| Ideas for Fund-Raising Events There are as many
fundraising ideas as there are people;
from bake sales and car washes to a
community walk and everything in
between. The ideas are limitless.
Various groups
across the country often choose to host
an event during May, which is National
Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention
Month. However, NOF appreciates your
help any time of the year, so feel free
to plan your event at the time that
is most appropriate.
Here are a few
simple, small events to consider…
The Better Bones
Lunch Bunch. Encourage
everyone in your office to bring a brown
bag, bone-healthy lunch to work one day
a week for a month, then donate the
money they would have spent that day on
lunch to NOF. (You could also do this
in your home. Instead of meeting
friends out for lunch or dinner invite
them to bring a brown bag meal to your
home, and then donate what you would
have spent to NOF.)
Yard Sales.
Organize a multi-home yard sale in your
neighborhood and donate the proceeds to
NOF. With each sale, you can include a
Risk Factor Card to help your
patrons become more aware of
osteoporosis and the importance of
prevention.
Bake Sales.
Coordinate a bake sale at your church,
synagogue or community center to benefit
NOF. Include a
Risk Factor Card with each sale.
You may also want to sell
Stand Tall
Against Osteoporosis wristbands.
Business
Partnerships. Ask a popular local
restaurant to donate $1.00 for every
meal sold during May, National
Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention
Month. Belong to a local gym? Ask if
they’ll donate a percentage of every
membership sold during May. You may
also want to ask a popular local store
or salon/spa to donate a percentage of
one day’s revenue during the month of
May.
HINT: Think
about any businesses or organizations
that are especially interested in
reaching women – not only because they
are potential customers but also because
women are also most likely the family
decision maker when it comes to health
and home.
Thinking about
coordinating a Large event? What about….
Stand Tall and
Walk For Strong Bones. Regular
weight-bearing exercise, which works
your muscles and bones against gravity,
is important to preventing
osteoporosis. And one of the easiest
forms of weight-bearing exercise is
walking. That’s why a community walk
is an excellent way to raise awareness
and money for osteoporosis prevention!
Individuals and groups can join in the
fun by collecting donations based on how
far they intend to walk.
Start by finding
an easy walking route in your community
– maybe through town, at a park or even
at an area shopping mall. Contact your
city hall, parks and planning commission
or the management office of the shopping
mall or shopping plaza to discuss the
possibilities.
Once you settle on
a site and date, you can get local
businesses involved by offering event
sponsorship opportunities. Then work on
getting people in your community signed
up to walk.
Click here
for more information about Raising the
Money!
Silent Auction.
Osteoporosis is often referred to as the
“silent disease” because it has no
symptoms until the first fracture. Why
not hold a silent auction to raise money
and awareness? With each item “won”
include an osteoporosis information
packet, including a
Risk Factor Card,
Fast Facts on
Osteoporosis and
other great NOF items.
To plan an auction
the first thing you’ll need to do is
find a site. Sites can include the
social hall or room in a school, a place
of worship or an attractive lobby in a
local office building, a library, or a
museum.
Once the site and
date are secured, ask for donations of
items or services from area businesses,
individuals, service providers or
organizations. Anything can be
contributed – from gift certificates to
restaurants, stores or health clubs,
tickets to area sporting events or
theaters, or maybe one free consultation
from a local landscaper, architect or
accountant. The items are endless! Be
sure each contributor identifies the
value of the item, and then determine a
“starting bid” for each item (usually ½
the value).
To register for
bidding, each participant will write
his/her name, address and phone number
next to a bid number on the sign-in
forms. Participants will then write
their number on the bid sheet of the item(s) they are interested in. This
way, no one knows who is bidding on
what. At the end of the auction, the
highest bidders win! Tally the winning
numbers and announce the winners or
contact them within two days of the
event. As part of your auction, you may
want to sell food and drinks, which can
offer an outstanding sponsorship
opportunity for a local business,
bakery, caterer, pizza parlor or deli.
Click here
for more information about Raising the
Money!
House and Garden
Tours. Is there a neighborhood in
your town that features elegant private
homes and gardens or historic public
buildings that others would love to see
and learn more about? Schedule a
walking tour of these treasured venues.
Begin by
identifying homes, gardens and/or
historic buildings in your area to
approach with several dates. Try to
keep them within a reasonable distance
of one another so that visitors aren’t
driving too far out of their way.
Decide how many sites you want on the
tour then ask at least twice that many
sites to participate. Remember: there
will be date conflicts so you will need
to approach a number of sites before you
get one yes.
Once you have your
sites, dates and times selected, set a
ticket price – a price for visiting all
sites as well as a price for visiting
just one or two. You may have to
contact your city hall or county council
for parking and other permits. If your
city or town has public bus or trolley
service, consider the possibilities of
working with them to make getting from
one place to another even easier. This
offers a great
Event Sponsorship
Opportunity for area businesses!
Start promoting
your tour at least six weeks in
advance. With every ticket purchased,
include a
Risk Factor Card and
other great
information from NOF.
Community
Events. Other kinds of community
events could be a special event/activity
at your local gym. Golf and tennis
tournaments are also popular events that
bring together people to support a
cause. Contact the manager of your
local gym, golf or tennis club to find
out how to organize such an activity.
Click here
for more information about Raising the
Money!
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