LLL in the USA WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK CELEBRATION
FUNDRAISING IDEAS
Walks/Runs
10 Ways To Expand Your Walk
by Elaine Pruitt, East Charlotte, NC
We all know that the World Walk for Breastfeeding is one of La Leche League's biggest events of the year. It's important! A crucial opportunity to strengthen the cause! We also know that in the yearly scheme of things, an approaching walk can seem like th e last thing you have energy for in the middle the summer heat. Lone leaders, especially, feel the extra effort required by the World Walk. Here are some ideas to help get the most walk success with the fewest additions to your current LLL schedule.
Emails
Add a spot for email addresses on your sign in sheet. Then use e-mails to keep mothers pumped up about coming to the walk (and later on, the Area Conference). Mark your calendar to send Walk date reminders along with your standard reminders about Planning and Enrichment Meetings, refreshments, returning library books and the like. This article in LEAVEN may also be helpful.
Visual Recognition
Wear Walk T-Shirts to Series Meetings. Put old walk buttons on your purse/bag or on top of your sign in clipboard. Display the new walk shirt at your meeting as soon as it arrives, encouraging moms to purchase them and mark their calendar early for the w alk. The shirts create a "uniform," a sense of belonging to the group. This personal ownership leads to more memberships, greater meeting involvement and drive for fundraising.
Combine With Other Groups
More participants lighten the preparation load, give you a chance to reconnect with fellow Leaders and introduce your group members to the larger family aspect of LLL. Larger groups also make additional activities possible. Silent auctions, highest money- raiser competitions, and door prizes all work better with large numbers.
Festival Event Atmosphere
Make your walk more than just a lap around the park. Have a potluck afterward. Ask a talented parent to paint faces or twist balloon animals. Have a Group member plan a simple game (bean bags, bubbles, etc.) for the children. Bringing the family to a fund raiser seems more manageable when children's activities are planned. A portable radio or compact disc player with upbeat music is nice too. Use a children's tape player with a microphone to make announcements for a PA system feel.
Highlight Walk Benefits OTHER Than Money Raising
This is a prime opportunity for fathers to meet each other and help"normalize" what to them can be a challenging new lifestyle ("those guys and their kids look ok, maybe we aren't so weird"). Have a flier outlining LLLI's activities around the world, the Peer Counselor Program, etc. - the big picture. Give mothers the opportunity to plug into LLL as a cause and reap the rewards of belonging and serving.
Walk P&E
Schedule a Planning & Evaluation meeting six to eight weeks prior to the Walk that is specifically for Walk preparation. Ask members to bring their address books. The group could provide envelopes and stamps or ask members to bring them. You bring lots of copies of a pre-approved pledge solicitation letter (available from the author, see letter pack information below). During the meeting, women personalize the form letters with a note, address and stuff them. You may have copies of info sheets titled LLL: Who We Are And What We Do and Did You Know Breastfeeding Makes A Difference (also in letter pack) to add to letters and to boost the walker's sense of purpose. Meanwhile, you pass out pledge sheets, give tips on getting pledges and role-play it with each mother.
Try Doctors Offices, Honest!
Encourage mothers to send the letter to their obstetricians, pediatricians and family physicians. When I heard that a leader had success with her doctor, I tried it. As I sat on my skeptical haunches, I received two $100 pledges! No in-person solicitation or follow-up calls required. You may also offer pledge premiums for donations of certain amounts - $100 gets a subscription to NEW BEGINNINGS for their waiting room, $200 gets a copy of the BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK or Medications and Mother's Milk, by Dr. Thomas Hale. Imagine what would happen if we got these resources in even one quarter of the offices in town! NOTE: The earlier in the year that a practice receives such a request, the more likely it is to be granted.
Offer Incentives
Offer a Kiwanis Breastfeeding poster (LLLI Catalog Item 246-16, $1.83 each when purchased in groups of 3) to each walker raising over $20 or $25 dollars [webmaster's note, these are on sale until all are sold, so act fast]. The walker can then donate the poster to her OB/GYN or Peds office on her next visit for display to other patients. This creates a doable small first goal, gets the information into the community, and builds the walker's sense of accomplishment in supporting the cause. Offer a prize for the top money raiser and publicize it in advance (dinner for two at a local restaurant or passes to a children's attraction).
Get Incentives for Little or Nothing
You would be amazed at the donations that the Group mothers have access to that they don't even realize are there. Ask the members what business connections they or their partner have, and if they would feel comfortable seeking a tax-deductible donation. A list of likely donation sources and a donation request letter are included the letter packet. If they feel timid, you or a co-leader might pursue the donation using them as a reference.
Use Prepared Resources - Letter Pack
As Area Donations Chair, I have a host of approved resources that are just an email or phone request away. In addition to the Pledge Letter, Information Sheets, Donation Source List, and Donation Request Letter mentioned above, I have a Book Display Letter (to get a bookstore to make a special display for World Breast Feeding Week), a Donor Thank You Letter, a Donor Record Form (keeps track of donation contacts for future use) and Fundraising Notes (tips and techniques for successful fundraising that I c omposed for use in an LDS session). Contact the appropriate Leader in your Area to see if she can provide you with a list of the resources you want. And as many of you know, there are even more resources available in the Walk section of the LLL Web site and on this site.
I hope that a few of these ideas will work well in your Group's Walk plan. As we say in meetings, take what you can use and leave the rest. Best wishes for a wonderful walk!
