With that in mind, today I dove into the fundraising side of things. Although this can be stressful and time-consuming, the fundraising part is my passion, so I like putting myself through it!
First, I started by reading the package sent to us by Team Diabetes Canada - it's a lot of information. And, understandably it has to be. It's just unbelievable how many things there are to consider, some of them "rules", some of them "suggestions".
For instance, they do not want us to run 50/50s or raffles. This is fair, and there are still some loopholes (ie it's okay within our friends and family, but not in the community). Also, they prefer us not to go door-to-door campaigning. Also fair, as I know firsthand that Canadian Diabetes Association does a campaign, so it would be that whole double ask. Which reminds me, if an 8 year old child comes to your door asking for a donation...do your best not to slam the door shut. That broke me for a while.
The thing that makes me laugh is just thinking back to my Event Management program at Niagara College this past year, and how much we all hated the 'red tape' involved with our events. So many approvals before we could do anything! Well, here I am in the real world, and I still have to send my local branch a list of potential sponsors for them to approve before I approach any. It entertains me. And likely it entertains any EM classmates that are reading this blog.
Now, on the otherhand, there are things that scare me. Like, they suggest that we should have all of our BIG events done 3 months prior to our marathon.
That means I should have all of my big events done by September 13.
Which means I have about 1 month to plan anything major. Crap.
Again, it makes sense. You don't want to be looking for $2,000 come October, with 1 month left to the final deadline, when you really should be running for like, 2 hours a day. Still. I cannot plan a luau and silent auction before September 13. I was thinking October.
And I had a lot of other great ideas but figured that I don't have the time to plan them now. Fashion Shows, Pasta Dinners, Progressive Dinners, Bachelor/Bachelorette Auctions, Movie Marathons.....so many things, such little time according to the package..
Although maybe I shouldn't be worrying about those big events when I only have 4 volunteers for this weekend's car wash. That's scary. I'm about 6 short of what I want to run smoothly. But that's also why I can't plan any big events for the near future, how would I get volunteers if I can't get volunteers for a car wash? And thus, you see the crazy circle that is what happens in my brain. It's never ending.
That's why I'm starting to like running. I've noticed that if I even try to think about fundraising while I'm on a run I get distracted before I can finish a thought. Plus, I'm a list person. Jeff is going crazy at all the little bits of paper around our apartment with food to buy, phone numbers, chores to complete, other numbers with nothing to identify what numbers they are....
But if it's not written down, I'll forget. And clearly I don't carry a notepad when I run. So, maybe my brain just realizes it's a lost cause. Stop thinking about fundraising! Just enjoy the air!
Did I mention it took me 2 hours to finish my pledge letter today? I blame it on all the facts to get across....for those non-EM'ers in the crowd....the anatomy of a pledge letter:
1) Greeting
2) Who/What/When/Where/Why
3) Tug of the heart strings
4) Call to Action
5) Follow up
6) Thank you
Seems like not much but let's think about this.
1) Greeting: "Hello"......now what. You can't just say "Hello I'm running a marathon". People will read it and think "Hello I'm drinking my coffee". Your first line, just like a good story or essay, needs to capture your reader. One of the sample letters had a quote "Every day, do one thing that challenges you". She followed it with 'I am living this by running my first marathon'. Catches your attention, but I found it a little weak and somewhat cheesy. So this took me forever. I settled with "I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 8, and although I often see my diagnosis as a gift, it is a daily struggle."
2) Who/What/When/Where/Why: This is where I get really challenged in any written thing I am doing for the marathon right now. Yes, it's Annie and Jeff who is writing the letter, but we aren't the real 'who' of the event, that's Team Diabetes Canada. But then, lots of people have no clue what that is, so you have to include Canadian Diabetes Association which people are familiar with. So, now I've written about 3 sentences just to answer who!
The rest actually comes easily....it's just that darned Who-trinity to start with that's a problem. Of course, the why can take some space, and also, I try to write in here about our fundraising goal, which becomes complicated because it's technically $6100, but since there's 2 of us it's $12,200...oy vey.
3) Heart strings: I actually tug on the heart strings in the first paragraph as part of my 'catch', but I also like to include some facts about diabetes (since I am trying to raise awareness after all) so that's another line.
4) Call to Action: Please support my mission. Okay, that's easy...but then you need to tell them how - complete the pledge form (unless it's a credit card), or email me to donate online (because the url is so awkward I will not type it in a letter!), and remember that you get a tax receipt after $15, not the usual $20. Oh, and the fundraising kit suggested I remind you to donate early so we can reach our deadlines.
Yep. That paragraph just ballooned a mile.
5) Follow Up: I usually just include contact info for questions....if it was corporate I would say when I'd call them to follow up but with friends and family I don't want to annoy you.
6) Thanks: Thank you for your support! (Gag me....so boring and ordinary, but the only short thing left)
So, take all that, add a little wit and humour to interest the reader and you've got about a page and a half. Oh, and did I mention that with literacy issues, you should try to space things 1.5 spaces so it's easily read? Okay, so 2 pages. Now that's just too long.
And now you know why a one-page letter took me 2 hours.
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