Fundraising Tips

[SgtPepperette]

Hey everyone!

 

So every year I participate in the Breast Cancer 3 Day, and this year I decided to participate in two cities. I walked in Boston last weekend, and I will walk in Michigan at the end of September.

 

I am working on raising the funds to participate in Michigan. My friend and I are doing this together so we have about 60 days to raise close to $4000.

 

We have already did a bowling fundraiser, an event at a dueling piano bar with a silent auction and 50/50 raffle, and sent out emails/letters to our friends, family, and coworkers. We also worked a few Tigers games in the concession stands in their non profit program.

 

I am getting worried that we may not be able to raise the money. I know we need to have another event to raise this money but Im running out of ideas. Im worried that we have exhausted our resources at this point to. Im not sure if we can get anyone to attend an event. We had a big golf tournament planned which was going to be a big part of our fundraising but due to lack of participants we had to cancel.

 

This is my fourth year fundraising and it just is so hard with the economy the way it is this year. So I was wondering if anyone here has any tips for fundraising? Any great events that have worked for them?

 

We are thinking we may try to do a spaghetti dinner, but will need things to do at the dinner to raise more money.

 

Thanks!

[Kathie]

I am a founding member of Sisters Against Ovarian Cancer and we had a fundraiser on May 31st and are having a walk on September 6th. This is our first year and we have almost 150 walkers already.

 

One of the things we're going to do is to have some wine tastings at one of our houses and charging maybe $20 to get in. Another thing we may do next year is a calendar with prizes everyday for a month. You can get local restaurants, gyms, theatres, etc. to donate gift certificates or baskets. It is easier than you think. We even got a timeshare in Florida donated for a week, Eagles tickets, limosine service, grocery stores gave us gift cards. We also had a large screen t.v. donated and sold only 100 tickets for $20 a piece. Even if you had to buy the t.v. you could get a good one for under $1,00 and make $1,000 right off the bat. We raised $16,000 in one night. We expect to raise more than $30,000 for our walk.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to go on and on about my charity but it's very close to my heart. My best friend has III stage ovarian cancer and we're raising the money for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston where she gets her treatment.

 

Good luck with yours! CURE CANCER!

[jmill130]

My friends had a yard sale and put up huges sign that said: All the profits go to the cancer research. They put up pictures and gave info about the walk. We all donated our old junk for them to sell.

 

Many people gave donations. They made over 1,000 dollars. Good luck to you!

[SgtPepperette]

Kathie, that is awesome!

 

How did you go about getting some of those great prizes. The largest fundraiser event Ive had is $2000 in one night. But $16,000 in one night...that is amazing!

[Davematthews16]

My mom is a 13 year breast cancer survivor and we are on the luminaria committe for the Relay For Life http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...t=fight+cancer We do it every year! Don't worry girl, you will raise as much $ as you can, and I think it's GREAT you are participating in such a great cause. Here is another good post as well http://bestdestinationwedding.com/fo...t=fight+cancer

[beachbride08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SgtPepperette Hey everyone! So every year I participate in the Breast Cancer 3 Day, and this year I decided to participate in two cities. I walked in Boston last weekend, and I will walk in Michigan at the end of September. I am working on raising the funds to participate in Michigan. My friend and I are doing this together so we have about 60 days to raise close to $4000. We have already did a bowling fundraiser, an event at a dueling piano bar with a silent auction and 50/50 raffle, and sent out emails/letters to our friends, family, and coworkers. We also worked a few Tigers games in the concession stands in their non profit program. I am getting worried that we may not be able to raise the money. I know we need to have another event to raise this money but Im running out of ideas. Im worried that we have exhausted our resources at this point to. Im not sure if we can get anyone to attend an event. We had a big golf tournament planned which was going to be a big part of our fundraising but due to lack of participants we had to cancel. This is my fourth year fundraising and it just is so hard with the economy the way it is this year. So I was wondering if anyone here has any tips for fundraising? Any great events that have worked for them? We are thinking we may try to do a spaghetti dinner, but will need things to do at the dinner to raise more money. Thanks!

Like one of the previous posters said you could get local establishments to donate prizes and charge people for the raffle tickets to raise money. My cousin also makes jewelry and she makes a breast cancer bracelet that she sells for $30 and sends the profit to the breast cancer foundation.

[Kathie]

My FI and I went out one weekend and hit every restaurant, bakery, grocery store, etc. in our area. We spent about 4 hours each day. A lot of people automatically just give us gift certificates. Some said things like "the manager is not here, check back" and we did. We followed up, calling or stopping in again. It is hard sometimes but it was worth it. There are 6 of us that started this group and everyone called all their contacts. My sister works in HR for a college in Boston and told all her vendors about it and they called people. We had the fundraiser and we got everything donated. Balloons, the hall, d.j., food from local restaurants each donated things like a tray of cold cuts, chicken, brocolli & ziti, lasagna, rolls, cookies, cakes, etc. Even one of the local policemen donated their time because we had so many people we needed a detail. We sold tickets for $20 each, people donated lottery tickets, everyone made baskets. We had baskets of food, alcohol, beach theme baskets, Red Sox themed basket with a chair, hats, we got Sox tix and Patriots tix donated. If you spread the word it will happen. Call your family and friends and ask them to call people they know. My girlfriend's husband hangs out with a bunch of guys and they all pitched in and bought the t.v. and the Eagles tix. One of them had a friend that drove a limo. It is so worth it. The day after the event we all met at my friends house (the one that has ovarian cancer) and counted up the money. We were stunned and so pleased. It made her feel great that we were all doing this for her. Again, this was our very first event. We are so proud. Check out our web site. Sisters Against Ovarian Cancer

 

By the way, my daughter does marketing and she designed the brochure for the walk and one of her printers donated the brochures.