- Use the resources provided – READ and FOLLOW the fundraising planner, use the letter template, listen to those that are sharing ideas, ask the questions, jump on those “free” fundraising ideas like volunteering & roadblocks (seriously, get in on that all you can. It’s essentially letting OTHERS plan your fundraising for you. No stress and TEAM bonding!)
My first TNT event was in 2005 and almost 95% of my fundraising came from letters to friends and family. I crafted a super personalized letter, and included a photo from a training run. (In order to play up the pity points, I made sure to look exhausted…it wasn’t that hard) The LLS office mailed them for free for me, so I splurged a bit and put them in colored envelopes and also included self-addressed (but not stamped) envelopes that were so brightly neon colors it’d burn your eyes. Two reasons, if by chance my letter ended up in the “junk mail” pile, it’d stand out from others in hopes of a second glance. Second reason, when I would receive a donation, it was a huge mood booster to open the mail box and see the colored envelopes standing out amongst the bills.
- Play to your strength by summoning your inner entrepreneur
Now that I’ve been involved for a while, I can’t rely on the letters as much as I did “early on” since I’m involved in back to back TNT seasons. So I had to come up with other ways to raise some $$. You’ve seen these, tutus for sale, bracelets, baked goods, etc. I was at a loss last year so I did what any determined teammate would do…I asked Kim Daniel. J I had a few ideas, bounced them off Kim. She helped me brainstorm ideas: garage sales, gift card raffles, events at restaurants/bars… I just had to figure out what my strength was. I live in the country, so garage sales are out unless you can get the whole road onboard (which we did and I raised around $400 for a 1 day garage sale) One thing I had out the wazoo was rhubarb. So I turned it around, a little time and some TLC, I sold Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam. Actually, I sold (and will be selling again, mark your calendars) 3 different jams throughout the summer/fall season. I sold to TEAMmates, the people at work, the UPS guy, the mailman, my neighbors, my parent’s neighbors, My husband’s co-workers…you get the idea. I sold jam to the tune of $600 profit for LLS. Pretty good for free rhubarb/peaches/apples. Find your strength and jump on it.
My last piece of advice is not to forget those that donate to you. A thank you note goes a long way, a thank you trinket gets you more donations in the future. I’ve found that if I offer something in return for their donation, the donations go WAY up. Impromptu summoning of my inner entrepreneur for the Goofy Challenge landed me $475 in donations, some from people that had already donated this season! I put a note on facebook that for every $25 donation, I’d send a postcard from the Goofy Challenge and for every $50 donation I’d also buy them a Disney souvenir. People LOVE getting things in return, use that to your advantage and go raise those funds! (and then run your event and buy a medal display from me to show off that medal! ) < — entrepreneurship at its finest.
Need assistance with fundraising? Reach out to either Mentor Rhonda Hillis OR TNT Staff Alysia Smith.
Central Ohio Chapter Team in Training Blog 