Fundraising for Courage Classic
We will be processing rider pledges through the end of the month as the incentive prize deadline is August 31.
During the first week of September, incentive prize order forms will be sent out to each participant and will include your total fundraising amount.
Each participant must raise a minimum of $500 before the start of the Courage Classic Bicycle Tour. In 2008, our per rider average was over $1,054.
How do I raise the money?
- Ask everyone you know.
- Educate yourself about the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital 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.
Pledge Sheets
Use Pledge sheets for recording, tracking and collecting your pledges. You do NOT need to turn them in with your pledge dollars.
Receipts
All donations will be acknowledged with a letter for tax purposes if a donor address is provided.
Envelopes
Business return envelopes are provided for you to mail in your checks. Make sure to fill out the information on the envelope so that the money will be credited to your record. If you have questions or need more supplies just let us know.
Checks may be mailed to us at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, PO Box 5296, Tacoma, WA 98415-0296. Please be sure that Courage 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.