Fundraising Tips
Congratulations! You have signed up to ride 200 - 300 miles over five days from Tel Aviv to Eilat. This is no small feat! You have also pledged to raise a minimum fundraising level to support the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Hazon.
The most powerful aspects of the Israel Ride are being in Israel and seeing the country from a new perspective, spending time with Arava students, the challenge of the Ride itself and the thrill of the finish. You could pay a registration fee to cover the Ride's costs, and call it a day. But you don't, because fundraising is central to the Ride's broader impact. The act of fundraising allows you to spread the word about the work of the Arava Institute and Hazon. The proceeds from the Israel Ride work far and wide to create the kind of world we want to live in.
Fundraising is easier and more rewarding than you might think. We hope and intend that these materials will get you excited about raising money and give you the confidence that you will be able to meet-and exceed-your fundraising goals!
Click here to view the Fundraising Tips from the Registration Handbook mailed to each Ride participant
It is no surprise that some Riders are intimidated by the notion of raising $3,600 or more. Not to worry, we are here to help you become an expert fundraiser. Visit the Arava Institute and Hazon sections of the website to get a better sense of how the money you raise helps the Arava Institute and Hazon with their peace building and environmental work. Armed with this information, you will be better equipped to ask friends, family members and colleagues to sponsor you. Use the following pages to help you with the fundraising process.
Get Excited
Your commitment to doing the Ride is itself significant. Never underestimate the magnitude of this endeavor. People admire and respect those who challenge themselves for a worthy cause. Be enthusiastic about the Ride and share your enthusiasm with others. Your excitement will encourage sponsors to support you and to be generous with their donations.
Set your Target
The minimum fundraising level for each Rider is $3,600 ($3,000 for those under 35, second and third family members and those who are visiting Israel for the first time; and $2,400 for Israeli citizens living in Israel). However, we encourage you to aim even higher. In 2008, the average rider raised $4500, and several raised over $10,000. The higher your fundraising target, the more generous your supporters will be. When you are close to meeting your first target, consider setting a higher one.
Customize Your Website
When you registered, you created your own webpage with Kintera, our third-party fundraising software. Your Kintera website is the easiest and best resource in your fundraising toolbox. It will allow you to manage your e-mail distribution, record donations, communicate with your fellow Riders, and track the progress of teams and Riders.
There are several default pictures and text available for your use, but you should personalize it with your own picture. Use your webpage to tell your own story about why you are doing the Ride and what you hope to accomplish.
When you registered there was a question to allow you to create a “shortcut link” to your personal page. It will look something like this: http://arava.kintera.org/2008israelride/yourname. You can find your direct link when you log-in to your site on Kintera. This is the link that you should use for all of your fundraising letters and emails. See below for more tips on using Kintera.
Make a list of EVERYONE you know and have ever known. The environment is a hot topic right now. Most people are supportive of clean air and clean water in the Middle East. Consider including:
Family and Friends
The people closest to you are the most likely to support your efforts. Be sure to include aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends. Don’t forget about your old college friends, sorority sisters, youth group connections and old camp friends.
Your Employer
Many employers are eager to encourage their employees to participate in charitable events. Many corporations offer matching funds for the donations you receive from colleagues at work, or even your total donations. Contact your human resources director to see how they can help you.
Colleagues at Work, School, etc
The workplace is a great venue for fundraising. If you work in a large organization you have plenty of options. Get permission from your employer and spread the word to all the departments in your workplace.
Your Synagogue
This is a fruitful place to fundraise. Ask your rabbi, synagogue President, and different clubs where you can most successfully fundraise within the synagogue. Many congregations have a ”Rabbis Discretionary Fund.” Ask your Rabbi to sponsor you. Be sure to utilize your synagogue directory for names of people you can contact.
Clubs, Committees, Alumni Groups and Associations
Bring information with you when you go to sports, recreation clubs or other volunteer work. People admire those who fundraise, especially since you have to Ride across a country for it!
Business Contacts and Suppliers
If you are in business, you can approach colleagues, clients, suppliers and even competitors to sponsor you. People of all backgrounds care about building bridges in the Middle East and creating a sustainable world for all.
Go through this list and highlight the names of the people whom you believe are potential major donors. A major donor is one who might be able to make a donation of $1,000 and over. These are the people for whom a pledge letter and/or phone call is not necessarily appropriate. Take them to lunch or dinner and explain to them why the Israel Ride means so much to you. Tell them about the Ride and why you are doing something so challenging. Be serious, enthusiastic and sincere.
Asking non-Jewish friends and colleagues for your support
This is a bike ride in Israel-but its broader goals are deeply universal. As Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club, said in 2003, "When environmentalists lobby on Capitol Hill, we're ignored. When faith groups take a stand, people listen." So don't be afraid to ask non-Jewish friends to support you. As we know, working for peace in the Middle East is something that's important to a lot of people, not just Jews.
You can send a letter by mail or email-or both. The content of your letter will basically be the same but there are a few things to keep in mind: If you’re sending a letter enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for people to send you a check. If you’re sending an email, use Kintera, and include links to your personal page so donors can get there easily. Including pictures and quotes in all of your letters and emails are very powerful tools and they make your request personal.
Your fundraising letter is, above all, a letter from you to people you know and care about. The most important thing to keep in mind when writing your fundraising letter is your recipient. Who is going to be reading this? What would they like to read? There is no single magic fundraising letter but there are a lot of ways that you can make your letter great to help you raise more money.
Read all the tips below to get prepared. Write your base letter or start from one of our sample letters, then read the tips again. Did you forget anything? Can you make it better?
1) Be Personal.
Your letter should be personal and specific to you. Tell your potential funders what the Ride is all about, and tell them why you’re so excited to do it. Tell them about your training and preparation for the Ride.
Don’t write “dear friends” or “dear all” – write “hi Debbie.”
Attach a picture if appropriate and possible.
Make clear that some thought has gone into who will receive your letter. Add at least one personal line (“I’m going to be in town…”).
2) Tailor the length.
In general, shorter is better; but sometimes there is someone who you feel wants more information. Include more details about the Ride for your friends who are interested in cycling. Tell them more about the Arava Institute if you think they would be interested in peace building and coexistence efforts. Share more about both the Arava Institute and Hazon if you think they would be interested in environmental causes in Israel and the US.
3) Be specific
Give simple and specific instructions about how they can sponsor you. Include the link to your personal page (IMPORTANT:don’t use the long link that you get when you go to your website. You should have a personal direct shortcut link, which should be something like http://arava.kintera.org/2008israelride/yourname. You can find out your direct link when you log on to your Kintera HQ.)
In case they decide to mail a check, include your home address. Include your fundraising goal, and make it ambitious. Put it in bold!
Believe it or not, THE MORE YOU ASK FOR, THE MORE PEOPLE GIVE. Share what your personal financial commitment will be. People are often inspired to see your personal financial commitment and might even be willing to match it. “In addition to training, I am pledging $500 towards my fundraising goal.”
Ask for a specific amount and aim high. Say “Please consider a gift of $180”—they can choose to do so, or choose to give you more/less.
Be confident and assertive
Send to the letter to everyone you know—especially relatives, even if you have not talked to them in a long time. Expand your circle of giving by including friends of friends and your children’s or parents’ friends. They will be thrilled to hear from you.
People will be happy to support a cause you think is important. Remember that you are not asking for money for your morning coffee. You are giving your friends, family, and colleagues the opportunity to be a part of creating solutions to existential and environmental challenges in the Middle East.
Remind people about your letter when you see them, and talk to them about the Ride.
The most successful fundraiser in Hazon’s 2005 NY Ride received donations from more than 90 people. When asked the secret of his success, he said, “I sent out an email asking for money—and I kept on emailing people until they gave!”
If you are running an email campaign, send out two additional emails. Tell the people on your list about your training, or thank those (by name) who have already given —and encourage those who haven’t yet (“Oh, Aunt Martha gave—I should too!”) Seeing names of others who have given encourages others to give.
Include the Israel Ride website (www.israelride.org) on everything. People can donate to you directly through this site.
We have two examples of letters - one that is more appropriate for work colleagues or less-close acquaintances and one more appropriate for closer friends and family. You can download them here in PDF format.
Some folks will respond immediately, but after the initial few donations, what happens next? Your fundraising campaign is actually a series of communications: your initial letter, follow up letters and updates, and a thank you letter after the Ride. Mark these timeline goals on your calendar to help you plan your campaign from now until the Ride -- and beyond!
Today
Send out your first round of emails/letters.
Make a list of 10 people you're going to approach in person, and start with one a week.
Four weeks later
Send out another round of emails (to everyone). Tell them about your training, new things you've learned or are getting excited about, and thank those people by name who have sponsored you (this will encourage others to follow suit).
Check your list of individuals to approach-how's your progress? Keep it up!
Four weeks after that
Send out another email/letter update. How far can you ride now? How close are you to reaching your goal?
Two weeks before the Ride
Send out a quick reminder email to folks who haven't yet responded.
One week after the Ride
Write a thank you note to your sponsors. Like your fundraising letter, this note should be personalized. Consider printing a color postcard with pictures from the Ride once you return to mail to donors. Tell your donors what the Ride was like, your personal highlights, how you felt, and what you learned.. The sooner you write this after the Ride, the easier it will be-all your stories and emotions will be fresh. Include photos, if you have them
We use an online database system called Kintera to help us manage the fundraising process. Kintera is an amazing tool Among other things, Kintera allows each rider to set up a personal webpage to use for collecting donations online. It’s easy to use, and we highly recommend you familiarize yourself with it.
When you registered, you were asked to choose a user name and password. This is how you can access your Personal Webpage on our system. (If you’ve forgotten you password, email jessica@friendsofarava.org and she’ll send it to you.
To access you Kintera page, “Register/Log In” from the right menu on this site. From the Kintera site, use the left menu to navigate to your headquarters. From “My HQ” you can:
- Build/Edit Your Webpage: Personalize the text, add a photo of yourself, and show how much you have raised so far. Your donors can make a donation with a credit card directly from your webpage. In case you forget the link to your personal webpage, it is listed on the “My HQ” section of your webpage.
- Send Emails to Friends and Family: When you send emails, keep track of who you’ve sent them to, when they were sent, and who has donated as a result of your email. As you create successful fundraising letters and thank you letters save them and reuse them as templates. This step will save you a lot of time and allow you to distribute your thank you letters in a timely basis. We have developed two sample fundraising emails for you to send to your friends and family. Please customize them and add your contact information.
- Enter Offline Donations: If someone mails you a check, use this feature to add their donation to your total amount, and then mail us the check. Your can also print an Offline Donation Form from your webpage for your donors who don’t do it themselves (this must accompany any check you mail in to the Hazon office). Please make sure to acquire the donors address and enter it into your webpage in case it is not on the donors check.
- ISRAEL RIDE ALUMNI: You are able to view reports of donations you received on PAST ISRAEL RIDES under the ”Reports” section of your webpage. Take advantage of this tool when contacting these donors again for this years Ride.
- There is also a bulletin board where Riders can post messages to one another. Use the bulletin board to post information on training rides, fundraising tips and success stories.
We encourage you to use your personal webpage - it’s a great fundraising tool. If you have any questions about Kintera or online donations, please contact Jessica at jessica@friendsofarava.org
Go to it! Set up your page on Kintera-and then start your campaign. The earlier you start, the easier and more relaxed you'll be.
We'd love to hear how it's going-call us at 212-644-2332 or email david@hazon.org.
We thank you in advance for all your hard work. The funds you raise make a huge difference
