Lock Up Your Boss
Have you ever wished you could lock up your boss and throw away the key?
Dove House Hospice developed its Lock up your Boss (LUYB) Campaign in 2007 as an easy and fun way that its corporate supporters could fundraise for the hospice. Basically the hospice team will come in and arrest your boss and they have to raise bail to be set free again!
The event takes place over one day within the workplace and can be tailored to suit the needs and wishes of the company taking part i.e. use it as an opportunity to show customers that they actively support good causes, use it as a moral boost for staff or way of engaging with suppliers etc.
How the day works
The basic format of the day is as follows:
10:00am The fundraising staff arrive on site with an “arresting officer” to read the boss their rights and arrest them publically in front of their colleagues.
10:30am After the boss has been arrested and visited everyone on site in handcuffs / towing a ball and chain, they are transferred to a real life replica of a prison cell that is transported to the place of work on the back of a van. They can then change into their prison attire, either the stereo typical black and white striped suit or the bright green and yellow escape suit used in real prisons. Staff are then free to visit the prisoner and learn from an ex-Hull Prison Guard about what life is really like inside. 
11:00am As the replica prison cell is on a van it can be transferred to any location, many bosses visit a couple of sites during their arrest. If the boss doesn’t want to leave the site they can choose to either stay in the cell or be locked in their office for the remainder of their arrest.
12:00pm If the boss has shown good behavior, we will then take them to the hospice for lunch and a tour round to show them where the money they raise will be spent.
14:00pm The boss is welcome to stay at the hospice and use office facilities for the remainder of the afternoon or can be released into the care of their staff.
There are two main ways in which funds can be raised through this campaign:
Staff driven:
The first option is to set a figure, for example £1000, and challenge staff to raise that amount through holding dress down days, asking customers and suppliers for donations, holding collections etc. Once the amount is reached then a date is set and the boss arrested – this can be organised very quickly with little notice.
Boss driven:
The second option is to arrange the arrest for a particular day and advertise the event through posters, email, press etc. In the run up to the day the boss can then ask friends, colleagues, customers and suppliers for donations towards a pre-determined bail payment. This can be managed through an online payment site (see below for details of how to create a page link this using our website). Another example of a site capable of taking online donations is justgiving (ie www.justgiving.com/grahamwatson) Donations can also be made via cheque, over the phone or collected in cash ready for the day.
Previous bosses have approached their fundraising in different ways. One set bail at £1000 and asked 10 suppliers for a donation of £100 a piece, another emailed all his contacts and asked for any donations to be made online, another raised nothing before his arrest and instead hit his colleagues and customers on the day with a bucket until he raised enough to be let out again.
It is really is up to the boss and how they would like to approach it, there is no right and wrong way to fundraise for this appeal. Also whatever the bail is set at, we will release the prisoner at the end of their time even if they haven’t quite made their target!
Support materials
There are a number of things we can do to ensure the day is a success:
Press
We have a great relationship with the local press and can arrange for a press release to be issued about the day. More often than not the local papers will cover the event. This release can also be used for internal publications.
Posters / leaflets
Before the day we will visit and take photos to be used on posters / leaflets that we will create to promote the arrest. Either we can then make up charges for arrest or the boss’ staff or the boss themselves can think of some and we will create support materials accordingly to be distributed before the day.
Online fundraising site
Creating an online fundraising page is an easy, safe and secure way of raising funds for this appeal. You can create a page by registering on this website - simply click the link at the top right of this page to register. Once registered you can create your own fundraising page in the "My DHH" section. This means anyone can donate from around the world in their own time and you don’t have to worry about handling any cash, plus it can add gift aid to every donation made if the donor is a tax payer.
Website
The arrest can be promoted to all our supporters via this website!
So if you’d like to lock up your boss or you’re a boss that really should be doing time then contact us