Fundraising Tips

Start early

The earlier you start fundraising, the more money you will raise. Although it’s never “too late” – the more time you have to ramp up your fundraising efforts, the better. Get an early start on getting organized (create lists, develop a schedule, customize emails). By getting a head start, you’ll have a longer window to solicit donors.

Set a challenging but attainable fundraising goal

As you come close to reaching your goal, it should be set higher. The idea is to avoid a situation in which prospective donors decide not to donate because your goal has already been reached! You might end up increasing your goal multiple times for the duration of your fundraising.

Don’t limit yourself to your email address book

You have many more potential donors! Names from clubs or organizations you belong to (e.g. a running club, church congregation) should be added to the list. Reach out to anyone who might donate – you will be surprised by who will make a donation (don’t make the decision for someone else by not asking). Remember offline address books too – holiday card lists or rolodexes are a great source for prospects.

Customize your emails

We provide email templates in the participant centre that you can use to solicit donations from friends, family and colleagues. To maximize donations, customize this template to include your own personal story – you voice, how you’re using your passion for hockey to help the homeless. Ideally, your email should communicate the following:

• Why you are participating in the tournament
• Why Hockey Helps the Homeless is important to you
• What the money supports (local outreach partners)
• How their donation will help (visit our website for ideas)
• A link to your personal fundraising page!

Get Organized

With a start date (the day you register for the tournament) and an end date (the day of the event), you can create a detailed fundraising schedule for the days, weeks, or months to come. Creating and following a schedule requires some discipline, but the efforts will yield the desired results. Here’s a sample schedule:

Week # 8: Send an email explaining that you will be participating in a Hockey Helps the Homeless Tournament and why the cause is important.

Week # 7: Share your personal fundraising goal and ask for their support. Share the link to your personal page.

Week # 6: Update everyone on your progress to your goal; give people step-by-step instructions on how to sponsor you (by using their credit card online).

Week #5: If you know people who are unable to contribute financially, invite them to fundraise with you. Encourage them to register to fundraise for the event and share your tips and hints.

Week #4: Provide an update on your current progress to your goal; if you’ve already exceeded your initial goal, announce your ‘amended’ goal (due to the generosity of your family and friends you’ve been able to increase your initial goal to $X.XX – providing more money in support of ending homelessness in Canada; thank you so much for your support).

Week #3: Remind everyone that the tournament is coming up quickly – you only have 3 weeks to achieve your goal.

Week #2: If you’ve met your initial or revised goals announce your current goal – remind everyone why you’re asking – that there are between 150,000 and 300,000 homeless people in Canada, with youth and young families making up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population – despite the fact Canada ranks as one of the top 20 wealthiest nations.

Week #1:  If you haven’t met your goal, remind people that the event is 1 week away and that it isn’t ‘too late’ to make a donation – that your webpage will remain active for several weeks after the tournament. Thank everyone for their support.

Add social media to the mix

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites are a great way to increase donations. By using status updates and tweets about Hockey Helps the Homeless or your fundraising progress, with links to your fund raising page, you can subtly encourage followers to make a donation. Social media is a great way to stay in front of people without making a ‘hard ask.’ Thank individuals who have donated and ask everyone else to donate now.

Get creative

There are an infinite number of ways to encourage people to donate. You can add a link to your fund raising page in your email signature, or create business cards with the URL to your personal page, to share with people who express an interest.

Send a personalized thank you note

After the event is over and donations have stopped trickling in, reach out to donors and thank them again for their generosity. The thank you note should include information about the event, the amount you raised, and a reminder of how the donor’s contribution will help support those who are less fortunate in your community. Donor’s will be more likely to contribute to next year’s tournament if they feel that their donation was appreciated and valuable.