FUNDRAISING IDEAS FROM A-Z

FUNDRAISING IDEAS FROM A-Z FUNDRAISING IDEAS FROM A-Z FOR THE WALK TO END HYDROCEPHALUS! Use the ideas below to increase your personal or team total for the WALK to End Hydrocephalus! Start now and remember: they can t say yes until you ask! 1. Make Your Own Contribution Lead the way by making your donation first. (Hint: Your personal donation sets the tone for the donations others make. If your personal donation is $25 or more, your donors are more likely to make similar contributions. If your personal donation is $5, your donors will probably give $5 or less!) 2. Ask Ask 20 people for $10 each! 3. Ask for the right amount Really think about your ask before making it. Make sure you ask for the right amount. Don t ask for $10 if you know someone could donate $100. (No one was ever insulted because you asked for too much they re actually flattered that you think they can afford it! ) 4. Ask electronically Utilize the great tools on your WALK to End Hydrocephalus webpage. When you registered to participate in the WALK to End Hydrocephalus, your own personal WALK webpage was automatically created. Edit your personal and TEAM WALK webpage to share your story -- your family s reasons for supporting HA. Your webpage also has templates for emails making it easy to send a request to family and friends. Or write your own email. Your family and friends can sponsor you on your WALK webpage using a credit card! 5. Ask using a Letter Writing Campaign - Send a letter telling your family s personal story how hydrocephalus has affected the lives of everyone in your family and ask for support! Be very real about the challenges of living with hydrocephalus. Send your letter via snail mail or email, but send your letter to everyone you know and everyone you have ever known. (Tip: With a snail mail letter is to enclose a self-addressed return envelope to make it easy to send you a check!) A complete guide to conducting a letter writing campaign including sample letters is available on HA s WALK Resources webpage or call (888) 598-3789. 6. Ask Using Colored Paper for Letter Writing Campaigns If you send your letters via US Postal Service, using color paper can be very eye-catching. Send them in colored envelopes too. That way, your mailing stands out among bills and junk mail. Make sure to use your personal return address in your letters so they ll be opened! 7. Ask as many times as you can Then ask again! People are busy and can easily miss your email. Don t be afraid to send emails weekly or bi-weekly to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to see it and respond to it. 8. Babysitting Offer up your services and let your friends have a nice, quiet night out of the house. Ask them to donate what they would have paid a sitter. 9. Bake Sale An oldie but goodie! Give Mrs. Fields or Famous Amos a run for their money -- host a bake sale with you and your friends. Ask if you can hold it at work. Or you can even hold it in conjunction with your garage sale. (If you aren t a baker, ask local bakeries or retail food stores to donate product to sell!) 10. Bartender - Ask your local bartender to donate a portion of one day s tips. You can create a sign for the bartender to place on the bar stating, A portion of all tips collected tonight will go directly to the Hydrocephalus Association to cure hydrocephalus. If patrons see the sign, they may be willing to dig a little deeper! Fundraising Ideas from A-Z 1

11. Beneficiaries Educate yourself on how the money raised is spent. Have some facts and statistics about hydrocephalus at your fingertips. (The money raised with the WALKs funds support and education as well as vital research aimed at finding the answers to this complex, complicated condition.) You ll be asked where the money is going and it will be very impressive to a potential donor if you re able to speak eloquently about it. (Contact the HA National office or check HA s webpage (www. hydroassoc.org) for statistics and information.) 12. Birthday Gift Donation It will be a lot easier for your friends and family to write you a birthday check instead of spending hours trying to shop for you! And then you can donate the amount to your WALK to End Hydrocephalus total. 13. Bowling Nights Plan a fun night of bowling at your local lanes. Ask the owner to waive the cost of bowling so you can collect the fee for HA programs and research. When s the last time you went bowling? It s a great night and how many other opportunities do you have to wear someone else s shoes? 14. Bunco Night At your company or corporation or with friends 15. Business Cards Print up some inexpensive business cards on your computer. Have all the pertinent information on the card including your name, the name of your HA WALK, your address and the URL for your WALK web page. Hand these out to everyone you meet! 16. Children s Party Throw on that Barney outfit and get out there! The kids will be having fun as their parents are writing you donation checks. 17. Chiropractor They ve cracked your back. Now ask them to crack open their checkbook and make a pledge. 18. Church Bulletin Place an advertisement in your church bulletin/newsletter letting the congregation knows what you re up to. Or better yet, invite them to raise money and join you at the WALK! 19. Clubs and Organizations Send a solicitation letter to your local Knights of Columbus, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Kiwanis, etc. They support individuals in their communities. 20. Company Grants Find out if your company offers grants to employees who volunteer their time for charitable causes. If so, contact your local WALK Chair and ask how you can help plan and/or organize the event. Earn money for the cause for your volunteer service. You may need a letter from HA stating that you have volunteered HA s national office will be happy to handle that for you! 21. Company Vacation Days Ask your boss or human resource director to swap one of your vacation days for a day s pay (explain what you ll do with the money.) 22. Computer Screen Savers Create a WALK Screen Saver and send it to everyone in your company! Or simply create a text screen saver on your own computer that others will see when you re away from your desk. 23. Cooking lessons Do you have a reputation as a gifted amateur chef? Give 5 friends a cooking lesson at $35 each enjoy the outcome together with wine! 24. Corporate Matching Gift If your company doesn t already have a matching gift program (check with your HR Department) ask your company to match the amount of donations you receive from your fellow coworkers. 25. Creative Friends Find a local artist or ask a creative friend if they would donate a piece of art or jewelry that you could Fundraising Ideas from A-Z 2

auction off. Or see if they would be willing to create mass quantities that you could sell and keep a portion of the proceeds for your fundraising total. 26. Cover Charge Get your favorite local pub, club or other organization to donate all or a portion of their cover charge. They are also a great place to sell raffle tickets 27. Curse Jar Place a curse jar in your office and whenever someone says a bad word they have to open up their wallet, grab a dollar and put it in the jar. 28. Dance Secure a donated space, a band to play, publicize it, sell tickets, it s easy and fun and raises lots of money for your team and/or site. (Try to get as much donated as possible; if not expenses could eat up all of the money you raise!) 29. Delegate Give 10 of your friends a donation form and ask them to help raise money for you. 30. Dentist Hopefully it won t be like pulling teeth to get him/her to help you out with a donation! 31. Doctor/Therapist/Veterinarian/Insurance Agent Ask him/her to write a check for you instead of the other way around! 32. Dress Down Day Ask your company to allow an official HA WALK Dress Down Day. For the privilege of dressing down, employees donate $5 or $10 toward your WALK total. Your company already dresses down? Try a Hats On for Hydrocephalus or something similar. 33. Errand boy/girl Offer to be your friends and/or coworkers personal assistant for a day (or maybe for just a few hours) in exchange for a large donation. $250 or more! 34. Extra Change in My Pocket Box Create these little boxes for your friends and family and have them place it on their dresser or desk. At the end of the day they can drop any spare change in the box. 35. Game Night Get out those board games and start playing! Break into teams and let the fun begin. 36. Garage Sale Do you really need all that extra stuff taking up space in your garage, attic and/or basement? Gather it up and ask your friends to do the same. Then choose a Saturday or Sunday, put the stuff in the front yard and sell! All the money raised can go toward your fundraising goal! 37. Good Karma Tipping Jar Ask local businesses to put a pledge jar near the register or on their front counter. Tape a picture of yourself to the jar (or your child if you have a child with hydrocephalus) and a short explanation of why you re raising money. 38. Gym Ask your gym to place a pledge jar at the front desk! Leave a donation form or business cards at the counter as well. 39. Hair Salon Ask your barber or hairdresser to donate $2 of every haircut they complete over the weekend. 40. Happy Hour Party Invite all your friends (and their friends) and get them to sign last year s HA WALK T-shirt. Charge $10 per signature. And you ll end up with a great shirt to wear on event day. 41. Host a Movie Party at your House Pick up a new release at your local video store or On Demand, make some popcorn, pick up some drinks and invite your friends and family over for the night. Make sure you have plenty of donation forms out! 42. House Party This is a sure-fire way to raise money. Collect donations and entertain at the same time. Create a theme (e.g., Costume party; Murder Mystery?) and have fun! 43. House Sit Are your friends going out of town for a while? Maybe they need a warm body to stay at their place while they are away. Ask Fundraising Ideas from A-Z 3

them to donate what they think is appropriate. 44. House Warming Party Are you moving anytime soon? If so, ask your friends to make a donation instead of purchasing a gift for your new place. 45. Inspirational Bookmarks Create them and sell them to your friends and family. 46. Karaoke Night Who cares if you can t carry a tune? Spend a Friday night at a Karaoke Bar and sing for donations! 47. Lemonade Stand Ask your kids to set up a lemonade stand over the weekend with the proceeds going to your WALK to End Hydrocephalus total. 48. Mechanics You ve given them lots of money to work on your car. Now it s time for them to give a little back! 49. Meet the Press Does your company distribute a newsletter? Does your company have interoffice e-mail? Take advantage of these it s a perfect way to get the word out about hydrocephalus and the WALK to End Hydrocephalus!! 50. Mow-a-Thon Get your kids involved in this weekend activity. Check ahead of time with all your neighbors and ask them if they can mow their lawn for $50. 51. Neighbors Write to all your neighbors on your block or in your building. Attach a letter stating what you re doing and ask them to make a donation. Or just stick a flier in their mailboxes explaining why you re raising money. 52. Neighborhood Chef Are you a gifted amateur chef? Do people always rave about your duckling a la orange? Put a flyer in the neighbor s mailboxes you ll prepare a gourmet dinner for 4 in exchange for a donation. Or tell neighbors you ll sell them uncooked apple pies for their freezer (with cooking instructions.) 53. Neighborhood Chores Are you a Mr. or Ms. Fix-It? A lot of your neighbors would probably rather pay you than someone else. Place signs around your neighborhood or place in mailboxes advertising your services (i.e. watering gardens, cleaning roof gutters, sweeping the driveway, fixing an easy plumbing problem, painting a room, hanging a flat screen TV, etc.) 54. Newspaper - Contact your local paper and get an article or a feature story Make sure that you include information on how people can contribute. And have a photo ready to go! 55. Office Fundraising Challenge Speak with everyone in your office and ask them to join a corporate WALK to End Hydrocephalus team. Put an article in the company newsletter. Challenge each other to raise the highest amount. Give the winner a prize like movie passes or a gift certificate to lunch or dinner. 56. Other Parents If your kids play in the soccer leagues or on any other sports teams, distribute your donation forms to the other parents at the events. 57. Pet Birthday Party People love their pets and they even love their friends pets. Organize a pet birthday party ask guests to bring donations instead of toys or treats. 58. Pet Sit Are your neighbors going away and they don t want to leave their pet(s) at the kennel? Again, offer up your services and ask them to donate what they would have paid at the kennel to your WALK to End Hydrocephalus total 59. Picnics National holiday picnics are a great place to raise some money! Fundraising Ideas from A-Z 4

60. Pizza Party Ask your local pizzeria to donate pizzas and charge your coworkers $2 a slice. 61. Putting Green Contest - Construct a putting green in your lobby and charge a fee for employees and/or customers to putt for donated prizes. (Obtain permission from building management first, please!) 62. Poker Game Call your card-playing friends and invite them over for poker night! Or a bunco night. Every other pot goes to HA or a percentage of every pot! 63. Raffle Everyone that contributes is entered into a raffle to win a special item such as a homemade quilt or baseball tickets. 64. Remind Them If you didn t receive an answer the first time you asked, ask again! Your potential donors may need a little coaxing. Many times they intended to donate it just got away from them! 65. Return Address Labels Print return address labels for your outgoing mail. Print something like, I m walking to fight hydrocephalus, will you sponsor me? Add the URL to your WALK to End Hydrocephalus webpage. 66. Rock On! If you know any musicians, ask them to perform a benefit concert. Tell people that their admission ticket is a check made out to the Hydrocephalus Association. 67. Signing Your Correspondence Add a short sentence at the bottom of your e-mail signature (if applicable) saying that you re walking in the WALK to End Hydrocephalus and ask for a donation. Include an e-mail link to your personal or team WALK web page. 68. Slim into Shape Hold a two-month contest at work for everyone who wants to lose weight. Each person pays a pre-determined amount for every pound lost or gained. Secure donated prizes for those who attain their weight-loss goals. 69. Social Networking Sites/Internet Chat Rooms Post a message on an Internet chat room, MySpace or on Facebook. You will be amazed at how many people you don t even know who will be willing to help you. 70. Spinning Class Have your WALK to End Hydrocephalus business cards with you with you and ask your spinning instructor to make an announcement in class. 71. Start Now The earlier you begin fundraising, the better off you ll be. You ll be able to exceed your personal or team goal in a big way! 72. Start Your Own Extra Change Box Keep a jar near your door and everyday put all your extra coins in it it adds up. Or put it on your desk at work others will join you. (Remind ladies how much change weighs down their purse or handbag!) 73. Television Show Premiere or Finale Party It would be fun to gather a big group of friends together to tune in to watch the premiere of a new series or the big season or series finale. Of course, charge them at the door and put the money toward your WALK to End Hydrocephalus total. 74. Tell your story The more you talk about your participation in the WALK to End Hydrocephalus, the more people will share in that excitement. 75. Theme Party/Dinner Hold a theme party for 10 or more of your friends. Have each guest donate $50, spend no more than $20 per person on food and you ll have $300 or more in contributions by the end of the night. 76. Travel Agency Do you always make your travel plans through the same agency? Ask them to donate a travel voucher. You can auction it off at one of your parties. Fundraising Ideas from A-Z 5

77. Used-Book Sale Everyone has books that have been sitting on shelves, in the attic or in the basement collecting dust. Ask your friends, family and neighbors to donate books they no longer want and set up a weekend book sale in your front yard. Put up some signs so people will know where the money is going and once they know, hopefully they ll give you even more! (Book buyers are frequent yard sale customers!) 78. Voice Mail Message This will alert everyone who calls you at home that you re up to something special! Let them know that you need their support! 79. Wine and Cheese Party Host a party at your home, collect donations after everyone has sampled the wine! 80. Yoga Instructor You ve bent over backwards for them, now it s their turn to do the same for you! 81. Your Donors Matching Gift Check with everyone that donates ask them if they work for a company that matches employee donations. The donor needs to contact their corporate HR office to obtain information on the process. (Not sure if your donors work for a matching gift company? Use HA s matching gift search engine on the HA web site (www.hydroassoc.org) Many volunteers host local events and activities to raise money for HA. If you plan to use these fundraising methods, please remember the following: Local communities often have laws governing fundraising activities like raffles, garage sales, leafleting, and other promotional activities. Please check with your local government before fundraising money with these methods. If you plan to post flyers in a public space (grocery stores, malls, parking lots, etc.) please check with the Property Manager first, before posting your materials. Be sure to note that your fundraising activity is for the Hydrocephalus Association. Hydrocephalus Association 4340 East West Highway, Suite 905 Bethesda, MD 20814 Telephone: (301) 202-3811 Toll-Free: (888) 598-3789 Fax: (301) 202-3813 Fundraising Ideas from A-Z 6