& free to breathe FUNDRAISING TIPS FUNDAMENTALS
TABLE OF CONTENTS pg. 3 Steps for Fundraising pg. 4 Enhance Fundraising Efforts Seven Ways to Boost Your Fundraising Efforts One-A-Day: How to Raise $100 in One Week pg. 5 Simple How-To Asking What, Why, What & Will You Methods for Making Contact with Potential Donors Expanding Your Giving Circle Educate Directing Donors to Our Website to Learn More pg. 7 Keep the Momentum Show Your Appreciation & Gratitude Follow-up & Update Keep Up the Momentum Sending Your Donations to Free to Breathe pg. 9 Corporate Matching & Gift Programs Double Your Funds Apply for Matching Gifts Optimizing Matching Gifts 2
STEPS FOR FUNDRAISING Set a Goal Fundraising is an adventure and a personal challenge. Set a goal that is achievable, but aim high. The more money you raise, the more vital research and programs that get funded in the movement to double lung cancer survival! Then, tell everyone your goal; they will want to help you succeed! Start Early The sooner you are able to begin your efforts, the easier it will be to reach your fundraising goals! Create a Donor List Form a list of everyone you know: this includes family, friends, co-workers, business associates, neighbors, church or club members, your dentist, doctor, hairdresser, dry cleaner and postman, as well as local businesses you frequent. You ll be surprised where donations will come from! Don t leave anyone out. Jumpstart your fundraising, lead by example and show how important this cause is to you; make the first donation to your own fundraising campaign. Start by donating $10, $25 or more! Create Your Personal Fundraising Page to Make Donating Easy Your online personal fundraising page is an incredibly powerful fundraising tool and very important to your fundraising efforts. It only takes about 10 minutes to personalize with your story and photos inspiring people to give. You can also track your progress and get important news from us. In fact, if anyone searches for you on the Free to Breathe website, they will be directed to your personal fundraising page, where they can learn more about your commitment and donate directly to you online. Make donating easy by sending out a link to your page, then watch the donations come in as you continue to ask for support! Ask Ask, ask, ask! When you are trying to raise money, the most important thing you need to do is ask for it. It sounds too simple, but the fact is, you raise money when you ask for it, and you don t raise money when you don t. And, the more you ask, the more money you are going to raise. Make a commitment to ask at least one person for a donation today. Renew If you ve hosted or participated in fundraising events like this before, ask past donors to renew their donations, keeping in mind that many donors give to the same charity year after year. Be sure to share with them the importance of giving each year and what the commitment means to you. In most cases you will be the most dedicated person to the cause that they know. This will give you a leg up in asking them for a generous donation! remember: When you ask for a donation, you are giving them an opportunity to be a part of the solution. tip: Your goal is to engage potential donors in your personal journey and inspire them to give! Even if a potential donor hasn t been affected by your cause, or doesn t seem interested or engaged in this specific fight, they will probably consider giving just to support you and your enthusiasm, so don t let that concern deter you from asking. 3
ENHANCE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS Seven Ways to Boost Your Fundraising Efforts Encourage all of your donors to ask their employers if they offer a matching gift program. If they do, ask your donors to submit the paperwork as soon as possible to double their donation. Post a link to your personal fundraising page on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or other social network site. If you reach your goal before your target date, increase it. Then continue to update your supporters. You will be amazed how much you can raise! Publicize the event and your efforts by posting donation forms, flyers, brochures and posters at your desk and other areas in your workplace. Ask all of your donors to send your email to ten of their friends with a request to support you with a donation. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and include the URL to your personal fundraising web page so that readers can sponsor you online. Write a story for your company s newsletter or intranet about the event and your efforts. Be sure to include the link to your personal fundraising page. One-A-Day: How to Raise $100 in One Week Ask at least one person each day to make a contribution and you can raise at least $100 in just a week! Raising $100 in one week: Make your own contribution of $20 Ask 4 friends or family members to contribute $15 each Ask 2 neighbors to sponsor you for $10 each Raising $300 in one week: Make your own contribution of $30 Ask 5 friends or family members to contribute $25 each Ask 3 neighbors to sponsor you for $15 each Ask 5 co-workers to sponsor you for $10 each Ask your employer for a $50 contribution 4
SIMPLE HOW-TO ASKING What, Why, What & Will You What is the need you are trying to address Why is it important to you What you are doing about it (what is your commitment to it) ASK: Will you help by doing X? Although the process for asking remains the same no matter what method you choose to reach out to potential donors (see below), it s incredibly important to: tip: When asking donors for a Personalize your ask contribution, always ask if their Guide your donors employers offer matching gift Suggest a specific amount you d like them to give, however, let them decide how much they programs. Matching gifts can double wish to give to such a worthy cause your donors contributions. Share the easy, available ways for making the donation (online, mailing a check or giving a check to you to mail) Remember to share that all donations made directly to Free to Breathe are tax deductible Methods for Making Contact with Potential Donors Identify your best prospects and the relationship you have with them. These could be contacts who either have a close personal connection to the cause or could just be people you have a special relationship with. Based on how well you know each potential donor, approach each of them with a bit of special treatment and with the appropriate method. Online Send out emails to your family and friends from your Fundraising Success Center asking for their support. We ve already created a suggested Please Support My Efforts email message for you to use. We encourage you to personalize it by adding why the cause is important to you. Personal Solicitations, Face-to-Face Ask potential donors for a few minutes of their time: being note: The link to your personal fundraising page will be automatically added to the bottom of any emails you send out from your Fundraising Success Center. sure to set a specific time and place (a few minute chat, for lunch, a casual coffee, or even a walk). Follow the process for asking above and share how much you hope they ll support your effort. Try to understand if and how they will be able to extend their support before you leave the meeting. Always say thank you regardless of the outcome. 5
Telephone Making a phone call tends to work best if you know the donor well. Be considerate and choose a good time to call and think about what you re going to say before you make the call. Once you reach them, be sure to ask if this is a good time to talk before making your ask. Try to understand if and how they will be able to extend their support before you hang up. And, always say thank you, regardless of the outcome. Letter Write a brief personal letter customized for each person. Open with a personal comment then include the WHAT, WHY, WHAT and WILL YOU. Suggest a specific amount and include how they may make the actual donation (online or mailing a check.) Be sure to: hand address the envelope, address your donors by their name, include the web address for donating online, enclose a donation form and self-addressed stamped return envelope and a suggested a deadline. Expanding Your Giving Circle Multiply your donations by having family and friends who have already donated distribute donation forms or send emails on your behalf to their family and friends with a link to your personal fundraising page. Ask them to talk to people about the event and your participation in it, and help you ask for donations. Educate Educate people about the realities of lung cancer and what Free to Breathe (a 501 (c) (3), non-profit organization) is doing to double lung cancer survival by 2022. Visit freetobreathe.org/vision to familiarize yourself with the steps we re taking to accomplish this mission. The money you raise will support the unique programming of Free to Breathe that gives patients, advocates, researchers and health professionals the resources to help increase survival! Direct Donors to our Website to Learn More tip: After you ask for the donation, do not continue explaining. Remain quiet and allow the potential donor to think about your request and respond. Help your donors make a connection to the cause by sharing our website with them, freetobreathe.org. 6
KEEP THE MOMENTUM Show Your Appreciation & Gratitude Always write a timely and personal note of thanks to each donor, whether they donated online or mailed in a donation*. Your note should express how important their donation is and your appreciation for their support. You may also want to include an update on your progress or even an invitation to participate in the event with you. After the event, let donors know how you did, how much you raised and that their donation will have a positive impact on the lives of those affected by lung cancer. You could even include a photo or two from the event. Be sure to personalize your note. * You will be notified via email each time someone makes a donation on your behalf. Follow-Up and Updates A great way to keep family, friends and potential donors informed of your engagement and fundraising efforts is to send updates of your success. This can be accomplished via email, social media and even hand written notes. You can include your progress, how close you are to your goal and that you would like their help to reach it. And, remind them of your request for support. If a potential donor has not sent in a contribution, they most likely just forgot and will appreciate you following up. Keep Up the Momentum and Remain Positive, Determined & Persistent Once you ve begun your fundraising, don t lose the momentum! Keep your fundraising campaign in motion by continuing to send out emails and letters. Think of one new person a day to send an email to. Be sure to follow up with each person you ve already asked for a donation from. Fundraising takes determination and persistence. Keep a positive and confident attitude. Even if some potential donors decline your requests, which comes with the territory, your next request for this cause may resonate with a potential donor and lead to a big yes. Be proud of your efforts! The money you raise is helping to save lives, empower patients and make lung cancer a priority. 7
Sending Your Donations to Free to Breathe If you have collected offline pledges and donation checks, please put them all in a package clearly showing your name, contact information and fundraising activity (where the money should be credited) and mail them to: Free to Breathe Attn: Events 1 Point Place, Suite 200 Madison, WI 53719 Please do not mail cash to us! We do not want it to get lost in the mail. Instead, write a check to Free to Breathe for the amount of the cash donation(s) and mail it in with a completed pledge or donation form reflecting each donor s name, full mailing address and amount donated so we can send them an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes. Or, you can make the donation(s) online using your credit card but put the donor s information in the required contact fields. 8
CORPORATE MATCHING GIFT PROGRAMS Double Your Funds Matching gifts are an easy way to increase and even double your fundraising totals! A matching gift is a benefit that many companies provide, where they match all or part of their employees donations to charitable organizations. These matches are often dollar for dollar, which doubles your charitable donation power! So remind your donors to check if their employer offers a matching gift programs. Applying for Matching Gifts Applying for matching gifts varies from employer to employer: Donors should visit their human resources department to see whether the company offers the program and exactly how it works. Request a matching gift form along with any guidelines. Donors then need to decide how much they wish to donate and if they will be donating online or by mail. If online: Donor to complete the matching gift form and send it to Free to Breathe as soon after completing the online transaction as possible. If my mail: Donor to complete the matching gift form and include it with their contribution and donation form, which should be mailed to Free to Breathe. Once that matching gift form is received at Free to Breathe, we will complete our portion of the form in a timely fashion and submit it to the company. If the request is approved, a check for the contribution will be mailed from the company directly to Free to Breathe on your donor s behalf. important: Please note that companies often disburse matching gift checks on a quarterly, semiannual or annual basis. Your fundraising totals will only be credited for the matching gift once the actual contribution is received from the company. 9
Optimizing Matching Gifts Don t Be Shy Ask all of your donors if their employer offers a matching gift program. Follow up with Donors If a donor shares with you that their employer does offer a matching gift program, confirm that they have all of the information they need about Free to Breathe to complete the form, our tax ID # (45-0505050), and our city and state (Madison, WI). Inform Free to Breathe Let us know to be on the lookout for a matching gift form from a particular donor. We will complete the rest of the form and submit it in a timely fashion. Email us at: events@freetobreathe. org. Show Recognition and Appreciation In updates about your fundraising progress highlight not only your donors but include any companies who provide matching gifts. This will: Give the company visibility for their charitable efforts. Remind other donors to check with their employers about matching gift programs. Possibly encourage new companies to start matching gift programs. we re sending good energy your way for the best of luck with your fundraising efforts! 10