Anyone here have any experience raising money for charity?

[LibraLiz1973]

I'm helping to set up a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in a few weeks- an event to honor a very dear friend of mine who lost her battle with Leukemia in May at the age of 29. In the 2 years since her diagnosis she had raised fifty thousand dollars for the LLS.

Now that she is gone... it seems vitally important to raise even more money so that a cure can be found. No parents should have to lose their beloved only child to this disease. I feel awful for everyone who loses someone to this monster called cancer. NO ONE should have to suffer the way that they do as cancer takes over their bodies.

This is the first time I have ever really done anything like this. For the last few years at work we have done charity events for Alex's Lemonade & America's Second Harvest, but those were a bit easier to plan & were very successful. Alex's Lemonade is a no brainer around these parts, as we are about 10 minutes away from her house. People here know the story & just throw money at you. America's Second Harvest is the same way, really. Most people know about it and understand it already. This is a new thing for us to do, for a charity that you don't see as much of, except in the fall when the Light The Night walks are happening. So I want to do all that I can to ensure that as much money as possible can be raised to help.

Anyone with any experience, can you give me some ideas about soliciting donations from businesses? Tell me what you have done & what worked for you.

Thanks!

[Shine]

1. I have some small experience in this area.

I raised about $5000 when I did the CA AIDS Ride, back in 2000. It was a fundraiser bicycle ride with 2800 cyclists from SF to LA, over the course of a week. I basically sent out heartfelt letters to 140 of my friends, letting them know what I was doing and asking for donations. The checks rolled in.........

I've also done some work soliciting donations from local businesses for a school fundraiser auction.

In both cases, I found that people are basically generous and willing to support a good cause. Speak from your heart and tell the truth.

The worse thing they can do is say "No", so there's no harm in asking for support!

Good luck and more power to you! :hi: :yourock:

[LibraLiz1973]

3. Thanks Shine!!!!

[av8rdave]

2. In the early 90s, I helped with the American Cancer Society for their annual

Lone Star Ball in Fort Worth. I helped solicit donations for the silent auction. What I learned after doing it for a couple of years is a personal visit followed up by a letter seemed to work best. Nothing was off limits. Anyone or any entity that would be willing to donate was considered.

Anyone you can find that "connects" with leukemia could be a great donor. Although I was not a fan of his, I wrote Reagan's office (he was out of office by then) and asked if he would sign a copy of his autobiography. In the letter, I said that as a cancer survivor, he would be an inspiration. His office did call, and told me to send a hardcover copy of the book and he would sign, which he did (I didn't have the heart to tell them that you could buy his book at the Dollar Store). The book wound up selling for a couple of hundred bucks! (As an aside, I did not contact his office the following year, as he had announced his Alzheimer's diagnosis). He sent a pair of cufflinks that had been given him on a state visit, along with a personal note - those also garnered a nice sum).

Other businesses I approached included clothing (a high end pair of shoes will fetch a good price), airlines (one local airline donated a pair of domestic round trip tickets), sports figures (a signed football, baseball, bat or hockey stick is great). I even contacted NASA for an autographed publicity photo of some of the astronauts.

Hope this gives you some ideas. Most people are great about donating something once they understand what it will really be used for and what the cause is.

Good luck!

[LibraLiz1973]

4. Good advice. I really appreciate this

[crimsonblue]

5. why would I raise monkeys for charity?

that's a little odd, isn't it?

[crimsonblue]

7. oh it said money for charities...

that's quite a difference.

[Oeditpus Rex]

6. Businesses are much more likely to donate

if there's something in it for them — like free advertising.

You didn't say what kind of event you're planning, but if it's one that'll have guests/spectators and they'll get a program, it's a no-brainer that there'll be a list of the donating businesses in it. If this is the case, it's usually a good idea to set donation levels, like "gold," "silver" etc. That motivates businesses to give more because they'll look better among the "elite" donors.

Even if you're doing this, it's also a good idea to allocate some of the funds for a newspaper ad — the biggest one you can afford — listing all the donors. (Don't just write a letter to the editor listing them. Many papers won't print those.)

I was in Jaycees for 10 years and was involved in quite a bit of fundraising. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. :hi:

[ThomCat]

8. I do.

I've raised money for a bunch of different charities over the years.

The easiest way to raise money is to have something small and cute to sell people. They'll buy something when they won't give money. flowers, chocolate, a space for a "shout out" or a remembrance of a loved one in a large ad or public display... something.

Get sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so that you can have a letter on letterhead explaining who you and are what you're doing. With that letter a lot of stores will let you set up a small table.

Recruit some college students. If there's a service club on campus then recruit their help. Turn it into a project. They can sit at tables. And, just as importantly, they might be allowed to go office to office on campus selling to the staff and professors. You sell a whole lot more when you can visit your audience in their offices.
:)

The most I raised this way was $12,000 in a single fund drive. We sold daffodils.

[applegrove]

9. I have a friend who does a silent auction every year. She gets businesses

to donate stuff that otherwise would not sell - in exchange for mentioning them at the silent auction. And she has had excercise equitment and such donated to her auction.

[Midlodemocrat]

10. I raised $80,000 for an organization here

with donated drinks/food/music and a silent auction.