Mom to Emilyn and Hailey (our 20 week angels) and Elim (our 38 week, full term miracle)!
I say go for it! If they're willing to donate, then it sounds like a fabulous idea! We're having an open house over here with several different groups that are donating their proceeds to our family team! Good luck, hope it raises a bunch of money for your team!
I've found that they're pretty open when you're raisin' money- no logo police gonna come get ya. But you could always just run it by your local office. In fact, they would probably LOVE to know what you are doing and might even help spread the word for you. Those ideas sound totally awesome! I think you're someone your local chapter wold want to meet!
Lauren
James SooHoo
- Feb 21, 2012 7:16 pm
(#14 Total: 36)
Share Your Story Community Host
I saw that we created a video here (at the National Office) on fundraising tips...so I thought I would post it. The speakers are colleagues of mine.
[Last Editor: James SooHoo, Feb 21, 2012 7:18 pm. Total Edits: 1]
this will be our second walk, my son was born at 26 weeks and is now 10 years old. We are looking for ideas to help us get donations. Can anyone help us?
Akeelah's Mommy
- Mar 4, 2012 6:07 am
(#18 Total: 36)
A moment in our arms, a lifetime in our hearts.
Hi Babbott-
Congrats on a second year walking! If you go back in this thread there are lots of ideas from other teams... as well as in the team spotlight folder.
Some of the things that my team does:
-Garage & Bake Sale
-Emails to friends and family
This year from an idea from another Share momma we are also donating an item (blanket) for each donation made to our team. This is our 4th year walking, so we're trying to keep things fresh.
I've also heard of some teams doing Poker Tournaments at their homes and partnering with businesses to donate.
The Lia Sophia fundraiser was a hit! We raised 200 dollars in one night. 189.50 was from the donated comisson of the salesperson and the rest was a raffle. People were excited to be giving and going on a shopping spree. I will try it again next yr for sure!
-Kate
liz loschinskey
- Mar 7, 2012 1:01 am
(#20 Total: 36)
I love my kids!
Holy jumping beans!! I don't know who's original idea it was to do the preemie onsies. As soon as I posted it on facebook with a picture of the onsie I am donating I got instant donations. $30 donation onsie to T's NICU.
Also, I am donating isolette covers that I am making (Pittsburgh Steelers ones if anyone is interested) a $20 donation is one to Tori's NICU.
I've had 20 people RSVP to my card party. That's $200! Plus, four more people who can't come want to buy cards, so that's $40 more, if they actually do.
I want to play a March of Dimes trivia game on Saturday for some small prizes I have. Does anyone have ideas for trivia questions? I want to have five or so and have people with the correct answers entered into a drawing. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
Also, if any of you are interested in the cards, here's what they look like.
Our 4th Annual Garage Sale is tomorrow.... I swear every year I'm going to be more organized... buuuuuuuuut ya know. I think my goal is going to be $200... though I'm hoping for $300!
Mom to a 25 weeker who is now 8 years old and a 38.5 weeker who is now 6
I'm loving these ideas!
Here are a few things I've heard about that I thought I would pass along:
1) If your child is old enough, have him/her write a letter asking for donations. I had Kimmie do one and Matt of course wanted to as well. I posted them on FB and got $150 I wouldn't otherwise have.
2) Find a different way than usual to tell your story, if you haven't done a video before, make one. They are pretty easy to do and VERY powerful. Write a story or a poem. make a sign for your yard. Whatever can get people talking!
3) Make sure you are sending out the link to your online fundraising tool page to everyone you know... and tell them to pass it along. Teams that use the OFT page raise and average of 3x more than teams that just do offline fundraising.
4) Don't hesitate to remind people to donate. Don't be nagging, but if you haven't heard back in a few weeks, send them a note letting them know you are still fundraising.
5) Talk to your local chapter and find out how money is being use in your area. Being able to tell them exactly what they're helping to raise money for makes a big difference. And make sure they know that nationally $0.76, goes towards research and advocacy. Those are good numbers for similar organizations.
6) Thank them! You want to make sure they feel appreciated so they do it again next year.
Good luck everyone! Hope this is your best year ever!
Awesome ideas Jackie! I think we're going to do postcard thank yous with a picture of us walking this year. They seem pretty easy to make and inexpensive.
Lauren
lilymaysmom
- Mar 26, 2012 5:12 am
(#29 Total: 36)
Team tigerlily we do car washes raised 500 dollors for one day then we made bucket in to diapers and made sign that said fill the diapers for babys and made 250 dollers in two hours at wal-mart
Akeelah's Mommy
- Mar 28, 2012 2:40 am
(#30 Total: 36)
A moment in our arms, a lifetime in our hearts.
Ooooh that is so cool Team Tigerlilly! Can you share a bit about the logistics? How do you get to sit outside Walmart and get a spot to donate the space/water for the car wash? I'd love to do things like that but am a little lost on where to start!
Mom to Emilyn and Hailey (our 20 week angels) and Elim (our 38 week, full term miracle)!
Love those ideas Jackie and team Tigerlily!
We had a zumbathon this weekend, I got the idea from our very own Jessica! All I really had to do was talk to my friend who is a Zumba instructor and she took care of the rest! She posted on a page for our local Zumba instructors and one girl piped in and said she had the perfect location, and better yet, it was FREE! She also had someone to DJ for us, and the location provided the stage and screen for the video! We advertised on facebook as well as put a few fliers out. We had 65 people sign in, though I suspect there were actually more in attendance. We sold t-shirts, water, and had a silent auction as well as a raffle going on. It was about two hours of zumba and so much fun! Even though I have never done zumba in my life! We raised 1400 with very little effort on our part!
Here's a littel trick that has been working like a charm. For the past few days, I've been posting "random" amounts that I need to raise for my team. The amounts really aren't random because I keep ending up with odd numbers of donations and I'm trying to even them out, but it's working! One day, I posted that I needed to raise $9 and I got $35, one day I posted I needed $23 and got $25. It's been productive. I think when people see small amounts they think "Oh, I can help with that." Anyway, I'm going to keep doing it every once in a while. I'm only $35 from beating last year's total!
And also, I think I need to start doing Zumba to make friends with the instructor.
Mom to Emilyn and Hailey (our 20 week angels) and Elim (our 38 week, full term miracle)!
Haha! My zumba instructor friend comes to my ladies night on Tuesday nights for dinner! I've never done Zumba before in my life till the day of.
LOVE that idea! I hadn't ever thought about that, but it's definitely a good idea! People see you have a huge goal and think there's no way they can help you get close, but little amounts they can do! Love it!
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But you could always just run it by your local office. In fact, they would probably LOVE to know what you are doing and might even help spread the word for you. Those ideas sound totally awesome! I think you're someone your local chapter wold want to meet! 
I think my goal is going to be $200... though I'm hoping for $300! 
