Fundraising Tools and Tips 

                           Recruit Friends, Family and Co-workers to Join your Team 

• Explain to people why you walk.  What purpose drives you to walk and raise funds for mesothelioma?  Do you know someone who had it or who is currently battling it?  Do you want to bring greater awareness to this disease?  Are you an ardent supporter of veterans and see how mesothelioma affects a disproportionate number of vets and want to do something about it?  Or are you someone who sees the strides PMC has made in its research and want to raise money so that this research can reach greater heights? Whatever your reason for walking, SHARE IT!  Potential donors will be most swayed by your message so make sure they know why you are walking 

• Recruit:  Ask family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and classmates to join you at the walk in October.  In addition, ask family members or friends with children in college/high school to recruit their friends to join the walk. If you have participated in the walk before set a goal for yourself of recruiting two new individuals for your team that do not know about the Pacific Mesothelioma Center.  The more people know about PMC, the greater awareness is brought to the cause 

• How do you recruit?  Send out an email to all of the contacts in your address book.  Give a brief snapshot of the PMC, detail why you walk, and make the appeal to others to join you 

                 Team Recruitment and Fundraising Timeline

• Send out your first email.  Recruit people to walk with you, if not walk than help you by donating money.  Ask them to share your message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram

• Post on social media about the walk and appeal to your followers to join you or donate to the cause.  Remember to share your reason for walking.  Let people connect to your message so that they want to help you 

• Write letters and call friends and families to donate:  There are certain individuals who respond to a personalized approach.  Call or send a handwritten note asking them to join you or donate 

• Ask local businesses to sponsor you or distribute flyers at their location

• Keep people updated with your progress by once a week posting on Facebook about the walk

• Two weeks before the walk call and email friends and family for a second appeal. Reiterate why you are walking and the importance of our mission.

We greatly appreciate your interest in holding a Third Party Event with the Pacific Heart Lung & Blood Institute as your beneficiary! Before getting started on what we’ll need from you as an organizer, we want to remind you what we can do for you.

• If you’re struggling to come up with a great fundraising event idea, don’t be shy! Feel free to contact us by phone or e-mail so we can help you. We can also provide information about previous fundraisers that people have held for PHLBI so you can see how to get started.

• We are happy to provide acknowledgment letters to any donors who have donated directly to the organization.

• PHLBI is able to provide you with necessities such as a third party event flyer or letter and a template for sponsorships.

• When it comes to getting the word out, we are more than willing to help promote the event by reaching out to our local community through e-mail.

• Lastly, we will provide a representative from PHLBI to speak at your event and even provide a short presentation of the organization's goals as a thank you to the Third Party Event Organizers.         

Getting started…

• The Third Party Event Organizers must get the fundraiser approved by the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute prior to the planning of the event.
• If approved, all Third Party Event organizers must sign and turn in the Third Party Event Fundraising Agreement to the Institute.

Once approved…

• The Third Party Event organizers are fully responsible for planning and executing the event in all aspects, including expenses.
• The Third Party Event organizers fully understand that the tax-exempt status of organization cannot be used when making purchases for the event.
• The Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute is unable to provide information such as donor lists due to confidentiality reasons.
• The Third Party Event organizers agree to obey all federal, state, and local regulations and laws while organizing and executing the event.
• Before, during, and after the event, the Third Party Event organizers do not have permission to claim the event is sponsored by or held at the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. This holds if there is any liability or damage during the event the organization has no liability.
• In the occurrence of the event being postponed or canceled, the Third Party Event organizers will advise the organization promptly.
• The Third Party Event organizers understand that the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute holds the right to refuse affiliation with whomever if it deems that the relationship could have a negative effect on the organization.
• The Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute reserves the right to exterminate its agreement with a fundraiser, at its discretion.

Learn more information about hosting a third party event for PMC here.  

Recommended Restaurants:

In the event that you would like to hold a restaurant fundraiser, below is a list of various restaurants that are willing to donate back 20-25% of the proceeds on any given date. For more options, click the link below.

Miguel's Jr. Restaurants

141 East 17th St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (25%)

El Segundo Fish Co.

210 E. Grand Ave., El Segundo, CA 90245 (20%)

Rustic Kitchen Market & Cafe

3523 S. Centinela Ave., West Los Angeles, CA 90066 (20%)

                                    Five Easy Ways to Raise $150

1. Ask five people that you feel the most confident would donate to your cause for $30 each.
2. Have a Garage Sale
3. Offer to cook a meal or do a drawing for friends, family members, and colleagues if they make a donation
4. Have a book sale.
5. Ask friends on social media platforms to donate $10, then you just need 15 friends to donate  

                                     Seven Ways to Raise $500

1. Ask three family members for $25
2. Sponsor yourself for $25
3. Ask 5 friends for $15
4. Ask five co-workers to sponsor you for $10. (also ask your company if they match charitable donations)
5. Email 15 contacts and ask for a $10 donation
6. Ask two businesses you frequent for a $25 donation
7. Ask your company for a $75 donation     

  More Ways to Raise Money...

• Restaurant: Contact your local restaurants and see if they’d be interested in holding a fundraiser! Generally speaking restaurants would still receive a portion of the funds raised but this is a great way to get a large group of people together to raise money!
• Bowling: Ask your local bowling alley if they’d be willing to hold a bowling night for a fundraiser and make an entry fee for attendees. If you want to try something new, see if you can do an overnight bowling session!
• GoFundMe: Create a GoFundMe page as an easy way to ask and spread the message of donating to friends and family!
• Birthday Fundraising: Forgo gifts and ask your friends and family to donate money to your cause instead!
• Sports Tournament: Create a sign-up sheet online and urge people in your community to sign up and create teams. Each team will pay a small fee to participate and the winner will receive a prize!
• Fundraiser Challenge: Challenge your friends to a friendly fundraising challenge. You can contact local restaurants and businesses to help out!
• Bake Sale: Bake some of your favorite desserts and set up a booth to sell them. Use all of the proceeds towards your walk money.
• Lemonade Stand: Make some fresh squeezed lemonade on a hot day. Set up a stand and sell it to people passing by.
• Book Swap: Get together with your fellow book enthusiasts and plan a book swap where you charge just a small amount to participate or a small amount per book exchanged!
• Pool Party: Contact your local community pool or club pool and hold a pool party for a small price! Customize it with food, decorations, and pool toys!
• Host a concert: Find a local band or even a few local bands and see if they’d want to host a benefit concert. Live music is always a great way to raise money! You could even offer food to create more donations.
• Movie night: Create a movie night with your friends and family and create a small entry fee and/or concessions for a small price!
• Obstacle course: Create an obstacle course with your friends, school, or coworkers and gather a crowd with a small entry fee and/or sponsorships.
• Viral Challenge: Challenge your friends and neighbors doing something fun and exciting, similar to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge! If they don't accept the challenge, then they have to make a small donation. This is a fun and easy way to challenge your friends while raising money.
• Board Game Tournament: Create a board game tournament by getting together a group of people to be participants and create an entry fee. You could also ask around to local businesses for prize donations or just general donations
• Phone a thon: Get a group of volunteers together and grab your local phone book to call local businesses for general donations!
• Fantasy football: If you're an avid football fan, create a fantasy football team and place bets throughout the season.
• Chilli Cook Off: Make a team-based or individual-based chili cook-off for your neighborhood and even workplaces! Create an entry fee and provide some kind of gift for the winners of the cook-off.
• Corn Hole Tournament: If the weather is nice, organize a cornhole tournament where everyone taking part in it has to pay a small entry fee and the winners receive a small prize.
• Project Crowdfunding: Create a small or large project that helps your community/cause and raise money by creating a crowdfunding page. This is a great way to get involved in your community while raising money for a great cause.
• Applebee's Pancake Breakfast: Applebee's with host a pancake breakfast for your nonprofit or charity! Decide your ticket price while keeping in mind that Applebee's takes $3 per person to cover the cost of food! This still allows you to keep about 70% of the funds.
• Giving Tree: Get together with people from your neighborhood, school, or workplace and pick a designated spot for the giving tree. This is a fun way to create a space for people to donate...in style!!!
• Yankee Candle Fundraiser: The Yankee Candle Fundraiser is a fun and simple way for your fundraiser to fund itself! Head over to the website’s fundraising page! You get a $10 profit with each candle you sell, which is a 40% profit for your cause.
• Restaurant.com: You can sell discounted restaurant vouchers with the proceeds going to your nonprofit through this website!
• Apparel Sale: Set up a clothing drive by hanging up flyers and asking friends and family to donate old clothes. Sell the collected old clothes at consignment stores for cash or set up a yard sale.
• Trivia Night: Organize a Trivia Night by selecting a large venue and a 3-hour time slot. Promote your event through social media, word of mouth, email blasts, etc. Have people create groups of 5 and charge $50 as a sign-up. Create trivia questions and pick someone to MC. Get donations to raffle off and as prizes.
• Talent show: Gather talented friends and family members to help perform at a Talent show. Charge an entrance fee and sell drinks and snacks to attendees.
• Car wash: Make your own car wash at your local school or just a neighborhood parking lot. Ask for volunteers to donate supplies like sponges and soap and charge a small amount per car.
• Used book sale: Create a used book sale by collecting old donated books from libraries, friends, and neighbors, and charge a few dollars per book. Or, if you have a local community center and can set up the books in a large room, you could charge an entry fee!