Team in Training fund raising question

[Tiggeroo]

Does anybody have a rough idea of the amount of fundraising needed for a NJ person to do disney with TeamInTraining? Is there some sort of couples discount if you and dh are joining together? Can you elect to drive instead of fly. I'm really worried about being able to raise the money. My family is not very helpful with things like this. And dh an I have careers that don't bring us around alot of people.
If you have done this, did you have a tough time with the money? I'd prefer to do it this way because 1) the money would go to a good cause 2) I would get badly needed training help and support.

 

[ohMom]

FYI -- there are other charities that have the same kind of fundraising. Not to say one is better than another, just making you aware if you care to compare. I know the Arthritis Foundation runs a program called Joints in Motion, at WDW I saw teams from that, stroke research and diabetes (I think?)

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Most fundraising for Disney for travel within the 48 contigous states will be in the $3000 range. A friend of mine lives in the north somewhere and is doing the Nashville marathon and she's in this range as well.

They take whatever the expenses will be for the trip: entry fees, airfare, transfers, hotel, pasta party and victory party and then mulitiply that by 4 to get your minimum fundraising requirements. So 75% of your initial fundraising goes to charity and then after the minimum,, 100% goes to charity.

Go to www.teamintraining.org to find out your local chapter. They should have a link for you to request information. While next year's expenses won't be known right now to determine the minimum--they can at least tell you last years fundraising minimum.

I did look into other charity's after the fact and they are all roughly the same if not more money to raise.

Each chapter will have coaches and mentors that will help you along and they really encourage the letter campaign. I raised $2100 easily (figure that your's with airfare guessed at roughly $300 would have been an additional $1200to raise).

I also did a garage sale and raffle that raised $500 (I split it with a teammate b/c I was almost completed my fundraising by that time).

Other ideas for winter--Gift wrapping at Barnes & Noble (they provide the supplies ), selling coffee on Black Friday to shoppers before the stores open, doing a collection at Wal-Mart or Grocery Store, getting a matching grant from Wal-mart (they grant up to $1000 per store per quarter), et cetera.

My experience with Team in Training was positive..and I know Oh Mom is right about the other charities--it is best to find one that you have a tie to or that you believe in as that really clinches it for the fundraising. I knew a little boy who died of Leukemia and was on his Make a Wish Trip to Disney when he fell ill and had to be rehospitalized. He died after a month or so in the hospital. Sad to say that I did complete the marathon in his honor while sick--but my being sick that weekend was nothing compared to how sick he was since I did get to go home.

I do find that TNT was very supportive of participants and has a very active support base.

I am already working on fundraising ideas for Disney next year. I don't have a contract yet, but our city does a 4th of July Celebration so I called regarding vendors and found out that they do their own beverage concessions. So I inquired about having TNT volunteers run the concessions. He asked how we would make money and I suggested a contribution of their proceeds. So the key for any fundraising is that it is all out there--you just have to be creative.

One of our Teammates who actually did the RockNRoll Marathon in Phoenix isa paralegal in a law firm. A client had to donate money for whatever reason--so the attorney suggested my teammate and she walked away with a $10,000 donation (and this was her 8th TNT Marathon). So you never know where it is.

No matter who you choose--I'd be more than happy to brainstorm opportunities to raise that money

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Can you elect to drive instead of fly. I'm really worried about being able to raise the money. My family is not very helpful with things like this. And dh an I have careers that don't bring us around alot of people.
If you have done this, did you have a tough time with the money? I'd prefer to do it this way because 1) the money would go to a good cause 2) I would get badly needed training help and support.

You cannot change your arrangements to modify your fundraising. Driving instead of flying just means that instead of buying your ticket, the money for that can go straight to LLS.

Additionally--I feared my letter campaign. I sent otu 2 batches of letters and each time I did that, a hurricane hit. .

But I persevered. You never know what family will do...I got more money from my husband's family than mine. And my dad who supports my running endeavors sponsored me at $10 per mile.

You never know what people will do--but it's always the opposite of what you think. Those you think who will support you and give,don't. And those who you sent a letter to on a whim thinking it was a waste of time are the ones who give money.

You have to source EVERYBODY you know for those letters. And then forget about them and work on other things and before you know it--2 months into training when they want you to recommit by signing a contract obligating you for that fundraising...you will have most if not all of your fundraising done.

 

[Tiggeroo]

I do alot of fundraising for our high school track and cross country tream so I have experience. But then I have the whole team behind me. I would be worried about causing a conflict by contacting the people who I work with on these endeavors. I guess i'm just nervouse since dh and I are planning on doing this together and we would have to raise the money times two.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I do alot of fundraising for our high school track and cross country tream so I have experience. But then I have the whole team behind me. I would be worried about causing a conflict by contacting the people who I work with on these endeavors. I guess i'm just nervouse since dh and I are planning on doing this together and we would have to raise the money times two.

You can word your letters in such a way as to let them know what they are doing and IF they would like to help out they can.

I customized my letters for different groups of people. I would not be shy about letting people know that you are fundraising.

I found that the team in training team helps each other. In the end we had a fiance/fiancee team that was still short and they did a car wash. Other teammates helped with the manpower, but they kept the money for their fundraising efforts. We did this alot--I invited the fiancee to help with my garage sale b/c I knew she needed the money and I gave her a bigger cut b/c she needed it and then my husband's company matched that contribution.

They've had people that have ebayed their way to a marathon and a bunch of other things.

I asked my dentist for money as well.

They have a sheet with a ton of contacts for you to ask. And it is you $5 and $10 donations that add up.

I was concerned and surprised by how easy it became (of course it always seems easy when you are closing in on your goal--it's the worrying about it that causes the grief).

The woman I mentioned that Disney was her 8th marathon...she swore after the first one that she would NEVER do it again. She's fundraising for her 9th this winter...$4900 for the Alaska Marathon.

The support is overwhelming b/c LLS benefits more if you are successful and compete.

When I return home I can PM you my stats as far as family/friends/acquantance contributions. The fiance/fiancee teamhad to raise $3800 for Disney and they got virtually NO money from their letters...they got a few dollars--but hardly enough to cover a good amount. They did garage sales, walmart collections, gift wrapping, car wash and a raffle in a bar for the large majority of their money.

 

[wiskband]

OK LISA

I need some info! ( my goodness you are so knowledgable!)
Last year when I signed up for the marathon I called my local childrens hospital and tried to hook up with them in order to raise money, they never called me back. From this post, it seem to be like I have to go find a foundation that already has this? I mean my son was very sick and this particular hospital saved his life, I wanted to give back, but they just didnt take me seriously. Do I need to find an already existing organization? ( think Ijust asked the same Q twice lol) I am a bit confuses about how this whole fund raising works. I would ove to run for a cause, I mean I am there doing it why not do it for a great reason. Also, you mentioned that your expense are covered? I would never imagined that! you also mentione them ( an organization ) decided on how much you should raise.....

I guess what I am trying to ask is........ how does this all work? lol....Is there a site I can visit? I would really love to run for some sort of pediatrics congenital heart disease group, It would be even niceer, if I could do it specifically for the people, hospitals, and everyone invlved in taking care of my son. I mean I know its good to do in general but I could never express to them how much it meant to us that they literally saved our son's life. ( If I was done paying them, they may know lol) but seriously, I would love to give back especially locally ( hope that doesnt sound gretty when I say locally )

anyway, any info would be great. I KNOW, I could raise ALOT of money........just not sure how to go about it.



thanks again

renee



join the valentines day challenge

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

OK LISA

I need some info! ( my goodness you are so knowledgable!)
Last year when I signed up for the marathon I called my local childrens hospital and tried to hook up with them in order to raise money, they never called me back. From this post, it seem to be like I have to go find a foundation that already has this? I mean my son was very sick and this particular hospital saved his life, I wanted to give back, but they just didnt take me seriously. Do I need to find an already existing organization? ( think Ijust asked the same Q twice lol) I am a bit confuses about how this whole fund raising works. I would ove to run for a cause, I mean I am there doing it why not do it for a great reason. Also, you mentioned that your expense are covered? I would never imagined that! you also mentione them ( an organization ) decided on how much you should raise.....

I guess what I am trying to ask is........ how does this all work? lol....Is there a site I can visit? I would really love to run for some sort of pediatrics congenital heart disease group, It would be even niceer, if I could do it specifically for the people, hospitals, and everyone invlved in taking care of my son. I mean I know its good to do in general but I could never express to them how much it meant to us that they literally saved our son's life. ( If I was done paying them, they may know lol) but seriously, I would love to give back especially locally ( hope that doesnt sound gretty when I say locally )

anyway, any info would be great. I KNOW, I could raise ALOT of money........just not sure how to go about it.



thanks again

renee



join the valentines day challenge

Here's the groups that did the marathon this year and their web-sites

American Diabetes Association - www.diabetes.org
American Stroke Association Train to End Stroke - www.strokeassociation.org
AT Childrens Project - www.atcp.org
Huntsman Cancer Institute Hometown Heroes - www.huntsmancancer.org
Jalpak International America, Inc. - www.jalpak.com
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training - www.teamintraining.org
Multiple Sclerosis Society - www.nmss.org/flc
National Arthritis Foundation Joints in Motion - www.arthritis.org
National Association for Children of Alcoholics - www.nacoa.org
National Neurofibromatosis Foundation - www.nf.org/marathon
Prevent Blindness Team 20/20 - www.pbga.org
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy - www.parentprojectmd.org
Roswell Park Cancer Institute - www.roswellpark.org
St. Joseph Hospital Foundation - www.stjosfnd.nb.ca
Taylor's Angels - www.taylorsangels.org

You should pick a charity that speaks to your heart. TNT worked for me

TNT started out with one person who raised money on her own....the next year it was another person and some more people...and it grew from there.

You could very well---draft a letter to the hospital and state your intentions and then go for it--you will probably have to self register...and it would be up to you if you want the fundraising to cover your expenses or to just cover part or if you will foot the bill this time around. You do not need an organization's permission to give them money...but if you start raising some money--you can then cooridnate with them officially to find out if they have any needs--and then you can fundraise to help support that need. Show them your registration--show them this list of charities..and say that instead of doing it for those...you would rather do something to help them as a thank you for doing so muchfor your son.

 

[welovedis]

I can't speak for Team In Training because I didn't raise money or train through that organization. The organizations that Lisa mentioned are those who are officially "did" the marathon but there are usually many participants who raise money through their marathon training and donate it to a needy organization.

In 2003 (for the 2004 1/2) I raised 7,700 for an organization called Cure Austim Now. Alot of what Lisa mentioned is what I did, letters, car washes, gift wrapping, donation boxes in friends' businesses. I was also featured on a local TV station's morning show and on a couple of radio shows. My DH is in the medical field and the 2 hospitals where he has priviledges each donated $1000. My former employer also donated a large sum of money. WalMart gave $1,000 too.

I did not use the fundraising to pay for my trip, I was planning on going regardless of the money raised. So the organization received a nice chunk of money towards Autism research, specifically towards research on Asperger Syndrome. So just because a charity hasn't got a specific affiliation with the Disney marathon, it doesn't mean you can't raise money to donate on your own.

Usually a hospital will have a trust or a "Friends of the Hospital" type of committee that helps donors raise money for a specific area of the hospital. Try contacting them now so you can get your groundwork all planned out. If they don't call back be persistent, sometimes it takes a few phone calls to get it figured out. They are used to getting donations so they'll usually have a policy in place for what you need to do as far as using their name or logo in your fundraising, etc...

GL with this, I know you can be a success at it, it just takes some time & planning!

 

[JRoglitz]

I went with Team in Training this year and found it to be a wonderful and very supportive organization. My fundraising goal was $3600 and you had until a certain date to recommit. That would mean that if you didn't raise the funds you would match the amount you were short. I wasn't able to do that so I just donated what I raised. That ended up being close to $2700. I paid my own way to Disney since we were staying longer then the team and wanted to stay at the Polynesian. I had some other issues before traveling so it got difficult for me to concentrate on the fundraising. I can send you my letter if you want an idea of how to word it. The coaches and staff were great! They have informational meetings. You could call and see if they have one near your area.

 

[zagafi]

I've done the Breast Cancer 3 Day previously, and for that the fundraising minimum was around $2000. I can honestly say I had *no* problems raising the necessary funds. The key is asking *everyone*--you never know who might surprise you!

I'm planning on doing Team in Training for the marathon and I'm confident I can do the fundraising since I've done it before. People are inherently good and really *want* to support you and support charities that speak to them!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I went with Team in Training this year and found it to be a wonderful and very supportive organization. My fundraising goal was $3600 and you had until a certain date to recommit. That would mean that if you didn't raise the funds you would match the amount you were short. I wasn't able to do that so I just donated what I raised. That ended up being close to $2700. I paid my own way to Disney since we were staying longer then the team and wanted to stay at the Polynesian. I had some other issues before traveling so it got difficult for me to concentrate on the fundraising. I can send you my letter if you want an idea of how to word it. The coaches and staff were great! They have informational meetings. You could call and see if they have one near your area.

Just FYI--they typically do not reduce your fundraising. It is worth asking, but you will probably be obligated. At recommitment you provide your credit card and about 1-2 months later, whatever you have not raised will be charged on your credit card.

 

[JRoglitz]

This is true. I just opted not to sign the credit card recommitment and donated what I had raised. I don't think this is standard practice but I wanted to be sure all the money I had raised went to the cause.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This is true. I just opted not to sign the credit card recommitment and donated what I had raised. I don't think this is standard practice but I wanted to be sure all the money I had raised went to the cause.

Ooooh--nice chapter to do that for you. Ours is a great chapter and in that case I do not know what they would do--but for an exceptional circumstance and since you paid your way....it just means they don't have to pay your expenses. I did not fall in that category....so don't know what they would do for people.

 

[JRoglitz]

Yes it was really nice. My goal was $2500 (set by them) since it would be close to the amount, less the expenses, and I surpassed that so I was pleased. I don't think I will go with Team in Training next year. Mostly just want to do this for me. I might raise some money on my own and then just donate it to them. I would HIGHLY recommend Team in Training. Great organization and a great cause.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I did just wanted to add one more thing...

These charities that Disney listed for the 2005 Marathon....were all given slots in the field for the marathon....so that once registration was closed--you could look to these charities and get on board with fundraising and be able to enter the marathon.

So if you do want to fundraise for any organization other than those listed---you can, but it is imperative that you self register b/c once registration is closed--unless you go through one of the listed charities for 2006 (not yet posted), they will not allow you to register .