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

T-Shirt Fundraising... the easy way (no, I am not kidding, there is an easy way!)

We all know T-shirts are great fundraisers, but ONLY if you have a lot of volunteers to help with sorting and delivering, and amazing design, and you get enough orders to make a good sized profit.

A lot of us have turned to online t-shirt fundraising sites- but there are some real problems there.  It really bothers me how much those sites charge for t's,  it creates low profits for fundraisers with high minimums.

And, if any of you have run a massive in person fundraiser with a local you know how time consuming it is to get orders, cash all of the checks, and deliver.

WHY?  That was the question I was asking myself a few weeks ago.  Why isn't there a better solution for us?  After all, we aren't making money for our own pockets- we are trying to save people from cancer!  I knew I had to find a solution, so that donors could get amazing shirts at great prices while still helping us fund our mission with high profit margins and less work.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks (purple ones for the record) If MULTIPLE groups ordered T's at the same time, we could get bulk pricing, and make more profit for ACS.  We wouldn't be hurting each others sales, because we all live in different areas, and have different contacts to sell to.

After thinking long and hard about a program that would work, I went to my tried and true local printer and asked them to roll out a program we could also share with other teams nationally. For the last two weeks I have been working out the kinks, and website designing with them to create a solution- and here it is!
http://mightymisfits.relayfund.org/

The best part?  You can do it to!  It is as simple as me submitting a form to have a website made for your team/event. 

I know you are waiting for a catch, but you guys know me- I am full disclosure, and I have yet to find a catch (if there was one, I wouldn't be doing this or sharing it with you!)

I also know what your next question is, because it is always my first question.  HOW MUCH WILL WE MAKE?  Assuming you choose the same design we are currently selling (or one with the same amounts of colors on one side) here is the pricing:

See that 72 plus price?  Imagine how easy it is to sell 72 shirts when you have 5 other teams selling to!  At that price, you are making $10 a shirt on unisex T's if you are selling them for $15 each.  $10!  You don;t have to design anything, you don't have to go all around town picking up checks, and your donors can have them delivered right to their door. 

Right about now is the time where you are picking up your phone to text your team or share with your ELT on Facebook- so here is a break down of the basics and FAQ's for the program that you can share!

-If we fund raise together we get higher volume discounts and make more money for ACS. How can we do this without making things complicated? Campaigns fundraising together have the same end date.
-Your donors can purchase directly from the website and choose local team pick-up for free, or to pay have their shirts shipped to their home.
-To avoid inconvenience and cost, I made sure the orders going to the teams for local pick up would ship to you FOR FREE.
-You can also take traditional in person orders to supplement your sales.
-Want to offer multiple designs or a team shirt to?  What about a different shirt all together?  Resolution has a graphic designer you can use for FREE.
-After the campaign is over, Resolution will send you a check for your proceed amount made to American Cancer Society.
-If your team would like to sell this design (or another design- the plan is to offer a choice of several designs when you sign up, but we are just getting this rolling!) I can submit a form so that your team can have a personal website like my team's site above, and be included with other teams ordering in the same campaign period for bulk discounts.


I feel like this could be a game changer for us! If you are interested or have questions, feel free to shoot me an email at cassiselby@gmail.com. You can also check out our Facebook group page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/RelayThinkTank/ if you are not ready yet but may be in the future. This group includes the 8 teams who are currently using this system, and they are all experienced Relayers who would be happy to help you out along the way! The Facebook also includes graphics for selling on Facebook, in person order forms, and is where we will be throwing around future design options.


Happy Fundraising!
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 Letter Writing - Worksheets to help you through the process!

It's that time of the year RELAY SEASON!  This is the time of the year my blog and pinterest pages go wild with new views, and I spend a lot of time visiting communities and getting them all set for an amazing year.

You may have noticed that you are not getting the response you have gotten in precious years by asking for donations on Facebook.  If you haven't read it yet- this blog post explains why that is happening.   It is more important than EVER that you are actually writing and sending out fundraising letters.

Most of you have awesome staff that bring you pre written letters that you can send out- BUT GUYS.  What would entice you more to donate- a personal letter, or one that is pre done? 

I know that it is hard to figure out where to start, and what to include in a letter, so I have made up some easy to use work sheets to help you through the process.  Feel free to print these and take them to your team meetings or event meeting to share. 

Step one- fill out this worksheet!

































Step two- use this letter format to transform your answers into a letter! 

Here is an example of what your finished product could look like!

That was easy, right?

While I have you here, let me fill you in on this awesome little tip.  For some reason, when I include a self addressed envelope, I get more donations back!  So take the extra time to do that to- it just takes a few minutes!

Need more letter ideas?  Check out some of ours from previous years here!

With HOPE,
Cassi

Affordable T-Shirt Quilts from Project Repat = LOVE

RELAY SHIRTS.  I have a million.  You have a million.  What in the world do you do with them all?

Over Christmas I was looking for a great gift for my sister in law and my niece that would help them remember my mother-in-law who passed away in April.  I had boxes and boxes and boxes of her clothing, so the most meaningful choice was, of course, a t-shirt quilt.  But, I quickly ran into a problem- having t-shirt quilts made is EXTREMELY expensive.  Not there was a price on my love for my SIL and niece, but I just couldn't swing $700 per quilt.

So- I turn to my BFF Google to try to find a more affordable option, and up pops Project Repat.  I was... skeptical.  A T-shirt quilt for just over $100?  HOW are they pulling this off with good quality?  I pulled the trigger to find out.  I was, VERY impressed.  Turns out they are not quilting your t-shirts, which is a much more labor-intensive process.  They patch work all of your shirts together, and then use a recycled polar fleece for the back.  It is warm, it is cozy, and it is amazing. Even better?  They are all made right here in the US.

So, after seeing how amazing the memorial quilts came out, I got to thinking- how can I use this for Relay?  It just so happened that I had several boxes of extra hoodies from our Pink Out event in October.  To make a long story short, I thought I was being smart by ordering extra hoodies to sell at the game.  BUT, Oklahoma weather decided to give us a warm 85 degree fall night, so naturally they didn't sell.

Then it hit me- BOOM.  Use Project Repat to turn those bad boys into a blanket to auction off Relay night!  I placed my order, prepped the hoodies and t's, and shipped them off to Project Repat.  3 weeks later, the most amazing thing arrived at my door step!

I am so excited about it!  And you bet your butt I will be bidding on it Relay night, because I am kind of in love. 

So, Project Repat being the awesome company they are, has offered to give me $10 for Relay For Life for each referral I send them.  DOUBLE WIN, with this link you also get 10% off!  So get all of those participant and Relay fundraising shirts out from the back of your closet and make something amazing you will use (or better, will make you money for Relay!)

With HOPE,
Cassi

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

Fundraising With Noah's Art Workshop

This morning someone posted on Facebook that there were only 59 days left until Christmas.

WHOA!

I haven't even started THINKING about Christmas yet- even though Hobby Lobby is tempting me to with the Christmas section already up (ok, maybe I have thought about Christmas a little....)

And that got me thinking.  People are going to spend money at Christmas buying gifts.  Why not offer them gifts that ALSO support our cause of Relay For Life?  We want them to spend that money with us instead of a mass retailer, how can we do that?

Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce you to Noah's Ark Workshop!  It's like Build A Bear, but BETTER.  I'll tell you why in just a minute.

But first- let me tell you where this idea came from, because this genius fundraiser wasn't my idea!  My sister Relay For Life team, Orange Power, has two really smart ladies who already work in direct sales.  Those two ladies are Traci Wile, and Bonny Moulton.  They are the guru's of direct sales- and guess what?  They follow the tried and true Relay advice of doing what you know.  One day, Traci came across this fantastic website, and these two geniuses decided to turn it into a fundraiser.

They called me SO excited with the idea, and I was hooked right away.  I was so interested, in fact, that I called Dina Amico from Noah's Art Workshop to tell her how the girls wanted to make this small idea into a BIG Relay fundraiser.  Turns out, Dina was amazing, and full of amazing ideas herself.  She offered to make a special program JUST for Relay For Life fundraisers- and I was SOLD on sharing the idea with all of you (with Bonny and Traci's permission, of course!)

Here are the details of the program:

As a Relay For Life Team or Individual, we would like to offer the following Fundraising Membership:

·       *  Registration as a Fundraising Member is FREE

·       *  35/40/45% OFF of retail prices on plush animals, outfit and accessories

·       *  40% OFF of promotional priced animals

·       * Free Noah’s Ark replicated website with an e-commerce shopping cart paying 35% commission on 

            all sales

·       * Product catalogs at wholesale prices

·       * Access to our Graphics Art Department for assistance in creating custom fundraising flyers, Facebook Banners and promotional materials

·       * Option for customized teddy t-shirts with your organization logo or fundraising message

·       * Workshop and product training and support

·       *  Free Membership do not come with a Membership Kits   * Fundraising Memberships are eligible to earn additional fundraising dollars through our traditional direct sales downline commission payout.  Simply sponsor a Fundraising Member into Noah’s Ark, and earn additional funds for your organization based on everything your downline team purchases.

GETTING STARTED

Simply call Dina at 1-866-484-6624 to register as a Fundraising Team or Member (**PLEASE SIGN UP UNDER BONNY MOULTON SO YOU ARE IN A RELAY FOR LIFE DOWNLINE**).  You will have immediate access to your membership benefits with immediate website creation. 

Now- why is this better than Build A Bear?
1- Relay For Life gets the profit.
2- It's cheaper.
3- You bring the party TO your donors.
4- You have a website donors can order from so people can stuff them at home.
5- You can earn commission on people who sign up under you.
6- IT'S FREE to sign up!

Here are a few ways to make this fundraiser work for you.Team Orange Power did something really neat with the special edition pink bears.  The decided to pre stuff the bears, and sold them ready to go at our Pink Out games, online, and in local stores.  Here's my favorite part.  They also offered people the option of buying a bear to have delivered to a breast cancer patient.  Great right?  A tangible gift they could love on that also helps fund research for their disease!

Well, I was all over that!  I had just got an email from a friend who had been diagnosed.  I knew EXACTLY what I could send her to make her smile.  So, we called Bonny up and ordered her a bear.  When it arrived, my son, Wes, took extra care with it, hugged it EXTRA hard, and said a little prayer to it to give Deb strength.  It worked.  I cried and cried when she got it in the mail, because it brought her so much HOPE.

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You could also host a local party (think of places you could have it that are free- local churches, homes, or town halls!) have people RSVP and pay ahead of time, and order what you need!  Imagine the fun little ones would have stuffing a special friend and taking it home THAT day!  Or for Christmas- making them for a friend or sibling! 

Dina also shared a brilliant idea.  You can purchase little plush stars to put inside the bears.  Use the stars as a fundraiser!  First, choose an animal to stuff for a special person- perhaps a local cancer patient, a survivor, or a child in a local children's hospital.  Sell each star for $5, and have the person buying it say a prayer over the star (or a wish for you non religious types), and have them sign a card.  Then stuff the animal with all of those happy thoughts and prayers, and deliver it to the recipient.  Genius, right?

Hold an online virtual party and promote it on Facebook!  Donors buy from your website!

I know what you are thinking- OHHHHHH!  We should have a Relay bear!  Guess what?  If there is enough interest, Dina can make that happen!  Imagine a cute purple bear with a RFL logo on the foot!? EEK!  I want one!

The opportunities here are virtually endless.  If you have one, please comment below!  It doesn't get better than this ladies and gentleman.  Take a look at Noah's Art Workshop online, and you will be hooked to!  I'm already building my Christmas shopping list! I know I will get a warm fuzzy by buying a gift that also helps my favorite cause :)

With HOPE-
Cassi