You Can Be A Fundraising Star (easy fundraising for Team in Training and Other Charities)

Get out that address book (both the little black book and the one in your email program)-- it will be your most important tool in your quest to raise money. Once you have your preliminary address book, start thinking about the people you run in to day to day, the dentist, the person who sold you your car, your insurance agent, your neighbors (often you can get their names by searching the property records on your local government website. By the time you are done, your list should have at least 200 names. I know you think you do not know that many people... but trust me, you do...

Do you want to send your fist 100 letters out, but you don't have 100 people on your list? Here are some tips on growing your mailing list. The most important thing to remember is that even if they don't give, most people will be happy to hear about your efforts to help find a cure for cancer. You may even find yourself reconnecting with old friends.

1. Call Your Mother Start gathering all the family mailing lists; the holiday card list, your wedding invite list, etc. This is a great way to reconnect with people that you haven't been in touch with for a while.

2. Say "hello" to your neighbors Send a letter to your neighbors introducing yourself and asking for help. If you live in Bernalillo County, you can get the names and addresses of people who live by going to http://bernco.gov then clicking on residents and then search records. At the records menu, choose search property records. Put your street name in the box - click the number next to the box and you'll find out who owns the property. A lower tech way to do this - is to hand deliver the letters%u2026

3. Clean Out Your Inbox Send some of your letters by e-mail. Go into the contact list in your email and send a e-letter to everyone who has sent you an email. These are much more effective (and less likely to be flagged as spam) if you send these e-mail individually rather than one huge email to everyone on your list.

4. Ask Your Peeps Be sure to send letters to the owners of businesses that you frequent. Send one to your doctor, your dentist, your hairdresser, the owner of your local bookstore, the manager of the local grocery store, the owners of your favorite restaurant. Better yet, send along a corporate sponsorship proposal. The LLS sponsorship package is pretty generous and corporate donations tend to be larger than regular donations. Business owners may also be able to help you with fundraisers.

5. Go Clubbing After sending letters to the members of any groups that you belong to, start sending out requests to service organizations (Rotary, Civitan, Optimist Club, Zonta, etc.) Often, these groups have money set aside to give to people who ask for it.

Many people shy away from fundraising because it feels like they are begging people for money. The key is that you are not asking for yourself, but as an advocate for those in need. Think of how you feel when you receive a charitable solicitation. Worst case, you are not interested so you do not give a donation. Usually though, you admire the asker for trying to make a difference.

Remember... you are giving people the opportunity to help.