How you representing?

So if you want to think of fundraising from a purely business perspective you should think in two terms:

1. Donations.
2. Exposure.

For those England fundraising types, you've probably gotten packets that give you several very good ways to do #1. Many of them will also give you #2, except you may stand there and think, "Why on EARTH do I need to do something to expose this charity?"

Simple. Because exposure brings awareness and awareness brings more awareness and ... more donations.

"But..." you reply, "this is a well known charity. This shouldn't be hard to raise money for."

That's where you are wrong.

When you commit to fundraising it is always good to commit to some level of exposure as well. A business wouldn't open a shop without a sign. A dentist wouldn't set up practice and then not tell anyone where they are. That is why you'll see charities with commercials, posters, and cheerleaders at the race.

People need to know the charity exists in order to support (or seek support) from it. You probably wouldn't have known about your charity without a personal experience, a friend who got help from it, a campaign on television or in the news that touched you, or even an advertisement seeking runners. Exposure is important and as vital as any donations you get.

So...

1. Wear your t-shirt or running jersey whenever you can. I wear my t-shirt for the National Autistic Society on Friday, and my jersey on my long runs.
2. Carry a few informational pamphlets and your collection tin wherever you go. It will remind you to talk about your charity and maybe get you some support.
3. Let local media outlets know what you are doing. Many radio stations and charities have Twitter accounts and don't mind retweeting people looking for donations. News groups will sometimes do profile pieces on people doing charity work of all kinds.
   
4. Blog. (Um, duh.) Tweet. (Double duh.) and Fan your group on Facebook. (TRIPLE duh.) Heck, add a support ribbon to your avatar.

There a many great ways to show support for your charity and help elevate awareness. My best feeling has come not from the donations (though it feels spectacular) but from a woman who saw me running in my jersey during a practice run. As I jogged by she caught my eye and said, "Thank you."

It's just a reminder that despite my own goal, there is a bigger cause out there.

Withdrawal.

I haven't run since Sunday.

SUNDAY.

I haven't run.

It's turning me crazy.

Well, there's a lot of things that contribute to my crazy, but I would like to highlight one of those: My current lack of running.

I'm sick. Straight up. Had a fever yesterday and everything. Today, I'm on cold meds but feeling antsy. Nothing today made me very happy. I am not myself without my running shoes. Just not. It's part of me and who I am and I hate, hate, hate being sick.

As if to taunt me there are about 20x more runners around. Yes, I know, we've got half marathons and marathons coming. Lots of people in England run. As this is an island, this means we can't spread out - so I see them everywhere. I half expected them to run through my office, chatting about wick-away and if they were wearing enough spandex.

My bright side is that I did get to do a mental dump today on work tasks with a colleague. This, at least, relieved me somewhat. But I feel it. That itch, that ache. That odd need to just go out and sprint for no reason other than I can.

But it won't do me any good if it means I get worse. So I will sit and simmer, and hope I can direct the negative feelings I have about not running into something - anything - positive.

Head full of cotton.

My head is full of cotton.
My throat is full of it too.
Because of this cotton existence,
I can't put on my running shoes.

Can't put on my left one.
Nor can I lace my right.
Can't go running in England's gloom.
Or the cold of night.

I guess I could be let down.
I'm wearing a sweatshirt that is blue.
My head is full of cotton.
Can't put on my running shoes.

Big monies asking.

So now that VMGiving is passing me around to super great people who are working for their charities, I thought now and again I'll post some of my old fundraising tips up for people to use.

I'll jump into it: It is HARD to ask for big money.

It is easy to break it down, and so that is what people do. But to hit (and exceed - nothing like good excess for fundraising) you have to go out, be humble, and ask for some dough.

A few blogs back I talked about making up a Fundraising Pool. This is where you look through everyone you know, list them, and think about what area of donation they fall into. If you are lucky and you have a few successful friends they would fall into your category called Major Donors. These are people you ask with utmost care, ones that you should take the time to tailor your ask to.

Time to think.

Are they a person who will give so long as you ask?
Many good friends and business colleagues are like this. If you approach, be passionate and honest, they will often back you up. All you have to do is approach, open your mouth, and try. If you are nervous find someone willing to play act with you so you don't feel as if you are jumping straight into cold water.

Are they someone you'd like to do something for?
If you find yourself stuck on straight asking, why not think of an event to center around your friend or friends? Hold an exclusive dinner where you cook a big feast, or uncork some special wine for a night and ask a suggested donation amount. Sometimes it loosens you up a bit and makes it easier to ask for bigger bucks.

Are they someone who can help promote your cause?
Sometimes it is more than money, these people can be the bringers of smaller donations that really add up. Business owners may put a collection tin out front and make a big deal out of your efforts. Others might join in to sponsor your running shirt, giving advertising dollars to a worthy cause. Still more may help you with smaller events like raffles and bake sales.

Remember: Don't be afraid. Be creative, flexible, and confident.

A little ahead, a little behind.

There is a sore throat thing going around work. So I'm sitting here mildly medicated and a bit irritated as - of course - this interferes with my marathon training.

I was lamenting at elevensies the passing of the half marathon as my hard race. I was wistful, almost teary-eyed, at the thought of running ONLY 13.1 miles. Oh the joy of getting my first Duck from Disney all those years ago....

But then...it hit me. I'm ahead a bit on my training! So with this knee needing a bit of RNR and my throat, I've decided that this weekend I celebrate the halvsies once again. Yes, the joyful, relaxing halvsie. Best to put my mental mindset on something that is now a light and frothy, a refreshing little multi-mile joggy.

Sometimes it is good to be a little ahead so you can be a little behind. It helps at the times like this that happen in every persons race journey where marshmellow clouds float through your head because it is mildly stuffy. Yep, I think I'll hold slightly on that 17-miler.

Please sponsor. Thank you. Fluffels.

Brief Devation.

I'm not using Conn's for appliance service anymore.

I do not expect people in the US in normal US jobs doing normal US things to have a US citizen call them and say, "Hey, I'm renting out my place and the dryer is broken. I need someone to fix it, but they need to call/email/smoke signal me back so I can pay for it. I AM NOT LOCATED IN THE US. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY MY US ACCENT. I SAY BIN NOW INSTEAD OF TRASH CAN."

9 times out of 10 they don't get it. Here, I get the confusion when US people call UK phone numbers and get US people answering them. It's weird. It takes a bit of explaining. But when you try and try and try and try to tell US people you are NOT in the US, they somehow, some way, don't believe you.

So Conn's put me on hold forever and a day (HELLO? I AM PAYING FOR THIS CALL!), and not only that, they don't even know what is wrong with the dryer. They just complained that no one was there to pay the bill. And when I call them, trying, PLEADING to pay a bill they seem confused.

"You have a US accent, why are you calling from England?"

"Because I am US born and raised. I've lived here a little over a year. Sometimes I say shed-ual instead of schedule but not always, though Lord knows I won't call a toilet a ur-i-null. Can I please pay a bill for a dryer which is located on 100% God Bless American soil?"

"Why are you paying for a dryer in the US?"

"Because, oddly enough, I own a place there which I rent and thereby must fix things on occasion."

"Oh. This is with an American card, right?"

grumble...cuss under breath....

I try to think that my fellow Americans have an international mindset. But sometimes I don't think they see outside of their cubical.

Sigh.

Recognition and Lots More Running.

So, yay, VMGiving is Retweeting me! I may even get a bit of recognition in their fundraising blog! How cool is that?

It's nice to get a little bit of recognition now and again. People can scoff all they want at people tweeting and facebooking away about the miles they run, but we do it for a reason. Running, unlike many sports, isn't team enabled. Your competitor is always you. Yes, I know, people run in groups and for charities, but in the end it's your time. Not your team's time, not your charities time.

Your time.

So that's why loads of people don't run. It's hard, it's monotonous, and it's you against you. Someone is always BOUND to be faster, put in a better PR, and finish looking glorious instead of like they've been run over.

Thus, we runner's go for our little solo happy achievements and use tools to find encouragement to continue to race ourselves. I ran 14.65 miles yesterday through surprisingly good winter weather for England. I tweeted it. Sometimes when I tweet people tweet back "Good going!" or the ever-present English, "Well done!" And I smile and feel good about myself. I'm not out to make people feel bad because they aren't running (I am, matter of fact, a surprisingly terrible runner) but so that people know:

Yes, I'm actually training for a marathon. I'm taking it seriously. I'm raising funds. And my knee feels stiff.

Okay, so the last one might count as TMI *but* I'd rather people know I'm human and not super-human. Though, I think if I became super-human I'd really want to tweet about that.

Moving on.

I did make it through my run yesterday, but with a lovely and surprising stiffness showing up at about the point where my brain said, "Um. So hey and stuff. Did you know you've never actually ran this far?" It's in the knee that got injured in my only car accident - in which my own car hit me. (I was outside of it, swear.) Did I cry? No. I'm still actively working on researching ways to cope with this. It doesn't hurt that much, but I don't want to make it worse. So a rethinking is happening.

In related news I can say that Oxford has AMAZING canal and river walks. Now that the water has gone down I spent quite a lot of my jogging near the river. Peaceful and people happy to move out of your way (unlike running near the shops). I'm trying to see if I can create a run in which 90% of it is out on these paths. Definitely gets me distracted from the fact that I'm running this insane amount of distance.

So this week is going to be a lot of reflection on my current status so I can work on improving. I'm also going to hit the Virgin Money Giving forum and try to motivate people to raise for what they believe in. I encourage anyone who has any ideas to get on as well.

Peace out.