Fitness

For the love of these Team crazies who get up at the crack of dawn to run for the cause each Saturday, let's do this right.

I have a really hard time asking anyone for anything. I’ve always been a self-sufficient, fend-for-myself kind of person, which is why fundraising for Team in Training has always been a challenge. Don’t get me wrong: you’ve all been very generous about supporting me and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission. But first I have to ask. Asking is hard.

Naturally, I must be slightly deranged to put myself in a position where I have to do twice as much asking. You see, this year, I’ve decided to do a raffle as a fundraiser. This means that first I have to ask companies for donations, and then I have to ask individuals to donate by purchasing raffle tickets.

Want to add an extra layer of complexity? I have the genius idea that the raffle should feature goods, services and gift cards that aren’t geographically limited. Sure, I could get donations from the local restaurant downtown, but that means that only donors within a 20-mile radius would really get any benefit from it. And ideally, I’d love for all of the donations to fit in with the theme of health or wellness or healthy living.

Yes, I know: I’m crazy. But wouldn’t that be awesome?

I can’t yet disclose my slowly growing list of corporate donors, but once I reach a level of critical mass I’ll start publicizing this to my nationwide audience of blog readers, Twitter followers and Facebook friends. So far, though, I’ve gotten commitments from a few excellent authors; purveyors of delicious coffee; and an artist who makes handmade jewelry.

If you or your company would like to be a donor/sponsor, please send me a message at alisa at whatwouldbettydo dot com. I can provide you with a confirmation letter for IRS purposes, lest the tax man come and give you a hard time about helping the cause. And mind you, I won’t turn down your hard-earned cash if you’d like to donate that way.

What kind of raffle prizes would you like to see? Let me know in the comments.

Tags: donation, fundraising, leukemia, lls, lymphoma, raffle, team in training, tnt

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