1. Personal Fundraising webpage and letter writing campaign
Think about all of the people whom you have bought gifts for the following: engagement, marriage, bridal shower, baby shower, graduation, etc. Don't feel uncomfortable asking these people for gifts to an extremely good cause (and a tax deduction!). You will be amazed at all the people who have been touched by Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and the generosity they will bestow upon your efforts.
Send an email to everyone in your address book. Even people you haven’t spoken to in years. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much they will donate to you! Send this to 100 people. If 75 of those 100 donate an average of $25 each, then you will have raised $1,875! Let's say those 75 donate an average of $50 each (which is still well below the National average). Then you will have raised $3,750! It really is just that easy.
Don't stop there though! I know you can reach well beyond your minimum and be a top fundraiser!
2. Matching gifts
Be sure to mention this possibility in your letter to encourage your donors to double their donation by asking their Human Resources department about matching gifts. Many companies match gifts to charitable Foundations such as CCFA; however, it isn’t well-advertised so be sure to ask! If 25 of the above donors have companies that match gifts, then their $50 donation will now turn into $100. That is a bonus of $1,250 simply by asking a question!
3. Corporate Sponsorships
Corporate Sponsorships are just as plentiful as matching gifts, the key point is to ask. The worst thing that could happen here is to be told no. The best thing that could happen is that your company - or a friend or family's company - would love to receive the benefits of sponsoring an up and coming healthy event that benefits CCFA, who received one of the only 6 "A" ratings by the American Institute of Philanthropy (out of 44 charities) in its most recent watchdog report. This company can do so by donating $20,000 which is applied to your fundraising goal! Let's say that asking for this sponsorship resulted in a $1,500 donation, you are suddenly that much closer to your goal and all it took was 15 minutes of your time! I would be happy to cover this in more detail or arrange for our Mid-America Chapter CCFA Executive Director to accompany you on these meetings for support and in-depth Foundation statistics.
4. Mini-events
This is the fun stuff. There are countless ways to chip away at your fundraising goal with mini events. Here are a few examples:
Dress-down-day at work: Office with 75 employees and 50 of them take advantage of the $5 donation to wear jeans to work: $250.
Wine & Cheese party: Ask local grocery stores that you frequent to donate the wines and cheeses. Ask other local businesses to donate silent auction prizes that your guests may bid on. Charge $20 admission and invite at least 50 people. If 35 show up, you will receive $700 in admission. Depending on your prizes, you should expect at least another $300 in auction donations. That is a total of $1,000!!
Garage Sale for charity: Ask friends and family for items they would like you take off their hands. For example, furniture, electronics, CDs, DVDs, etc. Then hold a garage sale and advertise in your community calendar that all proceeds will go the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's Team Challenge. You can expect to raise anywhere between $200 to $500 depending on the items you have for sale!
Again, these are just a few ideas. There are many more in your Team Challenge Handbook!