FUNDRAISING PACKET 1

Transcription

1 FUNDRAISING PACKET 1

2 K FUNDRAISING PACKET This packet will help you to becoming a successful fundraiser. It is a compendium of all the tools, tips, and other knowledge accrued by the K. What s In The Packet 2 Understanding Who We Are 3 Fundraising Timeline & Goals Creating a Donor Database Making an Ask Incentives 5-6 Fundraising Tools 6 Persuing Personal Sponsorships Corporate Information The K for Cancer is a program of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults Inc. The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation; our Employer Identification Number (EIN) is All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. A copy of the current financial statement of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults Inc. is available by ing [email protected]. Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis MD 2101, (10) Checks should be made out to K for Cancer with your name in memo line and sent to the following address: K for Cancer 921 East Fort Ave Suite 325 Baltimore MD, As a Ker, you are required to raise a minimum of $,500 in order to participate on the K. Although $,500 is your fundraising requirement, it should not be your ultimate goal. The average Ker will raise between $5,000 and $7,000 in donations. Aim high. The more money you raise the greater our impact is in the fight against cancer. Over the past 12 years more than 593 K alumni have raised close to $2.5 million to help change the lives of those affected by cancer. If you plan ahead, have fun, and use the resources available, you will undoubtedly become a successful fundraiser too. Please feel free to [email protected] or more guidance, ideas, or answers. We will provide you with the one-on-one help you need to ensure that your fundraising experience is successful. UNDERSTANDING WHO WE ARE The K for Cancer is dedicated to empowering young adults to unite communities across the country in the fight against cancer through service and support. There are two major approaches the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults (UCF) supports the fight against cancer. First, the UCF provides direct patient services such as Patient Navigation and College Scholarships to young adults impacted by cancer. Second, the Support through Sport programs such as the K for Cancer seek to spread awareness, raise funds, and offer support for the young adult cancer fight. Together, these approaches to community support are extremely efficient when engaging and supporting young adults affected by this horrible disease. We strongly encourage all of our Kers to continually revisit our website to familiarize themselves with the mission, history, and most recent news of our program. We also ask for you to visit ulmancancerfund.org to learn more about the services we offer. As a participant with K for Cancer, we ask that you act professionally when dealing with potential donors and community members. Everything you say and do (either in person or online) is just as much a representation of you as the program. 2

3 FUNDRAISING TIMELINE & GOALS Our goal as an organization is to make sure you are successful in not only meeting, but exceeding your fundraising goal in the time frame allotted. Please use the following dates and deadlines as a guide for your fundraising efforts. 1 week after receiving packet Write your letter Enter info for your profile page 3 weeks after receiving packet Mail letters Brainstorm event ideas Update your online status By February 1st Fundraise at least $1,000 By March 1st Fundraise at least $2,000 Send your second letter Host a fundraising event By April 1st Fundraise at least $3,000 Send your third letter By May 1st Fundraise at least $,000 By May 15th Fundraise $,500 During the trip 70 days of thanking the people Start to think of whom you will ask to contribute to your fundraising efforts. See Creating a Donor Database on page for help you managing your fundraising. Write your first fundraising letter or . See Making an Ask on page. Submit information for your K-profile/fundraising page. See Fundraising Tools on page 5 for details on where to enter your information when creating your page. or mail your fundraising letter to your database. Start thinking about fundraising events and other ideas. See the Fundraising Tools on page 5 for sample event ideas and details on planning and promoting. Share a link to your fundraising website in an update on social networking websites such as Facebook or Twitter. Create a social networking group for people to join, so they can track your progress throughout your journey. Tell at least one person a day about your commitment. The more people who know, the more people will donate! If you have not fundraised at least $1,000 you are If you have not fundraised at least $2,000 you are Send your second fundraising letter/ . Follow up with those who haven t donated. Host at least two fundraising events. If you have not fundraised at least $3,000 you are Send your third fundraising letter. Encourage friends and family to forward your letters to others. Don t be afraid to raise your goal! If you have not fundraised at least $,000 you are If you have not fundraised at least $,500 you are»» Send thank you notes to everyone who donated and let others know they still can donate more. * A fundraising deposit is the difference between what you have raised and the minimum amount due. The deposit must be paid within 10 business days of the overdue deadline. Deposits will be eligible for reimbursement once the minimum amount has been raised. Deposits eligible for reimbursement will be awarded on August 20th,

4 CREATING A DONOR DATABASE MAKING THE ASK Creating your donor database is a crucial step in becoming a successful K fundraiser. To start try to think of at least 100 people - you probably know a lot more, but 100 is a good start. As you assemble the list that will make up your donor database, ask yourself the following questions: Who are you going to ask? Why? What is your connection to them? How will you communicate with these people? ( , Physical Letter, Facebook, etc) Record the answers to your questions in the spreadsheet of your choice. Make sure to take notes on when you asked them and how much you asked for. This information will be helpful when you follow up with either a reminder or a thank you note. Once your list has everyone you know you might think of asking others if they know other people or business that would be interested in supporting you on your trip. Fundraising $500 is a huge task, but the more effort you put into it, the quicker, easier, and less stressful it will be. Possible donors include: Family and friends (this is where the majority of support will be found) Social groups and clubs you belong to at school Your classmates and instructors (give a presentation to all your classes) Community members (find a place to hold events to meet community members) Private business owners (bike/run stores, grocery stores, pizza shops, etc) After that you have reviewed all the information about the K and UCF, created a donor database, and your fundraising page has been created it is time to make the Ask. Your job, when making the Ask, is to sell yourself as much as the mission. Remember to follow these steps when making an Ask. Explain to your donors your personal reasons for being on the K and why the K is important to you. Describe your commitment to the K and how vital their support is in helping you accomplish your goals. Ask for a specific amount of money, or suggest different levels of donations. Asking for a specific amount is more effective than just asking for a donation. Direct your donors with information on how and where they can donate. Inform your donors that all donations are tax exempt to the extent allowable by law. Provide your donors with our Employee Identification Number: A good and sincere hook is to tell them that you would like to dedicate one of your days to someone in their life who has been affected by cancer. Let them know that you will share the dedication via social media during the trip. Even when you do all of this, you are going to get a fair share of no s, I don t have the money right now, or ask me later. These responses are to be expected and should not discourage you. Keep these donors in your database anyway and give them chances to donate later. The most important part of making the Ask is making the ask! Keep asking and asking until you have exhausted your donor database and then find more people to ask. INCENTIVES Kers who go above and beyond the $,500 fundraising minimum are recognized in the following ways: Riders $5,000 - K Cycling Socks $5,500 - K Cycling Jacket & previous incentive $6,500 - K Polka Dot Cycling Jersey & previous incentives $7,500 - K Sunglasses & previous incentives $8,500 - K American Cycling Jersey & previous incentives $10,000 - K Awarness Cycling Jersey & previous incentives Runners $5,000 - K Running Socks $5,500 - K Running Jacket & previous incentive $6,500 - K Run Warm Ups & previous incentives $7,500 - K Sunglasses & previous incentives $8,500 - K American Running Jersey & previous incentives $10,000 - K Awarness Running Jersey & previous incentives *Pictures of incentives can be found at kforcancer.org and on our Facebook page!

5 FUNDRAISING TOOLS We have put together the following tools to help you successfully reach and exceed your fundraising goals. These tools can be a great assistance in spreading awareness about your trip; however, ultimately it comes down to you making the ask again and again. Below are examples of what has worked for our alumni in the past. Profile/Fundraising Page In order to personalize your profile/fundraising page please submit your information at After you submit your information your page will be created in 5-10 business days. This page will be the location for all of your online donations as well as a place to share your personal story. Social Media Online social media is an effective way to keep your donor database current on your K journey and direct them on ways they can donate. Be sure to actively update your social media when you have pictures/videos to share, have reached a milestone in your fundraising, or are close to a milestone. The more personal an is, the more effective it can be. One effective way of personalizing an is to learn to use a mail merge. Make sure to use an intriguing subject line and include a link to your fundraising page. Ask your recipients to forward your to friends they think might be interested in donating. Sending an out around 10:00 a.m. early in the week has been shown to be the most effective. Posters A general poster is a great way to let the general public learn about your ride or promote a fundraising event. Place them around campus. Give them to local businesses. Be creative with them and make them stand out. Matching Gift Programs Encourage your donors to inquire if their company has a matching gift program. Matching Gift programs can be an effective way to double the amount of the donations. 5

6 FUNDRAISING TOOLS CONTINUED Letters Lettering campaigns can be highly effective when reaching out to many donors, particularly those who will appreciate the personal touch. Other Ideas There has been a lot of creativity through out the years. Don t be afraid to think outside the box! Bake sales; it is all about location (and baking ability) Custom-ordered bracelets for donations of $1 - $3 Raffle off an ipod Shuffle with tickets going for $2 Have your local paper write a story about you and how to donate to your fund. Have family members take donation sheets into their offices and ask around. Fundraiser at a restaurant The establishment can sell wristbands for a night. The manager had wristbands they sold that got people discounted drinks all night and they gave me all the money from the wristbands (so even strangers donated - and when people found out at the bar they handed me a lot of donations on the spot) Dear Stephen, This summer I will be embarking on a,000+ mile cross-country bike ride from Baltimore MD, to Seattle, WA. I will be doing this through the K for Cancer program, a program of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults in order to create an avenue of funding and support for the fight against cancer. Our mission is to raise awareness, unite communities, and inspire hope towards the eradication of cancer. We will be doing this by visiting cancer patients at hospitals/ centers/ and hospices, as well as hosting cancer education programs in the towns we stop at along the way in our trek across the country. I reach out to you for support on my cross country bike ride, in the form of tax deductible donations. As one of 90 total college students that will be riding on one of three separate trips; San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle, we have all accepted the challenge to raising over $500 before we are able to hit the road in late May. The money will go towards supporting the trip, but for the most part the money will be used to its fullest by the Ulman Cancer Fund. Ive dreamed of a coast-to-coast bike ride for a long time now. Supporting the cause for cancer being the premise of this experience makes this dream more impactful than I could have imagined it to be. I will accomplish my goal of raising the $500 and set forth on our ride. I will dedicate my quest to the family and loved ones you may know that have battled cancer, paired with the epic experience of seeing and feeling this country from the saddle of my bike. I ask that you may pass this letter to anyone that you feel may be interested in aiding my trip. I truly appreciate and thank you for your support in advance. Sincerely, Johnny Westphal PURSUING PERSONAL SPONSORSHIPS Personal sponsorships from local businesses can help to fundraise a large amount of money in a short amount of time. Creating your own style will make your presentation more memorable; however, in order to maintain professionalism and be well organized we suggest the following: Send or drop off a cover letter before you make and appointment to talk to a manager. Call and set up an appointment (can be an informal cup of coffee or a formal meeting) Show up at the appointment with a prepared sponsorship deck. Be prepared to answer questions ranging from why are you doing the K? to what percentage goes to overhead? *A sample sponsorship deck will be available online in rider materials section soon. 6