Fundraising

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Sharing your campaign

Sample Donor Email Templates
Sample Facebook Templates

Maximizing the success of your campaign

How to update your profile page
Example Personal Messages

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Sharing Your Campaign

To share your personal profile and build support for your fundraising campaign, simply follow these easy steps:

STEP 1: Get a link to your personal profile page

  • Simply log in on the right by clicking the ‘Get Started’ button
  • Once logged in, you can access your personal profile by clicking your name in the side-bar on the right
  • Copy the URL for your personal profile from your browser’s address bar

Your URL will look something like this: http://runtoendpoverty.ca/runners/paulhines/

STEP 2: Share your story and your URL to invite sponsors to your page

1) By Email

Share your Run To End Poverty campaign with your friends, family, and colleagues! Here are some tips and sample email templates that you can personalize and share.

Try out this proven strategy for email:

  1. Send an initial email to all of your contacts.
    • Let people know about your personal challenge, and include the race date, distance, and your fundraising and training goals.
    • Don’t forget to include your personal campaign/profile page URL!
  2. Send a follow-up email 1-1.5 weeks later
    • This one is a reminder, and should provide an update on your training and fundraising progress
    • Don’t forget to thank those who have donated already
  3. Send a final email the day before the race
    • Focus on your excitement for race day, and your success in fundraising and training!

Sample Email:

Dear [insert friend's name],

This summer, I am excited to be participating in Run to End Poverty, a nationwide initiative in support of Engineers Without Borders (EWB).  On [June 26, 2011], I will be running with the Run to End Poverty team [in Vancouver], as part of the [Scotiabank ½ Marathon and 5km races]!   As part of the run, I am raising money in support of EWB’s work – funds that will change lives throughout rural Africa.

Run To End Poverty strives to build awareness and support for development initiatives that connect the skills and ambition of Africans to tangible opportunity. By collaborating with NGOs and connecting Canadians to the people of Africa, R2EP seeks to break down stereotypes of poverty and build greater support for successful international development initiatives.

This year, Run To End Poverty is focused on building support for Engineers Without Borders’ (EWB) innovative development efforts in Ghana, Malawi, Zambia and Burkina Faso.  This is my [first, second, third] year with Run To End Poverty, and I am very excited to contribute to this initiative and help support EWB’s work.

I am asking you to come on board and support my campaign. My goal for the campaign is to raise $[insert amount] and to log [XXX kilometres] during training. With your help, I can reach this goal.

To pledge your support, please visit my campaign page at: [insert your runner's profile url from the runtoendpoverty.ca webpage] Join me in supporting Engineers Without Borders’ work – you can be confident that your donation will help make a lasting difference.

Many thanks for your support,

[insert your name]

 
Sample Email en Francais:

[Salut chere famille!]

Cet été, je suis très heureuse de participer à La Course contre la pauvreté, une initiative nationale à l’appui d’Ingénieurs sans frontières (ISF). [Le 28 mai] , je vais courir [ avec l'équipe d'Ottawa, dans le cadre de la course de 10 km d'Ottawa] . Je participe a la collecte de fonds en faveur du travail d’ISF – les fonds qui vont changer des vies dans les régions rurales en Afrique.

La Course contre la pauvreté vise à accroître la sensibilisation et le soutien aux initiatives de développement qui relient les compétences et l’ambition des Africains à des opportunites tangibles. En collaborant avec les ONG et reliant les Canadiens à la population de l’Afrique, la Course cherche à contrer les stéréotypes de la pauvreté et accroître l’appui à des initiatives de développement international qui demontrent du succes.

Cette année, Course contre la pauvreté se concentre sur le renforcement de soutien pour Ingénieurs sans Frontières (ISF) les efforts de développement innovateurs au Ghana, au Malawi, en Zambie et au Burkina Faso.

Si vous êtes intéressé à faire un don, s’il vous plaît visiter ma page de la campagne à l’adresse:

[http://runtoendpoverty.ca/runners/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/]

Merci pour votre soutien d’Ingénieurs sans frontières- vous pouvez être sûrs que votre don aidera à faire une différence durable.

Un grand merci pour votre soutien,

[Nom]

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2) By Facebook

Facebook is a great way to share your message and a URL to your personal profile/campaign page! Many runners across Canada have found this to be the most effective way of meeting fundraising goals – a simple message and a bit of follow-up (re-posting, replying to comments) can help you raise more than $500 in just a few days! Check out these sample Facebook message templates to get you started:

Sample Facebook Message:

On [Sunday June 26th], I am running with Run To End Poverty in the [Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon]! Please donate on my campaign page to help create opportunity in Africa: [profile page Link here]

This summer I am taking part in Run To End Poverty! Donate to my campaign page and support my passion and commitment to EWB: [profile page Link here]

Together, we can help increase the opportunities for rural Africans to thrive. Help me Run To End Poverty this summer by donating to my campaign page: [profile page Link here]

In communities across Zambia, Malawi, Ghana and Burkina Faso millions of hardworking people are seeking the chance to improve their lives. Help EWB create this opportunity, by donating to my Run To End Poverty campaign page:

[profile page Link here]

 

Maximizing the Success of Your Campaign

Here are a few tips for maximizing the success of your personal fundraising campaign:

Tip #1: Update and personalize your personal campaign/profile page
We have found that the most successful campaigns are based on compelling personal profile pages. Be sure to update a photo of yourself, and include a personal message that communicates your passion for supporting international development initiatives, and talk about the training and fundraising challenge that you are involved with. This is your chance to tell your story and inspire your sponsors to donate to your campaign and to learn more about the development initiatives supported by Run To End Poverty.

To personalize your profile/campaign page, follow these simple steps:

  1. Copy the text from one of our SAMPLE PROFILE TEMPLATES (listed below)
  2. Log in at the right of the screen, then click on your name in the side-bar to go to your personal profile page
  3. Click on ‘Profile’ then ‘Edit Profile’ on your dashboard bar at the BOTTOM of the page (there is a second dashboard bar at the top of the page as well)
  4. Paste the text in the ‘Personal Message’ box and personalize it
  5. Click on ‘SAVE’ at the bottom of your profile dashboard

And you’re done…

Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to ask!
The biggest barrier to a successful campaign is hesitation. Don’t be afraid to ask people to support you with a donation. People often love the opportunity to support a cause that is meaningful to you, and want to help support you to meet your challenge!
It is actually quite easy to build a successful campaign – check out some of the tips above for emailing friends, family, and colleagues, or add a message to your Facebook page.

Tip #3: Set a high goal!
Try setting a high fundraising goal and challenge your friends to help you meet it. You will be surprised at how easy it is to raise $500 or even $2000 online. Typical donations are in the $25 to $50 range, so a fundraising goal of $500 could be met with just 10 to 20 donors. It’s that easy!


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SAMPLE Profile Templates

Personalize your Run To End Poverty personal campaign page to maximize impact! Here are a few samples of text that you can personalize and add to your profile page.

RUNNING FOR CHANGE

I’m running because I believe that change is possible.

Because the systems that contribute to poverty in Africa are being challenged every day, by entrepreneurs, farmers, and leaders in Africa and in Canada. Systems of inequality, of weak governments and isolated rural populations.

Run to End Poverty is an opportunity to align my beliefs with my actions, and share with my network this hope that I have that change is happening, and we can play a part in it.

Engineers Without Borders is an organization that drives this change, which is why I am happy to say that all dollars raised through my run will be going to support them and their work.

 

RUNNING FOR THE TEAM

I’m running because I’m a runner. I’ve been logging kilometers for years – to stay fit, to be healthy, to keep moving. These are my goals, and they’re important ones too.

I could have chosen any race. I could have kept to my well-worn neighbourhood trail. I’m choosing to run with the Run to End Poverty team because I have not yet found a more passionate and committed team of runners. Because running requires energy, and this team has it in spades. As part of Run to End Poverty I am joining a movement of change-makers across the country who are working together to change the way Canadians think about development in Africa, and what’s more, raise money to improve the way we participate in development in Africa.

 

RUNNING FOR EWB

I am running to support Engineers Without Borders’ development programs in Africa, and I hope you can help contribute to my campaign!

Engineers Without Borders is a movement of change leaders driven to tackle the root causes of why poverty persists in Africa. We seek practical, long-term solutions that will extend a world of opportunity and prosperity to the next generation of Africans.

In Africa, EWB invests people and ideas into African organizations to improve their capacity to deliver and scale solutions for the rural poor. We also influence the development sector to invest more in building effective organizations in Africa, and we invest in Canadian and African change leaders to strengthen their commitment and ability to bring about positive change.

In Canada, our goal is a new relationship between Canadians and Africans, one based on creating opportunity rather than giving charity. We have a portfolio of initiatives – in two areas, Connecting Canadians to Africa and Global Engineering – to engage engineers and citizens in new ways to contribute as global citizens. We also act as advocates for our government’s investment in smart aid and other policies for catalyzing African development.

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