Still time...

to register (see here)

to fundraise (see below)

to make your poster for Ambassador Avenue (email or leave a comment to find out how)

and to help babies in the Salt Lake March for Babies!

A few last minute ideas to help your team meet your fundraising goal...

Yard Sale! We know of one family team who hosted a yard sale this weekend and raised over $200. for their team. A great way to do some spring cleaning and easily make some money to go towards your team.

Bake Sale! Ask a few friends and family who make yummy baked goods to donate their specialties and time and host a bake sale. All you need is a little advertising (facebook, blog, email, posters), tasty treats and an hour or so in the evening when neighbors are out taking a stroll or on a Saturday when even more people are out.

Pot luck! If you have lunch or dinner plans with family, friends or other couples in the next few weeks propose the idea that everyone meet and bring a dish to share along with $5.-$10. to go towards your team goal. Even with the donation everyone will still probably spend less money than going out and since you'll be home - have fun playing a game afterwards. For a few dollars in your March for Babies account make things interesting with some small wagers.

Up the ante! The march is less than three weeks away - do you only see a big zero on your progress bar? If so it may be time to up the ante. Put up your own money - maybe $20. and purchase a gift certificate to a restaurant, Target or movie tickets. Get the word out via facebook, blogs, emails, etc. that for every $5. donation to your team that donor will be put in a drawing for the gift certificate. Sometimes people are more willing to donate if they have the chance of getting something back.

It's almost time to March so get creative and reach that goal!

p.s. Be sure to tune into Good Things Utah tomorrow on KTVX Channel 4 at 10:00am. Our Utah Ambassador Family and Family Team Committee member Shauna Cundick will be on the show discussing our march! Good luck Shauna!

Fundraising Facts

So we're just over one month away to our big march! How is fundraising going so far? Close to your goal? Met your goal? Time to bump up your goal? Well if 'not quite yet' is your response then take a look at some of these fundraising tips that can be successful for family teams.

Fundraising Ideas
for Family Teams


Online Fundraising Tool: If you register online, you’ll be set up to use this tool. Send your fundraising page out to family and friends to encourage donations.

E-mail tags, Widgets, and Banners: Can be obtained from your own fundraising page or at www.marchforbabies.org/spread_the_word.aspx

Supplies from the Local March of Dimes Office: Paper Cutouts can be sold for $1 or more at stores, offices, libraries, etc.; Collection Buckets can be placed around the community (pediatrician, dentist, local stores, etc.); Plushland animals can be purchased at cost and sold for at least double to raise money for your team

Employer Matching: Check with your or your family members’ employer to see if they match donations to charity

Garage Sale: Collect old items around your home and ask for friends and family to donate items too. Pool them together and have a garage sale with all proceeds going to your family team.

E-bay Auction: Set up an e-bay auction page to sell items, with all proceeds to be donated to your team.

Bake Sale: Sell some homemade baked treats (made by you or others) or even something yummy like Krispy Kreme donuts. Sell them at work, your child’s school, or hold your own local sale.

Host a Wii Competition (or other video gaming system): Charge an entry fee to participate in a friendly competition of Guitar Hero, or other favorite game between friends and family.

Sell Healthy Snacks at Work: Place some fruit and other healthy snacks in the break room (next to the vending machine) at work along with a donation bucket. Let employees partake of the snacks for a donation rather than using the vending machine. (To earn even more money, find someone to donate the snacks.)

Vending Machine Money: Set up a coin collection canister right next to the vending machines at work. Place a sign nearby asking people to donate the change they get back from the machine.

Fundraising Card Game Night: Invite friends and family over for a fun card game night. Charge a fee to play or use real money while playing. All proceeds go to your family team. Don’t forget to provide the snacks!

Birthday and Celebration Donations: Ask friends and family for donations to your team in lieu of birthday or other special occasion gifts.

Blue Jeans for Babies: With management approval, sell tickets or stickers to allow employees to wear blue jeans or casual attire to work on designated days.

Aluminum Cans: Keep your aluminum cans throughout the year. Place aluminum can only containers in your break room. Take them to be recycled and donate the money to your team.

Bowling Party: Invite friends and family to a local bowling alley for a friendly competition. Charge an entry fee to compete. Would also be great at a miniature golf course. Ask local alleys if they’d be willing to donate a few lanes to your cause in order to increase your proceeds.

Get Your Kids Involved: Obtain some coin boxes from the local March of Dimes Office. With the permission of the school principal, have the children take the boxes and collect coins for a set period of time. The school could also work together to create a “Mile of Dimes” (a line of dimes that reach 1 mile long).

Pie in the Face: Find 5 volunteers (managers, public officials, student body officers, etc.). Give them each a money collection container. Give them a set amount of time to collect money. At the end of the time period, the person with the least amount of money gets a pie in their face.

Plan a Party: Have an event to let your family and friends get together to celebrate your team. Fundraising party ideas: have a silent auction with items you have access to or get donated from family and friends; sell tickets to guess how many “somethings” are in a large see-through container (have a small donated prize for the winner); sell plastic Easter eggs filled with candy and the potential to win a fantastic prize (ex. Coupons/prizes donated by businesses); sell raffle tickets for items donated to your team/event.

Sell a Meal: Host a meal and charge a few dollars (or enough to make profit over your cost) for people to enjoy it. Even better, make it a pot luck meal or have the supplies donated. Fun examples: Lumberjack Breakfast, Chili Cook-off, etc.

Ice Cream Sundaes: Purchase toppings and ice cream (or have them donated). Charge employees or others a set amount to go through and make their favorite ice cream sundaes. A root beer float would be simple and easy too.

Reverse Raffle: Give a free ticket to everyone attending a meeting or special event. Tell them they are automatically included in the drawing for a special prize. The prize should be something the winner has to do during the event, such as singing a song, doing a dance, wearing a costume or funny hat, having their face painted, etc. If they don’t want to be eligible for the prize, they can “sell” their ticket back for a set amount.

Crafts/Gift Baskets: Sell your own creations and have all the proceeds benefit your team. Ideas? Put together gift baskets people can buy as gifts for loved ones; make some crafty items, such as hair clips, crocheted items, handmade cards, whatever it is you do.

Hold an Open House: Contact your local independent sales consultants to see about gathering together in one location for all proceeds to benefit your family team. Examples: Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Avon, Lia Sophia Jewelry, a scrapbooking company, Miche bags, and many, many more.

Lucky 7 – 7 Easy Ways to Raise $200

Raise $200 and give all babies a fighting chance! Here’s how:

1. Ask 2 friends for $25 $50.00
2. Collect 200 dimes, 2 times $40.00
3. Donate $20 to your team $20.00
4. Ask 3 co-workers for $10 $30.00
5. Ask 1 neighbor, 1 family member, and your doctor for $10 $30.00
6. Ask 1 local merchant for $15 $15.00
7. Ask your hairstylist for $15 $15.00

TOTAL RAISED: $200.00

100 days!!

That's right - just 100 days to go until the Salt Lake March for Babies! The countdown is on now and it's time to start thinking of ways to reach out and spread the word of your participation. Here are a few things to consider doing to "spread the word".

- Send an email...to everyone! Share your reasons for participating in the march - mention that every little bit helps - direct readers to your personal web link - thank them in advance for their donation.

- Blog all about it! A lot of people have blogs and if you do a great way to advertise your participation is by adding a March for Babies "badge" on your blog. On the March for Babies website you can log into your page and click on the header "spread the word" this page will show you the different badges and tools you can use along with step by step instructions. It is great to do a blog post about your participation in the march and then direct them to you sidebar to see your badge. This badge will remain until you remove it - along with your progress bar (if you wish to have that shown). Every time some visits your blog this badge will appear and remind them to donate.

-Facebook! Okay, so Facebook has more benefits that just spying on old crushes. You can use this site that so many people access everyday as a fundraising tool. There is a Facebook badge you can add to your profile page. You also access this badge on the the MFB website. On your personal page click on the graphic that reads "get a custom widget" this shows you how to install the Facebook application. Once you've added it do a status update about the march. If you have 50 Facebook friends and 1/2 of them donated $5. you have raised $125. Hey, we're on Facebook too so if you haven't joined our page click on the link and do it!

-Signature line...One more tool is to add an email signature badge. This badge will show up at the bottom of every email you send out. So after you initial blast email to everyone asking for their support of you in the march they will be reminded again and again each time you email them. But it won't be annoying because it's a cute little graphic silently reminding them!

-Talk about yourself! Not really, but at work, church, family gatherings find a way to bring up your involvement in the march. Invite them to join your team and if they are not interested let them know they can still support you by a donation. If it's too awkward to bring up out of the blue just mention how your legs are aching because of all of your training for the march! Really, most people want to donate and if they can (and they know that ANY amount counts) they will. If they won't or can't then they won't - no big deal.

Fundraising can be tricky. Some people are great at it and for some it's kind of uncomfortable. But just keep in mind what you are fundraising for. This money isn't for you and your summer vacation, it's going to a very worthwhile cause that you believe in. Money towards research, funding for programs, improvements for NICU's, preventative screenings. These are just some of the reasons you are asking for money...because it matters. Click on the link below for another great tool to help you answer the question - where does the money go?

where your money goes

100 days to go - good luck!!