It all started dressed in Camouflage. Huh?
What in the world do you mean?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked “Where
and how did this all start?” The
straight answer is – raising money for an animal that doesn’t even exist here –
Rocky Mountain Elk.
A long time ago (1992), in a land a land far far away (Missoula,
Montana) there is a charity (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) that raises money
to conserve and protect the land that Rocky Mountain Elk live on. That’s what they do – but that area is not
anywhere near Maryland. What does that
have to do with here? Nothing honestly.
What you should know is, I was a Maryland State
Trooper then. So don’t think I had time
to work full time planning a fundraiser.
I was just like you – working a full time job, living a full time life
with full time commitments.
Ok – now that you know where I started, the next
answer is – I was asked to help as a volunteer with a fundraiser. Long story short, I found that I was really
good at it – REALLY good, in fact, the best in the country. So good, it angered the people who actually
lived in the Elk range (where they live).
My committee was breaking national records in a tiny state.
Next – I started helping another charity called Delta
Waterfowl. I brought all
of my
experience and immediately knew to build a “Rockstar” committee. Now, there were problems with this charity
because no one even knew who they were.
The DelMarVa (Delaware, Maryland & Virginia) region is a Ducks
Unlimited territory. Ducks Unlimited supporters
are incredibly supportive and loyal. I’ve
seen people with their logo tattoos.
Now – here is what you have got to understand – Charity
Fundraising is EXTREMELY competitive!!!
No one knew who Delta Waterfowl was – there was zero
marketing here, zero brand identity, zero support. So how can we get a ton of people to support
a brand new waterfowl charity? – Host an incredible outdoor event, less about
the charity and more about the event.
It worked!!!
800 people and it broke all national records – What is the crazy thing
about this event was – it was from a brand new chapter of the charity in a
brand new area – it was the very first event!!!
The outdoor charities like the ones mentioned above
are fundraising machines. They truly
understand fundraising at the very highest level, much more than other
charities outside of the outdoor industry charities. Travel providers such as “Hunting Trip Outfitters
and Fishing Charters” are expected to donate.
So raising money in this area is very tough.
Success did not just mean the amount of money raised –
not at all. Success means selling memberships to the charity, raising awareness
and much more. One of the craziest
things we did with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation was – we sold a record
breaking amount of Life Memberships to the charity - $1,000.00 each at one
event – 33 - $33,000.00. Remember, its
Maryland.
Yes – having people who truly support the charity are
a major part of the equation. However,
create a huge, awesome fundraising event is the absolute key to the events
success – the charities success.
Also, the events MUST, ABSOLUTELY MUST, evolve/change
year to year. Not just the items, the
event must get bigger and better to keep people interested and telling their
friends. There must be building years
and then high profit years. It’s all
about the event.
The key to the success of your event is two fold –
build an incredible committee of Rockstar volunteers and plan an incredible
event built around the event, not just the charity.
From there, several years later, I decided to start a company based on my fundraising success, helping charities all over North America host successful fundraising events. Since that day, BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising has been extremely proud to have helped over 1,400 charities a year and raising well over $100,000,000 for charities. In fact, we stopped counting. Based on demand, we continue to grow and add new features to our services. Stay tuned as we continue to grow and help more and more.
If you would like to host an incredible charity
fundraising like the ones mentioned herein, please contact us today to get the
ball rolling and be a charity fundraising “Rockstar.”
BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American
Charity Fundraising leader in a convenient “One Stop Shop” setting. BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising can assist
you to plan, manage and host a charity fundraising event which will absolutely
excite everyone who attends and will begin to help you grow a level of support
that you would never believe. Contact us
today at www.BWUnlimited.com.
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