How To Fundraise

Fundraising

Fundraising Basics

Follow these five simple steps as you begin your fundraising campaign for LS+G!

Step 1: Set up Your Fundraising Page

Your personal Fundhub fundraising page is where donors will go to give to you online. Make sure it's ready for visitors. You'll need to include a:

Your picture: Preferably one of you smiling (people love that) outdoors with good lighting and you looking, well, like you do.

Welcome message: Write a short, punchy paragraph that explains why you are doing this. Your fan club wants to know details - fill them in with some honest words that sound like you. #beyourself

Fundraising goal: We set the default goal when you register, that's your minimum. But you can still make it your own - talk about it often as you get closer to hitting it.

Step 2: Self-Donate + Write Your Fundraising Email

Love, Sweat and Gears has no registration fee. Instead, riders are strongly encouraged to self-donate to their own campaign to show they're serious and get some early momentum. (You'll get a tax receipt for your donation!)

And of course, you'll need to think about your ask. Take few minutes and write the email that you'll send to each donor personally the first time you ask.

This email doesn't have to win any literary awards, but it does have to be inspiring. You can be serious about the cause, incredulous that you are actually riding across the country, or maybe even both at the same time.

A great fundraising email is...

Direct: A few words of greeting followed by "I'm fundraising $15,000 and emailing to ask for your support" is a good start. Always include your goal!

Serious: You're doing something (kind of) fun, but you're doing it for a serious reason - make sure they know that you are serious about it. Don't mail it in, give it some good thought.

Personal: Explain why this event is important to you personally. Your donors want to know what would possess you to do this big thing - let them know!

Linked: Be sure to include a link to your personal fundraising page so people can click and give easily.

Step 3: Make a List of Potential Donors

Once your email is done, take a few minutes to make a list of potential donors you will ask. Here's a quick list to help you brainstorm below:

Family	Friends	Neighbours	Work
Ask your spouse, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters.	Ask your #BFF, the friend you walk to the gym with, and the dude who sits behind you in lunch. We bet you know lots of friends to ask.	Ask the nice couple who live beside you, your yoga instructor, bus driver, piano teacher, or life coach. They are all good potential people to ask.	Ask your friends at work. Bring it up at lightening rounds. Change your zoom background. Talk to suppliers, vendors and other work-related stakeholders that you know personally.

Step 4: Email Each Donor Personally

Don't send a mass email! Resist the urge to fire off emails to a big group - they almost never work. Take the time to carefully write your email and edit each one personally, even if it's just adjusting something you copy-and-paste. That way, your friends will know you are serious, and will likely respond by giving seriously to you too.

Step 5: Say Thank You!

Make sure you say thank you, whether by email, text, or phone. It's more than good manners - it lets them know that you noticed their generosity and are thankful for their help. It rewards your donors with your gratitude, and may even help them say yes next year when you ask them again!