Day 52: Let the fundraising begin

It's official! I have finally started asking people for money. I have transformed from a timid, anti-borrowing student into an assertive, passionate (sort of) solicitor. I just finished writing up my request for my school's morning announcements, and this is essentially what it says:

"CAS to Conquer Cancer:

For her CAS project, Galen will be taking part in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. She will be joining hundreds of other cyclists in a 2-day journey from Vancouver B.C. to Seattle. In order to join, each participant must raise at least $2,500 by June 15, the day of the ride. All donations will directly fund the BC Cancer Agency, and its many fields of cancer research. Galen has been training long and hard for this ride, and hopes to find support in the *insert school name here* community. If you would like to help, or just find out more about the ride, feel free to email her or ask her about it the next time you see her. Your support and encouragement could do wonders in the fight against cancer."

I spent a lot of time editing this announcement, because I wanted it to be just right. It's my first real attempt at getting people to donate, and I'm rather nervous. Putting my name up for everyone to see and calling attention to myself is definitely not how I usually behave. I've always been very opposed to seeking gratification for one's good deeds. I firmly believe that if you are truly trying to help a cause, you don't need acknowledgement for your charity, and therefore shouldn't fish for compliments or celebrate yourself. But that's exactly what I had to do for this announcement. Since I'm not allowed to directly request donations, I had to make it seem like all I wanted was encouragement and congratulations, which was hard for me. I wrote at least 5 drafts of this announcement, and kept second-guessing myself each time I wrote out how hard I was working and asked for my classmates' support. But I finally came out with this version, and sent it to my school before I had time for doubt.

I realize that I'm going to have to get used to being proud of myself and telling people how amazing my charity is because, according to most fundraising guides, that's what gets donors excited. I shouldn't feel shame for trying to raise awareness about my bike ride, it's a very good cause--one that I would hate to miss out on simply because I was too embarrassed. I feel like I've finally accepted that if I want to have $2,500 by June, I'll have to swallow my pride, get over my fears, and ask as many people as possible to donate. And if I want to earn lots of donations, I can't have a timid or hesitant demeanor; I have to be strong, confident, and proud of my cause. This first phase of my fundraising process made me realize that I can and will raise the necessary funds by my deadline. I just have to try.

I'm afraid of fundraising

I apologize for not writing recently, but I had to temporarily abandon my current cause to assist in another charity. For the past month or so, my friend and I have been raising funds for the leukemia and lymphoma society (more cancer stuff! I’m turning into a crazy cancer lady). The project, called “Pennies for Patients”, sent us little boxes to walk around asking for money with, and a little pamphlet full of fundraising ideas. Our goal was to raise at least $250, and after about three weeks of trying to get donors, I’ve become very fearful for my own charity.

The first day of fundraising, we went door-to-door with our little white donation box, asking for money. Aside from being very difficult due to the rain and our fear of rejection, this strategy proved inefficient and ineffective. For two hours, we walked around neighborhoods knocking on doors and despising ourselves for becoming annoying solicitors, and we only found two people willing to donate. This made me very uneasy, because the main strategy I had planned to follow was door-to-door solicitation. Next we went to the local grocery store and asked the manager if we could stand out front and ask for donations. This was slightly more effective because it is harder to walk by a donation box than it is to slam your door on one. But in the end, we still only raised $15.81.

Our next strategy was a bake sale. I have never hated baking so much in my life. Since there were only two of us, we both had to take on a large amount of baking in order to have a full and successful sale. The first problem I encountered with this was buying supplies. My grocery list was a mile long, and filled with expensive items like vanilla, an electric mixer, and melting chocolate. The total cost of my purchases was over $200, which makes no sense, since our fundraising goal was only $50 more than that. I essentially spent $200 to get $50 in return.  I stayed up every night baking batches of cupcakes and cookies, and although we raised about $220 with our 3-day bake sale, it really wasn’t worth all the money and effort we put into it. In the end we reached our goal, but we had to fight for it.

This fundraising project has made me feel very nervous about finding sponsors for my bike ride in June. Not only am I working on my own, I’m trying to raise $2,500. That would be like doing “Pennies for Patients” ten times through, and I am NOT doing that again. So I’m left with the question: “what exactly is my fundraising strategy?” Obviously I can try door-to-door solicitation again, but that can’t be my main source of donors. I can also discreetly ask for funds through my school, but I’m not allowed to ask people for money directly, since it violates school policy. I’ll have to say things like, “please show your support” or “if you want to help, then contact me”, and even then, my school’s culture does not include a strong desire for participation, and I am not likely to find many supporters. So how else will I earn money? I’ve researched fundraising strategies, and here are the ones I like:

• Offer to work in exchange for donations—people like to know they’re getting something in return for their payment
• Give some sort of recognition to donors—if people won’t donate for the cause, they may do it for the prestige
• Art sale
• Garage sale
• Send an email, but only one—DON’T PESTER PEOPLE
• Tell people how close you are to your goal so they understand the difference their donation will make
• Be passionate about your cause

This is all I’ve been able to find so far, and with only 101 days left, I’m nervous. I’m just going to have to suck it up and start asking for money. I may be afraid of it, and it may be difficult at first, but I know I can do this!