To help inspire your Multiple System Atrophy fundraising efforts this Holiday season, the MSA Coalition has compiled a list of very practical fundraising tips that make it easy and simple to be successful!
Important Dates to Know:
The Crowdrise Holiday Challenge runs from Nov. 28, 2017 – Jan. 3, 2018.
November 28, 2017 is #GivingTuesday (The most important giving day of the year!)
Step 1: Set Up Your 2017 Holiday Hope for a Cure Fundraising Page
Click on the above link and select the purple button that states “Join The Team & Create Your Own Fundraiser.”
Create a Crowdrise account or sign in to your existing account (if you have donated or raised money on Crowdrise before.)
Click the purple “Join the Team” button in the pop up field.
Go to your email inbox where you will get an email from Crowdrise. Read their three tips and click on the orange “START CROWDRISING” button.
Agree to the terms. You will now be on your own personal MSA Coalition Holiday Hope for a Cure fundraising portal.
Step 2: Personalize Your “Holiday Hope for a Cure” Crowdrise Page
Customize your page. We highly recommend customizing your page. If you don’t edit your page the default is the MSA Coalition’s content from our master Holiday Hope for A Cure page, It is good, but your personal story will have more impact with your network.
Near the top of your Crowdrise portal select “Edit Fundraiser”
Upload pictures that help show your MSA story.
If you have a video that tells your MSA story add a YouTube or Vimeo URL link so people can view your video.
Set a realistic and achievable goal for the amount you want to raise.
For most fundraisers $500 to $1,000 is very reasonable and achievable. Our average fundraiser in past CrowdRise Holiday Challenges raised $1,600 – but, most of our fundraisers have raised under $1,000. Even if you only raise $100 or less your efforts will be appreciated!
Tell your personal MSA story with as much emotion and passion as possible. Upload your own pictures and be sure they appear first when your page is opened. If you include a short video to tell your story this is even better! Not only will your story help you raise money, but it will also spread awareness about Multiple System Atrophy. It shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes to get set up.
View your finished fundraising page. On the left side of your portal you will see a navigation option – “View.” Click on the link and you will be taken to your actual page.
Review your finished page. If you spot any typos or want to make changes you can go back to your portal and go to edits. If you are happy with your page, you have one last step before you share it with your contacts….
Be the first person to donate to your own fundraiser. If you don’t donate to your own fundraiser can you really expect your contacts to donate? Donate, even if it’s just $10 and don’t share your fundraiser page until your donation is posted.
Don’t start fundraising until #GivingTuesday
Put a note in your calendar as a reminder for November 28, 2017.
Start your day on November 28 by posting your fundraiser on Facebook and sending your fundraising URL to everybody you know via email.
Send an email reminder 2-3 times during the day on #GivingTuesday.
Step 3: Share! Share! Share! Start Raising Money
At the bottom of your live fundraising page you will see sharing buttons for Facebook and Twitter. There is also a “Share” button where you will find the URL link to your fundraising page.
The three easiest ways to spread the word and ask for donations are:
EMAIL your personal fundraiser page link with a personal note to everyone in your contact list.
SHARE your personal fundraiser link on all of your social media accounts, especially Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The knock-it-out-of-the-park tactic: Call your best contacts and talk to them about your fundraiser and ask them for a donation. Follow up the call with a personal thank you email that includes the link to your fundraiser.
Be sure to ask everybody you know to contribute and be sure they know the story as to why you are fundraising. Emotion and passion will move your contacts to action.
Family
Friends
Neighbors
Church members
Social groups
Work colleagues
Classmates
And more!
Be Persistent! Ask more than one time, or even two times. Just because your email went unanswered doesn’t mean your friends aren’t interested in helping. The holidays are a busy time of the year and people are swamped with all those emails about holiday deals. Send an email each week making the ask for a donation to help keep your fundraiser top of mind. Post it to your social pages every few days. Your friends will appreciate the reminders.
Don’t fundraise alone. Recruit your family members and closest friends to spread the word about your fundraiser to their contacts.
Host a Holiday fundraiser party. In lieu of hostess gifts or wine ask your guests for a donation to your fundraiser. Remember to include your fundraiser information in the invitation. You can also have a laptop out with your fundraising page open.
6. Be sure to let everyone know their tax-deductible gift will be matched dollar for dollar until we surpass our matching gift pledges. (The final matching pledge total will be available on the MSA Coalition’s 2017 Holiday Hope for a Cure Crowdrise page.)
If you want to have the biggest impact possible in the quest to find better diagnostic tools, treatments and hopefully a cure for multiple system atrophy #GivingTuesday (November 28, 2017) is the most important day of the year!
100% of every dollar raised, matched, and won on #GivingTuesday will go directly into the MSA Coalition Research Grant Program! If you help us fundraise the total could reach $200,000 or more!
Don’t stay on the sidelines during this critical day!
Read on to learn more….
History of Giving Tuesday
#GivingTuesday has been celebrated each year since 2012, on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the U.S.). It symbolizes the start of the Holiday giving season, which for most charities represents the time of the year when the biggest portion of their donations are received. The MSA Coalition has participated each year through its partnership with the CrowdRise Holiday Challenge. Last year the MSA Coalition raised more than 10% of its total revenue for the year on #GivingTuesday.
The CrowdRise Holiday Challenge, A Great Event For MSA
This year’s CrowdRise Holiday Challenge runs from November 21 – January 3, 2018. It is being
Join The MSA COalition’s 2017 Holiday Hope For A Cure Team
sponsored by the Newman’s Own Foundation and is offering $500,000 in prize money to the top charities. The winner of the 6-week challenge will receive $150,000 and the top 10 causes will receive prize money. There are also bonus prizes throughout the Challenge with another $100,000 being distributed. Plus, there are separate prizes for #GivingTuesday totaling another $100,000. The top 3 causes will receive grand prizes.
Who wants to see a significant portion of these awards coming into the MSA Coalition for research, education and awareness initiatives?
If you are saying “Me! Me! Me!” read on…
Why the MSA Coalition Needs You on Giving Tuesday
We all know multiple system atrophy is a very rare and little known disease. Because of this it is very difficult to motivate outsiders to give to the MSA cause, let alone to fundraise. Grass roots, at least for now, is our single most effective way to raise money. That means, we need YOU to participate.
Last year (2016), the MSA Coalition had 100 families actively participate in the CrowdRise Holiday Challenge. On Giving Tuesday we raised just over $90,000, which was good enough for third place for the day. Unfortunately, two other charities did better and the Coalition did not win any of the prize money for the day. On the bright side, The MSA Coalition maintained its third place status throughout the CrowdRise Holiday Challenge and in the end secured the Third Place prize of $25,000 which was added on to the Challenge total of over $300,000 raised for MSA.
That’s right, with just 100 families participating the MSA Coalition raised over $300,000 dollars in 6 weeks and added another $25,000 in prize money to that total. Imagine what we could do if 200 families participated! What about 300, 400 or even 500!This is why we need you!
1: Sign Up to Help Us Raise and Win Money This Holiday Season
Joining our team is easy and will only take a few minutes
2: Like and Follow The MSA Coalition’s Facebook Page for Volunteers
Don’t fundraise alone! Become a part of the MSA Coalition team of fundraising volunteers. We
Diane & Elaine Offer Hope & Advocacy for those with MSA
will post lots of great tips, updates and key dates to help make your fundraiser a success! Likewise, share your ideas, questions and success stories to help the whole team become better!
How to Set Up a CrowdRise Holiday Challenge Fundraiser
Tips on Fundraising Easily and Successfully
Success Stories From Other MSA fundraisers
Alerts About Key Fundraising Dates and Bonus Challenges
Fundraising Updates
If you are on the fence or nervous about fundraising, sign up for our newsletter and select the Holiday Challenge under fundraising as an interest. It is not a commitment to fundraise, it is only a commitment to learn more!
The official color of multiple system atrophy awareness is purple. As such, we want to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Prince’s Purple Rain album, while generating greater awareness for MSA.
Start a #MSAPurpleRain Challenge on CrowdRise
The MSA Purple Rain Challenge (#MSAPurpleRain)is simple:
Oops, don’t forget to turn on your video camera (a smart phone works, too.)
Post your videos on social media sites and use the hash tag: #MSAPurpleRain
“Let’s Get Crazy” for MSA Awareness and Raise Money, Too!
“Purple” is the color of the sky at dawn, blurring blue and red, a time of transition mixing the dreary with the sublime. “Rain” can represent sadness (and tears), life’s troubles, or fears…but it can also represent a type of cleansing and clarity. Multiple system atrophy patients and families go through this range of emotions every day. That’s why, this summer, we want to see all of you out dancing in the purple rain!
Can you imagine how much silliness and fun we can all have while helping raise funds and bringing greater awareness to Multiple System Atrophy?!
Who knows?
We might just get a gem or two in the form of a video, that goes viral and does wonders to help generate awareness for this rare disease! At the very least, this worldwide Purple Rain tribute to MSA will be a blast and help us #DefeatMSA!
The MSA Purple Rain Challenge Ask:
Choose to make a video and post it using #MSAPurpleRain – Donate just $10
or
Pass on making a video – We ask for a $100 donation
In your video and in your social media posts asks others to take the challenge.
Disclaimer: As copying is the sincerest form of flattery, we thank the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge for helping to inspire ideas around our own original idea to create MSA awareness and sell tee-shirts using the Purple Rain theme.
