Fundraising tipsfrom Team LevineJosh and Paulina Levine2013 Volunteer Leadership ConferenceWashington D.C. September 26-27
Tell yourstory
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Our beautiful twin daughters, Chloe Hope and Isabelle Frances, were born premature on May 31, 2006, at just 26 weeks, weighing just over 1 pound each.
Josh and I held our breath in the delivery room as they performed an emergency c-section. We were thrilled when the NICU doctors in the delivery room told us both babies were breathing and doing well. Chloe and Isabelle remained stable and seemed to be thriving in the NICU.
Early in the morning of June 1, Chloe and Isabelle had pulmonary hemorrhages at the same exact time--a very twin thing to do--and went into critical condition. Doctors woke us to say our goodbyes to our babies.
Chloe, who was slightly smaller than Isabelle, and a bit weaker, could not take the stress on her body. She died in our arms on June 2, two days after her birth.
Isabelle fought for five weeks in the NICU. She was on a respirator, had many blood transfusions, infections, collapsed lungs, and swelling in her brain. Isabelle was so strong and tough but her body was pushed to its limit. She too died in our arms, on July 3, 2006.
In 2007, Josh and I were blessed with another little girl, Olivia Faith and in 2009 with a baby boy, Julian Ilias. Olivia and Julian are our little miracles and we tell them about their sisters all the time. Chloe & Isabelle will forever be their guardian angels.
We are dedicated to supporting March for Babies. Our amazing friends and family were there for us during our time in the NICU and we hope you can continue to show your support. This is a very special cause. It is so important to us, and to countless other expectant parents, that all babies be born healthy.
While we can never bring our babies back, we think the best way to honor their memory and give meaning to their lives is to dedicate ourselves to raising money for an organization that fights for babies and preventing premature births.
Create avideo
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Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
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Example outline:
- Introduce yourself
- Tell your story
- Explain why the MOD
- Ask for support
- Tell them how they can help
- Thank them
How to do it
Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
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How to do it
Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
1
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3
4
5
How to do it
Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
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2
3
4
5
How to do it
Upload all of your videos to your new family team youtube account.
Reach out to the March of Dimes and ask for their support by featuring your video on their Facebook page (they have over 400,000 fans).
Createa Donor
Database
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and your friends’ facebook friends
and fill it up with your contacts.
Create a spreadsheet
This past year we started using Donor Tools to track fundraising and donor management.
EmailBlasts
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Send different emails to your different segments.
2013 LYBNTY (Last Year But Not This Year)
Follow-Up Email
Josh & Paulina1
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Paulina Work
Josh Work
Grandma’s List
In the past we’ve sent one email blast to everyone on our list. Recently, we’ve customized the messaging based on the segment and it has had a huge impact on our donations.
Example: Paulina uses her maiden name atwork. By segmenting this list we were able to reach out to them usingher work email. This resulted in lessconfusion and more donations. These people wanted to help, we just weren't making it easy for them to donate.
Email 1:Big blastSubject: Support Paulina & Josh Levine in the fight against premature birth
Email 2:Reminder 9 days leftSubject: Renew your support & help Team Levine save babies - 9 days left to donate
Email 3: Reminder, 4 days leftSubject: Just 4 days left! Support Team Levine in our fight to help all babies be born healthy.
Frequency & follow-ups are key.
Email 1:Big blastSubject: Support Paulina & Josh Levine in the fight against premature birth
Email 2:Reminder 9 days leftSubject: Renew your support & help Team Levine save babies - 9 days left to donate
Email 3: Reminder, 5 days leftSubject: Just 5 days left! Support Team Levine in our fight to help all babies be born healthy.
Frequency & follow-ups are key.
Be Social5
Create a team “Page”Don’t just use your personal pages. A “Page” allows anyone (not just your friends) to subscribe to your team and have dialogue with you and others.
Add content - old and new.Upload photos/videos and create albums (i.e., 2011 March for Babies Walk).
Tag everyone!
Keep your supporters updated with your team’s progress and activity.
And keep them informed on March of Dimes news, facts and progress updates.
Always include a call-to-action to make a donation at your team site.
Use admin and tracking tools.Invite friends to like your page. Get useful insights about which posts and photos are reaching the most people and the having biggest impact.
Show support and link to fellow family teams all over the country.
Fundraising& Events
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Ask people to donate venues...
Gaga Center Kid’s Event$1500 raised
Annual Fundraiser and Auction$3500 raised each year
...or services and gifts.
And then publicly thank them and include links to their pages.
Ask local chapter for signage, stands and banners.
OtherTips
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Write handwritten thank you cards.We write all handwritten thank you notes to anyone who makes a donation or contributes in any way. While it takes a bit more effort, there is no better way to show your appreciation.
Use an email signature.Include a March for Babies team signature on all of your emails for everyone to see. Include a link to your Facebook page, personal site, your team page and any other relevant information. This is an easy and effective way to spread awareness.
T-shirts generate excitement and offer sponsorship opportunities.
We hope you found this helpful. Good luck!Please reach out to us if you need support or have any questions. We are more than happy to help and are always looking to meet other families.
Josh and Paulina [email protected]
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