Fundraising
I had the pleasure of encouraging my friend Steve through a fundraising stunt that had him post 48 blog entries in 24 hours, all in an effort to raise funds for the Montreal Childen's Hospital Autism Clinic. Steve raised almost $1,800, which is incredible. His initiative was also the focus of an article in the Montreal Gazette on Saturday. In the article, Steve talked about the 24 hours of blogging really being a stunt, maybe a bit of a silly way to raise funds for a cause, just like walking two days for breast cancer. I had a laugh when I read this, because indeed, this is what I'll be doing during The Weekend to End Breast Cancer in September.
A lot of fundraising these days is done through such "stunts". Some are physical challenges that most people could train for and complete safely (CIBC Run for the Cure 5km run for breast cancer, or The Weekend, for example), while others are incredible endurance events that most people would not sanely embark upon (Running the Sahara, 7,000 km in 111 days straight by three endurance runners, raising money for clean water in Africa). I think the common thread of all these events is that not only do they raise funds, but they also raise awareness. When the media covers the different stories, they also publish some background about the illness, or issue. That, I think, is the key driver behind the stunts. It also gives the opportunity for people who want to get involved to feel like they are physically doing something to help a cause.
I challenge you to get involved in a fundraising event in the future. Find an activity that you enjoy doing (you can walk, bike, dance, and even write blog posts) and raise funds for a cause that is close to your heart. Then, tell everyone that you know about your initiative. The biggest donations often come from the most unlikely sources, friends you haven't seen for ages, colleagues you don't know very well... But as I have discovered, raising funds is not that hard because people are really generous and want to encourage you. To this day, I have raised over $7,000 for breast cancer research, $1775 for this year's edition of The Walk.
Go ahead, give it a try.
A lot of fundraising these days is done through such "stunts". Some are physical challenges that most people could train for and complete safely (CIBC Run for the Cure 5km run for breast cancer, or The Weekend, for example), while others are incredible endurance events that most people would not sanely embark upon (Running the Sahara, 7,000 km in 111 days straight by three endurance runners, raising money for clean water in Africa). I think the common thread of all these events is that not only do they raise funds, but they also raise awareness. When the media covers the different stories, they also publish some background about the illness, or issue. That, I think, is the key driver behind the stunts. It also gives the opportunity for people who want to get involved to feel like they are physically doing something to help a cause.
I challenge you to get involved in a fundraising event in the future. Find an activity that you enjoy doing (you can walk, bike, dance, and even write blog posts) and raise funds for a cause that is close to your heart. Then, tell everyone that you know about your initiative. The biggest donations often come from the most unlikely sources, friends you haven't seen for ages, colleagues you don't know very well... But as I have discovered, raising funds is not that hard because people are really generous and want to encourage you. To this day, I have raised over $7,000 for breast cancer research, $1775 for this year's edition of The Walk.
Go ahead, give it a try.
Labels: fundraising, WTEBC
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