Get involved

• Donate
• Forever Funds
• Fundraising events
  • Sponsored walks
  • Organise your own event
  • Running Events
  • Bike rides
  • Dinner4Good
  • Balls
  • Parachute jumps
  • Abseils and zipslides
  • UK and Europe charity challenges
  • Overseas charity challenges
  • Time 4 Tea
• In celebration
• Companies
• Trusts
• Schools
• Students & RAGs
• Community groups
• Other ways to help
• Fundraising resources
• Supporter showcase

Raise money for Meningitis UK by holding a dinner party at your house and charging your guests to come! Whether you're a whizz in the kitchen or not, we can help you make your event a success, in conjunction with our partner Dinner4Good. This really exciting venture is so easy, all the organising is done online and you can have lots of fun with your menu.

How does it work?

To keep the organisation of the event simple (giving you more time in the kitchen!) you can use the website Dinner4Good to help you. You sign up online to use the site, of which Meningitis UK is a listed charity. Through Dinner4Good you can write up your menu, list the time, date and place of your dinner, and email an invitation to all your prospective guests, with the details. You've then got an online page where you can manage your dinner party. 

How do I raise money?

Simple - your donation will be the cost of the meal, and your guests will pay to come. Once your guests have received your email invitation via Dinner4Good they will need to respond to this email to let you know whether or not they will attend. A link in their email will take them straight to your dinner party page online. They will then be able to input their attendance details and have the opportunity to donate, through a secure online page.

Enabling your guests to donate in this way cuts out having to ask people for cash on the night, or chasing anyone who might have forgotten to give you their money. You get to spend a nice evening with friends, and all the money comes to Meningitis UK directly from Dinner4Good.

Your guests can donate what they like, but if they are looking for guidelines we would suggest:

• £20 per person for a fancy dinner
• £15 per person for dinner
• £10 per person for a barbeque or picnic

How to plan your dinner

What you do on the night is entirely up to you, but some things you might like to consider are:

• to keep your costs down, cook things like soups, stews or vegetarian meals
• 6-10 guests is usually a manageable number for a dinner party, but if you are feeling confident and adventurous you can invite as many as you like!
• having a buffet, picnic or barbeque can make it easier for you and you can invite more people
• make your dinner table look pretty and inviting, with candles, place names and decorations - these can be bought inexpensively

Some fun ideas

• you could have a dress code or theme to your dinner party- for example, a pirate night, a Moroccan theme, black tie, jeans only, clowns, wherever your imagination takes you
• why not make fundraising through Dinner4Good a regular event? You could base your dinners around special occasions such as Easter, St Patrick's Day, Midsummer night, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Christmas... the possibilities are endless
• not so confident of your cooking skills? Make your ‘dinner' a barbeque, buffet or picnic

How to get started

1. Set up your email invitations (takes about 2 minutes).
2. Register on the site so you can check who's coming and how much money has been raised.
3. Enter the names and email addresses of your guests.
4. Preview what your email invitation will look like - at this stage you can edit anything that's not quite right.
5. Hit the 'send' button and wait for the replies!

Your guests will get an email with all the details of the party, and a link to your Dinner4Good page, where they can go online and donate to Meningitis UK. That way you don't have to ask them for cash on the day and the money comes straight to us. They will also get a password, if they need to come back and visit your dinner party page - for example if they want to check who else is coming!

You can then see who's accepted and how much they've donated by visiting your dinner party page. You will also get a confirmation email from Dinner4Good, every time someone accepts.

Happy dining!

If you need help with this or any other fundraising event, please contact Laura Bullock, our Supporter Relations Officer, who will be happy to help you. Laura's email is laurabullock@meningitisuk.org  and her direct dial is 0117 302 6192.