Get FIT for Lake Hopatcong

Transcription

1 Get FIT for Lake Hopatcong LHF Lake Loop Fundraising Toolkit YOUR FUNDRAISING DOLLARS WILL MAKE A BIG IMPACT AT LAKE HOPATCONG. Proceeds from Lake Loop will support The Lake Hopatcong Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to improving Lake Hopatcong for everyone now and in the years to come. The purpose of the Foundation is far-reaching, and includes everything from public safety to community cohesiveness, to historical preservation, but its core initiative is to keep the lake clean. To learn more about the Foundation s important initiatives visit LakeHopatcongFoundation.org This packet will include the following 1. Getting Started 2. Fundraising Advice 3. Top 10 Reasons to support the Lake Hopatcong Foundation 4. Individual Fundraising Letter 5. Lake Loop Pledge Form

2 Getting Started 1. Register for the event at LakeHopatcongFoundation.org. Upon completion of registration you will be directed to create your fundraising page. 2. It s time to create your fundraising page. So awesome. Here are a few quick notes and next steps... Make sure you've got good pics, compelling text and even a video on your page. The goal is to make sure everyone knows how important the lake is to you. Tell your story! a link to your fundraising page to everyone you know. Also, use the Manage Campaign tab on your page to easily share on Facebook, Twitter, etc. The money you raise is automatically sent to your charity so all you need to do is share your page relentlessly and have as much fun as possible while you do it.

3 Fundraising Advice Top Fundraising Tips Start your fundraising campaign putting your own skin in the game. The best way to encourage others to give is to see that you ve donated to your own efforts. Start with your own donation. Make sure to tell all of your donors that their gift will go directly to the Lake Hopatcong Foundation, a 501c3 dedicated to improving Lake Hopatcong for everyone, now and in the years to come. It can be difficult to ask people for money. While you are asking for money, remember that you are giving people the opportunity to make a difference at Lake Hopatcong, NJ s Largest Lake! Tell your story about why you participate. The letter included in this packet tells people about the cause, but the more personal you make it and what it means to you, the more people will relate. Mail a personalized letter. Consider starting with this first before anything else. Fundraising results often show higher response rates from a personal letter compared to campaigns. When you ask someone to donate to your fundraiser, you are giving them an opportunity to do something good, and, in turn, feel good about themselves. Donations don t always come from where you expect them to, so cast a wide net and make each ask personal. Create a group chain or a Facebook group to share stories, words of encouragement, key fundraising learnings - let your teammates do the same. People are busy and need to be reminded. Don t stop with 1 request. Their inbox is full. Send another request for support to people who did not respond to your initial request. Host a fundraising event to raise funds. Ideas range from jeans days at work, a donation-based yoga class, hosting a bake sale or a guest bartender party at your local restaurant/bar. You ll be amazed at the amount of support from your network! Create or join a team. Training and fundraising is more fun as a team.

4 More great ideas 1. Gather names and contact information for your network, and ask for donations. Here s a list of common contacts to help you start: Friends Acquaintances Colleagues Boss Clients Alumni LinkedIn Social media network Neighbors Clubs and organizations Church, synagogue, or religious groups Vet Doctors Dentist Hair stylist/barber Mechanic Insurance agent Lawyer Involve Friends and Family that love and use the lake. Ask your donors if they will join you in your fundraising efforts by asking their friends, families and companies to support you. 2. Use Corporate Matches and Double Your Donations Many companies will match their employee s charitable donations. 3. Host a Fundraising Party, a fundraising party is an effective (and fun) way to increase your fundraising and these parties can be of any theme, size or style. Some ideas: House parties. Golf tournaments. Wine tastings, casino nights, auctions. Raffles are a good way to generate funds at a party. Local businesses may be willing to donate gift certificates. Get the neighbors and kids involved. Have a neighborhood yard sale. Ask your neighbors if they would be willing to have a neighborhood yard sale with a percentage of their sales going to support the cause. Neighbors who are not around to participate may be willing to donate items for you to sell. Hold a bake sale. Host a neighborhood BBQ or Pancake Cook- Off. Lemonade stand. Ask your neighbors to help you wash cars on a weekend day. Organize a neighborhood bike ride. 4. Promote Your Ride with Local Merchants Ask local merchants (e.g. the cleaners, local restaurant, coffee shop, hairdresser) if you may hang up a poster promoting your ride/paddle/run in a visible location in the store. Include a description, a picture of yourself, and your reasons participating and the website address. 5. Organize a Spin-a-Thon at a Health Club or a Donation-Based Yoga Class. Does your health club offer spin classes? Talk with the manager and arrange a spin-a-thon to benefit your fundraising. How about your favorite yoga studio? Talk with your favorite instructors and perhaps they would be willing to donate their time to teach the class with all proceeds going to your fundraising. 6. Personal Appeals If you are planning on asking someone for a significant gift, ask them in person. Make sure the time is right. Consider treating your prospective donor to lunch. Practice what you will say a few times beforehand. Be prepared to talk about the event, why you love the lake and what the LHF is working on, what you will do, and how much it means to you. Ask for a specific amount of money, and aim high. Once you have asked for a gift do not apologize or make excuses. Remember that you are not asking for yourself but support to improve Lake Hopatcong. It may be hard to keep quiet, but just WAIT for a response. Your donor will be impressed that you have the courage to ask them in this way. People like to be perceived as successful, and they like to be asked for a significant contribution. 7. Create a goal thermometer or use our pledge sheet attached for others to view at your office.

5 8. In Lieu of Gifts In lieu of gifts for a special occasion birthday, anniversary, holidays- ask that a donation be made to your Lake Hopatcong Lake Loop fundraiser. 9. Send Thank You Notes. Remember to send thank you notes to all of your donors! For an extra touch try a hand written note. This little effort will keep your donors connected to you and they will support you year after year. 10. Promote Yourself in Your Community Publications Let the media know that you re participating and why. Local media outlets are very receptive to hearing about the lives of the residents in their communities. 11. Ask your company to support you. Talk to your boss or human resources director. See if your company will donate a large corporate contribution, match everything you raise, sponsor a fundraising event, publicize your ride in the company newsletter and/or sponsor a corporate team. To find out if your company has a matching gift policy. 12. Utilize Your Social Media Networks. people you know. Request donations, share training and fundraising updates, and be sure to thank everyone for their support. Create a fan base from your friends on Facebook. Ask each of them to skip their morning joe and give $5 to your Lake Loop fundraiser. An easy and fast way to fundraise. Tweet updates from your training and fundraising activities. Invite friends and family to join you for a ride or for a donation. Make a video about your journey and why it s important to you; post it on your Participant Center Page, post it on YouTube. Maybe it will go viral.

6 Top Ten Reasons to be a part of the LHF: Take a look at our accomplishments! #10: Keeping Your Family Safe The Lake Hopatcong Foundation has worked over the last three summers to get more police patrols out on the lake, negotiating a partnership with the Morris County Sheriff s Office and the N.J. State Police to add police patrols during busy boating times. #9 Making the Lake a Classroom We have taught several hundred local elementary students about ice and water safety, bringing local police, firefighters, and EMTs into the schools. The LHF has developed a field trip that focuses on teaching students about the lake environment and lake history, which we hope will be the first step toward bringing a floating classroom onto the lake. Local students participated in the first round of field trips held at the Hopatcong State Park. #8 Stopping Aquatic Hitchhikers We are fighting against the invasive water chestnut species by coordinating the Water Scouts volunteers and overseeing an intensive effort to remove two outbreaks of the plant during the summer of We re also working on ways of informing the community and visitors about the plant through signs and brochures, and hope to bring a boat wash to the lake, along with a voluntary inspection program modeled after the Lake Steward program in the Adirondacks.

7 #7 Maintaining Beautiful Waters Also on the subject of water quality, the Lake Hopatcong Foundation kept more than $370,000 in state grant funding for a variety of water quality improvement projects at the lake, including water quality monitoring and coordinating the recent installation of floating wetland islands in Ashley Cove, which remove algae- and weed-feeding nutrients from the water. There are more projects to come! In addition, we have set up partnerships with three local universities to conduct long- and short-term studies of the lake environment. #6 Celebrating our Community and Businesses Every July, the Lake Hopatcong Foundation sponsors an annual Shop Local program that encourages shoppers to think of all four towns as their downtown. In the same spirit, we run the Lake Hopatcong Block Party out of Hopatcong State Park in May all efforts to unite the broader Lake Hopatcong community and celebrate the amazing and diverse collection of businesses and people that are a part of the scene. #5 Preserving the Lake s Rich History #4 The Power of the People The Lake Hopatcong Foundation may be new(ish), but we continue to work on things that have been around the lake for a LONG time. We partnered with the Morris County Parks commission to conduct a feasibility study on the restoration and reuse of the Lee s Park Pavilion. We are also in the process of using grant money to restore the historic fountain at Hopatcong State Park. Our volunteers are top notch! Since our inception in 2012, we have had more than 800 volunteers give more than 1,800 hours of time to our efforts! We are harnessing the enthusiasm of the community to work on behalf of the lake all the time!

8 #3 Getting Fit at the Lake We are helping Lake Hopatcong residents get fit! Not only are we coordinating with the towns around the lake to forge and connect trails that will take hikers fully around Lake Hopatcong, but we also have an annual Lake Loop event in October that brings hundreds of participants to the lake to enjoy its beauty while getting fit for Lake Hopatcong. #2 Bringing Home the Bacon The Lake Hopatcong Foundation is bringing recognition to the lake and its wonderful people! We won two awards (one from New Jersey Clean Communities and one from the Morris County Chamber of Commerce) for coordinating more than 400 volunteers and clean-up partners at the Lake-Wide Community Cleanup in November 2013 (which removed more than 23,000 pounds of lake debris from the lake bed!). We also won a Daily Record Grassroots Award for our floating wetland island project (see #7!). We also are regularly meeting with legislators and officials in Trenton and in Washington! to make sure they keep the needs of Lake Hopatcong on the front burner. #1 Providing a Home for All! The Lake Hopatcong Foundation recently purchased the Lake Hopatcong Train Station in Landing, which will someday serve as our headquarters and become an environmental and cultural center for the whole community. (The station will also be a key part to an overall effort to beautify the Landing gateway to the lake. ) Give to our capital campaign to help us reach that goal even faster! LakeHopatcongFoundation.org We hope that you will join us in our mission to improve Lake Hopatcong for all, now and in the years to come! For more information on our efforts contact Jennifer DeWitt at or jennifer@lakehopatcongfoundation.org

9 Subject: Guess what I m doing on September 24 th? Hello: As many of you know, <YOUR CONNECTION TO THE LAKE>. By committing to <Bike/Run/Walk/Paddle> in the Lake Loop, I have pledged to raise money for the Lake Hopatcong Foundation and have set my goal at < $100> by September 24 th. For those of you that don t know about this great, local cause let me tell you a bit more. Started in 2012, The Lake Hopatcong Foundation is a 501c3 dedicated to improving Lake Hopatcong for everyone, now and in the years to come. Below are a few of their accomplishments that will catch your attention. Coordinating more than 400 volunteers and cleanup partners contributing over 1,370 volunteer hours for the Lake-Wide Community Cleanup on November 9, 2013 to remove 23,000 pounds of lake debris and approximately 2,000 tires from over 40 lake access points. Negotiating an agreement with the Morris County Sheriff s Office and the N.J. State Police to add police patrols during busy boating times in the summer season. Teaching several hundred local elementary students about ice and water safety with local EMS and fire departments. Keeping more than $370K in state funding for water quality improvement projects at Lake Hopatcong, including coordinating the recent installation of floating wetland islands as a demonstration project in Ashley Cove to remove algae- and weed-feeding nutrients from the lake, with more grant-funded water quality improvement projects on the way. They are also currently focused on a variety of projects that include environmental studies programs in local schools with the intention of bringing LHF s very own Lake Hopatcong Foundation Floating Classroom to the lake, establishing a boat wash and Lake Steward internship program, restoration of the iconic fountain at Hopatcong State Park, creating a network of public trails with the four lake municipalities that would take hikers fully around Lake Hopatcong, as well as developing onthe-water kayaking trails for paddlers, collaborating with Montclair State University, Seton Hall University, and Drew University for long- and short-term research and projects that will bring faculty and students to Lake Hopatcong and much more! Take a look at their website at LakeHopatcongFoundation.org. I hope you can join me on this journey by making a donation to my campaign. I have a Web site that you can visit to follow my fundraising progress. The link is below. You can also mail a check made out to The Lake Hopatcong Foundation to 37 Nolan s Point Park Road. Please note my name and Lake Loop in the memo field. All contributions are tax-deductible. <INSERT LINK TO YOUR CROWDRISE FUNDRAISING PAGE HERE> This week I will be <Riding/Running/Paddle # miles> to prepare for the Lake Loop. Now if that is not motivation, I am not sure what is! Thanks for your support, I am so excited to be able to do this! Sincerely,

10 Lake Loop Pledge Form Name Street Address Pledge Amount Paid Checks can be made payable to: The Lake Hopatcong Foundation Checks can also be mailed to the below address. Please include the participants name and Lake Loop in the memo field. The Lake Hopatcong Foundation 37 Nolan s Point Park Road Lake Hopatcong, NJ Dedicated to improving Lake Hopatcong for everyone, now and in the years to come.

11