Volunteers and CAP!

Last fiscal year, CAP volunteers gave over 21,000 hours of their time. This time has been estimated to be worth $550,000! Volunteers serve in our office and programs, and at events. They are an invaluable resource; without volunteers, some of our wonderful programs—like the Oregon AIDS/STD Hotline—wouldn’t even exist.

The state of Oregon has been ranked 11th in the nation for percentage of residents who volunteer for an organization. The city of Portland was ranked 2nd! We are so lucky to benefit from living in a place full of such engaged, active people.

How can YOU help (and win a massage!)?
Volunteer now and make a difference for years to come! CAP is gathering signatures for a petition to be listed on the Charitable Checkoff list that goes out with your Oregon tax return. We need 10,000 valid signatures and AIDS Walk is our best chance to get them. Training is offered for signature gathering volunteers.

There are two chances to help next week:

• Pink Party Bar Crawl, Wednesday, Sept 29 from 6 to 11pm. Meet at CAP at 6pm. Volunteers will get a t-shirt, pink boa & drink ticket.
  
• AIDS Walk Portland, Sunday, Oct 3 from 7:30am to 12:30pm. Meet at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Volunteers will get a t-shirt, pedometer, water bottle and Nike duffel bag.

Anyone who joins us as a Signature Gatherer at the Bar Crawl or AIDS Walk Portland will be entered into a raffle for a $50 gift certificate at Coldwater Creek Spa. We estimate 30 volunteers, so the odds are good!

Want to volunteer, but can’t for the AIDS Walk?
No problem—we’d still love to have you! The first step prospective volunteers should take is to attend a Volunteer Orientation. The next one is Tuesday October 5th—if that date doesn’t work for you, you can find one that will on CAP’s agency calendar.

Contact Volunteer Coordinator Marc Kochanski to sign up at mkochanski@cascadeaids.org.

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