Fundraising Advice from Past Participants
Feeling a bit nervous about raising the money to meet your commitment? We are here to help and we KNOW you can do it! But, you don’t have to only take our word for it! Read below for some fundraising success stories from participants just like you!
“The most important thing I learned, from someone who worked in sales, is simply to ask everyone. Email makes it easy – in seven years, no one has ever complained about being asked. I try to keep it light-hearted and fun. My first time around, I debated about some of the people on my email list, people that I hadn’t seen or talked to in years. Ultimately, I left them on the list. And to my surprise, the very first donation rolled in (within minutes!) from a person I almost didn’t include. He has continued to be one of my big supporters. In fact, I learned this year that his company has since hired a Buddy(!) and loves your program. After the event, I send out a message to everyone (donors and non-donors alike) telling them about my experience. I have my own website, and I update my home page to feature a link people can use to donate. Same thing with my blog. People also know that I will reciprocate – I will contribute to their fund-raising events, too. I should also have mentioned the importance of matching funds – some of my donors can apply for matching funds from their employers, and my employer is generous enough to match everything I *raise* (up to an annual limit). The matching funds are a huge help!”
– Pat Parseghian
“Emails were my main form of soliciting donations, plus word-of-mouth. Frankly, I was stunned at the level of generosity of a crucial few of my donors who certainly made reaching my goal much easier than expected!”
– Liberty Conboy
“As for me, friends, family, and co-workers helped me reach my goal. I used both email and speaking with people (talking with people was the most effective way in raising money).”
– Matt Mincks
“I am extremely excited that I was able to meet my fundraising commitment. I actually relied entirely on your email system which is set up very well. I was able to manage who I had sent emails to, who had donated, who had looked at the website and who I had sent reminders to and when. It is very user friendly. About 30 days after my initial email blast to friends, co-workers and family, I sent out email updates letting those who hadn’t donated know where I stood on my fundraising efforts. For instance I sent one out saying “I only need to raise $500 to meet my fundraising goal – no donation is too small and every dollar committed makes a difference!” Those emails worked very well. Finally, about 2 days ago I selected some additional folks that I wasn’t sure would be interested in donating, because they aren’t that close to me, but I do a lot of work with them – and surprisingly I raised an additional $700 from those ‘peripheral’ donors. It goes to show….you never know!”
– Rachel Todd
“My success has mainly been through emails with a few personal conversations when necessary or appropriate. I have been around a while and have supported many things so some of it is payback. Also many of my donors know my grandson and it is easy for them to identify and support the cause.”
– Jim Gemmer
