How to do yours

You can make a huge difference just by getting your friends together.

Simply hold a coffee morning, or whatever kind of event suits you, and raise some money (and a smile) for people affected by cancer. You can register to take part right now.|

Holding a coffee morning is easy as 1,2,3.

1.  Pick a date, any date

   The official day is Friday 30 September 2011, but you can pick whatever date is best for you.

2.  Choose your event

   You can hold a coffee morning at work, home, school or in your local community. Have a get together with friends, a garden party with neighbours, or a pub quiz with your colleagues. Whatever suits you.

3.  Send invitations

   Email, Facebook or traditional, get the word out about your event. Use our handy e-invites to email your friends. Remind people when the date is coming up and let everyone know it's all for a very important cause.

When the big day arrives...

Just ask your guests for donations. You can put a collection box out, charge a small donation for the cakes and coffee, or if you're having an event like a pub quiz, charge a fee for taking part.

There are lots of other ways to raise additional money at your event - from raffles and quizzes to 'bake-offs' or other fun competitions. Check out our Ideas| section for more on how to add a little extra oomph to your event.

Remember to put up lots of posters| and other information about Macmillan, so everyone knows it's all for a great cause.

Above all, have fun. It doesn't matter whether you raise £20 or £2,000. Every bit counts and will help people living with cancer.

When it's all said and done...

… all that's left is to pay in the money you've raised|. You can do this online, at the bank, or send us a cheque.

Don't forget to Gift Aid it!

You can increase the value of donations to Macmillan by making Gift Aid| a part of your event. For every £1 people donate to us, we can claim an extra 25p from the government in Gift Aid. Use the Gift Aid sheet in your pack or download| it, and encourage people to fill in their details. Find our more about Gift Aid|.

More tips

Why not...

… get some inspiration or recipes for your coffee morning in our Ideas section|

… download posters and materials| to help promote your event, or check out our be.Macmillan| website to customize your own

... use our fun e-invites| to get the word out about your coffee morning

… post your coffee morning| on the map, if your event is open to the public

… join our online community group and chat with others holding a coffee morning

… pop into your local M&S Cafe| in August and September, who will be supporting us with various offers on goodies in store

… sign-up for our monthly e-newsletter| for the latest news, fundraising stories, recipes and more

Share your own ideas with us

We've already had some tasty recipe ideas from some of our supporters, but we're always hungry for more. 

What we'd love is for you to share with us and other coffee morning organisers any tips or proven ideas you have. It can be anything - how to make the perfect cup of coffee, what's the best cake to bake or how best to promote a coffee morning... Whatever tips or advice you have, share it.

You can either share them within our online community or email ideas and thoughts to us at coffeenews@macmillan.org.uk|