Fundraising as a team is also a lot easier than fundraising as an individual!

The best way to get involved is to register as a team (by following the steps above) and do the Sleep Out together. 

Of course! Sleep Out for Simon is open to everyone, everywhere!

Your target is there to motivate you and we ask you to make every effort to achieve your goal to support our work in protecting people from the trauma of homelessness.

We are so grateful for all your effort and the most important thing is that you give your Sleep Out and fundraising 110%.

Amazing! Well done on reaching your target. Keep up the good work 

Yes, absolutely! Your individual team member’s fundraising will be added to your team page and your supporters can also donate directly to your team.

We work with a fundraising platform called iDonate to help with our online fundraising.

When you register for Sleep Out for Simon, a fundraising page will be created for you, and you can share your fundraising page with your friends, family and co-workers by email, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.

Your supporters can click on the link and donate directly online to your fundraising page.

Your supporters can also search for your fundraising page here.

Great news!

To add offline donations to your iDonate fundraising page:

1. Select the My Donors option listed on your fundraising page.
2. Select the Offline Donations button.
3. Select the Add Donor button.
4. Complete the donor information (i.e donor name, message, date, & donation amount)
5. Click the Add button to add/save the offline donation.

To transfer funds received by cash/cheque directly to Galway Simon via your iDonate page.

1. Select the My Donors button on your fundraising page.
2. Click the Offline Donations button.
3. Click the Transfer Offline Donations button and complete the donation form provided in order to transfer any outstanding balance directly to the cause/charity via iDonate.

You can also submit cash/cheque donations online through our Galway Simon Community Donate page or post them to Galway Simon’s address below, please make sure to include your name (and your Team’s name if necessary) and reference your donation is for Sleep Out for Simon!

Galway Simon Community

Sleep Out for Simon
11 Sean Mulvoy Business Centre
Sean Mulvoy Road
Galway.

You have 3 options for thanking donors from your iDonate account dashboard.

1) Automated Reply to Donors:

1. In your account Dashboard, select  My Account to open menu options,
2. Select Create Thank You Message to donors, and
3. Complete the form to send an automated response email whenever a donation is made to your page.

2) Send a message to all past donors:
From your account dashboard:

1.  From your account dashboard select My Donors,
2. Select Thank / Update All Donors, and
3. Follow the instructions on this page to send a thank you message to everyone that has donated to your page.

3) Thank each donor Individually:
Similar to option number 2 above, from your account dashboard:

1. Select My Donors and you will see a list of all donors on your page.
2. With each donation detail, there is an option to send a Reply to the donor.
   (Note**  this response message will also show publicly on your fundraising page.)

We recommend taking lots of photos throughout your Sleep Out to share with your donors during and after the night itself. You can share updates on your fundraising page or share them on your own social media channels.

In order to get one of our much sought-after, cosy and stylish yellow beanies you need to raise €250!

All funds donated through iDonate go directly to Galway Simon Community. You don’t have to worry about this. It happens automatically. 100% of the funds raised go directly towards our Homelessness Prevention Services for those at homelessness in the Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.

Participants organising their own Sleep Out are encouraged to have family and friends join them – it’s a great opportunity to engage in a conversation about what homelessness looks like in our community. But please check with the organiser of your Sleep Out event. We would also encourage you to recruit other people to register and fundraise as part of your team.

No – While our official Sleep Out already took place on Friday 30th September, there is still the option for schools and community groups to organise their own Sleep Out in a safe place of their choosing.

The weather will be cold and potentially wet so make sure you are prepared by checking off the following kit list:

• Sleeping bag – cold weather and waterproof sleeping bag
• Thermals – layers are the way forward for staying as warm as possible!
• Coat, hat, gloves, scarf, thick socks
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Torch
• A fully charged phone – there will be no power sockets available for you to use during the event

We would like you to remain outside wherever possible, providing you’re not putting your health at risk. Top tips for staying dry are using cardboard, sleeping close to buildings to get some shelter and waterproof sleeping bags.

Before you choose your Sleep Out location, make sure to have a look around and consider the risk in the immediate area i.e. broken glass or rubbish. Consider where water will drain in the event of rain and avoid settling in a spot where water may pool.

Your health and safety are of the utmost importance throughout the Sleep Out – if you, or anyone else, starts to feel ill at any point, please go back indoors.

As this is an outdoor event, please be aware of the signs of hypothermia. There is information about hypothermia and what to do if you think someone is suffering here.