We're going to Relay in a little over two weeks... it's hard to believe!

 

I described the "Recent FUNdraisers" Greeting page section in my previous post, so this is probably a good time for a few thoughts about fundraisers. I seems to me that promoting fundraisers to the public and to the teams is a key function of the Relay web site, especially during the extended fundraising period leading up to the Relay event (I think I called this the third phase in an earlier post). Because of their importance, I try to promote each fundraiser in four ways: on the Nav Bar, on the Calendar, on the main canvas, and via email.

 

First, as soon as I learn of a fundraiser and get the basic info, it gets an entry under the "Fundraisers" section on the Nav Bar. I arrange entries in descending order by date, and only remove it once the fundraising event has occurred. I also create an entry for it on the Google Calendar, if the team captain has not already done so.

 

Next, as each fundraiser approaches and falls within the two-week horizon, it appears in the "Coming Up!" section on the main canvas, along with a link to more detailed information. This entry will eventually bubble up to the top, and I remove it as soon as the event has passed. In this way, the top entry in this section is always the next event that will occur.

 

Finally, I use Convio's "Coaching Emails" facility to generate a "reminder" email that goes out on the day prior to each fundraiser. I have been sending these to all participants and registered survivors. The email gives the date/time, team name(s) executing the fundraiser, and a short description of the event. Rather than provide all the details for each fundraiser included (sometimes there are more than one fundraiser happening on a day), the email directs the reader to our web site and provides the link for convenience. To avoid the appearance of favoritism, each email is formatted the same... same font, same colors, same style. I have found Convio's email scheduling function to be useful for these... that way I don't have to remember to send out the emails exactly on the day before each event.

 

Getting the necessary event info has been hit and miss. Some teams provide everything needed: date, time, location, teams participating, contact info, and a description of what's happening (car wash, pancake dinner, silent auction, etc.). I also like to see the URL of our web site on there. Some teams also include prices and other details, as appropriate. However, other teams provide only the sketchiest details... sometimes barely enough to post without frustrating the reader.

 

When a team provides a flyer, that's great! I love 'em... because the flyer usually includes the required event info. Also, once uploaded to the site, other teams can print the flyer and post it at their own place of business. When I get the flyer, I simply convert the image, Word or PowerPoint file to pdf, upload it to the library, and I'm ready to link. I always set the link to open the flyer in a new window... I feel that this makes it easier for the visitor to return to our site.

 

When teams don't provide a flyer, I try to build a basic web page for the fundraising event. Along the same idea as the day-before-fundraisers emails, these web pages all look similar: standard fonts, colors, style, no graphics. If there's not enough info available (yet) to build a page, I'll simply link the "Coming Up!" and "Fundraisers" entries to the fundraiser's Google Calendar record. You can extract the URL for this by logging out of Google before clicking on the Calendar entry.

 

The basic info about the fundraiser is key. Although I hate to introduce bureaucracy, next year it might be good to have a form that team captains would fill out, one that would prompt for this basic information. A facility online for this would be great...

 

One advantage I've had when promoting fundraisers is working closely with our outstanding Publicity/Promotions Chair. Eugene and I exchange fundraiser info as soon as one of us gets it. In this way, the web site and the media convey the same message, hopefully at the same time.

 

I will say that I have no hard evidence as to whether these fundraiser promotion efforts have made a positive impact on dollars raised, but I can't help but suspect that they have... at least to a small degree. Per the email tracking facility on Convio, the "open rate" for the reminder emails sent so far averages about 22%. I hope that these have helped some visitors to get out to a fundraiser.

 

And, as I previously noted: every dollar raised in the fight against cancer is a success!