Fueling the Movement – Unforgettable

and Unique Fundraising Experiences

Featured Presenters

• Gene Caffrey, Greater Carolinas Chapter

• Jeff Zaniker, Indiana State Chapter

• Kurt Lorch, Indiana State Chapter

• Mark Solari, South Central Region

• Sarah Hwang, Wisconsin Chapter

Workshop Overview

• Do It Yourself (DIY) and Finish MS Fundraising are opportunities for

people from across the country with a deep commitment to the MS

cause to raise awareness and critical funds in new and creative ways.

• Featured fundraisers:

– Race Across America Relay

– Double Dare Dodgeball Tournament

– Fight MS…Eggroll Style

– Every Step Beats MS

“Every Step Beats MS”

Gene Caffrey

• First identifiable attack during Florida Ironman November 2009

• Diagnosed February 2010 at age 41

• “Every Step Beats MS” came to me during a tough run

• Triathlons, cycling, running, & fitness keep me going

• NC has been good to me:

– Greater Carolinas Chapter of National MS Society

– Bike MS in New Bern, NC

– Local MS events

– Began my year-long Finish MS Campaign

My Story

Inspiring Others Through Movement

• Raise awareness and funds through racing and fitness

• Decided on Finish MS

• Use of Social Media

• Link URL www.everystepbeatsms.com to my Finish MS page

2014 Finish MS Schedule

– Half Marathon

– Olympic distance triathlon

– Open water 1 mile race

– Long Distance Duathlon

– Raleigh 70.3 Half Ironman Triathlon

– Several 100K cycling events for MS

– Several sprint triathlons

– 2014 Bike MS New Bern, NC 100 miles each day

2015 Finish MS Schedule

– Very similar to 2014 with the addition of cycling road mountain

races

– Season will end with relay team at Iron Distance Triathlon

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run…all MS team!

Every Step Beats MS Challenge

• Any kind of movement is important

• Inspire others to move and raise money for MS

• Post a video of the movement on social media

• Say it with #everystepbeatsms and www.everystepbeatsms.com

• Drive traffic to Finish MS site

• Lets start with me today!

• Video me and post it…lets make it viral!

www.everystepbeatsms.com

Race Across AMerica

Topics

• Who we are

• Background on RAAM and our event and what we

learned on the road

• Key take-aways

RAAM 2014 – what we learned

• RAAM started as a way for us to bike across the

country without quitting our jobs

• It snowballed from there

• Fundraising is great, but so is awareness

• It takes a team

Key Take-Aways

• Do something unique (and maybe BIG?)

• Make it fun

• Recruit a team

• Be prepared for a lot of work

DOUBLE DARE

DODGEBALL

CHALLENGE

Do you remember the gym class bully?

Ever had an atomic wedgie? Ever wanted

to throw something at your co-workers?

Now is the time to come together with your

teams to challenge them to a Dodgeball

Match. "I DOUBLE DARE YA!!" Have fun

and raise money for a great cause... To

fight MS! Challenge other teams within

your office. Challenge management.

Challenge the law.

All for fun and fun for all.

http://www.eteamz.com/doubledarechallenge/

DIY - DOUBLE DARE DODGEBALL CHALLENGE

• Community Activity

– Involve younger groups

– Police and Fire departments

– Office groups, competitor business

challenges

– Churches and High School Teams

– Local Media

• Something new

– Different from bike, walk, golf

or sporting clays tournaments

– Group activity reaches across

age and gender lines

– Attract new donators and raise

awareness

– Make new connections

http://www.eteamz.com/doubledarechallenge/

DIY - DOUBLE DARE DODGEBALL CHALLENGE

• Corporate Sponsor Structure/Recognition:

Palladium Arts

• Yard Signs

Ballboy:

Manager:

Coach:

Title Sponsors:

http://www.eteamz.com/doubledarechallenge/

DIY - DOUBLE DARE DODGEBALL CHALLENGE • Keys to a successful fund raiser

– Form a committee & start early

– Keep expenses as low as possible

• Use your contacts: Local businesses,

media, vendors, friends, and family

• In-kind donations: T-shirts, materials, food,

trophies, venue (donors paid direct)

• Avoid the need for a banking account

– Used the DIY website: donations, goal tracking,

event information, links

– Created a separate event website to track

brackets and provide handouts

– Made if fun. Multitude of prizes and every team

played at least 3 matches

• Areas for improvement

– Make DIY site team friendly

– Use your local media early

to get out the word

– Rival Challenge

http://www.eteamz.com/doubledarechallenge/

Fight MS, Eggroll Style

What we did…

• Chinese Food…Lots of it

– Appetizers

– 4 main dishes

– Dessert

– Beverages…of course

What we did…

• 1-Item Silent Auction

– Offered a Chinese cooking lesson to

the highest bidder

– The winner bid $600.00

Th en b id o n th is Ch in es e

Co o k in g Par ty f o r s ix ! Lear n ,

Co o k , Eat, Dr in k , Par ty !

Pa r ty to t a k e p la c e a t th e Hw a n g ’ s Ho u s e o f Yu m o n a

m u tu a l ly a g r e e d u p o n d a t e . 10 0 % o f a u c t io n p r o c e e d s

d o n a t ed to t h e MS Wa lk .

Ch in es e Co o k in g Pa r ty f o r 6 Bid Sh ee t

Op en in g Bid : $50 0 Min im u m In c r ea s e : $50

Va l u e : Pr ic e l es s Do n a ted b y Sa r a h & Mil t Hw a n g

Na m e Bid Op en in g Bid $50 0

What our guests did…

• Stopped by our house between 6 and

10pm

– Made a suggested donation of $25

• Most people donated more

– Ate…a lot

– Drank…a lot

– Had a blast!!!

Why it worked…

• It was personal

– We hosted the event at our home

– We prepared the food ourselves

– We were fundraising for a cause that impacts our family with a

culture that defines our family

Why it worked…

• The theme went throughout

– Kung Fu Girl Riesling

– Tsing Tao and Lucky Buddha Beer

– Custom fortune cookies

Why it worked…

• It takes a village, and the village likes Chinese

Food.

– My mom helped me prep all the vegetables

– My brother fried eggrolls in the garage…all

night

– A friend’s daughter and her friend helped

with details like greeting guests, handling

donations, signing people up for the walk,

cleaning up, etc.

– My husband…my fabulous and supportive

husband

• Made filling for and rolled over 150

eggrolls

• Made filling for and shaped over 100

potstickers

• Prepared the protein for 4 main dishes

• Stir fried wok after wok of delicious

food…all night

Why it worked…

• We linked our DIY event to a bigger MS event…Walk MS

– Served as a kickoff for our Walk MS fundraising

– Created awareness about the Walk and inspired sign-ups

– People could donate online to Team Sarah, creating gift

opportunities for both Eggrollers and non Eggrollers

– Started a buzz in February for an event in March for an

event in May…That’s a long buzz.

Why it worked…

• We used the InterWebs

– Evite

– Email

– Facebook

– Walk MS Web Page

• We Milked the Matches

– Over $3000 in corporate matching gifts

– All we had to do was remind people

• I have a big mouth

– I told anyone with a pulse, what we were up to

– The aunt of a kid on my son’s soccer team pulled $20 out

of her pocket on the spot.

• I told my story

– True stories make the cause real for people

– Donors like to see the impact of their gift

How well it worked…

• The DIY event itself made approx. $6,000.00 in donations

• Team Sarah’s Walk MS total for 2014…

You too can DIY…

• Make it personal

– Share your talents

– Share your time

– Share your passion for fighting MS

• Worried about the cost?

– Charge enough to defray or cover your costs

– Share the costs with a group

– Plan an event with little to know cost

• Ask for help

– Family

– Friends

– Neighbors

– Co-workers