Fundraising masterclass: Latics2Amsterdam

Take a leaf out of the Latics' book

From a modest two cyclists taking part in last year's Amsterdam ride to a 13-strong peloton headed to Europe this summer, the Latics have had a Leicester-like season and now sit in the top four of the Football to Amsterdam league table.

So why are they doing it? How did they boost their numbers? And what are they doing to jump-start their fundraising? Read on to find out...

Why Latics2Amsterdam?

In 2015 two Wigan Athletic fans, John Heeley and Peter Mulqueeney set off from Leyton Orient's Matchroom Stadium to ride a 145 miles over two days to Amsterdam Arena, home of Dutch giants, Ajax.

Why?

Well, mostly in an attempt to prove to themselves and their family and friends that they could conquer a fairly demanding challenge. But also to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

And prove it they did! Peter and John made it to Amsterdam and impressively raised over £5,500 for their efforts.

So what next?

They loved the ride so much they were keen to do it again but wanted to go the extra mile (figuratively speaking) and take on Football to Amsterdam 2016 with more Latics in tow and raising even more money.

Boost your numbers

Peter and John

Deciding to enter for the 2016 challenge, Peter & John asked themselves, ‘having done the ride last year, is the 2016 ride a challenge’?

To keep them on their toes, the Latics duo agreed to fundraise more and grow their team of two with the backing of Wigan Athletic.

How the club helped

Peter and John approached the CEO of the club to ensure they secured full support from Wigan Athletic. It kicked off from there and here's how the club has gotten involved so far:

The 2016 squad photograph (as seen at the top of the page) has a few extra faces amonst the team.
Players applaud the Latics2Amsterdam team, about 2 minutes in, in their behind the scenes video
The club press office publicised the ride in an article on the club website
They also got backing from the local press and featured in a match day programme

First-rate fundraising

Latics2Amsterdam have put their heads together to come up with a range of fundraising activities to engage the club, sponsors and the local community.

You can check out their Latics2Amsterdam website to get the full picture but here's just a taster of some of their fundraising activities:

Held a concert in a local club, raising £900 in one night
Selling pin badges with suggested donations of £1 or more
Holding a Glitter Ball - a black tie dinner dance
A Race Night at the end of February

So what's your excuse? It's time to get creative...