Hot Take: Fundraising Friday Ideas for Summertime

Summer Fridays are full of sun, fun, and now…3-Day fundraising, too! As our 2019 3-Days get closer and closer, the weekends are perfect to make the most of your time and do some serious 3-Day fundraising. To get you started, we have simple ideas that are perfect for this summer season of fun and will also make a big difference in achieving your fundraising goals!

Facebook Live Your Training Walk

Now that you can connect your fundraising page to a Facebook Fundraiser and raise money through your profile, it’s time to make the most of this social media platform. Once you have set up your Facebook fundraising link on your profile, do a live training walk where you broadcast the start or finish of your walk. Stretch or show your planned route while you talk about why you’re walking and what the 3-Day means to you. Then direct people back to your page to donate!

Do a Summer Fundraising Challenge

Summer just started, so you have plenty of time to start a fundraising challenge. Give yourself a goal for the next week or month of summer, then promote the heck out of it! On social media, in your email signature, with signs in your front yard, at your cubicle at work, with a poster in your car window. No place is a bad place to promote the 3-Day and let people know how they can help you reach your summer fundraising goal.

You can also participate in our fundraising challenge, going on right now! From now to July 8, all dollars raised through the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® will directly fund the national Komen Treatment Assistance Program. Too many women and men don’t get the breast cancer treatment they need because of financial hardship. That’s where the Treatment Assistance Program comes in. It helps those facing financial challenges by providing limited financial assistance, education and support to eligible low-income, under-insured people undergoing treatment for breast cancer. We have already raised over $250,000 for the national Komen Treatment Assistance Program in just a few days of fundraising!

Charity Chores

This one is a no brainer all year long, but especially so in summer. There are so many outdoor chores to be taken advantage of during the warmer months, and all you have to do is volunteer your time. Put the word out in your neighborhood and community that you will do household and yard chores for free, but that you would love and encourage donations to your 3-Day goal instead.

Football Tournament

Football season is coming up in the Fall! But if you have friends and family who just can’t wait for pre-season to start, take advantage of their fandom! Arrange a weekend football game (or tournament!) and encourage players to donate to the 3-Day. Whoever is the winning team will have their names featured on one of your outfits on the 3-Day so you can keep that team spirit going!

Ice Cream Social or BBQ Contest

The summer is all about eating outside, and that means its barbecue and ice cream season. Let’s make the most of it! Ask a local restaurant or grocery store to donate supplies and host an outdoor party for all your friends and family. Ask for donations, and use this as a team building opportunity to recruit people to join you on the 3-Day.

Dance-Off in the Park

There is so much dancing on the 3-Day, and there should be more dancing in our everyday life! Have all your 3-Day teammates get together, bringing their friends and family to the park for a big pink dance party in the sunshine. Have people send you their favorite dancing tunes, which will make for one great training playlist. Then, encourage all your dancers to donate to your 3-Day cause.

What are your summer fundraising ideas? Tell us in the comments!

How to Fundraise for the 3-Day, from Start to Finish

Are you stumped on how to get started on your 3-Day fundraising? Or perhaps you’ve sent out that first fundraising email or set up your Facebook Fundraiser and aren’t sure on the next step. Or have you hit a plateau right before the finish line? Wherever you are in your fundraising journey, our 3-Day Fundraising Handbook is a guide for your next steps.

You can read it online at The3Day.org/FundraisingHandbook or download it in PDF format to read on your eReader at your leisure.

So whether you need to know the basics, or are looking for answers to specific fundraising questions, our Fundraising Handbook is the first place to look.

If you need any more fundraising tips, you can check out the “Fundraising” tab on our blog! Here are some recent highlights:

Five FUNdraising Friday Ways to Celebrate Spring

It’s the first Friday of spring, so that means that all our 3-Dayers should be smiling wide and getting excited for a fun weekend ahead. Hopefully you’ll be spending some of that spring weekend time training and fundraising for the 3-Day. There’s nothing like a sunshiney morning and a free day ahead to remind you of just how much you can get done when you put your mind to it! And we know that all our 3-Dayers are some of the most committed, amazing people out there.

So, let’s make the most of today, this weekend, and this spring! We’ll be covering training, team building and fundraising tips all season long, starting with these Five FUNdraising Friday Ideas:

Get moving (any way you can!)

Start by asking your yoga or pilates teacher, spin instructor, boot camp leader or personal trainer for a donation. Then, move on to the rest of the class! See if you can make an announcement before or after class or keep a donation jar at the gym check-in area.

You can even take it one step further by asking your instructors to host a special outdoor class where the proceeds will go to your 3-Day goal. Imagine starting your Saturday with a relaxing yoga class in the park, or a challenging boot camp on the local high school soccer fields. You’ll be getting your sweat on and earning donations toward your 3-Day goal at the same time!

Save a “pear”

Get a grocery store or local farmer’s market to donate some pears and then set up a table outside with a sign that says, “Save a ‘pear’—make a donation to the 3-Day.”

You’ll make people giggle, and probably get some happy-hearted donations while you’re at it!

Set a springtime challenge

Post it on Facebook. (If you haven’t set up a Facebook Fundraiser yet, now’s the time!) Email it out to your friends and family. Put up a sign in your cubicle. Shout it loud and proud that you will be doing something crazy if your fundraising goal is met before spring is over. Spring officially ends on June 20 so that leaves everyone lots of time to make some big ole’ donations.

Then, go wild with whatever challenge you set for yourself, and make sure to tag us in all the pictures!

Take advantage of tax season

Tax season is no one’s favorite time of year. At least no one we’ve ever met! But, it’s the perfect time to remind people that donations to the 3-Day are tax deductible. Send out emails and fundraising letters reminding your potential donors and asking them to contribute part of their tax refund to a good cause like the 3-Day. They’ll be putting that found money to good use, plus they can deduct it on next year’s return. It’s a win/win.

Stay caffeinated, 3-Day style

Host a get-together at your home or at a local coffee shop. Ask your favorite coffee shop or cafe to donate coffee (and maybe some goodies!), then invite your neighbors and friends to spend an afternoon learning about the 3-Day from you. This can also be used as a team building activity if you invite some potential new 3-Dayers!

Let anyone who attends know they will have a chance to pay tribute to someone affected by breast cancer by being featured on the shirt you wear on the 3-Day. Suggest a donation of $20 (or more!) to be listed. You can also get creative and have them sign pink ribbons to be attached to your shirt, or pink buttons, instead. You’ll have the coolest shirt on the 3-Day!

What are your fundraising plans for the spring? Share them in the comments so we can spread ideas across our 3-Day family!