FUNDRACING 101 All about fundracing and how to make your campaign a success. 1
WHAT IS FUNDRACING Fundracing is raising money in support of a cause while participating in or supporting an athletic/volunteer endeavor. The 3 main rules of Fundracing are: Ask early! Start today! Ask often! Don t be afraid to nudge! Follow-up! This won t be the last time you fundraise! 2
HOW DO I ASK FOR A DONATION? Suggestions: In Person - Ask in person if they say they will do it later hand them the pledge form (see template) to sign. Call - Call friends and family who aren t local and follow-up with a donation request email. Snail Mail Send a letter with a pre-paid stamped envelope. Personal Email - Yahoo/Gmail/Etc. Social Media and Video Twitter, Facebook - Create a competition Make a video with your plea, example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxuxdnbrfhi 3
HOW MUCH SHOULD I ASK AND HOW OFTEN? How much? You know your audience. You will be surprised by who makes large donations. It is ok to ask for just a $1. How often? Public: At least 5 public asks (on Facebook, etc.) Private: At least 2 asks. 1 initial and 1 follow-up. 4
COMPETITIONS AND RECOGNITION Using Facebook and Twitter Make it a public competition between your friends. Example Post: @Jim Krot can you beat @Jay Bass s donation of $20 to my fundraising campaign for Mile High United Way. My goal is to raise $15,000! Support our campaign by going here: http://tinyurl.com/skjfhsj Publically recognize your donors. Example Post: Thanks to @Joe Smith and @Jay Donner for their support of my fundraising campaign for Mile High United Way. They have brought my fundraising campaign $50 closer to my goal of $500! Please join them in supporting my campaign: http://tinyurl.com/skjfhsj 5
OTHER CREATIVE IDEAS Make a dedication - Jeremy Spitzberg s Sprint Distance Dedications Offer up your talents - Create a talent exchange list. Donation match - If you donate 10 bucks to my site, I will donate 10 to yours. Donate by example - Be the first to donate. Rock Stars Honor Wall - Write your donor s name on a bright yellow paper star and hang it outside your cube or office for passerby s to see. Rewards - Take your highest donor out to dinner. Sales - Get donations from local merchants or have a garage sale! Make something - Stickers, framed photos, beanies. Food related - Ask a business (food trucks are great) to donate a percentage of their profits for the day. Bake/Sales - Sell desserts or make breakfast smoothies in the lobby. 6
GOALS AND TRACKING PROGRESS Your fundraising page fundraising goal The default fundraising page goal is $1000. It is better to keep a higher goal on your fundraising page even if you only have a $150 or $300 fundraising minimum. Why? Because your supporters will tend to give more to help you get to the end goal. Tracking your progress Log into http://myevents.active.com Select Manage my fundraising campaign. From here you will see your donations and can also customize your fundraising page, edit your email templates, and more. 7
FUNDRAISER MAIL CENTER Using your mail center you can customize your thank you and donation request templates. You can also easily send emails to your donors. Be sure to check the option to automatically send thank-you messages! 8
CREATING AN EMAIL DONATION REQUEST Key components: Hook On November 27th, I will participate in the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot in support of Mile High United Way Charity. Mile High is the official charity partner of the Thanksgiving event. Mission of the organization How you can help the charity specifically. Example: A $30 donation will Request for a donation. Please help me [ENTER GOAL] by donating $30 to my fundraising page. Note: you can change the default dollar amounts on your fundraising page to: 30, 60, 90 Read more: http://tinyurl.com/dyvlkbl 9
THANK YOU EMAIL SAMPLE In your fundraising campaign headquarters you can edit your email template that can be set to automatically send after you receive a donation. Absolutely critical to send right after you receive a donation. You do not want a supporter/donor to feel like their effort was not important to you. Personalize and send for any donation amount received. Sample email: Thanks for your donation! You're helping make a difference for Mile High United Way by supporting my fundraising efforts! Thanks again! YOUR NAME 10
STATUS REPORT EMAIL SAMPLE If possible keep your supporters up to date as well with how your training and fundraising efforts are going. Be sure to email those that have already donated with a status so they feel like they are still involved. Sample email: Hello everyone, Just wanted to keep you up to date with the status of my training for the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot. This week I completed 3 miles, with each mile at different pace to help me build up to running 3 miles at one time. I walked 1 mile, ran 1 mile, and walked the last mile. I m so glad I m training! On the fundraising side of things, I am $200 away from my goal of $1,000! Thanks to your generous support we will make a difference for Mile High United Way. Special thanks goes out to my top donor John Smith who made a donation of $100! Thanks John! YOUR NAME - YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE LINK 11
COME TO THE EVENT EMAIL SAMPLE Invite your supporters to be a part of your big day. It makes them feel special! Sample email: Hi everyone, Only two days left until the Turkey Trot that I ve been training and fundracing for. I d like to invite you to come cheer me on. {Insert event details} On the fundraising side of things, I am only $50 away from my goal of $1,000! Thanks to your generous support we will make a difference. Special thanks goes out to my top donor John Smith who made a donation of $100! Thanks John! Thanks again, YOUR NAME - YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE LINK 12
FOLLOW-UP AND RACE REPORT EMAIL Send a follow-up to let your supporters know how the event went (even if it sucked)! Add a photo if one is available. Sample email: Hi everyone, On Saturday I completed my first ever 5k! It was great/hard/etc. I am grateful to have participated with a group of people raising money for such a great cause. On the fundraising side of things, I have surpassed my fundraising goal of $1,000 by raising $1,020! Thanks to your generous support for Mile High United Way! Thanks again, YOUR NAME - YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE LINK 13
IMPORTANT LINKS Event Registration: https://endurancecui.active.com/event-reg/selectrace?e=9357052 Your Fundraising Page: This will be created after you register. Your Fundraising HQ (My Events): http://myevents.active.com Main Campaign Fundraising Page: https://fundraising.active.com/event/milehighunitedwayturkeytr2 Mile High United Way: http://www.unitedwaydenver.org/ 14