Today, we’re giving you the mother of all #TBT fundraising posts. We’ve scoured our archives for Fundraising Challenges that we’ve posted over the last year or so, and we’ve got some of the best of them here. You can also find Fundraising Challenges going all the way back to 2014 here.
Remember Your Reasons – Use your fundraising requests as an opportunity to remind your donors exactly why we raise funds for Susan G. Komen®. Ask for a specific and meaningful amount (for example, you could ask for donations of $50, which could be used to help transport a patient to a treatment session or mammogram). Or simply share your story and remind people why you walk, and tell them that you’ll walk in honor or in memory of someone they love who’s been affected by breast cancer. For every donation you receive, tell them you’ll carry that person’s name with you, in tribute.
Let the Calendar Lead the Way – Your next fundraising idea could be as close as the calendar on your wall. Find inspiration from the date (if it’s 5/19, see if you can get 5 donations of $19), the year (can you reach your 2016 fundraising goal with donations of $20.16?) or even just the day of the week (make every Wednesday a “get me over the hump” day by asking donors to help you reach the next hundred-dollar level of your fundraising). Be creative about using unique days to grab your donors’ interest. For example, on 7/17 of last year, we issued this fundraising challenge:
Yay, America! – On Patriotic Holidays (Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 4th, Election Day, etc.), ask your friends to make donations today in honor of their patriotic pride. How about $50, one dollar for every amazing American state?
Countdown! – A countdown is a great fundraising gimmick. You can ask for donations in the amount of how many days are left until you walk (you can find how many days you have left on the Home page of your Participant Center), or count down to some other important date, such as a birthday or a cancer-versary.
Anytime Ideas! – Some ideas are great no matter what time of year it is. Here’s one: set a timer for 30 minutes and see if you can get $100 in donations! Post the challenge on Facebook, blast an email out to everyone in your workplace, heck, you can even dig the change out of your car seats and couch cushions. Race against the clock and get to the goal! Or you can find more ideas or inspiration at any time of day or night by visiting the Fundraising Tools page of your Participant Center at The3Day.org/Fundraising or search for fundraising posts on the 3-Day blog.
Social Media Strategies – Most fundraising strategies can incorporate social media in some form, but sometimes you can use social media as the starting point. Start a tagging trend: tag three friends in a Facebook or Twitter post, and ask them each to donate $10 AND tag three of their own friends. Be sure to share your reasons for walking and don’t forget to share the link to your personal 3-Day fundraising page.
The 3-Day Spirit – Your participation in the boldest breast cancer event in history can inspire your donors to give. On your next training walk, see how long it takes you to walk a mile (for most folks, it’s about 20 minutes), then ask friends and family to make donations in that amount. Amp up the challenge by seeing if you can get 60 people to make those donations, one for each mile you’ll walk. You could also tell your donors that 3-Day walkers hit the pavement in rain or shine, and in the spirit of this all-weather attitude, ask your Facebook friends to make donations to you today in the amount of the high temperature wherever they are.
Use These Graphics! – From time to time, we’ve shared some snazzy fundraising graphics on social media, and you are absolutely welcome and encouraged to share them with your networks too!
Get your friends, family and neighbors involved with bottling up spare change. Try it this weekend and let us know on Monday how you did!
Does your community have any big events coming up? If there’s a parade, festival or concert that will draw a lot of people, see if you can rent a port-a-potty (a pink one, if possible!) to set up at the event site. You can sell “special access” wristbands which will allow guests to tend to their…ahem…”business” without the typical lines or “yuck” factor that comes with more heavily trafficked commodes.
Set yourself and some friends up at a busy intersection in your community with pink boots, and when cars stop for red lights, go around and collect donations at the drivers’ windows.
This challenge could be one small step toward reaching your fundraising goal!