As Easy as
ABC - Fund Raising from A to W
by Mary Hurt
2001 Conference Team and PR Associate
from LEAVEN, Volume 36, No
3, June-July 2000, p. 49
There's still plenty of time
to raise funds so that you will be able to attend LLLI's 17th International
Breastfeeding Conference: A Kaleidoscope of Family, Friends, and Cultures,
July 7-10, 2001 at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, Chicago, Illinois,
USA. Why not gather the Leaders, Leader Applicants, LLL members, and
other mothers in your Group to discuss possible fund raising ideas?
An idea begun is half done.
Just for fun we have included
an abbreviated A-W list of fund raising ideas.
Auction of gifts,
services, or talents donated by local community members.
Books La Leche League books offered for sale at meetings.
Coffee break with homemade baked goods for sale at an office building
or at a farmer's market.
Discount books that give coupons for everything from dry cleaning
to fast food.
Eats and treats holiday bake sale.
FUNDING HANDBOOK, Revised July 1999, Available from LLLI.
Garage sale or tag sale with back-to-school, maternity, baby items,
etc., for sale.
Halloween "good-for-you" giveaway items (pencils, pens,
stickers, etc.) or used costume sale.
Inform mothers about the benefits of LLLI Membership.
Join
forces with a friend - be determined that both of you will get to the
Conference.
Kids' gift fair, where children can buy gifts at
reasonable costs for holidays.
LEADER'S HANDBOOK 1998 Edition, pp. 155-156, good basic guidelines
for fund raising.
Medela and LLLI Breastfeeding-Aids Sales Program.
No Bake Sale: ask mothers to donate the money they would have spent
baking goods.
Outreach to the community by asking for donations and support.
Party Planning - many companies that sell goods at home gatherings
or parties will offer a percentage of sales to an LLL Group.
Quite an assortment of ideas to be found online under fund raising.
Raffles of donated items.
Sale of crafts, books, plants, etc.
T-shirts, telecommunications cards.
Used children's clothing sale - especially effective right before
school starts.
Variety show, charge an entrance fee, set up a photo booth, have
a bake sale.
World Walk for Breastfeeding! Set a goal to raise money toward winning
a Conference Registration! Three full conference registrations plus
travel and accommodations are offered as Walk Prizes! (See Walker Brochure
in 2000 Walk Kit for complete list of prizes.)
You may wonder why I stopped
with W instead of continuing on to Z. It is very difficult to
come up with fund raising ideas that start with x, y, or z, and besides,
you need not go any further than the World Walk for Breastfeeding to
find a great fund raising activity. At a once-a-year fund raiser you
can publicize the benefits of breastfeeding, hold an exciting and fun-filled
event, help mothers and babies around the world, and at the same time
earn enough money to go to the Conference.
With a little more effort
in seeking out supporters for the Walk you could raise enough to attend
the Conference. Rebecca Magalhaes, who is Director of Action and Development
at La Leche League International, manages to secure many pledges for
the Walk we hold at LLLI Headquarters. She sends letters to family and
friends describing her work in helping mothers. She feels the letters
are one way of keeping in touch, spreading the word about breastfeeding,
and securing donations to help the work of LLLI to continue. After relating
the news about the projects she is involved in, she usually includes
a paragraph to the effect of: "I obviously continue to believe
strongly in the necessity of getting the message of breastfeeding out
to as many people as possible and that is why I'm requesting your support
for the annual LLLI World Walk for Breastfeeding. The Walk is held to
celebrate World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 - 7) and is a fund raiser
for LLLI."
Leaders from one Group made
up post cards announcing the date, time, and location of their Walk
and asking for support by walking, sponsoring a Walker, or making a
donation. At their meetings, they asked each mother to personalize the
post cards, add postage, and send to two people they knew. This year,
an invitation post card has been added to the Walk Kit and more can
be ordered from LLLI.
There are many ways to achieve
sponsorship for the Walk and let others in the community know about
breastfeeding and La Leche League as a resource for mothers who want
to nurse their babies. Who knows? Maybe the letter or post card you
send to a health professional will not only result in a donation but
also result in the health professional becoming more aware of how La
Leche League can help the mothers of the community.
In any case, it might be
easier than you think to walk to the LLLI Conference! See you in Chicago!
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:32:27 UTC 2007.
