- Requirements & Goals:
As a part of the Corporate Challenge, MESP requires that each participant raise $175. As a part of the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Triathlon Team, we ask that you raise a minimum of $1000.
- Fundraising Webpage:
A personal fundraising webpage has been created for each member of our CHLA Triathlon team at the event’s online fundraising headquarters (http://nauticamalibutriathlon.kintera.org/). MESP has distributed preliminary emails to all participants with login/password information and instructions for starting and editing your fundraising page. This page will allow family and friends to donate to your efforts online and assist you in tracking your fundraising progress in the months before race day.
- Additional Support:
For assistance with creating your personal webpage please contact MESP directly Libby@MESP.com
For other fundraising questions (i.e. what can and can not be done) please email Lupita Garza at the CHLA Foundation (lgarza@chla.usc.edu)
- For additional fundraising resources:
See the Nautical Malibu Triathlon online fundraising headquarters (http://nauticamalibutriathlon.kintera.org/) for ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ and ‘Fundraising Tips.'
Fund-racing 101
- Don't be afraid to ask! Many people feel uncomfortable asking for money, either for cultural or personal reasons. At the same time we all know that budgets are being tightened and resources are getting more limited. There are many ways to ask that respect the audience and it takes a little creativity to overcome those obstacles. If we do not ask, we do not get!
- People give money to people, not to faceless causes. When you make your "ask", do so from the heart. Tell them why CHLA has meaning for you, how it has impacted your life, and how the work done there impacts the lives of others. Our stories are what connects us together and this is why people donate. Make it personal!
- Don't put a dollar amount on your ask. Placing a dollar amount in your letter puts a cap on how much people will give. If you send a letter to 20 people asking for $20 then the most you can expect to receive is $400. Instead, tell them the goal for the team, which is to raise over $200,000, or your personal goal, which should be at least $1,000.
- Keep in touch with your donors. Many people have a budget and include a list of charities for yearly donations. Be on that list! Stay in touch with your donor base with periodic updates to your training, your goals, and how you are working to reach that goal. This keeps the donors connected to you personally so they feel like they are really supporting YOU.
- Ask more than once. Our training starts in June for a September race. Begin your campaign now with email, letters, and personal asks. Maintain your resource lists so that over the next few months you can determine who has given and who needs more contact. As the race approaches you can increase your frequency so the "ticking clock" donors can feel the pressure.
- Personalize your letter to the donor. If you've never asked from them before, write them a letter including something personal between the two of you. "Remember the hike we took when I could barely make it up the hill? Can you believe I'm doing a triathlon in September?!"
REMEMBER:
People give money to people. If you don't ask, you won't get. Here are some examples of an ask letter:
Dear _______
I've worked for Children's Hospital Los Angeles for 10 years. I love my work not in spite of its challenges but because of them. I see dramatic life-changing events unfold every day in both my patients and my colleagues. It is my honor to work there and now I have the opportunity to give back and support the hospital that lets me do what I love.
I am racing the 2010 Malibu Triathlon as part of the CHLA Team. We are a team of doctors, nurses, patient's families, and supporters of the hospital united by our desire to support this incredible place. I am excited and nervous about this race! Part of being on the team is raising funds in direct support of CHLA. Last year our team raised almost $200,000 and this year we need to do even better.
Please help us reach that goal by making a contribution for my fundraising effort online:
(provide link)
Thank you for your support!
- YOU
Max Miller's ask letter (he raised more than $11,000 in 2009)
Dear _____________
Last year was my first full season racing triathlons. I had two key races - a half Ironman distance of 70.3 cumulative miles in Boise, ID and the Malibu Triathlon Sprint distance. I was honored to join the team of doctors, nurses, and staff of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Part of being on that team is raising funds in direct support of CHLA. Our team alone raised almost $200,000 as well as laid the groundwork for this year's racing team of almost 200 members.
This year it is my honor to not only race and raise funds for CHLA, but also to mentor a dozen new triathletes on our team. I am helping them learn the sport as well model fundraising goals for them. I am also training for my first Ironman in Arizona in November. Though the Malibu distance is short by comparison, the CHLA event is very close to my heart. I've met many incredible people who either work for the hospital or have been touched in some way by the work done there. My coach, and the head coach for the CHLA team, is himself a success story of the hospital. At age 13 he was diagnosed and treated for a brain tumor. It took three years for him to learn to walk without throwing up from vertigo, but he has made a complete recovery and now gives back whatever he can to CHLA.
Please help me by making a contribution for my fundraising effort!
Dear _____________
It wasn't that long ago that I was telling you about my cousin Andre who passed away far too early. I think of him every day and though my heart is broken, I will forever keep him in my memory. Part of the way I have reconciled my grief is to stay involved with the hospital that worked so very hard to save Andre's life. The staff at Children's Hospital gave everything they could, and I could tell they were deeply affected by their connection to Andre.
I have committed to race for the CHLA team in this year's 2010 Malibu Triathlon. I have promised to raise over $1,000 for the hospital for the team goal of raising more than $200,000. They need this money to treat more children, and it is my sincere hope that my efforts will help another family down the road. I want to transform my grief into someone else's successful outcome.
Please help me by making a contribution towards my fundraising effort!
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