Fundraising made easy

Each participant must reach their minimum fundraising goal before the start of The Amgen People’s Coast Classic. In order to help you get started with your fundraising efforts, we have compiled the following information to help you on your way to your fundraising goal.

How do I raise the money?

• Ask everyone you know.
• Set a goal.
• Educate yourself about the Arthritis Foundation and how we serve the community.
• Create a fundraising page online.
• Send out a personalized letter and keep it short and sweet.
• Include a self-addressed envelope with all of your letters. We can provide you with pledge envelopes to make it easy for your friends and family to mail a donation directly to our office.
• Ask if the company they work for provides Matching Gifts. This is the quickest way to double your fundraising efforts.
• Remind them that their gift is tax deductible and we will send them a gift receipt after processing their donation.
• Be creative with ideas of how they can support you on the ride. An example would be .25 for every mile of the ride.
• Write a letter. See our sample fundraising letter. Letters work best, however, if they are personalized.
• After the ride, send thank you letters to all of your donors and provide them with ride statistics (total number of riders, total dollars raised, etc.) Be sure to include a photo of yourself having a great time on the ride.

Online Fundraising Tool – now available!

Online fund-raising is just what it sounds like – the ability to raise funds online through the Arthritis Foundation website. It enhances any fund-raising event program by taking some of the worry and hard work out of fund-raising.

Now our ride participants have one place to:

• Register online
• Create a free personal fundraising web page
• Execute an e-mail campaign to solicit donations
• Track their fundraising progress

It’s also easy and fun. In just five minutes, you can set up your own page, which you can then edit – changing text and adding photos. In no time at all you can download your personal address books and send an e-mail solicitation to everyone you know. Or you can send personal e-mails to larger donors. Then you can monitor visits, donations and encouraging messages from donors by visiting your personal fundraising page. Even better, thank you e-mails that can be used as receipts for tax purposes are sent automatically. Fundraising just became fun.

Go to the online fundraising tool…

Team Fundraising Promo: More for Less!

Take advantage of this promotion to introduce your family and friends to The Amgen People’s Coast Classic! A team of five riders will receive a discounted fundraising goal of $10,000 (reduced from $12,500). Teams are welcomed to fundraise together or separately within the team. Example 1: Team ABCDE wishes to fundraise as a team. Member A raises $5,000. Member B raises $5,000. Members C, D, and E are automatically in the event as the $10,000 goal has been reached. Example 2: Team ABCDE wishes to fundraise individually within the team. All members are required to reach $2,000 for a total of $10,000.

Restrictions: Six-Day participants only. $2,500 maximum discount per team. Maximum of two returning riders per team. Additional members beyond five subject to standard fundraising goal. Should team drop below five members, standard fundraising goal applies.

Registration non-transferrable. Fundraising transferrable with new registration. Example: Member E can’t make the ride despite finishing the fundraising. Member F can take Member E’s spot by joining the team with a $150 registration fee.

Receipts

All donations will be acknowledged with a letter for tax purposes. An electronic receipt will be available immediately for any donations made online, so long as the donor’s email is provided. A physical letter will be sent out to all donors after the event is over, no later than November 30, 2012.

Where to send your donations

Checks may be mailed to us at:

Arthritis Foundation – TAPCC

115 NE 100^th Street
Suite 350
Seattle, WA 98125

Please be sure that The Amgen People’s Coast Classic and the rider’s name is noted. Riders are asked not to send cash through the mail. Instead, please send a check to cover cash donations; if you include a note listing your cash donors’ names and addresses, we will send tax receipts directly to your donors.

Remember that the funds you raise will help fund arthritis research and Arthritis Foundation’s quality of life programs. Your family, friends, co-workers and business associates will have tremendous respect and admiration for your commitment. You will be amazed by their generosity! So believe in yourself and you will reach your goal.

Be proud of what you’re doing and ask everyone to donate. That means every single person you make contact with. You are asking on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation and 50 million people in the United States! Good luck and congratulations on joining The Amgen People’s Coast Classic team.