What year did you participate in A Fresh Chapter (AFC), and where did you go?

In Fall 2017, I went to Cape Town, South Africa!

What fundraising experience did you have prior to AFC?

Not too much. Prior to AFC, I participated in fundraising for my local cancer center, the Kraemer Cancer Center in West Bend, Wisconsin. I was chosen to be the featured cancer survivor, and I was filmed sharing my cancer story. The video was shown at an Italian-themed dinner/silent auction. I raised approximately $1200 for the Kraemer Cancer Center by simply asking friends and family to write me checks that I then passed on to the cancer center.

Do you feel you are someone who easily asks for help and support? Can you discuss how this impacted you in your cancer story?

I don’t feel I’m someone who easily asks for help; perhaps I don’t need much help, or perhaps I just think I don’t. I’m slightly stubborn and fiercely independent, so I usually try to handle things myself. Since I don’t typically reach out for assistance, perhaps that is why my family and friends stepped up as they did when I asked them to contribute to my fresh chapter. Because I don’t ask for help or money often, I think my friends and family realized that this was a special opportunity for me and an extremely worthwhile cause.

What was your fundraising strategy for AFC? Did you meet your goal? If so, how long did it take? 

When I first started brainstorming fundraising strategies for AFC, I met up with two of my closest friends – the kind of women who get stuff done. We thought about hosting a painting party, a wine tasting, a silent auction, etc, etc, etc. Ultimately, my first strategy was simply to share my Crowdrise bio on Facebook and ask for donations. That simple strategy seemed to work. I met my goal of $5000 in just one day, and I eventually raised $8361 on Crowdrise.

What did you learn about yourself and/or your community from your fundraising experience?

To put it simply, I learned how much I was loved. Friends, family, and complete strangers were so amazingly generous; it was utterly humbling.

What advice do you have for others to be successful at fundraising?

First, if future AFC participants choose to write their cancer stories on Crowdrise, I would advise them to be as honest and open as possible, making sure their own voices come through. Be careful about it being too canned. If they choose to share their stories and fundraising pleas on Facebook or other social media, have friends share it, too. My friends on Facebook were amazing; they didn’t just hit “share.” Instead, they wrote their own paragraphs explaining why this cause was important. This was so invaluable; I had people who didn’t even know me choose to donate to AFC because of what my friends wrote. Also, my mother-in-law wrote a wonderful letter on my behalf and emailed it to her friends – people, with generous hearts, who were not on Facebook. In addition, I mailed actual letters to some friends and family as well.

What I learned is that donors donate for different reasons, so I think it helps to give people options – they could donate by writing a check directly to me if they didn’t feel comfortable making an online donation through Crowdrise. Further, I feel that my donors really appreciated knowing what their donations would be used for. Some donors wanted to specifically help me and gave money directly to me, so I could pay for airfare and buy a working carry-on suitcase. Other donors were more interested in helping the greater good. Many were thrilled to learn that I would be volunteering with children with cancer in Africa, and many also loved knowing that money raised beyond my $5000 goal meant another cancer patient would be able to travel with AFC.

Finally, make sure to thank your donors. I emailed my donors immediately to say thank you, but I also sent handwritten thank you postcards to my donors with my mantra, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” I then sent my donors (117 of them, I think!) postcards from South Africa with various Nelson Mandela quotes such as: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall,” and “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”