Dear Johnny Depp,
I'm holding a car boot sale at my school next Saturday to raise money to buy a new set of soccer goalposts. Please could you come. Thanks a million. Hope to see you there.

You can guess what will happen. Mr Depp won't even see the letter and he certainly won't turn up. Stars are very busy people. They will only attend functions for one of two reasons. The first is to earn thousands of dollars. The second is to support a cause close to their hearts. And they can't suddenly drop everything and turn up next weekend. They need plenty of warning to fit it into their diaries.

Here are some of the things you need to sort out to get your star to turn up - and hopefully for free, because if you have to pay, then you're not going to make much profit for your charity as the stars demand huge appearance money.

*What is your charity? Make sure you try to get a star who empathizes or supports the same cause. They are much more likely to want to be there.

*If you know someone who is friends or family to a star, go through them. If not, track down their agent or manager and contact them.

*Make the contact well in advance of the event. Offer more than one date.

*Make it clear exactly what you are looking for.

*Make sure you can get a suitable venue for the dates you offer. If you managed to get your star to attend, then you will need somewhere big enough for all the people who are going to want to attend.

*Make sure you can get plenty of publicity - in the local newspapers, the radio and television. Having scooped your big name, you're going to want to make the most of the event and plug your charity as much as possible.

*It's also worth asking if your star would like to become a patron of the charity. That will have long-running benefits. And maybe he would like to donate an item for the raffle.

Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Celebrities and charity fund-raising: How to get the stars to your event?
We want to hear your view. Write now!