Ask the Experts: Fundraising

I had a somewhat unoriginal idea yesterday to begin a mini-series on my blog! As you may have already guessed, I've titled the series "Ask the Experts" and I'll be creating a new post everytime I speak with someone who knows more than I do about running a marathon and doing it for a cause. I'm pretty clueless at this point, so chances are there will be plenty of entries like this over the next few months!

Thursday afternoon, I headed over to the MGH Development Office to meet with two employees about fundraising. Amy and Jordan organize this team each year and both have been participants as well. This is actually Jordan's third year in a row running with the MGH team and the stories she told were so encouraging. It almost made me wish I was a superhuman and had the ability to run this race tomorrow. I just can't wait!

I was so appreciate that they both took the time out of their busy schedules to listen to my ideas and offer suggestions. They've made a career out of fundraising, so there was no way I could pass on their advice. Some of the things we talked about were:

• Using the Internet to my advantage (e-mail; Facebook)
• Creating propaganda: flyers, business cards, postcards, etc.
• Sending some snail mail as follow-up
• Personalizing the cause: tell a story
• Forgoing personal presents (for Christmas or my birthday)
• Hosting an event (already in the works for Feb. 25th, 2012 - mark your calendars!)

Also, throughout our conversation, they stressed the importance of being motivated, proactive and AGGRESSIVE with my fundraising efforts. I know I'll need to ask more than once and I have to be okay with that. Persistence will be the key to my success! 


I've already raised $500 - 10% of my overall goal - so I am off to a good start! My plan is to kick things up a notch after the holidays and my hope is that I'm more than halfway there by the time I host my event at the end of February. If you'd like to help me achieve that, don't hesitate to DONATE! You can easily do so by clicking the link placed in the top right corner of this screen. Remember that every little bit counts! THANK YOU in advance for your support!