221 TEAM ELLIS...

We are getting to the sharp end now, as there are around 30 days left before we head off into Europe in our glorified shopping trolleys and our mini-SUV. It is time to complete some of the outstanding tasks before we leave, one of which is properly setting up the fundraising page.

Speaking to Steve Fowler, he suggested setting up our own JustGiving page linked to the New Start charity, so we can see how much we have raised for their campaign. We can all send out the same link, meaning that money raised by Richie, for example, ends up in the same pot as that donated to Carl.

Setting up a JustGiving page is fairly straightforward, getting it set up exactly as I'd like proved trickier. I followed the prompts, filled in my details, and then sat back, satisfied with my work. This is where the tinkering began, and the frustration grew.

When we shared the link, it said I (my full name) was raising money for New Start. This is not what I wanted; I wanted it to state that we (our team name) were raising money. Hmmm.

The instructions suggested setting up a fundraising team and adding members. Right, let's try that, I thought, shouldn't have bothered.

I set up the team and sent the link to everyone else. They needed to set up their own fundraising page and then link it to the team. Not only was that a faff, but it wasn't what I wanted. I was after a single link for everyone, not six different links that all ended up in the same pot. Time for a rethink.

The answer came from Lisa, who suggested that I change my name in the system. So my full Sunday name was replaced with 'Team Ellis', and suddenly the link that went out was generic, so all of us could share it without it looking like I was the only one putting money in the coffers.

With that sorted, I also wrote a thank-you message that is sent out after a donation. This took longer than expected, as I wanted something heartfelt without being too soppy. I think it is pretty good. If you want to read it, please head over to our JUSTGIVING page and put some money in our digital bucket.