Dear Walkers:

We cannot thank you enough for all of your hard work fundraising for this year’s Walk.

In order to fund 100% of our crucial, life-changing research projects we MUST reach 100% of our 2014 JDRF Central Massachusetts Walk to Cure Diabetes fundraising goal! We are currently at 64% of our overall fundraising goal—we know that with your help we WILL reach 100% very soon because JDRF is in the incredibly lucky position of having some of the most dedicated and motivated supporters out there!

As you may know, November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. What a PERFECT opportunity to continue to fundraise and educate your donors about why their support is SO important to you and your family. We would like to share some ideas and tools that will help you walk that extra mile and help us to fund research to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure type 1diabetes (T1D).

Fundraising Tips and Tools to Utilize During National Diabetes Awareness Month (NDAM)

1. Expand your circle.  Send your personalized version of this Customizable Email Template to everyone who donated to you this year and ask them to please forward your story along to their own contacts. This is a surefire way to spread T1D awareness and hopefully inspire additional donations to your Walk Team. You customize the pieces in red and ask your donor to customize with their contacts’ name shown in green on the template.

2. Ask your donors to double the bang for their buck. Send an email to each of your donors asking them to please submit their donation to their company’s Matching Gift Program. This is a really quick and easy way to increase the impact of their donation.

3. Organize an in-office fundraiser. NDAM is the perfect opportunity to organize an office fundraiser in support of JDRF. A bake sale is a great way to raise additional donations for your Walk team. Recruit some co-workers who love to bake and advertise your event through company email and/or intranet. Keep it simple—put out a collection tin and ask those who partake to leave a donation in the amount of their choosing. Another great fundraiser for the office is to organize a Jeans Day for employees willing to donate a few dollars to JDRF.

4. Holiday Card Appeal. Consider including a picture of your family on Walk Day with your holiday cards this year and include a note about the Walk and an appeal for their support.

5. Sneaker Sales Campaign. If you have a connection with a locally managed store or restaurant, ask them to do their own Sneaker Sales Campaign or a Dine for Diabetes Program! The promotion is easy and fun for stores to implement. JDRF will supply the scannable sneakers and a JDRF staff member will be available to answer any questions and help along the way!

Thank you for helping us to turn Type One into Type None. Please contact me at (781) 431-0700 or lshields@jdrf.org if I can be of any further assistance.