AIDS Walk Fundraising: Part II

As I said in a prior post, people respond to a sense of urgency: deadlines get people to give. We saw this in practice when we announced to our contact list on Monday that Reprise needed eleven new Team Members to join us in AIDS Walk 2009 by today, October 7, in order to get a designated sign-in booth.

Emails poured in announcing that new members had joined our team, and we made the 25 member requirement yesterday. This is a great lesson to me and I'll continue to apply it to my other fundraising -- my work as a theatre Development Director. We currently have a campaign to raise $100,000 by December 31, 2009 and in the New Year I will compare whether having a goal and a deadline ended in more money raised than we have seen during this time period in prior years. And another question is this -- do deadlines and goals work because they motivate others to give, or is it because they motivate the goal/deadline-setter to work harder to acheive said goal/deadline?


We are getting close to AIDS Walk Los Angeles (October 18, 2009) but there is still time to raise money if you have your own team! Below is an email I sent to my friends and family; feel free to use it for your own fundraising.


Hi everyone,

I’m raising money in support of AIDS Walk Los Angeles this year. If you’d like to help support the cause, your donation would be so appreciated. Even $5 or $10 adds up so anything you can contribute is terrific! Thank you so much in advance.

The funds we raise will support AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), in addition to several other local AIDS service organizations. These organizations help people dealing with this disease who must make unimaginable choices on a daily basis, like whether to buy medicine versus food. A $10 gift can help a person buy some food, or maybe $25 can help towards a doctor visit.


If you want to make a donation online, go to www.aidswalk.net/losangeles and click on sponsor a walker.

The website can only take donations of $25 and above, but you can donate ANY amount by writing a check to AIDS Walk Los Angeles and sending it to:

[YOUR ADDRESS]

Donations are 100% tax-deductible. Thank you for your support, from me and also from everyone who’s life will be touched by your generosity!

Love, Christine

PS: I am the Team Captain for my office’s team this year. If you want to walk with us, contact me! The walk takes place on Sunday, October 18 in West Hollywood from 10am until you’re done with the 10k.