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Tips on Raising Pledges
- Set a goal. Choose a goal you want to achieve - not
necessarily one you know you can achieve. In failing to reach an
ambitious goal, you may accomplish more than succeeding at a safe goal.
- Ask for pledges. Do not plan for yourself to be your only
source of pledges. Many of us do not like to ask others to support our
efforts, but most people like to contribute to their friends and family.
Don’t be afraid to ask for pledges, and do not be disappointed with any
answer.
- ‘No’ is okay. Don’t be concerned if some people say ‘no’. It
is not a rejection of you; they just choose not to make a donation at
this time. The reasons may be numerous, such as: things are financially
tight for them currently, they have already made numerous donations to
others prior to your asking, this is not one of the charities they
support, they do not support these types of events, they are already
participating in the event, etc.
- Any amount adds up. Do not be concerned with the size of the
pledges you receive. Large and small donations all add up toward your
goal. A girl of twelve, who had never participated in a pledge event
before, asked her classmates, neighbors, friends, and family to support
her. Nearly all of the pledges were $1, $2, or $5, and she achieved her
goal of $125 by just continuing to ask.
- Matching funds. Many people work for a company that has a
matching funds program where the company will match the donations of
their employees to charities. If someone gives you a pledge, ask whether
their employer has a matching funds program. If so, ask them to complete
and to give you the form to submit to get the matching amount. A few
employers also match what an employee raises in pledges for a charity.
If you work for one of these companies, please submit the necessary form
to your employer requesting a match of what you raise in pledges.
- Corporate sponsors. If you are part of a team that is hiking,
see if you can find a business that will sponsor the team for a certain
amount of money or that will match what the team raises in pledges. A
team that raises $600 or more can have a team name on their shirts; you
may want to name the team after the business. Businesses that donate
large amounts of money are also listed on the backs of all event
T-shirts. Be sure to let us know when you have a sponsor like this.
- Have fun!!
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