Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay Area

Planning Your Fundraising Special Event

This is where you can really put the FUN into fundraising!  Reach out to your family, friends and co-workers and make some new friends too!  Take things you love to do, or are really good at, and make them into fundraisers!  Soon you will see the donations rolling in!

3 Things To Think About

A special event is a great way to raise awareness for blood cancers and make a significant charitable contribution. Before you begin to create your event, make sure you consider the following three criteria:

Time -- Start Early

How much time can you or your team commit towards the event each week? It is very important to plan out your event a few months in advance. One suggestion when working with your team or a committee of your friends, family, etc. is creating a timeline and duty sheet for each person involved with the event.

Committee -- The More, The Merrier

The more people involved in your efforts, the higher the chance of the event being successful and more importantly a lot more fun! Ask people that you know to help plan the event and assign each person a specific task like obtaining raffle prizes or sending out the event invitations.

Budget

How much money is needed to cover the event expenses and reach your fundraising goal? Events such as golf tournaments and black tie galas usually need a deposit or commitment of people from the establishment hosting the event. Obtaining cash or in-kind sponsorship is a great way to minimize expenses and increase your profit margin.

Promoting Your Event

Mail a flyer or brochure to friends, family and co-workers containing the Who, What, When, and Where. Some Internet sites like Evite.com allow users to create an online invitation to your event.

Post the details of your event on your social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

Contact local newspapers, television networks and radio stations in your area. LLS can also create a news release about your event and post it on the Web.

News Release Template for Special Events

Place posters in local stores, restaurants and supermarkets.

Get local community and religious organizations, public servants such as police and fire departments, and youth programs involved with your recruitment and planning. Ask them to distribute flyers to their members or set-up the day of your event.

Sponsorship

To help maximize your efforts and provide a sizable donation to LLS, contact local businesses and individuals for cash or in-kind donations such as food, beverages, printing, shirts, etc. and reward them with their name or logo on your event banner, t-shirt or ad journal.  (An in-kind donation letter template can be found here).

This is a great avenue for businesses to showcase their community spirit and provide you with the necessary funds and/or materials for your event.

Fund Raise During Event

Charging an entrance fee is not the only way to raise money for your event, games of chance such as prize drawings and auctions are another opportunity.

Prize Drawing

Charge individuals a chance to win a prize or half the proceeds (50/50).

Chinese Auction

Participants can buy chances for specific raffle prizes. For example, if someone wants to win an autographed sports item from the local professional hockey team, they can purchase chances just for that item. Place a bowl or box in front of each prize for participants to place their chances in.

Auctions

A fun and exciting way to make money. Auctions consist of two or more people bidding against each other for a particular item. High priced items such as jewelry, art and vacation trips are the most common items to use. A more low-key method is a silent auction where participants write down their bids, and it concludes at a certain time during the event

The Tax Identification Number for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is 13-5644916.

Contact us for more helpful ideas and suggestions.