Valentine’s Day Fundraising Ideas

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Valentine’s Day is next week, and we can’t wait to see how all our 3-Dayers spread the love! From sweethearts to Galentines and beyond, it’s the perfect time to show everyone just how much you care. It’s also a wonderful opportunity for your donors to show YOU a little 3-Day love, so here are some unique ways to ask for a donation. Valentine’s Day can be a fun holiday to start or reinvigorate your 2018 fundraising with easy ideas like these…

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Valentine Donor Letters

This is the easiest and most simple way to start your Valentine’s Day fundraising. Pick your favorite Valentine (you can buy whole packs of them on a budget) and include your next donor outreach inside a “love letter”. Explain why you care about the 3-Day, how it brings happiness and joy to your life, and encourage your friends and family to donate in 2018. By adding a more personal touch, and showing the emotion behind why you walk, you can bring people into the pink bubble just by sending some snail mail.

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Appeal to their Sweet Tooth

Candy and other sweets go on super sale the day after Valentine’s Day (sometimes even the day of), so take advantage of this chance to make or buy tasty treats at a bargain. Pick up a range of goodies, and make gift bags to deliver to your friends and neighbors. It gives a personal touch, will have them feeling sweet inside and out, and you can attach a quick donation reminder to the treat!

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Throw a Galentine’s or (Guy’entine’s) Party

If you’re single this holiday, or just want to give your pals some extra love, celebrate with a party on February 13^th. That’s the official Galentine’s Day holiday, and you can plan a fun night for yourself, your team, and all your favorite people.

If you’re part of a team, invite all of them to bring their best friends over for a night in with romantic movies, house made snacks and lots of fun times celebrating each other. Then, remind your friends to donate to your pink family — or join it — this year. You can accept donations that night, and send your guests away with information about how to donate and join the 3-Day.

You can do the same thing if you’re walking alone — just cast a wider net for your invites.

Also, be sure to remind your friends that if they sign up before February 20^th, they can take $20 off their registration fee!

Use Flower Power

Just like candy, many florists put flowers on sale after the Valentine’s Day rush. If you call ahead, and work with your local flower shops, you might be able to get options at an even bigger discount, or for free. There are often leftover buds and stems from bouquets, or whole arrangements that don’t get picked up. See if the shops will donate flowers directly to you, for you to use for your fundraising efforts. Then, deliver them to potential donors with donation forms, or let donors “send” them to loved ones, with you playing the mail carrier.

How will you be celebrating the love-filled holiday? Tell us in the comments!

And don’t forget, if you haven’t signed up for the 3-Day yet, now is the perfect time! Through February 20^th, you can take $20 off your registration fee with no code needed.

3-Day August Fundraising Calendar

August is going to be a jam-packed month, with the Michigan, Twin Cities and Philadelphia 3-Days all happening, plus training walks and holidays galore! If you’re participating in any of the first 3-Days of the year, it’s your last chance to get a few more donations, so we have fun and simple ideas for you to use this month.

First, make sure you are encouraging your donors to send you mail and sweet treats on event if your 3-Day is this month! They can also come cheer you on along the route! All the needed information can be found in the Spectator Info section on our website, listed here:

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August is National Family Fun and Admit You’re Happy Month, plus there are a lot of weekly celebrations for you to take advantage of:

In honor of Family Fun Month, get your family involved in your fundraising! We’ve got tons of crafts, baking projects, and fundraising party ideas on our Creative Fundraising Pinterest Board that would be much more fun with a few extra helping hands. Your family will love seeing your passion for the 3-Day, and it will give you some quality time together.
National Friendship Week Starts on August 21^st, so bring your friends into the 3-Day family! If you haven’t recruited a pal to walk with you yet, there’s still plenty of time to get registered for our fall 3-Days. If they’re nervous about doing the whole sixty miles, tell them about our one-day, 20-Mile walker option. Then help them start their fundraising efforts!

There are plenty of Walk & Talks, Get Trained Workshops and Training Kick-Offs happening this month. Some of these events are highlighted in the calendar above, but you can find the complete list on our website here. We will also be calling out more local events on our Facebook page, so keep an eye out.

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Other key days this month include:

August 6: Sisters Day and Friendship Day: Have a sister or a friend walking in the 3-Day with you? Challenge each other in honor of the holiday! See who can raise more fundraising money on August 6^th. Whoever “loses” (really everyone is a winner here) must pack a special surprise present for the winner to receive on the 3-Day. Think favorite snacks, a foot massage coupon, or anything else that might make them smile.
August 9: Book Lover’s Day: Clean out your bookshelf and send an extra special fundraising package to potential donors. Make a 3-Day bookmark (we just posted a bunch of ideas to our Pinterest page!) and slip it in the book, along with a fundraising letter. Then drop those books off in potential donors’ mail boxes. It’s a great way to clean out old books, and spread 3-Day joy through the written word.
August 10: Lazy Day: This isn’t really a fundraising tip, but we are giving every 3-Dayer the day off on August 10^th! Take a break from training and fundraising and be lazy for a bit – You deserve it! You can also take the day off for Relaxation Day on August 15^thif you really want to go wild.
August 16^th: Tell a Joke Day: Include humor in your next fundraising letter! Here are some 3-Day jokes that you can add in to make your letters stand out and spread smiles.

We on the 3 Day like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy us.

I have to walk early in the morning for my 3 Day training, before my brain figures out what I’m doing.

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

Which?

What which?

Grahamwich!

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August 26: National Dog Day: Who could see “no” to a cute pup? Bring your pooch out on the fundraising trail with you today and see the donors line up! You can bring you dog with you canning, have them stand with you at your fundraising table at the grocery store or other local spot.
August 30: Toasted Marshmallow Day: Summer isn’t complete without at least one s’more shared between friends! Make s’mores packs with marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers and maybe even a cute pink matchbox, then drop them off at potential donors’ homes. Let them know how sweet it would be if they’d support your 3-Day journey!
August 31: Eat Outside Day: This holiday also falls on Trail Mix Day, and you can combine the two by hosting a big picnic for your friends and family! Have easy-to-eat treats like Trail Mix, plus other summer classics like hot dogs and burgers to say thank you for all the love they have shown you so far. Invite people who have already donated, as well as potential donors, and remind them that you’re still accepting donations!

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Also, make sure to join our 3-Day Social Stars! This is an easy-to-join group that’s part of our social media community, where you can earn prizes for interacting with the 3-Day on social media. Talk, connect, and share with us! You can also pick up good fundraising ideas from your fellow 3-Dayers.

Are you walking in any of our August 3-Days? What are your fundraising and training goals for August?

3-Day Fundraising Idea: Planning an Ice Cream Social Fundraiser

Photo via Igor Ovsyannykov

July is the heart of summer, and that means the heat is on! Luckily, it is also Ice Cream Month, which makes it the perfect time to celebrate the sweet dessert. It’s a delicious inspiration for a fundraising event that will be entertaining for everyone involved! Plan an ice cream social at your home or backyard, then invite potential donors over to have a good time. Encourage attendees to make a donation to your fundraising account and celebrate the sweetness of the 3-Day experience.

Partner with local businesses

To maximize your fundraising, work with local businesses in your area to donate as many materials as possible, from the actual ice cream to napkins and other fun toppings. You might even be able to get a donation to your 3-Day fundraising from the businesses as well!

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Offer variety

You should of course have the standard flavors like vanilla and chocolate but get creative with fun and more unique flavors if you can. A rainbow of flavored colors will make your spread look all the more appetizing! Then, don’t forget the toppings! Go wild with these too, and ask your guests to come up with their favorite combination. Let them submit recipes to be crowned the Ice Cream King and Queen for the day!

Add in some fun

Have ice-cream themed games for your guests, like an ice cream cone-shaped piñata! You could also make a twist on the usual kids’ game and create your own “Pin the Scoop on the Ice Cream!” Use poster board and draw a fun image of an ice cream cone (sans the ice cream!) Then, blind fold your guests and give them a cut out of different scoops of ice cream. Spin them around with the blind fold on, and let them try to add scoop after scoop onto your “cone!”

Photo via Evan Kirby

Don’t forget non-dairy

Not everyone can eat dairy, so be sure to offer other, non-milk-based desserts like sorbet or baked goods! You can still get these donated, and it will allow more guests to partake in the fun.

Capture the event!

Take photos and share them on your Facebook with a link to your fundraising page. That way, if someone misses the event, they can still contribute to your 3-Day cause! Also, be sure to tag the 3-Day in any of your social media photos. We love sharing innovative fundraising ideas!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream… especially when it’s connected to fundraising!