Since many Warrior Moms have joined Climb Out of the Darkness to help raise money for two special projects to raise awareness for postpartum depression, we thought you might want some tips on how to get donations or sponsors for your “climb.” Here are some ideas I’ve gathered from a variety of sources:
Have dinner out. Is there a local spot that you frequent? Are you friendly with any restaurateurs? Ask the owners if they will donate a portion of one evening’s proceeds to your Climb Out of the Darkness fundraising total. Then make flyers with the information, create an Evite, and invite everyone you know to dine there on that evening. You’ll bring in more business to the restaurant and more money to your Climb – double bonus!
Utilize matching gift programs. Use the matching gift search engine to look for the name of your own employer and for the company names of each of your donors’ employers (where appropriate). You may be able to double every donation you get!
Tell everyone. Let people know about your Climb via e-mail, Facebook, and word of mouth. You just never know who has had PPD or knows someone who has and who understands the importance of this issue. Ask friends to share it with their friends: the signal boost will reach a multitude of people, and even if a small percentage of them give, you’ll get closer to your fundraising goal.
Reach out to the businesses you frequent. Go to your local dry cleaners/dinner take out/auto repair shop/nail salon/hair dresser and ask for a donation. Small businesses value you as a customer and you would be surprised at how many donations you will receive.
Have a pre-Climb or post-Climb party. A barbecue. A poker or bunco party. A potluck. A wine tasting. A tea party. Whatever you’d like, just ask all of your guests to donate to support you in your Climb.
ASK! Never miss an opportunity. Now is not the time to be shy. Let everyone know that you are joining Climb Out of the Darkness because hundreds of thousands of women need our help every single year. When they ask why, the conversation door has been opened. Take this opportunity to tell them why you have chosen to take on this challenge and why it’s so important to you.
The good old spaghetti dinner. Ask your place of worship to host a spaghetti dinner to benefit your Climb, either before or after the Climb! You can also reach out to organizations like Kiwanis or Knights of Columbus to do the same.
Our fundraising goal for Climb Out of the Darkness is $25,000. That is a very heft goal, we realize, but let’s reach for the sky!
