This post is inspired by one of my best friends, Kirsten. She is one of the runners selected last month to participate in the 124th Boston Marathon® as part of a Charity Team. By race day April 20, 2020, each member of this elite group must raise a minimum of $8,500. For the average person, this fundraising feat might deter them. For Kirsten, she knows she has a publicist by her side whose company’s bread and butter is helping nonprofits plan, promote and execute athletic fundraising events.
With the holiday season upon us, now is a great time for runners like Kirsten to start their Boston Marathon fundraising campaign. Below are a few festive ideas to consider:
Cookie Swap Cocktails
Having a happy hour or cookie swap at a local bar, your office or home, is a fun way to engage friends, family members and co-workers in your charitable mission. If it’s at an external venue, you could collaborate with the bar or restaurant on a signature cocktail and happy hour menu in which a portion of the proceeds from the sales of those items will go toward your fundraising campaign. Similarly, you could arrange to benefit from cover charges. For the event, you could approach local businesses to collect in-kind donations for onsite raffles and/or a silent or live auction. During the event, you can engage guests in games, cookie contests and activities to help raise awareness for the mission and work of the charity for which you are running. And, you could have collection cans onsite to raise additional funds.
Year-End Giving Company Matches
With the rise of corporate social responsibility, more and more companies are offering charitable giving programs with company matches. Kirsten is fortunate enough to work for a large company with an incredible charitable match program. Her employer has already pledged its support more than six months prior to the Marathon, which gives her the extra confidence to approach her colleagues for additional support. If their company is behind the mission, they can be too!
E-Asks
Leveraging your social media and email networks with a call for donations during the holiday season is a great way to educate your connections about what you are doing and how they can get involved. Whether it’s a short post on Facebook or a longer ask letter you send through email, be sure to include background on the the charity for which you are running, a call for donations, and a link to your fundraising page with instructions for how to contribute. Including details about your personal connection to the charity and/or your training experience for the Marathon adds that personal touch to help pull at the heart strings (and wallets). Some times charity participants are matched with someone who is a recipient of their services. If this is the case, and you have permission to do so, you can share this person’s story as an example of the incredible work you and your contacts are helping to fund through this campaign.
Product Sales
Use your talent for good. Kirsten runs her own quilting business as a side hustle. She’s really good and wins competitions alongside her grandmother! And, quilts make excellent presents for friends and family members, especially during the cold winter months. Kirsten can fundraise for her Boston Marathon campaign by designing and selling a specific charity quilt in which a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of those quilts will go directly to the charity. She can promote the quilts online through her social media channels and e-networks as well as by tabling at local community events and leaving business cards in local stores, with permission of course. If you’re like me and have a tight schedule this season, websites like Etsy and Facebook Marketplace make this easier than ever to do from the comfort of your own home. But, if you ask me, in person is much more fun, especially at town holiday markets and fairs.
Point of Purchase Collection Drives
If you own your own business or are friendly with a local store owner, you might consider starting a point of purchase campaign to enhance brand recognition and awareness for the charity while also generating funds. The cashier asks customers upon checkout if they’d like to contribute to a charity, donating cash separately in a collection jar by the register. The key to success with this type of fundraising campaign would be to work with your charity to get signage for the checkout area and speaking points for the cashier to educate the public about the organization for which you are running and supporting. This type of campaign may take more communication with the charity, but it’s a great way to reach potential donors while they are already in the giving spirit this time of year and it positions the business as a community advocate helping neighbors – a win-win!
To all of the Boston Marathon Charity Team runners, good luck and thank you for running and supporting such incredible organizations and those they serve!
