Tips from top Walk fundraisers: Work your contacts. Find your fearless!
January 30, 2014
Although the top national individual and team fundraisers for the 2013 Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope are lawyers, there is general consensus that you don’t have to be a lawyer to be an outstanding fundraiser.
Still, it doesn’t hurt to tuck away some pointers from these highly motivated and productive volunteers.
As we begin to turn our thoughts to the 2014 Walk, the key to fundraising success, according to our legal eagles, is to reach out to all your contacts – personal and professional – and don’t be shy about it!
BC Women Lawyers Forum
“I had been on the Board of Directors for Ovarian Cancer Canada and while I had worked very hard, I’d never really tapped my network,” says Deborah Taylor, Walk team captain for the Canadian Bar Association British Columbia Women Lawyers Forum. “But once I did that, I realized it’s a no-brainer. If you don’t ask, you won’t get. You have to connect with all of your resources and ‘find your fearless.’”
No doubt, the 45 women lawyers who joined the team were indeed fearless; they raised more than $38,300 – almost double their original goal – and were recognized as the 2013 national top team fundraisers.
In celebration of its 10th anniversary in 2013, the BC Women Lawyers Forum, an organization with more than 450 members, added a philanthropic component to its programs. Linda Wong, an active member, had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and Ovarian Cancer Canada was selected as the forum’s charity of choice. Each forum event during the year would include an ovarian cancer education component, and the September Walk would serve as the kick-off event and major fundraiser.
Pacific Medical Law provided hats for the BC Women Lawyers Forum team to promote the organization and Ovarian Cancer Canada at the Walk and the forum’s fall meeting.
When several forum members approached Linda about a Walk team, she offered to match up to $10,000 if the team could raise that much in sponsorship by mid-September. Team formation and fundraising began in earnest in mid-July.
“As team captain, I just got ‘the bug,’” says Deborah, a Vancouver lawyer who works 60 to 70 hours a week. As the BC Women Lawyers Forum team grew, Deborah sent out short emails once or twice daily to welcome new team members, update the team on its fundraising totals and let them know their ranking on a national level.
“I was worried that I was over-saturating our team but that’s not the reaction I got. Lawyers are competitive and they really got into the spirit of it.”
Deborah and the team used the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope website to communicate with one another and conduct their fundraising. “All the tools are there on the website – that’s what made the job so easy.”
Within about two weeks, the team members were astonished to raise $10,000, which in turn triggered Linda’s matching $10,000 donation. Soon the team name appeared on the Walk’s top 10 list of national teams. By mid-August, the BC Women Lawyers Forum claimed and held the national lead.
“It was fun and very gratifying because we had no idea the support we were going to get,” says Deborah. “We were blown away -- people were so generous. I believe this experience also brought our forum members closer together.”
Jeff LeRoy: In honour of Kimberly
The 2013 Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope was Jeff LeRoy’s fifth Walk to help overcome ovarian cancer – but it was the first time that the Burlington, Ontario lawyer and the team We Have Hope were without their inspiration and heart, Kimberly LeRoy.
Kimberly, the wife of Jeff’s younger brother Rob, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in late 2008 and starting the following year, she and her team of family and friends became faithful Walk participants and fundraisers. Even in September 2012, Kimberly was at the Burlington Walk to support her team, although she was too weak to walk. She died less than two months later on November 4 at the age of 32.
When the 2013 Walk came around, Jeff had his inspiration. “I went into overdrive in terms of fundraising,” he says. He almost tripled his previous efforts – bringing in close to $16,800 and earning the position of national top individual fundraiser.
“It meant a lot to me. Kimberly was such an incredible person who fought so hard, never gave up and always had a very positive attitude. She always generated a lot of money fundraising for the Walk.”
Jeff LeRoy (left) with his brother Rob and sister-in-law Kimberly at their wedding in 2009
Each Friday morning in August of 2013 before 9 a.m., Jeff sent a short email to everyone on his contact list. The first email provided a link to the team’s page on the Walk website and a link to a video tribute Rob had made for Kimberly’s funeral. Jeff also included a short paragraph about ovarian cancer, the need for early detection and a request for sponsorship.
“As someone receiving this kind of email, I would be much more inclined to act on it on a Friday morning when I’m a little more relaxed and the weekend is coming,” says Jeff. He noticed that his donations mainly arrived on Fridays, so he stuck with this strategy.
He also won several Walk Wednesday fundraising competitions in August and used the $250 Winners gift certificates to generate more donations.
“I would send out an email saying that anyone who sponsors me for $100 or more that week would have their name thrown in a hat and I would draw for the gift certificate. Things went crazy after that.”
The 13th annual Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope is set for Sunday, September 7 (some Walks will be held on other dates). Pre-register now and talk to family, friends and colleagues about forming a team. We can’t wait to see what we can achieve together in 2014!