How To Raise Money For a Cause

Over the past 4 years, I have been a volunteer for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research's community fundraising program, Team Fox. I volunteered to raise money for them because my mom has Parkinson's Disease and I decided that it was time to do something to help her and others that deal with the ramfications of this disease every day.

When I first started raising money I was scared and felt like I was the first person in the world to be a volunteer fundraiser. I quickly learned that my fear was unfounded and that I'm FAR from the first to tackle fundraising.

Lately I've been getting more and more questions from other would be fundraisers about how I raise money. Since I've raised just under $25,000 to date, in my spare time, I have become well versed in what it takes to reach your dollar goal. I plan to use this blog to help anyone else in our community who wants to raise money for a cause they believe in deeply. 

I will give simple tips about what to do when your schedule is time crunched and how to leverage your already existing network plus how to grow your network. I'll also suggest ways to get your family involved.

For this post I will share one simple tip that I have found makes all the difference. Tell your personal story! Make sure that everyone you ask for a donation understands exactly what this cause means to you and why you are working hard to raise donations. If people know you have a personal connection and committment, they can better support your efforts.

So stay tuned for more tips and ideas about how to make any fundraising campaign a success.