Okay, so I know I only have a handful of readers, and I realize some of you might read and never comment. That’s okay! But today, I need your help! We’re preparing to kick off our fundraising efforts for the Relay for Life. Our bank has historically been quite active in the region’s Relay each year, and this year I’m one of our team’s co-captains. I’m racking my brain for creative ways to raise money, other than just emailing all my family and friends and begging them to donate to my webpage. We have folks around the bank who raise money by baking cakes and cookies, brownies and treats. We’ll also have a number of bake sales in our branches between now and May, where I’ll likely make goodies and sell them (not making more than $20 total). And, we hold a yard sale where you can set up your own booth and raise money. Last year, I didn’t sell anything but I came to help and I think raised $40 just by helping!
Here are a couple of ideas I’ve had thus far:
1. Commit to run 1 mile for every $1 I raise between now and Relay (May 1). Now, I cannot and am not committing to run it all at one time! Rather, I’ll log it on my webpage so everyone can see how many miles I’ve run, how many dollars I’ve raised, etc. I figure this is a win-win-win situation: American Cancer Society wins through the donations, my donors win through giving to a good cause and it’s tax-deductible, and I win by running and raising my goal money!
2. Make candles like this one below and sell them for $5 - $8 each. The trick is I haven’t ever tried this before and don’t know how well I’ll be at creating them. I found them online, and the girl gave instructions. She said she had less than $2 in each candle and they were selling like hotcakes. I’ve even thought about branching out beyond Relay themes and doing some monogrammed ones, spring motifs, Easter décor, in addition to the inspirational ones.
Any other ideas? What do you guys think, honestly, about the candle idea? Would you buy one, knowing your $8 went to Relay for Life (I will not hold you to the commitment, although I might remind you of your support if you encourage me to make them and I in turn ask you to support Relay!) Please please please give me your thoughts, suggestions, ideas and support!!
5 comments:
I love the candle idea! You are the most creative person I know so Relay is sure to rock this year with you in charge and I know you will think up some grand ideas all by yourself.
I think both of the ideas are great. Could you incorporate both of them; people that can only donate a dollar or two could do the first one and then I will commit to buying a candle-I love them! Another thing that raised a lot of money WAY back in the day when I was in high school was selling Krispy Kreme donuts. Do ya'll have those down in GA? Anyhow, people in the office love them and they would really sell like hotcakes too! Maybe?? I'll donate a painting to the highest bidder??
Hey Bethany, I will rack my brain to think of some fundraising ideas, but I think those are two good ones! I guess you don't want to do too many different things. But this is something that might not take much effort... One thing our office did for United Way was we had a raffle and people bought tickets by donating $$...you could get a restaurant or something to donate dinner, movie tickets, etc. and then raffle that off at the bank for $1 a ticket or something like that. If ya'll are like my office, everyone loves movie tickets!
Also, I ran a marathon a few years ago for Team in Training (leukemia & lymphoma), and it is DEFINITELY a great motivation to know you are running for something bigger than yourself! It will give you lots of energy to push yourself further! So I say - great ideas!
I love the candle idea B. I would definitely buy and I bet others would to, especially mongrammed ones. I can help make them.
So, I think the whole idea of fundraising is two-fold. Keep it simple. And use your net to snag the widest audience possible. With that said, I say no to the candles. Lots of effort on your part and only a small audience would be interested. Letting the donor choose a $ amount to sponsor you for each mile is great (don't limit them to $1 per mile if they can afford more!). Also, what about a contest? Whomever gives the most $$ (or whatever team of friends/family) wins a prize. Maybe a gift certificate to a place of their choosing. Or a pre-paid Visa card. Or something like that. Good luck - this is a very worth cause!
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