Whether or not this is your first fundraising event, you may feel a little intimidated asking people for money. However, raising money for a great cause is not as hard as you might think.
Nearly everyone has been affected by cancer in some way. If you’re a survivor or caregiver, or if you’ve been touched by the experience of friends and loved ones with cancer, it’s easy to find people who want to support your efforts by making a donation…all you have to do is ask!
Here are the Top 5 tips for jumpstarting your fundraising:
Sign Up Online Start your own team, or join an existing team. Signing up is fast and easy, and best of all, there’s no paperwork!
Set Up Your Personal Web Page
When you sign up for Relay online, a personal Web page will automatically be created for you. It’s best to customize this page by adding a photo and story and explaining your reason to Relay. The tools in the Participant Center will walk you through simple steps on how to add these personal touches to your Web page.
Send Emails to Friends, Family, and Co-Workers
The number one reason people donate is because someone asked them. So don’t be shy! Email everyone you know asking for support. You will receive an email every time someone donates to you online, and you will quickly see your fundraising thermometer rise.
Make a Personal or Team Donation
Kickoff your own fundraising efforts by making a donation to yourself or to your team. Sometimes it just takes one person to start the ball rolling. Encourage your team members to follow your lead.
Double Your Money Through Matching Gifts
Many employers offer matching gift programs. Your $50 donation could turn into $100 just by asking your human resources department if they have a matching gift form and reminding friends and family who support you to do the same. For more information, please visit our Matching Gifts page.
Never feel apologetic about asking people to join the fight against cancer. When you ask someone to donate to your Relay For Life, you are giving them an opportunity to do something good for others and, in turn, feel good about themselves. It may sound corny, but you and your donors are helping save lives. What could be more worthy?
Here are some additional tips for raising your $100 fundraising commitment, followed by a list fundraisers that have worked well for others.
10 Easy Ways to Raise $100 for youth.
10 Easy Ways to Raise $100 for college participants.
What more? Here is a list of fundraisers that have worked well for others:
- Hold a pizza taste-off. The Relay For Life of Cape Ann raised $1,700 with this community fundraiser. Eighteen businesses donated 10 pizzas each, and people paid $6 a piece to sample a taste of each and vote for their favorite.
- Put together a Relay Community Cookbook. Ask every team to submit a certain number of favorite recipes. To save cost, staple the recipes together with heavier stock paper covers. Have them available at Relay and other public community events, in exchange for a donation.
- Ask permission to sell food at your Town Meeting. You might have to coordinate with other groups, such as scouts, but this could be profitable venture and a great way to publicize Relay.
- Do you have artistic people on your team? Have them make beaded jewelry or Relay ornaments.
- Consider hosting a dunking tank at a community event. Students love to dunk a teacher, principal, or coach!
- Team members who work together could provide occasional pot luck lunches for their colleagues, advertised well in advance. A home-cooked meal in exchange for a Relay donation!
- Organize teens to do odd jobs for residents - in exchange for a Relay donation.
- Don't overlook car washes and bake sales. They are lots of fun and always raise more than you expect them to. Sometimes by not setting a price, just asking for donations, results in bigger profits.
- Does your town hold a community fair? Ask to set up a face-painting or crafts booth that children can't resist. Or, jail high-profile community members in a 'cancer cell' and ask for donations to bail them out.
- Organize a yard sale in your neighborhood, scout troop, place of worship, or even town-wide tag sale, with all or a portion of the earnings going to Relay.
- Ask local restaurants who deliver if they will tape a luminaria flyer to their delivery bags or boxes.
- Double your money! Make sure to ask all of your supporters to find out if their employer with match their gift!
- Hold a regular Friday bake sale at work so employees will have treats for the weekend. Ask for baked goods to be wrapped attractively so they could be given as gifts.
- Casual for a Cure: Ask your company CEO or president to let staff dress casual or wear denim for a contribution of $5 or more.
- Sell coffee and cocoa at early morning fall and winter sporting events.
- Bottle & Can Drive: Start asking everyone on your team and at you office to start saving their returnables for the Relay to cash in on. Check to see if your local recycling center allows non-profit groups to bag the returnables bottles in exhange for the deposit money.
- Penny Wars: This works well at colleges amd large companies. Departments or dormitories set up a jar for change drop offs. The group with the most points wins a prize. Pennies are worth positive points; silver coins and cash are worth negative points. Sabotage your competition by dropping silver coins and cash into their jar!
- Gift Wrap Service: During the holidays, ask stores, malls, or your school's administration if teams can set up a gift-wrapping station. Get wrapping paper, ribbon, and other supplies donated and charge to wrap gifts.
For even more fundraising tips, ideas, and tools, visit RelayForLife.org.
