EVERY day a crack team sits down to a monumental challenge – to raise £3m annually to support the work of one of Oxford’s best-loved charities.

Helen & Douglas House, in Magdalen Road, costs £4.5m each year to run, and with no Government funding and no charges to visitors to the hospice, the bulk of the money comes from fundraising.

While 23,000 people are listed as active supporters, with costs rising all the time and people having less spare money, new support is always needed.

Head of fundraising Jo Mitchell said: “We try to make sure that as much of it as possible is sustainable income, things that we don’t have to recreate every year.

“Then at the beginning of each year we can get a rough idea of income which should be coming in, then on top of that there are companies, trusts, and all the running, jumping and sponsorship activities.”

One of the biggest fundraising activities is Childish Things (pictured opposite), a night of comedy which has featured everyone from Stephen Fry to Rowan Atkinson.

About to enter its eighth year, it has brought in £304,000 for the hospice.

Events manager Lizzie Pickering said: “It’s something that’s at the heart of Oxford.

“We always wonder if we should quit while we’re ahead, but the comedians say no and we have already sold 1,200 tickets for one of the February nights without a single name announced.”

A new event was held on October 2 called Full Circle (pictured), featuring celebrities taking turns to interview each other. With a line-up including Peep Show’s David Mitchell, Jo Brand, and hospice founder Sister Frances Dominica, it raised £9,000.

Another new event in the calendar was the Oxford Half Marathon, held on September 25, which will hopefully bring in £12,000 to £15,000 to coffers.

Other regular fundraising activities include Simply Supper, where people host a supper party in their home and charge their friends for the food in aid of the charity.

In its first year it picked up £5,000 which rose to £15,000 this year. Next year, it is hoped that will double to £30,000.

Targets have been set high for a weekly lottery launched last year, which it is hoped will eventually raise £500,000 a year. And the annual Santa Run, where people dress up as Father Christmas and run through the city streets, is growing every year, bringing in £60,000 in 2010 with a £70,000 target for this December.

After the £3m brought in through fundraising, the other £1.5m comes from a combination of income from the hospices’ charity shops, as well as Government and non-Government grants.

Mrs Mitchell said: “It’s important for us to have things that are easy for people to do as well as bigger events.

“It is a huge part of what happens at Helen & Douglas House. What’s really heartening is that while people are being squeezed by spending cuts and increasing prices, they are still supporting us.

“They may be giving a bit less, but we appreciate it more than ever and we hope people can continue to do so.”

Visit helenanddouglas. org.uk for fundraising ideas and events.