Last night the local office for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society held a fundraising clinic for participants in the fall Team In Training events. There was a very small group of us that came, nearly as many participants as there were LLS staff and TNT mentors there. But they provided us with some fun tips:
- Sell Body Parts:
They mentioned that you’d have to be careful how you word this, but you could tell friends, family or businesses that you’ll put their name on certain body parts if they donate a set amount. Like $50 for your name on my right arm, $250 for your name on the seat of my running shorts, etc. Of course, since I live in Las Vegas I could always take the risque route and make pamphlets outlining my plan to sell the body parts and I could stand along The Strip with all those questionable types who hand out the um… literature there. But seriously, if somebody donated $250 I would gladly wear a sign with their name hooked to my rear if they requested. - Hold a Raffle (or opportunity giveaway):
Okay, so maybe your friends (or family) don’t like you enough to just donate the money. 😉 But maybe they’d be interested if there was the chance to win something! The whole idea is to get someone to donate a few items that you could use in a giveaway. After that announce that people who donate a specific amount are entered in the drawing. The big thing is to not buy a ton of stuff yourself for the giveaway so that you don’t recover your costs. If you buy something that costs $100 only to have 3 people donate $5 for that prize, wouldn’t you have been better off to just donate that $100 to your own fundraising initially? - Charge Admission:
Have a party at your house. Invite all your friends and charge them admission. You might want to let them know about the fundraising aspect in your invitations, just so they actually come with money. Or so they know to avoid your party completely if they really hate helping charities! - Pimp Your Website:
If you have a donation website, make sure EVERYBODY knows about it. Put a statement about it in your e-mail signature. Make labels and stick it on all of your outgoing mail (do people still send mail these days?). Make your own business cards and pass them out to everyone you can. This could be another opportunity for me to stand on The Strip and hand out stuff to the tourists! (Because I’m always looking for an opportunity to stand on a crowded street in 110°+ heat!)
These were just a few of the items they suggested (sans my sarcasm). The fundraising aspect is still overwhelming to me, but I’m going to get it done. So far I’ve just sent e-mails out to family members. I’ll admit, the response was a little bit of a let down. I’m immensely grateful to all of those who have donated. But I had built up in my mind that everyone would respond, even with $5 or so. But that hasn’t happened. But if I have to be like the tortoise in the fable, I’ll keep going slow and steady. I would like to have my fundraising complete by September when it comes time for recommitment.
I know there are some of you out there who have done fundraising, whether it be for Team In Training or other charities. What methods have worked for you?
Cross-Training Day:
40 minutes of Vinyasa Yoga
Push-up Challenge Week 1 Day 2: 9+8+6+5+9 = 37 total
Chest muscles are feeling a little sore today.
Jill Will Run 
I want to do fundraising for my next marathon and honestly, it makes me very nervous. My friend did the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk last year and one suggestion that was given to her was to send a request to her entire address book. That would make me a bit uncomfortable, but she said that it really worked. She said that friends of friends (you know those people who end up in your address book through a mass e-mail or something) ended up donating bits here and there. She said her husband’s colleagues were also a good source. Also, the more personal a story you have the more people will give. Obviously, these are third-hand bits of advice as I haven’t done fundraising since I was in high school. Good luck!!
The thought of you handing out pamphlets on the Strip made me laugh. I always thought that the only people that handed stuff out were for strip clubs and porn sites. LOL. You might disappoint people by actually having a legitimate cause.
It’s always surprising to see who help you out. This is completely different, but when I was doing those home shows I really thought some of my close friends would step up and help me. They totally didn’t, but some distant friends and even friends of friends helped me SO much and we ended up getting much closer.
Maybe you could do some form of all three of those things. I sound like a Target pimp half the time (hey I love it there) but if you talk to a manager and say you are trying to get an item to raffle away for a fundraiser and tell them what the money goes to they are VERY likely to donate something to you. If not them try somewhere else. (Even an Etsy seller). Most places have a place in their budget for charity work and as long as you mention their donation they are happy to help out. Perhaps you know a skilled friend and you could ask them to donate something they make to raffle. They would probably be more than happy to help. I admit a lot of people are more willing to give if there is a chance they could get something out of it.
As for the body part thing it is an interesting idea, but I can’t get past the sense that it will bring up a lot of dirty requests, esp on the strip. lol.
The party idea sounds fun, but don’t forget about the cost of food, plates and other party supplies. That option might become more expensive than it seems at the surface. However if you have generous friends or neighbors you might make enough to make it well worth it. Something to think about.
Definitely pimp your website! People can’t donate if they don’t know about it.
I’ll keep an eye out for other ideas too and let you know. : )
You also might be able to get one of your lovely readers to donate something to raffle. I don’t know. Multiple prizes are fun. I’ll keep thinking on this.
Also I found this:
http://stepbystepfundraising.com/relay-for-life-fundraising-ideas/
Lisa: Yeah, I’d either have people very disappointed in what I’m handing out or people who are pleasantly surprised. Not that I would actually dare do that!
Sparklie: Thanks for all the info and feedback. So many ideas!
LOL at the body parts/standing on The Strip! I’m raising money for The American Cancer Society this year; raised money for Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago last year and it was a lot easier than I expected. One thing that worked for me was the first of every month I sent an email to friends/coworkers/family with a brief summary of how my training was going, how many days left to until Race Day and a link to my running blog/donation page. Every time I sent out the monthly email, donations came in . ..it seemed to work like a good reminder for people. Good luck with fundraising and training!