Landirani said:
Myself and a friend of mine are embarking on a sponsored cycle ride from London to Morocco, a total of over 2000km. We are doing so in aid of raising money for bicycle ambulances in Malawi, where the project will be taken on by my Mum's non-profit charity (
http://www.landirani.org). These bicycle ambulances will play a vital role in getting those in really serious medical conditions and women in active labour to the clinics in time.
We are both graduates and are currently working voluntarily which is making it very hard for us to raise enough money for equipment and the trip itself, as all money raised throughout the tour will go directly to the charity.
We need as much help as we can possibly get in the form of donations and sponsorships, and in return we will be more than happy to promote various companies throughout the tour, on the website and tour blog, as well as the film that we will be making during the ride.
If you have any suggestions or advice please let me know
Sam
First off, good on you for volunteering, and for trying to help a worthy cause.
Now for the cynicism...
Having seen friends do similar things (both mountaineering and far more ambitious cycling trips), I'm pretty leery of donating so that someone can go and have an exotic holiday. In every case I know of first hand, and most others I've heard of, the 'holiday' aspect costs far more than is ever raised for the "good cause", no matter how well intentioned you are at the start (which I don't dispute). OK, so you guys are broke, but I've seen people spending many thousands on a trip "for charity" which only raises half what they spent, if that. If it were really all about the charity, why not just give the money to charity and stay home?
Keeping in mind that you shouldn't let a cynic like me ruin your notion of a grand adventure, here are a few positive suggestions:
1. If at all possible, avoid asking for sponsorship for yourself or for the trip, and have everything donated go directly to your charity. Really reduces the vested interest/conflict of interest concerns. Suck it up and get a few shifts at Tescos if that's what it takes.
2. At 2000km, London to Morocco isn't very far, or very
extreme A nice little jaunt that I would love to do myself, but cycle touring is generally not that exciting. You need to be able to show some real suffering and hard grit, or how are you going to spice it up to make it a saleable story? "Day 3, had a nice souffle in Paris, then rode through rolling countryside for a couple of hours before stopping at an overcrowded campsite full of caravans where we set up our microscopic tent from Costwalds outdoors - wished we had a caravan"? "Day 17, still have the runs after a dodgy tagine last Thursday, was all I could manage to ride 80km. The road was hot and flat and dusty, but we did see three goats. Wished I was in the cool-room back at Tescos scrubbing last weeks spilt milk off the floor"?
3. You need to be MUCH more specific about your website, tour blog and film.
The website (link?) needs to be up and running, with more than just nominal placeholder content, and needs to look professional. Otherwise who knows if it will ever get built, or if it will
look like this (then again someone might pay you
not to be linked to a site like that
)
Likewise the blog should already be up, with some cheery countdown posts about the progress you have made so far, and thanking the sponsors already involved. At the very least you need to be able to show that you can be an entertaining and positive writer, and be trusted not to descend into profanity.
And the film...have you made a film before? Was it any good? Are you and your friend photogenic? 34-24-36, or Michael Rasmussen? What sort of equipment are you going to be using, and have you any experience using it cycle-touring before? How and when are you going to edit it? What audience is going to see it? Are they customers or potential customers of your sponsor?
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