GET READY TO RUN 2013 ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON NYRR FUNDRAISING TOOLKIT WELCOME

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1 2013 ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON NYRR FUNDRAISING TOOLKIT WELCOME Congratulations on choosing to expand your NYRR race experience by fundraising for your favorite charity! This fundraising toolkit provides tips and suggestions to help you reach your fundraising goals. Fundraising can be fun, a great way to meet new people, and it enables you to support a worthy cause. So get in the spirit, follow the included steps and tips, and watch your dollars add up! YOUR TOOLKIT INCLUDES: Get organized C onnect with people (and sample letters) Fundraising ideas Your fundraising log GET READY TO RUN

2 GET ORGANIZED 1. Your fitness training program and your fundraising efforts go hand in hand. Both have weekly plans, weekly goals and a build-up to your eventual success. Do them together and make your total race experience a confident and positive one. 2. Create your personal fundraising page. This tells everyone about your efforts and people can easily make payments on your page. Your donations will be organized in one spot and you can watch your grand total grow. Go to CrowdRise.com and follow the easy steps to set up your page. Once it s complete you re ready to go! 3. Write your story. Your reason for fundraising should communicate your personal passion for running and how you are giving meaning to your miles by supporting your charity. This will become part of your letter to potential donors. Keep it brief, just a paragraph or two, and have someone else read it and provide feedback before you send it out. 4. Design your fundraising program. Planning ahead, setting deadlines and staying organized are the keys to success. Write down your goals and tackle them one step at a time. Here is a simple way to get organized, in four stages. Stage 1: Lay out your plan Make a list of anyone who might donate to your cause. Everyone is a potential donor family, friends, teachers, co-workers, neighbors, your hair dresser, your doctor, etc. Make a list of local businesses; include your own company Make a list of event and money-raising ideas (see Fundraising Ideas) Plan your outreach, using all methods that you can , hand-written letters, postcards, phone calls; social media, posters and flyers Ask friends and family to support you through their networks Stage 2: Put your plan into action Contact everyone on your list and let them know about your fundraising efforts. Tell anyone who donates to check with their work organization to see if they can get a matching contribution (see Connect with People) Start planning your events ideas (see Fundraising Ideas) Stage 3: Collecting money and plan events Start collecting donations from people who have expressed interest in supporting you Stage 4: Re-evaluate and Adjust Continually evaluate your progress. Add names to your list of contacts and try new events and ideas Repeat what s working and keep the momentum going 5. Start today. Go at a steady pace, keep your eye on your goal, and you will make progress.

3 CONNECT WITH PEOPLE AND FOLLOW-UP 1. Send introduction letters and reminder notes. Be creative, be authentic, and include your story. Keep your message focused solely on your mission. The intro letter should only be one or two paragraphs and the reminder note can be shorter. Always include a link to your fundraising webpage and a deadline for collecting money so people are prompted to donate right away. SAMPLE INTRO LETTER SAMPLE REMINDER LETTER You may know that I m running in the New York City marathon this year. I ve been looking forward to this for a long time and I m finally going for it. For each one of the 26.2 miles that I run, I will be raising $$$ to support MY CHARITY. Can I count on you to help? MY CHARITY means so much to me because [tell your story here- two or three sentences]. If this feels like a cause you can support, donating is easy! Just click here (INSERT LINK FOR YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE) and follow the easy steps. I also accept cash and checks. My deadline for collecting donations is INSERT DATE, and the sooner you can donate, the sooner I ll reach my goal. Any amount is appreciated. Thanks in advance for your support, and please feel free to share this with your friends, family, and co-workers. Thanks to a number of helpful donations, after only one month, I ve raised $$$ to support my marathon run for MY CHARITY. If you have not been able to donate yet, but would like to do so, please click here (INSERT LINK FOR YOUR FUND- RAISING PAGE) and follow the easy steps. Any amount, small or large, will be deeply appreciated. The deadline for collecting donations is INSERT DATE, Of course, I will happily accept support from your friends, family, and co-workers too!

4 2. A brief, sincere thank-you note goes miles in showing your appreciation and helps you establish and maintain positive connections. Make sure to send one immediately after someone makes a donation. Tell them how far you are on your way to reach a goal, and maybe they will donate more! Also, send a second thank-you note after your event to everyone telling them about your race experience, your total amount raised, and how much you appreciate their support. SAMPLE THANK-YOU NOTE #1 SAMPLE THANK-YOU NOTE #2 Thank you so much for being part of this journey and making my marathon experience even more special. With your contribution, we are making a difference for MY CHARITY. You can keep track of my progress by checking my fundraising page (INSERT LINK FOR YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE). Please tell your friends and family about this fundraising effort in case they would like this opportunity to support MY CHARITY too. Thanks to you and other donors, my marathon experience was amazing. (Tell about your run here was it cold, did you finish, what was your time?) Long after the excitement of the day, I will still feel proud to have raised XXXX for a cause I believe in so strongly. Thank you so much for your contribution, for your support, and for making this whole effort such a great success.

5 FUNDRAISING IDEAS 1. Fun = donations. Any event or idea can become a fundraising opportunity. What kinds of events have you attended that were fun? The more interesting your ideas, the more people will want to join in. Other people may give you ideas, they may even invite you to be part of their events. Events can be Meetups, dinner parties, company gatherings, happy hours, sports challenges, etc. The list is endless. When planning your event, keep these in mind: Everyone pays admission and the fee goes to your charity Raise additional money onsite by selling things; proceeds to go your charity Hold a raffle most of the money goes to your charity; you can share some with the winner Use venues that are free of charge, or willing to donate space Raffles, prizes, and giveaways can add to the entertainment Spend as little as possible and raise as much money as possible 2. Work it out: Hire yourself out to clean someone s home, rake leaves, babysit, do grocery shopping, paint someone s picture, walk a dog, wash cars, and more. Tell people they re donating to YOUR CHAR- ITY by hiring you. Be clever with the type of jobs you can do. 3. Plan a YOUR CHARITY garage sale: Clean your closets, empty your toolshed and sell everything! Encourage family and friends to do the same, or have them contribute to your pile. Use Craig s List, ebay, yard sales and ad bulletins, and make sure to tell people why you re selling to raise money for YOUR CHARITY. 4. Helpful Tip: Find other fundraisers who you can partner with; rally friends and family to help you execute events

6 YOUR FUNDRAISING LOG Just as a training plan helps you reach your fitness goals, a fundraising log will help your reach your fund raising finish line. It should include a weekly schedule of goals and results and, most important, a detailed list of every person you contact, the money you collect, and the next steps. Having an organized log will be invaluable as you increase your outreach each week. 1. List every single person and business you can contact 2. Record the date(s) you contact them and their response 3. Record the amount each person donates 4. Mark the dates of your thank-you notes 5. Make a separate list of your other fundrais ing efforts, such as working and selling your personal items, and keep track of the money you raise. This will count as your own donation.

7 My Fundraising Log for: (YOUR CHARITY Name Here) Start Date: End Date: Goal: Contact name, address, phone number First Date of Contact Method of Contact: (EM), Phone call (TC), Letter (LTR), Facebook (FB) Amount and Date Donated Reminder Letter Date Sent Thank You Letter Date Sent Miscellaneous Notes