You CAN raise $1800 (and MORE!) in just 4 weeks! Step-by-Step Instructions This package includes: Fundraising 101 and getting prepared Plan of action calendar Two options for follow-up letter/email Final fundraising letter/email Fundraising 101: The basics and your background work Maybe you registered back in November and planned to start fundraising soon ; maybe you just need those extra few hundred dollars to push you over the top; or maybe you re considering a very brave lastminute commitment registering for the Walk with just four weeks to go! Whatever the case, it s doable. We ve seen MANY people reach and exceed their goals in a very short period of time sometimes literally overnight. Following, our four week guide to fast fundraising can help you get to that $1,800 mark - and keep going! First, create your list of potential donors. TIP! The biggest mistake people make in the planning of their fundraising campaign is predeciding who will give them money, who won t, and who can t. People and companies get asked by everyone for every cause (and you should ask them too)! Don t forget to ask the people who have probably never been asked to give money to breast cancer causes. You don t know who has been touched by breast cancer. And while the guy at the car wash might (in your mind) not have enough money to give, maybe he is the brother of a millionaire. Maybe his mother is a two-time survivor. You can t know until you ask! On page 24 of your Participant Handbook is a list of categories that will help you think about who you might want to include on your potential donors list. Carry a small note pad with you to use when other potential donors come to mind. Use family member s wedding lists. Friend s email lists. Look through photo albums and yearbooks. If you can t come up with 100 people, then you are already deciding who you think can t make a donation. If you can picture their face, but not their name, add them to your list, then find out their name. Ask your friends and family to help you brainstorm too!
Now that you have a fundraising list, divide it into two groups: 1) People to contact via email 2) People to contact via US Postal Mail Some people don t use email. Some people wouldn t know what a US Postal stamp looks like. Some people like to use checks and some people like to use credit cards. Decide who on your list will most likely donate via your online Avon Walk Personal Page and who would rather mail in a donation. Your access to email addresses will help decide this for some people. Remember, online donations are cheaper (for you and for us), faster, and tend to be greater, so use email as much as possible. Wear your Avon Walk Shirt! Wear it often; it s highly visible and a definite conversation starter. People in the grocery store might stop you and ask about what you are doing. Wearing the shirt may help you realize how many people have been touched by breast cancer and why we must walk. Someone might even ask you when you are going to ask them to donate! Set up your Avon Walk Personal Page! Set up your Personal Page in about 20 minutes! It s easy and there are step-by-step directions on page 28 of your Participant Handbook. Everyone who is registered gets a Personal Page. If you don t know how to get to your Personal Page, call your Walker Buddy. Talk to your Walker Buddy! Remember, we re here to help! There is no need to do this alone. Call your Walker Buddy, talk to fellow walkers on Training Walks (a list of these walks is posted at www.avonwalk.org) and visit the Message Boards (also at www.avonwalk.org) you can do this! TIP! The average American needs to be reminded 6 TIMES before they remember to make a donation they intend to give! You don t need to pester your potential donors to do this. Instead, send them an update email or letter on your progress to serve as a reminder that they can still donate. We ve all been there before we ve been asked to donate, we fully intended to, but we forgot. People need reminders. Keep one thing in mind - it s not for you. It s for the millions of people affected by breast cancer who so badly need your help. It s to help save lives, now and in the future. TIP! At the bottom of your Personal Page email request, write If you believe in what I am doing, please forward this email to your friends, family, and co-workers. Remember, you don t know who has a personal connection to breast cancer. You don t know who might get your email and forward it along. You can increase your circle of potential donors many times over if someone forwards your email along to others you don t even know! Perspective! Another woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes your webpage only takes about 20 minutes to set up (See page 28 of your Handbook). Because breast cancer takes another life every 14 minutes, please don t hesitate to call us to get the support you need to achieve your fundraising goal.
My Action Calendar Week # Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 4 3 2 1 Week 4: Send out follow-up letter. Week 2: Send out two weeks to go letter and email. The following four sample letters are options for your initial fundraising request letter. Be sure to fill in your name and address at the top. **The letters have areas for you to add in additional information. Look for the darker blocked sections on each letter.
Follow-Up, Option 1 [Your Name and Address Here] Dear friends and family: A world without breast cancer we can get there on foot. I am determined to do everything I can to rid the world of breast cancer. There are millions around the world with that same determination. This (WALK DATE HERE), I will take steps toward that goal as part of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (CITY). I will walk either a half or a full marathon (13.1 or 26.2 miles) on Saturday, sleep overnight in a tent, and then walk another half marathon on Sunday. I will walk with thousands of others determined to make a difference. I m not just raising money. I m raising hope. Every three minutes a new case of breast cancer is diagnosed in the U.S. Every 14 minutes another family member is lost. An estimated three million women are living with breast cancer, and one million of them don t yet know it. I will raise a minimum of $1,800 from my friends, family and complete strangers to walk and be a part of changing these statistics. Asking my friends and family to donate money to my walk is as challenging to me as finding the time to train and walking all the miles. But a breast cancer diagnosis is much more difficult, and for that reason I keep asking. Give in memory of those we ve lost, those still fighting and those who may one day be spared this fight because of what we re doing. Give to make yourself a part of this historical effort. How you can support me. You can make a quick, easy donation on my personal Avon Walk page at www.avonwalk.org. Click on Make a Donation, and then type in my name. Or, if you prefer mail, I have enclosed a donation coupon for you to fill out and donate if you believe in what I am doing. I am determined to walk and make a difference, and I can t do that without your financial support. Thank you in advance for donating to my walk. I hope that you can come to cheer me in and share my joy and probably a few tears as I enter the powerful closing ceremonies on (DATE HERE). And thank you for sharing my dream. Thanks!
Follow-Up, Option 2 [Your Name and Address Here] Guess what? I'm walking farther than a MARATHON!! That's right, the one whose idea of exercise is walking all the way out to the car, is doing a marathon. How did I get myself into this? I have a good life. I'm healthy. I have friends. But that s me I feel that it s time for me to do something for others, those who may not be as fortunate or as healthy. So I decided that I am going to walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer (CITY HERE) with thousands of other people on (DATES HERE) to raise money for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. That means that I ll be spending a lot of time over the next few months fundraising and training to walk (not run) for an entire weekend. I know the journey will be long and hard and fraught with blisters, but I ll be ready. By registering for this event, I have committed to raising a minimum of $1,800 in tax-deductible donations. It s a big number and at first I hesitated to make that commitment. But I ve already begun to see how generous people can be, so I ve raised my personal fund raising goal to (INSERT PERSONAL GOAL HERE), because we all need to go above and beyond if we re going to find a cure for this disease. This is where you come in. I can t do this alone. Please help support me and the breast cancer cause by making a contribution to my efforts. I have enclosed a coupon and envelope for you to fill out and return with your donation. Or you can donate to me online by visiting www.avonwalk.org, clicking on Make a Donation and then type in my name. Every dollar donated puts me one step closer to reaching my goal. If you know others that feel passionate about this cause, I ask that you please forward my information to them as well. Thank you for your support and belief in my walking success! We can all make a difference, one step at a time! Thanks in advance!!
Final letter [Your Name and Address Here] Only two weeks to go! I m so excited! I m so nervous! The big weekend is almost here the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. There have been moments when I ve thought, What was I thinking when I committed to doing this walk? I don t have the time to train! I can t raise that kind of money! When I m out there on a long walk and feeling a little sore, and when I m nervous because I m afraid I won t make my goal, that s when I make myself put things into perspective: there is a new breast cancer diagnosis in this country every three minutes, and receiving that diagnosis is SO much more difficult than anything I could attempt to do. So I keep going, full-steam ahead. Fundraising Update! To date I have raised (INSERT YOUR DOLLARS RASIED SO FAR HERE). But I m still (INSERT THE DOLLARS YOU ARE SHORT HERE) short on what I must raise by (INSERT THE EVENT EVE DATE HERE) to be a part of this effort. So I am asking for your help again. If you have not yet made a donation and still want to, it s not too late. Checks are made out to Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and sent to my address above. You can also donate on my secure web site by visiting www.avonwalk.org and clicking on Make a Donation, then type in my name to reach my personal page. I ll be credited for your donation immediately! If you believe in what I m doing, please pass this on to your friends! I am determined to make this happen and I need your help! Come and Cheer me on! The walk is going to be tough for many of us. There will be moments when we won t want to continue. Having a crowd of people cheering us on can make all the difference! While I don t know the exact route we are walking, below is a list of locations where you can come to cheer as we walk by. I d love to see you there. (Enter in either locations of cheering stations or how to find them online and the date they will be available. This information will be included in your Let s Walk! guide, which comes out a few weeks before the event.) Join me for the Closing Ceremonies I would be honored if you would come to join me and all the other participants as we finish the Walk on (SUNDAY DATE OF YOUR WALK). It will be an emotional experience, both for the Walkers and for the spectators seeing so many people coming together for one cause. Please, bring tissues for both of us! Most Walkers will arrive between Noon and 2:30 PM. And the Closing Ceremony will begin at 3:00 PM. Whether you realize it or not, you have been a part of my walk effort, and I d like to thank you for that I couldn t have come this far without the support of so many. And I d love to have you at my side when I celebrate our accomplishment. Thank you!