Fundraising GUIDE

1. Get Ready and Get Registered

Boys to Men NorCal provides you with a fantastic fundraising experience that gives you a personal fundraising page and promotion tools. 

Register: If you haven't registered yet, visit the REGISTRATION PAGE and follow the directions.

Check your email: You will receive a welcome email titled "Boys To Men Winter Fundraiser & Giveback - Online Registration Confirmation"

Find and bookmark the link to your personal fundraiser page: In the welcome email you will find a link to your personal fundraiser page. It can also be found under the "My Fundraising Tools" tab. If you copy the link from your browsers URL, make sure it is a working link before you send it out. It is a good idea to test all links berfore sending.


2. Lead the Way

Now that you're registered as a fundraiser, it's time to take your first steps as a fundraiser and gather some donations!

Sign in to your Fundraising Dashboard: Open your personal fundraising page and use the "Log in" link in the top right to sign in. This will take you to your personal fundraising dashboard.

Optionally customize your fundraising page: Your fundraising dashboard allows you to edit your personal fundraising page (Click 'Edit my page' and then find the gear icon to edit a section).

3. Reach out to your Personal Network

Reach out to your network: You will reach out to your contacts with a personal message about supporting Boys To Men Mentoring. You may lead with a conversation, a link to the video or your personal campaign page. See #4 below for a list of methods on how to make first contact with your personal network. No matter the method, you will almost always have to make a follow-up call for a donation to occur.

Follow up: After your initial contact and sending them a link to the video or your campaign page you will need to follow up with a call to ask if they watched the video? If they have not, ask them to take three and a half minutes right now to watch it and you will call them back. Call them back in 4 minutes, tell them why you support B2M Mentoring, then ask: Can I count on you to make a tax deductible donation to support at-risk youth mentoring and provide needed items and groceries for low-income single parent families? Then send them the link to your campaign page if you haven't already.

They have limited funds: Tell them you understand and that a contribution at any level, even $2 is a vote of support for B2M Mentoring. When starting new programs it is good for administrators to know that the community supports the program. Anybody can forgo one coffee in a month and contribute at least $2.

They want more info: If they need more info, you can let them know there is a link to the B2M website on your campaign page or send them a direct link to the B2M NorCal website. www.BoysToMenNorCal.org

Zoom-A-Thons: Fundraising is more fun together. Schedule times each week for fundraisers to get together with Boys to Men staff on Zoom and make calls. Zoom-A-Thons are inspiring and are for supporting you in making calls. It is highly effective to have a consistant time each day or week to make calls. Boys To Men Staff can be on these Zooms to offer support and answer fundraising questions. Visit our Campaign Info page for a list of Zoom Links and Times: CAMPAIGN INFO

Fundraising Buddies: You can buddy up with one or more fundraisers. Set a regular time to make calls. Check in at the beginning and at the end. Send each other text updates throughout the designated call time, like, "I just received a $500 donation!." Fundraising with others is fun and can exponentiate results.

4. Make it your own

Fundraising is a personal experience, and what's important is you find a method that feels right for you. Consider some of the following options.

How you communicate with your personal network is up to you, but we find if people watch the video they are more likely to donate.  

Lead with Your Fundraising Page Link: Email or text your campaign page link to your contacts with a personal message asking them to watch the 3.5 minute B2M video that appears on your page.

Lead with a Conversation: Simply call your contact and tell them you are volunteering for a fantastic organization that is changing the lives of teen boys. Tell them you would like them to take three and a half minutes to watch an amazing video and that you will call them right back. Get off the phone, send them the link to the video and call them back in 4 minutes to follow-up, ask for a donation and send them the link to your campaign page.

Lead with the Campaign Video: Consider sending just the video link by itself wiht a message asking them to watch the 3.5 minute video and that you will be reaching out to them later to talk about it. Have the follow-up conversation and then send them the link to your fundraising page so they can donate. 

Lead with a Color Flyer (like the one at the top of this page): You can lead with an electronic version of the flyer or a hard copy of the flyer you hand to someone (full size or 5"x7" versions). Text and email the campaign flyer to your contacts with a personal message asking them to check out the your page and watch the video. Make sure you mention that you will be calling them soon to talk about it. If texting, remember you cannot open a QR Code from a text with the phone it was sent to. So you will need to additionally send a direct link to your fundraising page with the flyer image.

Get a copy of the COLOR FLYER with your name and personal campaign page QR code on it.  We can send you a JPG for texting as well as a PDF for email and printing. If you like 4x5 handouts, we can send you a 4 to a page version that you can print and cut out. Send your request to: Christopher.Love@BoysToMenNorCal.org   

5. Multiply your Reach

Consider asking people if they would be willing to send your personal fundraising page link to their contacts and/or post it on their social media. If yes, make sure you send them a fresh link to share. 

You may want to ask certain members of your network if they would like to fundraise with you. After they have reviewed our materials and want to join the campaign they can register just like you did. Send them the REGISTRATION page link and follow up with the Fundraising Guide Link (this page) and then the CAMPAIGN INFO page link. 

6. Remember the Cause!

Last and most importantly, remember what an important cause you are supporting!  Thousands of boys and young men are missing this life saving program and will be thrilled when it enters their school. If you remember how important our work is,  and reach out in that spirit, people will respond positively, even if they they will not contribute. 

Get their support, even if they can't or don't want to contribute financially: If someone says they already have a charity they give to or that they can't make a contribution due to financial reasons, tell them that donating is not just about the money, it is about the cause. The number of contributors, not the amount of each donation, tangibly increases the statistic of how many people in the community support having Boys To Men Mentoring Programs for at-risk youth in our schools. Ask them if they would be willig to show their support for the program by donating $2. Most anyone can do this.

Good luck!

If you need any help, don't hesitate to reach out to us: Connect@BoysToMenNorCal.org