you have consent from people in the photos

This helps inspire other teams and celebrate your impact!

Contact the Corporate Partnerships Team:

Email: corporate@winstonswish.org
Partner Portal: https://winstonswish.org/media-resources/

We’re here to help make Race to Raise a success for your team and to support grieving children and young people across the UK.