Make money for Relay the EASY way with the Ibotta Ap!

 What if I told you that you could make $10 to put towards your Relay fundraising the next time you go to the grocery store or your favorite convenience store buying what you would already be buying?  I know, I know- it sounds too good to be true!  But you guys- you know me.  I don't bologna sandwich around raising money to cure cancer.

After listening to friends rave about it, hearing it advertised on the radio, and seeing post after post on Facebook; I FINALLY broke down and downloaded the free Ibotta ap when I made a New Years resolution to save more money on grocery shopping in 2017.  And, admittedly, I was skeptical, but very pleasantly surprised at how fast and easy it was to use to save money (enough to help me contribute more to my OKC Relay team fundraising total!) As you can see in the screen shot below, from January 3rd to January 31st, I got $93.75 back from buying things that I already buy anyway (here's the part where I silently kick myself for not doing this sooner)

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, it is important to know that everyone in my family has Celiac disease, so our grocery bill is a lot higher than your average grocery store trip- BUT if we COULD have wheat products, I think we would have saved even more (Eggo waffle rebate, I'm looking at you!) 

OK, enough with all of the fluff- here is how Ibotta works!  I think of the entire program like coupons you redeem after you shop- except instead of getting money off of your grocery total, you get cold hard cash.  You can use regular manufacturer coupons when you shop as well, which really makes things dirt cheap (I bought carpet cleaner this week for a whole 47 cents)  Here's the skinny...

Sign up for Ibotta - it's quick and free! 

-Choose one of the Preferred Partners (think Target, Walmart, Walgreens, United, Homeland etc)

 -Unlock Rebates. Before you shop, unlock cash back rewards on great products by completing simple tasks like watching a short video or answering a question.

 -Go shopping like usual.

-When you get home, open the ap and scan your rebate items and your receipt.

 -Get cash back in 24 hours.

 AND to make the deal even sweeter, when you use my link and my referral code (which is bkewgrf or https://ibotta.com/r/bkewgrf ) you will get an additional $10 FOR FREE when you submit your first rebate.  That's $10 closer to your fundraising goal!  When you use my link, I also get $5, which I can turn around and put towards my Relay fundraising!  WIN WIN WIN.  If just half of the people who participate in Relay For Life took advantage of this we could raise an additional 20 MILLION dollars for cancer research.  Isn't that insane?  Why wouldn't you want to do this? 

The thing I love about the ap is it has rebates for things I would be buying anyway.  Some of my favorites are any brand of bananas, any brand milk, any brand bread (gluten free bread costs a fortune), and the ever so loved Brawny paper towel rebate.  After you shop it takes a whole 3-5 minutes to complete the rebate submission, and you are done.  If you donated everything you earned from the app (and if you save at the rate I do), that would be enough money to get you to grand club by doing a simple, easy task after you shop!  How cool is that? 

But, you don't take my word for it (I totally stole that from Reading Rainbow.)  Go download the ap and start chipping away at that goal today, and let me know what you think!

XO
Cassi

Hope Shines On - Limited Edition Luminaria Bags For The Holidays!

I am super excited about this!  But first...

As this blog has become more and more successful, I have been thinking a lot about ways that we can take our mission to cure cancer a step further by using it as a tool to raise more money for American Cancer Society.  I didn't want to fill the blog with ads, and I know you are all already working hard to meet your own goals, so I didn't want to ask for straight up Relay donations.  My solution?  Ask you all to do something you already do.  Shop on AMAZON.  If you are anything like me, Amazon is your go to source for online shipping.  Here's how it works.  When you want to shop on Amazon, click this link:

Shop Amazon and support our fundraising efforts!

And Amazon will send me a percentage of your purchase via the Amazon Associates program, which I will turn around and donate!  The percentage is anywhere between 4 and 10 percent, which is much higher than the Amazon Smile program.  I am so excited about this opportunity, and really hope you all will make your purchases through these affiliate links, so that we can fund more cures faster!

Now, back to the show :)

I noticed in surveys last year, we were asked if we would be interested in something like this, and it is obvious that ACS listened!  From now through November 7th, 2015 you can purchase (or fund raise by selling!) this palm-sized metal keepsake, embellished with a Relay For Life logo and antique silver finish and strung with a decorative purple ribbon, with a $35 contribution to Relay For Life.

IT'S A FLIPPING RELAY FOR LIFE LUMINARIA ORNAMENT!  I seriously need a TREE full.  A PURPLE tree full. 

And obviously, I would love for you to buy yours from Cancer Man - but I also want to share this with you so you can use it for your own personal fundraising.  I mean, we are all in this together, right?

Here is Cancer Man's Facebook post on these:

I think this is really cool...
Christmas is coming up and we have the perfect gift for you to give someone who has EVERYTHING. Make a 35$ donation to my Relay fundraising here....(click limited edition keepsake) http://tinyurl.com/RelayKeepsake and you will get this really awesome luminaria bag ornament. You can personalize the card so you can give it to a friend in memory or honor of someone. i think it would be a really special way to remember someone at Christmas the gift is beautiful but the gift also helps us find a cure and helps me reach my Relay goal.

And.... let's face it. Im going to talk you out of at least 35$ this year anyway, so you might as well get something super aWESome with your money to!

And here is my post (and guys, you can totally use my words I don't mind at all!)

Christmas is a magical time of year, and today I want to share a special way  you can honor or remember someone with cancer this year, and for years to come.

This is the first time we have done something like this, and I think it is absolutely fantastic.  As someone who looks at Christmas as a time of giving, instead of receiving, I can not think of a better gift.  In fact, if I had nothing but a tree full of these for Christmas, I would probably be the happiest person alive.

What is this little rectangle thing?  It's a luminaria bag.  If you are not familiar with Relay For Life, we hold a very special ceremony at each event, where we light these bags in honor, in support,  or memory, of someone who has had cancer.  Anyone who has attended one of these ceremonies can tell you it is nothing short of life changing.  It is a moment of happiness, grief, and bonding like nothing else I have ever experienced.  To a Relayer, each bag represents a loved one- A LIFE, that should not be forgotten.  A battle that was won.  A child, a spouse, a parent, a friend, or a loved one. 

This holiday season, I ask that you consider giving just one of these as a gift.  They are limited edition, and come with a beautiful box and gift note.  You can ship it directly to the recipient, or to yourself.  Not only will you be giving a gift that keeps on giving, you will also be supporting Cancer Man​ in his mission to create more family Christmas memories for others.

To purchase, simply make a $35 tax deductible donation here: (click limited edition keepsake) http://tinyurl.com/RelayKeepsake

Please help us by sharing with everyone you know!
ANDDDDDD- here are some great photos that I downloaded from Brand Toolkit that you can use with your Facebook posts.  Just right click and save to your computer!

Now, I have this strange ability to write posts on FB and Twitter all day long (Cancer Man does to- must be genetic!) but not everyone knows just what to say.  Guess what?  There's an info sheet for that!  I am copy and pasting for you so you can do the same :)

Relay For Life Keepake – Toolkit Social Assets

Message 1 – Announcement

Recommended timing: September 16 - 25

Facebook

You can shine a light all year long with a limited edition Relay For Life keepsake. Order now through November 7 at relayforlife.org/[EVENT URL].

Twitter

Shine a light all year long with a limited edition @relayforlife keepsake. Order now at relayforlife.org/[EVENT URL].

Instagram

You can shine a light all year long with a limited edition #relayforlife keepsake. Order now at relayforlife.org/keepsake.

Message 2 – Reminder

Recommended timing: October 5 - 16

Facebook

The Relay For Life limited edition keepsake makes a great gift for the holidays! Order now through November 7 at relayforlife.org/[EVENT URL].

Twitter

The @relayforlife limited edition keepsake makes a great gift for the holidays! Order now at relayforlife.org/[EVENT URL].

Instagram

The #relayforlife limited edition keepsake makes a great gift for the holidays! Order now at relayforlife.org/keepsake. #holidayshopping

Message 3 – Last Chance

Recommended timing: October 23 - November 2

Facebook

Now’s the last chance to order a Relay For Life limited edition keepsake for the holidays! It’s a great gift for everyone on your list or as a way for you to always keep the Relay For Life movement close to your heart this season. Order by November 7 at relayforlife.org/[EVENT URL].

Twitter

Last chance to order a @relayforlife limited edition keepsake for the holidays! Order by 11/7 at relayforlife.org/[EVENT URL].

Instagram

Now’s the last chance to order a #relayforlife limited edition keepsake for the holidays. Order by 11/7 at relayforlife.org/keepsake. #holidayshopping

This is an amazing fundraiser for the holidays, and you have all of the tools you need to pull it off right here!  What are you waiting for?  Let's make this a purple Christmas!

As always, with HOPE-

<3 Cassi

Relay For Life Fundraising Club Social Media Badges 2015

Hey guys!  Short and sweet blog today :)  ACS branding released these awesome Social Media Fundraising Club images last week, and I thought those of you that don't have access to the toolkit would like to have a place to get them.  These are PERFECT for posting on Facebook and Twitter (heck, they are square- put them on Instagram to!) when asking for donations.  Make it your profile picture with a link to your fundraising page, or print one out and take a selfie with it!  For those of you who are running Relay Facebook pages, use these to recognize teams, and individuals for are hitting new levels.  Everyone loves a little shout out for a job well done!

What are you doing with Fundraising Club images?  Share in the comments below!

PS- Cancer Man has his eyes on Purple Club this year, think he can make it?  

http://www.main.acsevents.org/goto/cancerman

BIG Changes are coming to Facebook in January 2015 - and it effects Relayers - MUST READ INFO!

I know that everyone is winding down for the holidays, but I came across something this week that I need to share with you in order to help you make 2015 a successful fundraising year for you!  As we gear up for 2015, a lot of you will be getting ready to ask for some serious donations.  I'm here to share some major changes Facebook is making to how news feeds work, and to tell you how to adjust to make sure you are still getting much needed donation to find a cure for cancer.

To put it in a nutshell (and without boring or confusing you with Facebook algorithms and how they work), I have seen dramatic decreases in the amount of engagement in Relay related Facebook posts over the last several months- including ones made by Relay For Life pages for events (so, not just my personal page or the Cancer Man Page).  This has resulted in a massive decrease in donors via Facebook (and will continue to).  You see before now, I would tell you to go home, personalize your Relay page, and post links on Facebook to get your donations going.  Unfortunately folks, it looks like Facebook isn't going to be your gold mine for donations the way it once was.

Starting January 1st, Facebook will be making a change to what goes into individual news feeds.  They have already been rolling this out and testing it, which explains my massive decrease in results.  The goal is to 1) Make sure FB users are seeing the content they want to see (and not feel like it is all page advertisements, or in our case, asking for donations), and 2) to make sure that businesses that want to be seen are PAYING to be seen.  The reason that is such a big problem is, of course, we are non profit, and are not going to spend millions of dollars on advertising when we could be curing cancer (and also, in my personal opinion they are a big fat waste of money- see here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVfHeWTKjag).

In other words, because of Facebook algorithms going into place, something like a picture of my Christmas card will easily get to the top of news feeds, and get a lot of likes and comments (and, I do have an awesome card, but wait until you see the difference between the two posts).

However, a post I make about needing a donation for Relay For Life may only be seen by a few people, and chances are the people who do see it are going to be fellow volunteers, not potential new donors.

Shout out to my boy Russell Keeler for the like!

The worst part is, these posts are from now- in January it will get worse. 

If you would like to read the full release by Facebook you can read it here:
https://www.facebook.com/business/news/update-to-facebook-news-feed



It is CRITICAL to our success that I get this information out to my fellow volunteers!  If we go into meetings and say, "YEAH!  Just post it on Facebook, everyone will donate!" volunteers are going to experience failure and be very frustrated right off the bat.  If it frustrated me, I know it's going to frustrate you.

Here's what you CAN do to increase your chances for success with personal donations in 2015.

-SEND SNAIL MAIL asking for donations this year.

Why snail mail?  The image above says it all!  How excited were you to get Christmas cards in the mail this year?  Mailed donation requests should go out to everyone you have an address for- and then call your parents and ask to borrow their address book to.  Hey, no shame- not going to apologize for curing cancer.  If you send snail mail, it is at least going to get opened.  With an email it may be automatically deleted, and on Facebook/Twitter/IG- scrolled through.

AND, if you are going to take the time to mail out the letters, then take the time to make your letter personal.  The pre-made ones are great, but they don't tell YOUR story.  If you want some letter ideas, I've got a blog post for that!

-Face to face interactions.  I know, I know- who does that anymore?  But guess what?  Its time to bring it back baby!  Have coffee with a friend and make an ask, ask your co-workers, ask your boss- TO THEIR FACE. 

-Instead of posting your Relay link on Facebook, and just saying, please help me cure cancer!  Post a video of you asking people to donate and telling your story.  Why do you Relay?  What services do we offer?  Talk from the heart! 

-Use Facebook to redirect an ask.  For example, someone like me who has a blog would make the ask in a blog post.  Then post a link to the blog on Facebook with a catchy title like-Why I will not apologize for curing cancer (with a picture!!!)

-When you do make an ask on Facebook, you need to make it CREATIVE. Don't use a meme (a picture with text overlay like my warm fuzzy above will be buried with the new algorithm.) Remember the purple mustache challenge?  That worked!  It was creative and different, and got a lot of views and donations!

-If you see another Relayer posting about a fundraiser, asking for donations, etc, like and comment on it.  This will tell the FB algorithm that the content is interesting, and release it to more news feeds.  You guys all wonder why I am always commenting on your stuff, right?  Well now you know that I am not ACTUALLY a stalker, I just want you to be successful!

Now, I know you are thinking- holy crapola- what will work and what won't? Kevan Lee does a great job of explaining what the algorithm likes, and what it doesn't.  Now, keep in mind, this may be much stricter come January, but it is a great starting point for those of you more interested in wrapping your head around this entire concept. See it here :)

I don't want you guys thinking that posting on Facebook for donations isn't worth it anymore- IT CAN BE, if you do it the right way.  After all, even a small amount of donations is better than NO donations at all.

That being said, I DO want you guys to go into 2015 prepared.  Be ready to do things a little differently than you have in the past, and be open to new ideas!  We were amazing fundraisers BEFORE Facebook, and we can still be amazing fundraisers now. 

So, let's open up this blog post for conversation.  What has been working for you?  Do you have any creative ideas?  Share below so we can all benefit! 

With Hope,
Cassi

Not every fundraiser is a smashing success, and that's ok!

So Cancer Man and I came up with the best fundraising idea ever for Christmas time (not the Poo-pourri, I am talking about the OTHER genius idea)

What do you get someone for Christmas that has EVERYTHING?

A Warm Fuzzy!

This idea came from a story Wes' friend Sheri Ingham told him in kindergarten.  It goes like this:

The Warm Fuzzy Story (adapted from Claude Steiner’s original tale)

Many years ago, on a little island, lived a bunch of happy people. They loved their

friendly little island with its beautiful trees, water, and sand. The islanders had a special

tradition of trading warm fuzzies with each other. Warm fuzzies were like little balls of pure

love that made everyone feel good all over.

People would offer warm fuzzies freely, and if you needed one all you had to do was

ask. Even people you didn’t know would reach into their pockets and pull out a warm fuzzy,

and just give it to you! Every warm fuzzy was like a big hug from a friend. And there were

always plenty of warm fuzzies to go around.

Everyone felt safe and loved and they all helped each other to feel safe and loved.

But one day a grouchy, grumbly, mumbly tourist came to visit the island. He didn’t

understand what everyone was doing but he was sure he didn’t like it. He kept cold prickles

in his pockets and warm fuzzies didn’t make any sense to him. So he decided that he would

tell a lie to the islanders, to convince them to stop with all that warm fuzzy business.

The grouchy tourist told the islanders that their warm fuzzies were the most precious

things in the world. He told them that instead of sharing them, they should be keeping them.

What if the world supply of warm fuzzies ran out? What would they do then?

All of a sudden the islanders began worrying and acting selfishly, keeping their warm

fuzzies to themselves. And a funny thing happened. When people stopped sharing their

warm fuzzies, people stopped receiving warm fuzzies. Instead of everyone feeling warm and

fuzzy inside, they started to feel cold and prickly inside. This made everyone kind of sad,

everyone except for that grouchy tourist that is.

Thank goodness something nice happened next. You see, one of the islanders had left

for college. She came home to visit and brought her warm fuzzies with her. When she

arrived home, she started giving warm fuzzies to everyone she saw. The islanders started to

realize what they were missing and that they had made a mistake. Holding onto their warm

fuzzies didn’t make them happier, it made them miserable. They figured out that giving their

warm fuzzies away not only made their friends happy, it made them happy too.

The good news is that we can be just like those islanders! We can give warm fuzzies,

like these cute little pom poms. But we can also give warm fuzzies that are sparkly, little,

fluffy, imaginary balls of happy. You see, when we offer a kind word or help someone to feel

better, that’s the best kind of warm fuzzy there is.

So, last year Cancer Man kept bringing up this idea, but we just couldn't find poof-balls big enough.  This year, we revisited the idea, but with a more creative outlook- how can we MAKE them big enough?  We ended up buying roll after roll of yarn, googly eyes, and testing out different methods until we found one that worked!  The final product was about 6" in diameter!

Then we posted on Facebook: 

THIS FRIDAY, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY ONLY! Make a donation of $25 or more to Cancer Man at http://www.main.acsevents.org/goto/CancerMan and Cancer Man will ship a gift wrapped Warm Fuzzy to a gift recipient (or you!), with a note saying you donated to Relay For Life on their behalf for Christmas. Cancer Man makes all of these himself! Give someone a gift with some major love in it that will help us support cancer patients, and help us find a cure for cancer!

Simply leave the name and address of the person you want it sent to in the "private note for the person you are supporting" section on the donate page, and we will do the rest! Thank you all for your support!

We thought SURELY we would have so many donors that we would be making warm fuzzies up until the last day we could ship them for Christmas delivery (and I know $25 is high, but I needed them to be substantial enough donations for me to cover the shipping costs out of my pocket).

Guess how many donors we had?
ZERO.

Yup, that's right, not a one.  The good news is we have something REALLY cute to take cancer patients when we go visit them.  Plus, we can always revisit the idea in the future, and I had a great time crafting with my favorite super hero :)

So, why am I telling you about our fail?  Because, it is important for me to show you guys that even the big fundraisers stumble sometimes.  Not every fundraiser is a smashing success.  What matters is, we learn from it, find the good, and move on to the next thing.  After all, you will never know what is going to work, and what isn't going to work unless you get out there and try SOMETHING.

So get out there and do it- #relaybig

With hope,
Cassi

Relay For Life - Easy Summer Fundraising with Direct Sales

Today is June 1st, which means most of us are either wrapping up our 2014 Relay's or will be soon!  If you are like me, you are all sorts of fired up and ready to keep going though.  While summer is a GREAT time for fundraising, many of us are ready for a few months of down time before revving up for another high intensity Relay season. 

But the problem is, cancer doesn't take the summer off.

Imagine how much MORE we could raise for American Cancer Society of we did just one summer fundraiser each. 

So today, I want to encourage you to get out there and do just one summer fundraiser that you wouldn't have done before while taking a few months off.  The best part?  I have a list of some awesome direct sales people who are willing to do parties for you, and give a portion of the profit back to you for Relay For Life.  Why is this so awesome?  Most of these companies are rock stars at setting up a party for you online.  You invite your friends to shop, shop yourself, and stay at home in your PJ's while raising funds to cure cancer.  This my friends, is as easy as it gets(and you know how I like my PJs!)!

 

Now, keep in mind this list has been made for teams in the Oklahoma area, however, if you found this blog through pinterest, many if not all of these vendors can probably help you out by setting up an online party for you as well! 

So take a peek at the list below and pick out one that you would love to buy stuff from anyway, and make it happen!  If you are in the direct sales business and would like to be included in this list, please comment below with:

Your name
Your company
Your website
Your phone number
Your email
What percentage will go to Relay For Life

Name: Vallerie sheldon
Company: Tupperware
Website: www.my2.tupperware.com/valleriesheldon
Phone: 580-481-0427
Email: Raiwen79@gmail.com
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life:  40% goes to organization

Name:  Jami Burnes
Company: Thirty One Gifts
Website: www.mythirtyone.com/jamiburnes
Phone:  409-454-0720
Email: eeyore1809@yahoo.com
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life:  Up to 50% commission depending on the fundraiser

Name:  Danelle Delp
Company:  Scentsy
Website: Https://danelledelp.scentsy.us
Email: Danelle4yall@aol.com
Phone:  (405)203-7333
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life:  75% of commission donated! (The remaining percent is to cover her cost of materials provided)

Name:  Debra Gamble
Company:  Pampered Chef
Website: www.pamperedchef.biz/debragamble
Phone: 509-855-3555
Email: Pcdeb13@gmail.com
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life:  15-25%

Name:  Bonny Moulton
Company:  Velata
Phone:  580 302 1774
Email: fonduefun7@yahoo.com
Website:  http://bonnymoulton.velata.us
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life:  100% of commission

Name:  Erika Cerda
Company:  Jamberry Nails
Website:  buynow.jamberrynails.net
Phone:  405.474.5152
Email: Inexorable@gmail.com
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life:  Base 10% but can go up to 25% depending on sales, the extra would be my commission which is cool.  We could do it entirely online or we can host an in person party alongside it

Name:  Jennifer Mandell - I sell Origami owl - I have already done a fundraiser for Cassi. :-) Cancer took my Mom from me 14 years ago so I am always happy to help out! I donate 50% proceeds to your cause and the other 50% goes to my Autism cause.
Company: Origami Owl
Website:  http://samsvoice.origamiowl.com/
Email: JenniferMandell@optonline.net
 Designer# 25818

Name:  Teri Tolbert (Teri is a breast cancer survivor!)
Company:  Origami Owl
Independent Designer
#40037
Website:  teritolbert.origamiowl.com
Email: teri.tolbert@yahoo.com
Phone:  580-668-0369
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life: 20% of total sales
If someone wants to actually host a party, I'll do 25% of total sales.

Name: Brandi Walstrom
Company:  O2 Origami Owl
designer #43365
Website: brandiw.origamiowl.com
Phone: Denver, CO 720-369-4482
Email: walstrombn@hotmail.com
Percentage that will go to Relay: 50%

Name: Kayla Shantz
Company: Damsel in Defense
Website: Www.mydamselpro.net/okiedamsel
Phone: (580) 819-3085
Email: Okiedamselpro@gmail. Com
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life:  60% of commission

Name: Ashley Dickens
Company: Plexus Worldwide
Website: http://www.facebook.com/l/sAQG6vS8TAQFna4ZAXhel-ztRdqnuM_AoWXU1iQR7470--Q/www.plexusslim.com/AshleyMarie
Phone: 580-302-2598
Email: AshleyDickens.Plexus@gmail.com
Percentage that will go to Relay For Life: 50%

Magic Memories Mayhem:  Jessica is a Disney travel agent who will give a portion of her commission to Relay For Life if you and your friends use her for booking your vacations!  She is my personal travel agent, and I can honestly highly recommend her to you.  You can email her at   magicmemoriesandmayhem@live.com or visit her website at http://www.magicamemoriesmayhem.com

Gold Party:
Now, this is one that I have told you all about before, and I really love it.  Shelly with Party of Gold will come to you, and all you have to do is invite your friends to come over and sell their old, unwanted gold.  Instead of spending money, you and your friends will MAKE money!  Shelly writes them a check on the spot, and your Relay team gets a percentage of her commission.  It may not seem like a lot, but let me tell you- it adds up FAST.  Besides, who doesn't like making money while helping a good cause?  My team has done this one, and it is definitely on our list to repeat again.  Be sure to tell her I sent you, because she also gives $50 for each referred party that does over $400 in sales to your cause!

Name: Shelly Collins
Company: Party of Gold
Website: partyofgold.com
Email: shelly@partyofgold.com
Phone: 405-371-8784

Let me know which one you choose if you are part of Relay For Life of Custer County, and I will be sure to help you get the word out!

Happy Relaying friends!
Cassi