Marc's Fundraising Tips

I have loved being an AIDS Walk Portland Team Captain and I’m very proud that the CAP Volunteer team, “Passion Into Action” has seen significant increases for the past two years.

A couple of easy things I have found successful for AIDS Walk team fundraising:

•PRIZES! – Yes, CAP offers prizes for the overall top fundraisers, but you can do the same thing on a smaller level. Get a great prize donated for the top fundraiser on your team. Many businesses find it easier to contribute products or gift certificates versus cash. Last year, I got tickets to two different events and was able to reward the top and second-place fundraiser on the team.
•FACEBOOK! – This may seem like an obvious one, but I am surprised how few people use it. It’s so easy to share a link on Facebook and reach all your hundreds of friends. Concentrate especially on those friends outside the Portland area, who haven’t already been asked for an AIDS Walk donation from someone else. I raised over $1,000 last year and 85% of that came through asks on Facebook.
•UPDATES! – Everyone likes to feel like they are part of something bigger, like they are part of the momentum. Share occasional email updates with your team members with news about growing fundraising dollars, new prizes, team recruitment, etc. Make your enthusiasm contagious.
•FUN EVENTS! – Last year – don’t laugh – I was part of a lube-wrestling fundraising event at a local bar benefiting AIDS Walk Portland. We raised over $600 for the Walk. But the benefits didn’t end there. It was an opportunity to bring team members together and recruit more folks to the team. It was also a perfect excuse to spread the word and get people to attend a really fun evening who might not have engaged with AIDS Walk otherwise.

I’m hoping to employ all these ideas again this year and once again beat my team’s fundraising total from last year.

Marc Kochanski
Volunteer Resources Coordinator
Cascade AIDS Project