Begging for Cause Marketing Advice... and of course, a Donation to Charity

tangy

tangy

New member
Dec 1, 2008
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vancouver, yo
Howdy fellow webmasters!

I'm leading a team in this year's Mongol Rally called Mongolian Rhapsody (we're doing a Wayne's World theme). Website is here: Mongolian Rhapsody - …because bake sales are for sissies.

Two things I would love some help with:

1) Any unique marketing ideas to both drum up donations and sponsors. I'm going to buy a thread in the BST here to see if I can draw in some businesses to sponsor, as well as doing some LinkedIn ads... and of course approaching every local business around here that I think would listen. I also have a local blog and news outreach plan, which we'll be grinding on. However, I would love additional suggestions if you are willing to share.

2) If you feel like donating, we could always use some help. We're at $100 out of our $10,000 goal thanks to Drew, who cleaned out his couch cushions and threw us his Cheetos money.

Ideas?? Please share 'em!
 


Some of the ideas we've come up with as a team...

- Individual personalized messages to all Facebook and LinkedIn contacts
- Emailing every chapter of our fraternity to ask them to share on Facebook and otherwise spread the word
- Blog outreach to all local city blogs in Vancouver offering to write a guest post about it or to do some form of interview
- Posting in local Vancouver-based Facebook groups
- Hitting up our university to help spread the word

I literally know jack shit about event fundraising and cause marketing... everything we thought up essentially came down to "tell people and ask them to tell people".
 
Radio stations? Local celebrities? Raffle with prizes? BBQ at a local park with kids games / face painting? Accept donations of goods, and have a charity auction? Get local sports teams to compete in a charity tournament / weekend / game? Round up cute kids, and sell cookie dough door-to-door? Crazy stunts on English Bay in exchange for donations? Do a groupon-style deal privately with pita / pizza shops -- you bring in marketing, they give a discount with some going to charity.

There's about 18 million things you can do, especially in Vancouver.
 
Should definitely send people who donate postcards from Mongolia. Just checked out the rally. Looks pretty exciting and expensive. Good luck. Post video of you driving through the middle of nowhere.
 
I have no fucking idea what this shit is about.

If you want donations you need a story or something make people care about your cause.

All I got out of your website was that your a bunch of college kids who are participating in some race in Mongolia and you want to raise money for some charity in Vancouver...

Why the fuck should I care? Why should I help a bunch of college kids who obviously have enough money to go fuck around in Mongolia rise $10,000?

You need some kind of hook because right now you ain't got shit. Shift your marketing approach. Charity donations are all about those emotional heart strings. Tell a story and give people a reason to donate and feel proud about doing it.

And if you create a strong enough story, post that shit to reddit and they will eat it up.
 
haha. Nice to see you doing this. The rickshaw thing is a good bit of fun and this one looks just as crazy.
 
I'm curious and I'd possibly help with something. But I need to know more.

You ask for $10k.

Can you tell us, specifically, what this would be used for?
 
greenleaves said:
OP... I thought you cared?
Click to expand...

Heya studly, I was traveling the past few days competing in a student entrepreneur competition so I haven't been on WF and not in STS to see this. I didn't subscribe either, oops.

At any rate, the decision at Kits House is still being made as to whether to fund programs which have a net cost (fee-paying programs like child care are a net positive, but there are programs which run a net cost that have to do with seniors, new immigrant community integration, youth leadership, etc. - more info at http://www.kitshouse.org/programs/) or to put it towards the capital costs for the redevelopment of the physical Kits Neighbourhood House, which is currently being rebuilt as it was many decades old and seriously out of date.

I can't comment any more on this until I receive word from them, but I'm of the mind that it will go to general program funding for 2013. There will be a public capital campaign around the house redevelopment and that should take care of itself.

PM me if you want more specific details than that.
 
tangy said:
Heya studly, I was traveling the past few days competing in a student entrepreneur competition so I haven't been on WF and not in STS to see this. I didn't subscribe either, oops.

At any rate, the decision at Kits House is still being made as to whether to fund programs which have a net cost (fee-paying programs like child care are a net positive, but there are programs which run a net cost that have to do with seniors, new immigrant community integration, youth leadership, etc. - more info at http://www.kitshouse.org/programs/) or to put it towards the capital costs for the redevelopment of the physical Kits Neighbourhood House, which is currently being rebuilt as it was many decades old and seriously out of date.

I can't comment any more on this until I receive word from them, but I'm of the mind that it will go to general program funding for 2013. There will be a public capital campaign around the house redevelopment and that should take care of itself.

PM me if you want more specific details than that.
Click to expand...

So you want $10k for "Charity", but you can't say what it is for?

That sounds legit. Can I just write you a blank check or give you my ACH info so you can just debit my account?

I don't normally donate, but when I do, I make sure it is to some random ass hat on a forum who won't even give me a genera idea as to what the money will be spent on.

My next two questions:

1- How much of the $10k will be spent on actual materials/services that will directly help the need? How much will go to administrative costs? (i.e. how much goes to "Mongolian safari fun' and how much on the needy?)
2- How much money of your own have you put up?
 
Thanks for the reply and it seems that I need to work on the language on the website to be a bit more clear. Your answers:

1) All of the $10k raised goes directly to Kitsilano Neighbourhood House; none of it is going to us, or the Mongol Rally cost. My business will be donating to cover the PayPal fees associated with the fundraising unless we can cross the $10k mark.

2) The team is each putting up a couple thousand apiece and we're trying to close as much sponsorship as we can to help offset the rest of the trip cost. This includes Aeroplan air miles donations to cover flights, in-kind donations to add to the sponsor benefits, and cash donations to cover costs such as fuel, the car itself, travel visas, bribes, etc.

We're asking individuals to donate to the charity, and businesses to sponsor us so that we can complete the trip.

So... to answer your rhetorical question, if you were to give me a check for $10,000 it would go directly to Kits Neighbourhood House and every cent of it would fund one of the programs I linked to in the post above. 100%.
 
You got my donation as an individual, PM paypal. I'd think about business sponsor... but you don't have my target audience.

You got my donation either way, for purposes of dealing with my uncle, is that a 501?

I was being a dick. And it was relatively uncalled for. Sorry bro. But I will make a VERY strong recommendation that you read Ca$hvertising. Plz, you need it. Yeah, yeah, there I go being a dick again...
 
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