The Way We View Fundraising Is Wrong

We must change the way we think about fundraising!

"People are weary of being asked to do the least they can possibly do. People are yearning to measure the full distance of their potential, but they have to be asked". ~ Dan Pallotta 

Who will do the asking? I will. Will you?

Please check out this 18-minute Ted Talk and let's change the way we view the nonprofit industry.
TED TALK

Man on the Moon

Many times I've heard the story of John F. Kennedy and the janitor. He's the reason why when people ask me what I do, I typically reply, "I'm helping to cure cancer." If you haven't heard the story, here you go...

In 1962, while JKF was visiting NASA to give a speech, he ran into a janitor cleaning the bathrooms. He asked the janitor, "what do you do here" and the janitor replied, "I'm helping put a man on the moon".

So, I'm curious. What do YOU do? If your profession is fundraising, how do you answer this question? And I don't mean how do you answer it to others, but to yourself? Do any of these sound familiar?

"I organize ____ event"
"I ask people for money"
"I do marketing"
"I raise funds for___"
"I work at ____"

Do you ever find yourself complaining? As I write this post, it's Monday morning. It's cold and dark outside and I imagine that folks all around my neighborhood are hearing their alarms go off and thinking, "crap". I get it. But I also get the significance of what I do. For me, it's not just a job. It's a mission.

That janitor could have said, "well, Mr. President, I clean toilets". He could have complained on Mondays when his alarm sounded and said, "crap" (literally) and wished he didn't have to go to work. He could have belittled himself. After all, was he an all-important scientist or engineer or astronaut? What an amazing man he was though. He knew that each person on the team at NASA had a role and that whatever that role was, it was significant and leading toward the first moon landing.

I have been both the president of the board and the lowest fundraiser on a team, but no matter my role, I know that I am helping to cure cancer. And when I think of it that way, I can't complain and say, "ah crap, it's Monday and I have to go cure cancer all week." I can't say things like, "I can't wait for the weekend because I'm so sick of curing cancer." No! My job matters. And my position matters. I may or may not work for an organization that values me, but I value myself. I know that what I do every day is getting us closer to a world without cancer.

So, again, I ask you... what do you do? If what you do matters, then every day you must remind yourself that you are an important part of curing that disease or feeding the hungry or saving animals or building homes or whatever it is. Go out there and "put a man on the moon". You matter.

Going Gold

Help! I've been given a task that matters a great deal to me. It matters a great deal to the almost 16,000 American children diagnosed with cancer each year. And it really, really matters to their parents!

Children are more precious than gold. I'm honored to be going gold to conquer childhood cancer. My organization, the American Cancer Society, has created a restricted fund for pediatric cancers and a new team called "Gold Together" will lead the way in this year's Relay For Life events across the nation. My goal is only $5,000 for my team in Dallas, Texas. However, I would like to at least double this amount for my team.

I cannot do this alone. Childhood cancers have not received the attention they deserve. My voice can be loud, but it's not loud enough. I need many more loud, enthusiastic souls to join forces with me and bring an end to the suffering caused by childhood cancer.

If you're on this page, please consider joining the team, donating, or sponsoring. To join the team or donate, click HERE. To find out about how your company can become a sponsor, click HERE.

This blog is not here to raise money. It exists to help create ideas or share ideas. However, childhood cancer deserves the attention today. It screams out! It's way past time to save our kids. Help me and let's end childhood cancer.

My Inspiration Part One

On this day, 15 years ago, my husband's oncologist walked into the exam room at MD Anderson Cancer Center and said, "you're in complete remission".

Bill is my constant inspiration. He was struck with stage four, highly aggressive, completely incurable blood cancer in 2003. We were in our 30s with a 5-year-old and 3-year-old at home. Our family fought together, but it was Bill who had to truly face the monster called cancer. His body was riddled with the disease and he endured two and a half years of treatments.

He is a marathoner and triathlete. The night he crossed the finish line at Ironman Arizona, no one else out there knew the depth of his personal victory. I truly admire him and he motivates me every day to continue raising awareness and funding for cancer research.

Whatever cause you are fighting for, I hope you have a hero that keeps you passionate. And I would love to hear about your hero. You can email me or write a comment below.

Happy 15 years of remission Bill!

Cool Children: Ben & Soshen

When Ben was 8 years old, he realized that his hands were cracked and dry. He and his family had been constantly washing their hands to keep germs away. Ben's friends were fighting leukemia and needed everyone to keep them safe and free of germs.

So, Ben invented a product that combined both soap and lotion and called it "Soshen". He is now 13 years old. His two young friends are cancer free! And his products have expanded to scrubs and fizzy bath teas and more. He donates 20% of his proceeds to Texas Children's Hospital.

I first heard about Ben when I was working for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Houston. Kids like Ben make my heart so happy. We grown ups sure could learn a lot from them. They still believe in the impossible. They still dream big. And they aren't scared to take a risk to make something great happen.

Great job Ben! If you would like to order some of Ben's amazing products visit his website: Soshen

Let's Make Fundraising Fun Again

Knock knock. 
Who's there? 
Halibut. 
Halibut who? 
Halibut donating to my fundraiser!

They're always after you. Emails, phone calls, Facebook posts, etc. They are everywhere. Always asking you for money. Your friends and family who get involved with charity seem to think you're made of money. You may feel like you need to run and hide! Everywhere you turn, someone has their hand out, wanting to take your hard earned money.

And, by the way, you have a big heart. You care. Truly! You don't like that kids are starving in third world nations. You hate cancer. You want to help wounded soldiers and their families. Homelessness is horrible. There are flood victims and hurting people all over the world. Heck, you even want to help that adorable little Girl Scout in the grocery store parking lot sell every last one of her boxes of cookies.

But let's face it. You are not made of money. And you have bills to pay. So, how do you figure out where to donate? I get it. I donate too. And I donate to many different charities because, just like you, I care about all of the problems of the world.

Now, you may be thinking that this post is about how to decide where to donate. Like, maybe I'll suggest a pro and con list or maybe something like throwing all the charity names into a jar and picking one. Actually, that's not a bad idea. Or maybe you could decide based on what feels closest to your heart. Or perhaps you can budget and give a little to each charity that asks. I don't actually know what you should do!

My blog is not about helping folks decide where to donate. My blog is about helping your friends and family do the asking. Because even though I know how you feel about being bombarded with asks, I also know how they feel doing the asking. I've been there and, in fact, I live there every single day.

Here's how it usually goes. You have a sweet friend who has a whole lot of passion about some cause out there and she has decided to do something about it. She could just write a check of course, but that wouldn't go too far. So she has decided to partner with the nonprofit she loves and help raise awareness and funding. She will be posting all over social media and she will email everyone she knows and she will host events at her home until she meets or exceeds her goal. So, let me tell you... you will be hearing from her and hearing often.

You might ignore her. But if you do, she's going to think you didn't hear her or see her post or receive her email. So, she'll keep on asking. You can tell her "no" or you can tell her "yes". Be warned: if you say "yes", you better go ahead and donate right now because otherwise she'll keep bugging you til she sees that donation come through. If you say "no", trust me, she's going to be ok. She will not take it personally. If she does, send her to my blog so I can set her straight. It's your money. You have to decide which causes matter the most to you without worrying about offending your passionate friend. Meanwhile, she has no idea what circumstances you're facing in life, so why you choose to donate or not donate is none of her business. Do what is right for you!

Now, to your sweet friend and to all of those passionate folks who are trying to make a difference in the world, this blog's for you! Come on in and let's explore the wonder of fundraising. Let's make fundraising FUN again!