Events

US online fundraising company Kintera has reported that volunteer fundraisers using its "Friends Asking Friends®" (FAF) solicitation service raised more than four times as much in the year to 31 March 2004 as they did in the year to 31 March 2003.

With nearly 8,000 entrants, The Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon will be the largest triathlon in the world.

With entries in the swim, bike, run event up by 50% on 2003, charities are currently dealing with a raft of applications from hundreds of triathletes who missed the ballot, while many people are entering as a relay team of three before the 2 July 2004 deadline.

Fundraising challenge event company Discover Adventure is doubling the number of destinations available for its Open Challenges in 2005.

The new trips are an Everest Base Camp trek, the Land's End to John O'Groats cycle ride, the Mount Kilimanjaro trek, and the Great Wall of China Trek.

Charities must now gather at the very least the postcode and house number/name of all Gift Aid donors, including those making sponsorship donations, if they are to qualify for Gift Aid.

The Inland Revenue has issued new guidance on the minimum requirements for a donor's address on a Gift Aid declaration. Paragraphs 3.11.6 and 3.15.8 of their Gift Aid guidance notes have been changed.

Nature conservation charity RSPB has commissioned a mini-fleet of eye-catching vehicles to help them in their drive for new supporters.

British Heart Foundation's in-house online sponsorship system has helped increase the charity's online income from £500 to £1,500 per day since January 2004.

The annual Sunflower Challenge in aid of WaterAid is this year relying on online promotion alone for the first time.

The Sunflower Challenge encourages young children at nurseries to grow sunflowers which are then sponsored by how much they grow. The campaign is sponsored by Nursey World magazine.

Emotional support charity Samaritans will be holding its 50th annual fundraising week from 22 to 29 May 2004.

The charity is encouraging supporters to fundraise by taking time out with a friend to put the kettle on and make a donation.

Supermarket Tesco will be supporting this year's Wallace & Gromit's Wrong Trousers Day, the Wallace & Gromit's Children's Foundation annual fundraising event, which takes place on 2 July 2004.

Online donation processor Justgiving is helping Christian Aid extend its fundraising for this month's Christian Aid Week.