Guest Post - Adventures in Fundraising

My friend Seth has been quite active on the fundraising front, so I asked him if he'd be willing to write a blog about his efforts.

Adventures in Fund Raising:

I was happy when Rachel asked me to guest blog. I've been cranking my gears (which were a little rusty from lack of use) trying to help Rachel do some fund raising for CAF. The gears are cranking hard, but the product is still not nearly where I'd like for it to be... at least yet. By being able to document my efforts- for some reason it makes me feel better letting people know that at least I tried. I've mentioned to Rachel that if I want to play the odds, every no only gets me closer to a yes. Of course, I only tell her that after I'm done bitching and moaning and analyzing and reanalyzing what maybe I could have done differently to have made it a yes...

I've received No's from professional organizations I belong to, bars that I frequent, airline companies that have different visions for charitable donations, and so far have been ignored by my national fraternity for permission to approach college chapters (though I am still really keeping my fingers crossed on this one that it has just been a series of missed communications- this is definitely one there will be further updates on).

As I staid earlier, every no gets us closer to a Yes. I am also very fortunate to have found some wonderful Yes's. First and foremost (because I love pontificating and reiterating) I LOVE THE FLORIDA MARLINS. Kelly Schnackenberg and the Marlins Organization have been approachable, responsive, cooperative, and understanding; the Florida Marlins run a First Class organization. They have given us and the Challenged Athletes Foundation permission to hold a 50/50 raffle at their home game on September 13th.

I also want to thank Sawgrass Lanes and Lissette Montanezin Tamarac, FL. They have agreed to let us hold a charity bowling event at their facility on August 29th and are working with me to help make this a complete success. They are even helping us get prizes for our raffle by contacting the Florida Panthers for donations. While I would like to help Rachel in so many ways with her fundraising, for the next few weeks I am putting most of my energy into this particular event, because I think it can hold so much potential.

The first thing I need are amazing raffle prizes. This is where the Florida Marlins have stepped up to the plate, yet again (please forgive this halfway intentional pun!!). They have given us 4 free lower level tickets anywhere in the section just behind home plate. I have also reached out to the Miami Dolphins and Walt Disney World for feature raffle prizes; I anxiously look forward to their reply. My initial thought was the raffle at the Bowling Event would be a 50/50 for all who attended, however, if I can put together some good enough prizes, then I see no reason why we can't pre-sell tickets, donate 100% of the proceeds to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and attract an incredibly larger audience. Some of my pipedreams- I want to work on through next week is to try and reach out to the promoters for the Miley Cyrus concert in Miami in December, and some car dealerships down here that might be charitable. If I can get either one of these, the raffle turnout will be phenomenal! I'm seriously running low on time though. I am finding that most places ask 4-6 weeks advance notice for prize donations. My 4 week window expires at the end of next week (not that I will stop trying, but if companies are going to get caught up in the specifics, it will lessen my chances..)

So that is what has been keeping me busy. I figure I have until August 10th at the absolute latest to get prizes worth mentioning on the flyer; at that time, I really need to start going everywhere I can think of to start putting them up. Lissette at Sawgrass Lanes asked me to think about how big our party is going to be. I want to be able to ask her in return, "How many people can you hold?"