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I need some advice
I am the Marketing Chair for the Junior Board of the Birmingham chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We work as a little branch of the chapter to help raise funds and put on events for LLS throughout the year; HOWEVER, in April, we have our second annual event that is done solely by the Junior Board.
Since I'm the marketing chair, a lot of responsibility for getting the word out falls on me. I have 4 other committee members, but have yet to get a response from any of them (I've sent 2 emails since our meeting in November). All I asked in those emails was who the admins for our Facebook page were and if someone could send me the database of past sponsors and participants. NOTHING.
We have a meeting on Monday, so hopefully I will be able to meet these people and get some answers, but until then, I'm gathering some other ideas for marketing.
Shortee has already been such a great help with ideas as she recently ran an LLS-sponsored race, but I was wondering if any of you had some ideas.
If you were a runner, whether experienced or a newbie, how would we get your attention about a 5K race? Even if you weren't interested in running, what kinds of things would get you to donate money (I'm not talking thousands, I'm talking $10)?
Also, while I'm thinking about it, if you have a side business (Etsy or otherwise), would you be willing to do a giveaway for those people who donate?
Re: I need some advice
I've never done a 5K, but I've participated in the MN AIDS walk (4 miles) several years while I was still living in MN. Things that motivated me to participate were a)it's a good cause (ok, that's a given)
b)it's something I did with my friends-we signed up as a team
c)we got to bring our dogs with us.
They also gave out incentive prizes for varying levels of pledge totals. Raise $50 get a tee-shirt, $150-a pin, $500-ear buds, $1000-a zip up hoodie, $2500-an ipod dock.
Also, along the way there were volunteer cheer sections to keep you going and pit stops where you could stop, get water/healthy snacks, and use the restroom. They also had large water bowls for our 4-legged friends to refuel. At the end of the walk, everyone was given an ice cream sandwich, and a cloth tote full of various pamphlets and other things such as a water bottle.
I'm not sure if any of that would be applicable to an actual race, but that's the most experience I've had anything like a 5K. I do know that prior to the walk, they also have a run.
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I think that Maggie had some really good advice already... but, I wanted to add that for a lot of the races that I do, it is all about the t-shirt that I get with the entry fee. And/or the activities that are provided at the end of the race.
Maggie's point about people cheering you on is a great one. On one of my races there were people stationed every half-mile-ish and they varied... some cheerleading teams from local schools, some were girl and boy scouts, some were church marimba bands... but it was nice to see someone encouraging us.
Race for the Cure and the Shamrock Run also have a lot of vendors that come out and give away luna bars, shoe laces, the radio stations come, etc. So it is like a big party after the events are over. I don't know if you would have the space or the time to coordinate something like that, but it is nice to be able to run and then do something while you are waiting for the rest of your group.
We'll end up hand in hand
Somewhere down on the sand
Just me and you
I forgot to add too, that the AIDS walk is done in mid-May. They also have a bunch of booths set up during the registration period (handing out informations, food samples, drawings), and live bands/music. Then they have a big kick off announcement to start the walk, but walkers can come and start walking any time they choose.
Oh and one more thing, it made a big difference being able to register our team (or as an individual) on-line, and be able to let my sponsors be able to donate to my page online as well.
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You get a t-shirt with registration (which can be done online) and we have a ton of things going on, from free food from local restaurants to Pepsi products for all participants. We typically have a band, etc, for all events.
How did you hear about the walk you did?
If you didn't want to participate, what would make you want to give a small donation?
To get the word out about the race I've seen a few things:
-info cards included in the "goodie bags" at other races
-posting info on local running group's website. Here we have Rockland Road Runners which puts on a lot of races and has race info for the whole year on their website.
-I've also received mailings for races. I guess they get my info from other races I've run.
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I initially started doing the AIDS walk in H.S. because it was mandatory of all National Honor Society members, but I continued doing it for years after that.
I would recommend putting up flyers at workout facilities/gyms. I work at the YMCA and we post that kind of thing All the time, and it advertises to a group of people that are more likely to participate.
In terms of donations, I got people to sponsor me/donate by convincing that as little as a $1 would help. Most people I know would give me about $5-$10. If I weren't able to or didn't want to participate, knowing someone who has been affected by the issue definitely makes me want to donate money. (Last spring, I wasn't able to participate in the March of Dimes in honor of our friends' baby girl, but I still signed up and got over $30 in donations) One suggestion I could give would be to have some sort of way to recognize those who donate, but don't necessarily participate in the 5K such as drawing or along those lines.
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