lupus research alliance fundraising guide - Alliance for Lupus Research

LUPUS RESEARCH ALLIANCE FUNDRAISING GUIDE Ways to Get Involved and Support the Lupus Research Alliance Fundraising for the Lupus Research Alliance is easy, empowering and fun. There are many ways for you to get involved and help us find a cure for lupus. 100% of all donations received by the Lupus Research Alliance from your fundraising efforts will go to support lupus research programs because the Lupus Research Alliance’s Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs. Walk with Us to Cure Lupus. The Lupus Research Alliance’s signature national fundraising program Walk with Us to Cure Lupus (Walk) began in 2002 with its first Walk in Washington, DC. Today, tens of thousands of volunteers in cities across the country have joined the Lupus Research Alliance’s quest to find a cure for lupus. Friends, families and co-workers share their stories and their spirit, while raising funds for lupus research. To date, the Walk with Us to Cure Lupus program has raised over $36 million for lupus research. You can register for a Walk event online at walk.lupusresearch.org. Once you have registered, invite others to join you and form a team!

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Social Media You’ve heard about fundraising through social media a million times and there’s a reason for that. It’s easy and effective! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms keep us connected with our friends and family, while also providing us access to a large network of people that we may not have interacted with in years. Think of everyone in this extended network as potential supporters of your cause. By posting fundraising links to your personal/team pages, you are reaching out to past supporters and making new connections. For example, through social media you may reach an old friend from high school who you haven’t spoken to in years and learn that he/she has a connection to lupus. Social media allows you to make these odd connections that simply emailing your close friends and family would have missed. Using social networks helps increase awareness, participation and donations.

How To Fundraise Using Social Media

Post status updates to your Facebook and Twitter pages to spread awareness, increase interest, and ask for donations. Below are a few ideas on information you can include in your status posts. Information about your participation in the Walk: • Team picture(s) from previous walks • Walk fundraising goal • Personal story • Updates on your fundraising progress • Requests for donations • Thank yous to donors • Links to your personal/team fundraising page or to the Lupus Research Alliance Facebook page


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Here are some sample Facebook and Twitter posts you can use to let people know about your participation in the Walk and solicit their support.

Sample Facebook Fundraising Posts “(Insert city)’s Walk with Us to Cure Lupus is coming up on (insert date), and I’m so excited to be participating! Help me find a cure by donating to my fundraiser below. Thanks to programs like this, research can find a cure for lupus once and for all.” “On (insert date), I’ll be walking to find a cure for lupus, and I’ve been working hard to hit my fundraising goal of (insert goal amount). Raising both awareness and funding are crucial steps towards finding a cure, and I need your help! By donating through my fundraising page below, every dollar you give will go directly to lupus research.” “For the past (insert number) years, I’ve been walking to support lupus research—and I’ll keep walking until a cure is discovered. Help me reach my fundraising goal by donating through my Lupus Research Alliance page below. Your gift will go a long way, because 100% of funds raised through the Lupus Research Alliance Walk with Us to Cure Lupus program goes directly to research!” “Every year, we get closer to finding a cure for lupus—and so every year, I will keep walking until we finally discover one. If you can’t join me for the (insert city) Lupus Research Alliance Walk with Us to Cure Lupus on (insert date), you can donate through my own fundraising page below. Since 100% of every dollar raised goes directly to research, this is one of the best opportunities to give!” “I’m walking on (insert date) in (insert city) for (yourself, in memory of, in support of) and (my/their) battle with lupus. (They/I) have been fighting since (year diagnosed), and I won’t quit walking until research bears a cure. Help (me/them) out by supporting my team and donating through our page below. Every dollar raised through the Lupus Research Alliance Walk program goes directly to lupus research, so your gift will go far in the quest to find a cure.”

Sample Twitter Posts “You can have a direct impact on #lupusresearch by supporting my #WalkWithUs fundraiser! Every dollar raised goes to finding a cure (shortened link to fundraising page)” “I’m walking on (insert date) for @LupusResearch. Join me in spirit by helping me reach my fundraising goal! (shortened link to fundraising page)” “Did you know @LupusResearch puts 100% of #WalkWithUs donations to finding a cure? Contribute to #lupusresearch here! (link to fundraising page)” “This (insert day of week), I’m walking to fight #lupus. Help me win this battle once and for all by donating to my fundraiser (shortened link to fundraising page)” “Help us find a cure for #lupus! 100% of every #WalkWithUs donation goes to research. Support my team here (shortened link to fundraising page)”


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Fundraising Tips Set fundraising goals and be ready to reach them. Don’t set a huge goal right off the bat, start with something manageable. Your supporters will be excited to help you reach your goal because it’s attainable. If you reach your goal or are getting close, you can always keep the momentum going by increasing it. Tip: Typically the average team has 10 walkers and the average walker raises $150. Use this formula to set your goal: # of walkers x $150 = team goal. Stick to what you know. Stick to what you and your fellow fundraisers know. Whether you’re a great baker (host a bake sale), your hairdresser is eager to help out (Cuts for a Cause), or your team members are always up for a game of golf (charity golf tournament), keep it familiar. This will help guarantee success and encourage participation. No matter what, keep it relevant to your supporters. If you don’t have an athletic crowd, don’t have a cycle-a-thon, and if your supporters are up for trying new things, you shouldn’t be afraid to mix it up! Awareness first. Bring awareness first and the donations will follow. People will donate to you because they know you, but what if you just met them? Educate your supporters about lupus, the Lupus Research Alliance and its mission. You can create interest when you explain your cause and that’s the first step to drawing in donors. Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm! You need to get people to open their ears and their wallets to you. Why should they if you don’t seem passionate about the cause? With a passionate and enthusiastic approach to your fundraising efforts you’ll gain interest and support for your cause. Continuity and variety. Remember the events that were successful and use them again the following year. Add new ones, and change up old ones to keep people interested and coming back. People love tradition, but are excited about new and different ways to support you. Utilize the holidays. Utilize those holidays! Holidays are great for planning fundraising events. Seize the opportunity of supporters having a day or more off and time to be a part of your event. Say “Thank You.” Say thank you. No really, SAY it! While an auto-response email will do the trick, there’s more to it than that. Calls and letters take time, but they are very personal and memorable to your supporters. Include a memory of him or her (his/ her participation, a story from the event involving him/her, etc.), your personal story (why you’re hosting the event, your connection), and a sincere thank you in your communication to your supporter. Celebrate the success of your team. Take those who walked with you and helped you fundraise to lunch or host a post-Walk party for everyone. During the Walk it’s difficult to connect with all your team members and walkers who came to support you, so hosting a lunch gives you the opportunity to say a personal thank you. Lunch can offer a delicious alternative to material thank you gifts. It also allows you to catch up with everyone, provide updates, tell them how valuable they are and how much you truly appreciate all their support.


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How to Hold a Fundraising Event Stuck on how to get your fundraising started and reach your goal? Here are some step-by-step instructions from our supports’ most effective and successful fundraisers.

Bake Sale

A bake sale is a simple concept that requires a lot of planning. Before any planning happens, however, assemble a team. These loyal volunteers should be able to be counted on throughout the whole process.

Planning a Bake Sale: First decide what you’re selling. Depending on how much time and resources you have, you can choose to sell exclusively one item (ex. cupcakes) or a variety of baked goods. If you decide to sell more than one item, keep in mind the additional time and supplies you will need. Sometimes, offering too many options can limit your ability to sell everything. Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, and don’t try anything for the first time. Bake items you have made before and are comfortable making in large batches. Second, decide on an approach. There are a few approaches to selling you can take: bake a lot and then sell it at one time; sell baked goods over a few days; or take orders and deliver the baked goods.

• The easiest method is to bake and sell on the same day. It’s easy and the only risk is having leftovers. • Holding a bake sale that lasts for a few days is great for having leftovers, but now you have to consider stalling the baking. Bake enough for each day and leave time each day after selling to bake more for the next day. Another consideration that has to be made is storage. If you aren’t able to store items overnight, this method might not be the best option to pursue. • The “order and deliver” method can work well, but can also be challenging. In this method, you will bake a few different items. Each type of baked good will receive a number and label describing what it is. Once the items are labeled you are ready to take orders. The length of time you take orders is up to you, it can range from two days to a month. Set a delivery date and promise that orders will be delivered on that day (or next day if the recipient isn’t home). This is a huge money-maker, but it takes a lot of planning, prep work and help. Storage and delivery method are major factors to consider before taking on this option as a fundraiser.


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Third, you must secure a space to sell your goods and confirm all the details. Confirm your location, the time you are selling, and make sure that you have volunteers who can sit at the table when you need them there. If you cannot be there, make sure they have all of the information about how to sell the goods, the cause you are fundraising for, and any other facts they will need to know (ex. information about lupus and the Lupus Research Alliance). Once you have organized these three steps above, now it’s time to BAKE. When baking in bulk, take your time and measure everything out. It’s awful to find out you forgot something, especially if it affects dozens of cookies, cupcakes, etc. Double check when you multiply a recipe, and keep uniformity in the forefront of your mind. Finally, you are ready to sell your baked goods! Selling can be the best part of the fundraiser because you can spend time with your team members, family, friends, and meet new people and educate them about lupus. Treat others how you want to be treated. Don’t harass people passing by, engage with them. Make sure you have change the second you start; you could lose customers quickly if you can’t break a $20. Clean up and say “Thank You.” Leave the space you used for the bake sale how you found it, or cleaner. This ensures you will be allowed to use it again. Thank your volunteers personally. Get them a gift, write a card, etc. Make sure they feel their support was appreciated, because without them, this would’ve been a whole lot harder. Eat a cupcake/brownie/cookie/muffin/bagel/etc. You deserve it!


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Car Wash

Car washes can be good fundraisers as long as you plan well. Don’t forget to follow the steps below – it could make or break this fundraiser. Assemble a team, and pick a day that works for all of them. Car washes work great when there are lots of volunteers to help keep the event moving. Secure a location. Fill out permits, confirm details, etc. Think about connections you may have. Can you use your church, work, or school’s parking lot? Consider if the space has everything you need: Does this location have easy access to a hose? Will it get enough traffic to make this profitable? Is it a large enough space for the event? Also, discuss with your team what to do if it rains –make a rain date or cancel it. You should have a plan and a way to contact your team and the people whose space you’re using in case anything has to change. Advertise. Post flyers in local businesses, tell your coworkers, place an ad in the paper, but be realistic. This type of event attracts more people on the day of, rather than having people plan to attend in advance. Don’t spend a ton of time in the weeks before trying to spread the word, this will go unnoticed. Instead, use the week before and the day of the event to advertise. Get supplies. Try to use what you and your team have on-hand first, then ask for donations, and finally purchase supplies if necessary. Remember the sponges, a hose or nozzle, buckets, towels, soap and other cleaning products. Day of the event. Put up some signs near your location. Make everything very accessible, so refilling a bucket or finding another sponge is an easy, quick task when it gets busy. Set up an assembly line. This is the natural way a car wash works, have stations set up and a group of volunteers assigned to each one. Clean each car well and try to make time to introduce yourself and talk about the Lupus Research Alliance’s mission to each person coming to get their car washed. WEAR SUNSCREEN, especially if it’s a sunny day! Leave the space clean when the car wash is finished. Thank everyone; your team, the people that came to get their car washed, the people who allowed you to use their space, anyone who donated supplies – don’t leave anyone out! Saying a sincere thank you is how you get continued support from year to year.


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Golf Tournament

A golf tournament is a great fundraiser to raise money, network, and enjoy yourself. Contact and meet with a golf course that is local to you or your place of business (choose a course that will attract the most participants) and propose a charity golf tournament. Try your best to get a discounted rate for your event. The benefit for the golf course hosting your event is new people being introduced to the golf course, generating more business in the future. Recruit people. Ask people at work, your clients, family, friends, and anyone else you know that may be interested in golf or the Lupus Research Alliance The charge for participants will include the cost of a game of golf, an early dinner/late lunch, and a donation. The amount you add for the donation is the money that goes to your Walk Team. For example, if golf and dinner for one costs $75, you would charge $150 per ticket. This would mean a $75 donation per golfer to your Walk team! Additional costs: It’s nice to put together a gift bag for each golfer. The bags typically include some snacks, golf balls, golf tees, etc. Also, this is a tournament, so it’s good to have golf-related prizes and gift cards to hand out to the winners. Break into teams of four and golf! Even though you are planning the event, you don’t have to just supervise. You can be part of a team, however, make sure you are the starting team so you can greet everyone as they return. If you’re not a golfer, you can hang back and greet everyone as they finish. At dinner, say a huge thank you to everyone who came and to the golf course for letting you hold the event. Remind them why you’re fundraising for the Lupus Research Alliance and how much their support means to you. Award prizes for things like longest drive, closest to the pin, and overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Send out thank you letters, and include personal notes from the day (ex. congratulating the winner of the longest drive contest). Don’t forget to thank the golf course!


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Jeans Day

A simple and effective fundraiser – wear jeans as a benefit of supporting the Lupus Research Alliance. Jeans Day is a great fundraiser for companies. It costs you nothing and provides a benefit for your coworkers. This is also a great activity for schools, where bake sales and car washes are often overdone by the students. Also, it requires little preplanning. Ask your boss or school principal if it would be okay for people who make a donation to your team to wear jeans on a specific day. Choose the donation amount: $5, $10, $15 and the days where people can wear jeans. Once you have received permission, you can advertise the week before with emails (containing a link to your fundraising page) and a few flyers. If people are already allowed to wear jeans, make it a day where people wear purple and red in support of the Lupus Research Alliance and lupus research. As an additional incentive, you can give anyone who participates in the Jeans Day a small gift (Lupus Research Alliance pen/ wristband, etc.). It’s so easy and is always a success.

Matching Gifts Program

This is an easy way double your fundraising quickly. Follow these steps to get the most out of matching gifts: 1. Contact your corporation/place of business to see if they have a matching gifts program 2. Fill out any necessary forms and paperwork and submit them for processing 3. Pay attention to see if your company offers special matching gifts at different times of the year and make your donation then. For example, there might be specific times of the year when companies will double their matching amount.

For a list of companies that have matching gift programs visit: https://www.lupusresearch.org/matchinggifts


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Online Tools Available All Walkers will have access to online tools to help them be successful fundraisers. Here are some of the tools available. Personal Fundraising Page: Once registered you will have a personal fundraising page that you can customize with your own photo and story about why you are walking. This page also contains you walker ID# and tracks fundraising progress. When asking for donations, give people the link to your personal fundraising page so they can make a secure-online donation directly to you and your fundraising goal. Team Fundraising Page: A team fundraising page is available to registered Team Captains in addition to their own personal page. This fundraising page allows the Team Captain to customize a fundraising page for the entire team and track team fundraising progress. The Team Captain can post why he/she formed the team, how people can join the team and the reason for fundraising for the Lupus Research Alliance. My Participant Center: My Participant Center allows you tools to help you maximize your fundraising efforts. You will receive your login information for My Participant Center after you have completed the registration process. Below is a list of key features you will find in My Participant Center. Email: My Participant Center’s email feature allows you to send out fundraising emails to your contacts. You can craft your own emails or use one of the template emails provided. Updating Your Fundraising Goal: The most successful walkers set a fundraising goal at the very beginning. Set a manageable goal and let people know how they can help you achieve it. You can always adjust your goal as necessary. Customizing your Personal Fundraising Page: Share your story with potential supporters. Let people know why

you are participating in the Walk and why the work of the Lupus Research Alliance is important to you.

Customizing your Team Fundraising Page: If you are a Team Captain you will have access to customizing the

Team Walk page. Describe your team and how people can join it and make a donation.

Tracking Fundraising Progress: Keep track of your fundraising progress. This feature allows you to keep tabs on

who has donated to your personal page and how far away you are from reaching your goal. Make sure to thank all those people who have supported you by using the email feature described above.


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Learn from Others Here are some additional tips and words of wisdom from our top Walk with Us to Cure Lupus fundraisers. “It’s wonderful that individuals are prepared to walk … but it’s raising money that will help to one day find a cure for this disease,” shared Marie. “Up until the Walk, I encourage everyone to tap into all of their resources and fundraise, fundraise, fundraise.” –Marie Alexander, Washington, DC Walk “I put the link for the Walk on my Facebook page and I could not believe at the amount of people that clicked on it and donated. I mean, it’s my first Walk and I raised over $800!” –Denise Cartagena, New Jersey Walk “My family, my friends, every year we get more and more people to come to the Walk with Us, which is really exciting. We look forward to it and talk about it all year long.” –Sue Myrick, Boston Walk “Everybody [on my team] has to do some type of fundraising in order for us to find a cure. There are all different types of ways to raise money, but you just have to go out and ask people. My mother-in-law, she’s 80 years old, what she does is she sets up a jar in the lounge and all of her co-workers drop all their change in the jar. She raised $500 in one year, just from dropping change in that jar.” –Angie Hudnell, Washington, DC Walk “One of my coworkers, he sells empty bottles and cans to redeem them and he gives me the money to give to lupus research. Then I started going in the neighborhood, in my neighborhood, collecting empty bottles and cans, so now my neighbors know me as the bag lady and I use that money to donate to the Lupus Research Alliance.” –Lucinda Lucas, New York City Walk Lori engages the help of a sidekick. Juni (aka Naked), her Yorkshire Terrier, is part of Lori’s fundraising performance. Here’s how it goes: Juni wears a “My name is Naked” T-shirt and Lori strikes up a conversation with a stranger. Then, in her inimitable way, she offers the person a chance to be photographed — walking Naked for charity! –Lori Newman, New York City Walk


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