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Fundraising Toolkit

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Sat, May 20, 2017
12 noon–12 midnight
Blue Cross RiverRink
101 S Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19106

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Fundraising Toolkit

View/download this Fundraising Toolkit as a printable PDF.

Thank you for participating in FringeA-Thon, an epic dance-party-marathon benefiting FringeArts and our beneficiary partners! Your commitment is meaningful to FringeArts and your support will help strengthen the cultural arts in Philadelphia!

Below are fundraising tools and tips that will help you with your fundraising campaign for FringeA-Thon. Let’s get started!

What is FringeA-Thon and why am I raising money?

FringeA-Thon is a 12-hour, dance-party-marathon. Volunteer dancers, committed to the future of the arts and culture sector of Philadelphia, pledge to dance for 12 hours straight while raising money for one of the city’s most crucial arts institutions, FringeArts. Together, volunteer dancers will help spotlight the impact the arts have on the city and beyond.

What is FringeArts?

FringeArts is Philadelphia’s home for contemporary performance, presenting progressive, world-class art that stretches the imagination and boldly defies expectation. As the city’s lead experimenter in the arts, FringeArts exposes audiences to unpredictable dance, theater and music performances by accomplished and emerging innovators who are pushing the boundaries of art-making and redefining the artistic landscape worldwide.

Year-round programming is presented at FringeArts’ state-of-the-art center on the Delaware River Waterfront—a renovated historic building that also houses a restaurant and beer garden called La Peg. Each September, the organization presents the annual and highly anticipated, Fringe Festival, a 17-day celebration that fills the city’s neighborhoods with more than 1,000 curated and independently produced contemporary performances.

Jump to . . .

Fundraising Page Setup
Tools and Tips for Success
Tips and Ideas for Teams
Sample Letter Templates


How to Set Up Your FringeA-Thon Personalized Fundraising Page

1. Go to www.CrowdRise.com/FringeA-Thon. Click on the “REGISTER to Dance” on the right-hand side of the page.

2. Select one of two registration options: Individual Donor or Corporate Sponsored Team, then hit the “Next” button.

3. Select your fundraiser: to join a team, select “Join a Team” and click on the drop-down menu to search for the team you wish to join. To start a new team, select “Create a Team” and to register as an individual, click “Fundraise as An Individual”

4. Create your FringeA-Thon account on Crowdrise or by logging in through Facebook. If you have a Crowdrise account, simply log in.

5. Enter your profile and billing information.

6. Welcome to your page! You can begin to personalize it here! Click the “Edit Fundraiser” tab to begin personalizing your story, upload photos and videos.

7. From this view you can edit your fundraiser name, edit your “The Story” text and set an event date. Be sure to click the “SAVE” button to save your changes.

8. Scroll down and click the (Edit) link at the right of the “UPLOAD PICS AND VIDEOS” section. You can easily delete photos by clicking the X on any photo you wish to remove. In order to upload new photos, click the gray box with the plus (+) sign. Click the “Choose File” button, and navigate to the folder where you have the image you want to upload. Please note, images must be smaller than 3 megabytes.

9. Once you’ve selected your image click the orange “UPLOAD PHOTO” link. This will upload your photo. If your image is not square, you’ll be asked to crop it. Simply move the dotted crop lines over the part of the image you’d like to display and then click the “CROP PHOTO” button.

10. Scroll down and click the (Edit) link at the right of the “VIDEOS” section. Copy and paste the URL link of the video you want to display from either YouTube or Vimeo. You can choose to have your video show up first on your page by checking the Show my video before my photos checkbox.

Fundraising Tools and Tips for Success

How to make your page effective:

  1. Make a gift: Kick start your own fundraiser by supporting yourself with a donation. Your $25 registration fee to FringeA-Thon will go directly towards your fundraising campaign and will also show your donors that you are financially invested in your campaign.
  2. Storytelling: use an engaging story on your personal fundraising page explaining why you are participating in FringeA-Thon. Update this page frequently and share stories about your progress.
  3. Visuals: Add photos and videos to your page. Let people see previews of your outfit, or dance moves that you are working on.
  4. Make it fun: the more personality and information you share about yourself, the more people will be willing to donate and return to your page for updates!
  5. Tell everyone: invite your friends, family and co-workers to contribute to your campaign by sharing the link to your fundraising page with them. Ask them to pay it forward by sharing your link with their contacts as well.
  6. Educate: Don’t assume everyone knows about FringeArts. Share the organization’s website and social media handles and share information about FringeArts in an engaging way. Invite your supporters to an upcoming performance and really give them the FringeArts experience!

Who to ask for donations:

  1. Family and friends: your family and friends will be the first group of people who will kick off your fundraising campaign. They will be excited for you. Make sure to ask the following from family and friends:
    • Donate (of course!)
    • Share your story and fundraising page link with their networks
    • Match their gifts: inquire if their employer offers a matching gift program and if so, help them with the process
    • Join you! Ask them if they want to start a, or join your team. Dancing is more fun with friends
  2. Social media friends: the Internet has made our lives very easy. Use all of your social media accounts to share your fundraising page. Post frequently about your progress and always share your link!
  3. Colleagues and business contacts: don’t be shy. Send a quick email to your colleagues and let them know what you are doing outside of work. If you aren’t shy, also let your business contacts know about your fundraising efforts for FringeArts. Tip: you can add your fundraising page link to your work signature, and subtly get the word out there! Don’t forget to check if your company participates in a matching gift program, and if so, let your colleagues know how they can double their donations.
  4. Local Community: do you belong to a church, social or neighborhood group, school, etc.? These are great places that you can approach for support and partner with for potential fundraising events.

How to ask for donations:

  1. Honesty is the best policy: be direct and honest. Think of how you would communicate with family and friends and make “the ask” in the same tone.
  2. It’s all in the letter: customize your fundraising letter (print or email) with your story and a simple request for monetary support. You can use the sample letter below as a guide. Once your letter is ready, you can send it to all of your email contacts using your Crowdrise fundraising page.
  3. Break it down: People tend to donate at fixed gift suggestions. Below are a few examples of how to break down your goal in a way that resonates with donors:
    • Hourly Breakdown: Give $12 for the 12 Hours I will dance at FringeA-Thon
    • Minute Breakdown: Give $60 for 60 minutes of each hour I will dance at FringeA-Thon
    • Sweet 16: The goal is to get 16 donors who will give you $20. If you get 16 gifts, that will put you right over $300
    • Ten $30: The goal is to get 10 friends to donate $30 dollars. That alone will get you to $300.
  4. Milestones: Ask donors to make a gift for a milestone. For instance, ask your donors to consider contributing to your fundraising page instead of buying you a birthday gifts, bachelor and bachelorette parties and anniversaries.
  5. Dedication Campaigns: This kind of campaign is either in memorial or honor of someone important to you. Dedicate your campaign in a meaningful way to someone.
  6. Follow-up: after your first push don’t forget to go back and follow-up. The midway point of your fundraising is a good time to check in with people who haven’t donated yet. Send a reminder email and update them with your progress and ask again. Check back again when you are close to your fundraising goal. Donors love to help you close the gap and they feel rewarded being the ones helping you attain your fundraising goal. Lastly, and most importantly, thank your donors! Send each donor a personalized thank you letter or email when they make their gift. They will appreciate it!

Fundraising Tips and Ideas for Teams

If you and a group of buds are ready to cut a rug together, below are a few fundraising tips and ideas on how to hit your joint fundraising goal.

Fundraising Tips for Teams

  1. Each dancer must create a fundraising page: one person in your team (aka your team leader) will create a team fundraising page. However, each member of the team will have to create their individual pages as well in order to be counted as a participating team.
  2. Set a fundraising goal: Because there are more of you, you can make a bigger impact. Set an aggressive and attainable fundraising goal and challenge yourselves!
  3. Communicate: Make sure you collectively discuss your fundraising goal and strategy to raise money. Start discussing your personal connections and brainstorm fundraising ideas.
  4. Make it fun: think about a great team name and consider having a theme for your troop. The more personal and fun, the more support you will receive from donors.
  5. Visuals: add photos and videos of your team to your fundraising page. Let people see previews of your outfit, or dance routines and get your donors “jazzed” about your fundraising efforts.
  6. Be competitive: a little friendly competition never hurt anyone! Test your fundraising skills and award the best fundraiser, best dancer or even challenge yourselves and see who can dance the complete 12 hours!
  7. Be efficient: focus on events that raise the most money for the least amount of work.

Fundraising Ideas for Teams

  1. House party: Host a fundraiser at your home with cocktails and appetizers and charge an entry fee.
  2. Happy hours: Have local business or community center host a fundraiser for your team. A portion of drinks and food can go towards your fundraising campaign.
  3. Bake Sales/Cupcake Wars: host a bake sale at work or at a community gathering or make it more competitive and host a competition amongst friends.
  4. Host an auction: Solicit an exciting item or gift certificate from a local business and then auction it off amongst friends, family or at work.
  5. Host a raffle: Solicit an exciting item or gift certificate from a local business and then raffle it off amongst friends, family or at work.

Sample Fundraising Letter Templates

Use the below examples as a starting point for your own print or email letters. Personalize them — your family and friends want to hear from you.

Sample Letter to Friends and Family

Dear Friends and Family,

I am proud to let you know I am participating in FringeA-Thon, a dance marathon that benefits FringeArts. I am committing to dance for 12 hours in support of the arts in our community. A vibrant art community relies on organizations like FringeArts to nurture, cultivate, and advocate on its behalf. I want to help champion this effort by grabbing my dancing shoes and dance my “art” out in honor of the arts.

Additionally, this physical challenge will be an exciting way to enrich my health routine! Dance is a great way to exercise, keep our hearts pumping, and get our bodies in motion, all while jamming out and having fun. The best part is, anyone can dance! [Add your personal experiences with the arts or importance of health.]

Can I count on you to help me reach my goal of [XXX]? Any donation is more than appreciated and will go directly to support year-long programming and shows at FringeArts. Just click on the link below to contribute to my dance challenge.

[Add Your Link]

FringeA-Thon is happening on May 20, 2017 at the Blue Cross RiverRink on the Delaware River Waterfront. Please consider joining me. We can start a team and cut a rug together!

Thank you so much for helping me reach my fundraising goal! Feel free to check back frequently for updates on my progress. FringeA-Thon is going to be epic, thanks to your support!

Thank you,
[NAME]

 

Sample Letter to Colleagues

Dear colleagues,

You may not know this about me but I love to dance. On my own time I enjoy dancing and because of this I have decided to make may love of dance more meaningful. I am proudly participating in FringeA-Thon, a dance marathon benefiting FringeArts. I am committing to dance for 12 hours in support of the arts in our community. A vibrant art community relies on organizations like FringeArts to nurture, cultivate, and advocate on its behalf. I want to help champion this effort by grabbing my dancing shoes and dance my “art” out in honor of the arts.

Additionally, this physical challenge will be an exciting way to enrich my health routine! Dance is a great way to exercise, keep our hearts pumping, and get our bodies in motion, all while having fun. The best part is, anyone can dance! [Add your personal experiences with the arts or importance of health.]

Can I count on you to help me reach my goal of [XXX]? Our company offers a great matching gift program, so you can also easily double your donation! I can help you with this process. To make a gift in support of your favorite dancing co-worker, just click on the link below. Any donation will go a long way.

[Add Your Link]

FringeA-Thon is happening on May 20, 2017 at the BlueCross River Rink on the Delaware River Waterfront. Please consider joining me. Perhaps our office can start a team and we can cut a rug together!

Thank you so much for helping me reach my fundraising goal! Feel free to check back frequently for updates on my progress. FringeA-Thon is going to be epic, thanks to your support!

Warm Regards,
[NAME]

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