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FUNDRAISING TIPS
Finding sponsorship is easier than you think. The secret is to ask early and ask EVERYONE! Ask friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Talk to local businesses. You can even sponsor yourself.
Don’t think of it as a handout. You’re giving people an opportunity to contribute to a real and worthy cause. Answer any questions they may have, or direct them to our website. Let them see for themselves the difference their contributions make. Some people will want time to consider. Just remember to ask them again. Also, carrying a donation form with you will allow you to sign people up when you happen to meet them. Download the donation form.
How To Raise $1,000 in 9 Days
By following these steps over the next nine days, you'll see how simply you should be able to raise $1,000 towards your fundraising goal.
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Day 1 |
Start by donating $50 yourself. |
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Day 2 |
Ask two family members to sponsor you for $50 each. |
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Day 3 |
Ask five friends to contribute $25. |
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Day 4 |
Ask five co-workers to contribute $15 |
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Day 5 |
Ask five neighbors to contribute $15. |
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Day 6 |
Ask five people from your church/temple for $15. |
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Day 7 |
Ask your boss for a company contribution of $75. |
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Day 8 |
Ask five local merchants to sponsor you for $50. |
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Day 9 |
Ask two businesses you frequent for $50. |
Supercharge Your Fundraising Efforts
The computer is your friend. And while we all have those moments when we feel like throwing our electronic friend out the window, there is reason to reboot. You can make your connection to the internet your greatest fundraising tool.
Why? Online social network participants raise more money! In 2007, participants with at least one online donation raised 164% more than participants with no online donations according to Vicki Gryspeerdt at Hewitt and Johnston Consultants.
How? The average online gift for those donors was $59.24 versus the average offline donation of $12.00.
Ask, and You Should Receive: Email volume drives gift volume, according to Convio. In other words, the more people you email the link to your fundraising page, the more donations you should receive. So, think of everyone you know and their brothers! Email the link to friends, family, and co-workers. And don’t forget those high school friends who have found you thanks to Facebook.
Ask Nicely and You Will Receive: Of course you are all very nice, kind, and generous people. But you are also very busy people. However, it is important to take a few extra moments to really make your personalized RFOS fundraising page just that: Personalized! Collect your thoughts and then tell your potential donors why you are participating. Why is this so important to you? Tell them how hard you are training. What does each mile mean to you? Thank them in advance for visiting your page and for donating. Also, don’t forget to add a picture - they are worth a thousand words.
If you need assistance or ideas for your fundraising page, do not hesitate to contact Missy Shutts.
Using Facebook as a Fundraising Tool
Social networking has become one of the greatest resources you have in meeting your fundraising goal. Below are helpful instructions so that you can turn your Facebook profile into an even more powerful extension of you and what you are passionate about.
Sending an email through your Facebook
- Log into your Facebook and click on Inbox at the top of the page.
- Go to + Compose Message on the top right of the page of your Inbox.
- Type in the names of the people you want to send the email to (or if you've created a list of friend insert the name of that list).
- Compose your subject and message.
- Click the "Post Link" icon under the attachments section at the bottom.
- Paste in the URL of your page in the space provided. (You must paste the FULL URL and NOT the shortcut. To obtain the full URL open your page and copy the URL at the top.)
- Click Attach.
- Click Send. (You will notice that your link will appear at the bottom with a small icon.)
Posting your link on your Facebook page
- Log into your Facebook and click on Profile at the top of the page (you will post this under the Wall section). This is basically the same thing as updating your status.
- Click the box that reads "What's on your mind?". When you click in the box the options for adding a link will appear, click the link button and add your url.
- Click Share to post.
- You can add a message like - "Help me reach my goal!" to grab people's attention and the link will appear on your status for all to see!
FUNDRAISING TOOLS
PPMD provides runners with several tools to raise funds offline and online. For instance, in your welcome packet (which should arrive a few days after you register) you should have envelopes with labels for you to do your own mailing, here are some documents to help you:
Download Sample Solicitation Letter
Download Sample Press Template
Finally, setting up a fundraising page will make it easy for them to see what we do and for them to donate. It will also make it easier for you to keep track of your fundraising.
Customize Your Very Own Personal Fundraising Page
How to Add Offline Gifts to Your Personal Page | 
