If you are nervous about fundraising, you are not alone. It can feel awkward and uncomfortable to ask your friends, family, and coworkers for money, but if you follow these easy fundraising steps, we think you will see a growth in your asking confidence and in your donations. Get ready!
Address a need.
A woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every two minutes in the United States. 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed, in their lifetime, with breast cancer worldwide. 2,000 men last year were diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. These are a few statistics that display how profound the need for breast cancer treatment and prevention is. There are many women who need education, screening, testing, counseling, and treatment to keep them healthy, and that is where we come in- that is the need you are addressing when you sign up for the Atlanta 2-Day Walk and commit to raising money.
Talk about why this is important to you.
Nearly everyone has been personally affected by breast cancer in the lives of friends and family. Many of our 2-Day Walkers are survivors themselves. Talk to your potential donor about why you are walking. Who are you walking for? What are you walking for?
What are you going to do about it?
You are walking 30 miles over 2 days! You are raising $1000 dollars to go to breast health programs all across the state of Georgia! Your efforts will provide mammograms, genetic testing & counseling, support services, education, and many other services for women and men whose lives depend on it.
Ask them to take action- keep it simple.
At the end of the day, the Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer is about donors & walkers. You want a donation, so ask for it! (If you recruit a potential donor into becoming a walker, even better!)
Silence- stop talking & give them a chance to respond.
Again, the devastation of breast cancer is far-reaching. It is likely that your potential donor has had a personal connection to someone affected by breast cancer. Be silent and allow them to respond to you. The issue that is close to your heart is probably close to theirs as well- allow them to recall and recount.
More Tips:
Ask everyone. If you don’t ask them, they can’t surprise you with their generosity or their personal ties to your cause.
Ask personally. Talk to people individually, send personal e-mails & letters, mingle at your fundraisers. Personal ties compel individuals far more than disembodied requests.
Ask big. If you ask for $10, you will only get $10. If you ask for $100, you may get less than that, but you will give your donors the opportunity to be extravagant in their generosity, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Ask often. E-mails get pushed to the bottom of mailboxes. Conversations are forgotten. People are busy, so continue to remind them of their opportunity to contribute to breast health in Georgia. In all likelihood you are not annoying them, you are reminding them to do something they intended to do, but haven’t gotten around to yet.
