Hello everyone!
I decided to start this blog to cover all the fundraising efforts I do year 'round for chronic pain causes. While most of my posts will be regarding different fundraising ideas, successes... (not so successes...) there will also be bits and bobs of Bacon Family news! Since we're the folks behind Knit, and now Craft for Pain, it only makes sense to give you a small window into our lives and why we do what we do.
My fundraising efforts for chronic pain began over the Thanksgiving holiday, 2010. We live in an area that gets flocks of snowbirds - seasonal tourists - because our weather is so beautiful! While trying to come up with an idea for how to raise money, my coworkers were asking me to bring in my pies and cakes more often. They lost out, but the idea of Pies for Pain was born! For a donation of $28 via FirstGiving (28 as it would be my husband's 28th birthday the following May, and I was doing it for him), donators would receive a pie of their choice, delivered to them. People who hate pie but love the idea, or can't eat it, or live in Hawaii, had the option of donating their pie to their charity of choice, which worked out well for everyone. Yum!
By the end of December, we were going broke buying eggs, butter, flour and fruit so I had to end Pies for Pain earlier than I'd have liked. I raised $876 for the American Chronic Pain Association, not too bad for my very first grassroots fundraiser! 30 pies later (as some people donated a little extra) my hands were sore and my gas bill through the roof, but my heart was full. My love of fundraising was born!
I took a break in 2011, and by fall of that year I was itching to try again. I worked out the details with my husband - it would be a raffle this time, so we didn't go broke buying something for everyone (thouugh I wish I could!) The "entry price" would be lower, to allow people who maybe can't afford a lot, but they have some change floating around in their console and at the bottom of their backpack. $5 seemed reasonable, and so someone couldn't 'cheat' by buying up ALL the tickets, we limited it to 5 to keep it as fair as possible and give everyone a chance to win. We are using FirstGiving again, as we had such a good experience this time: Knit For Pain @ FirstGiving!
Now the first round is drawing to a close, and we are very, very close to making our initial goal of $500! Hopefully we can keep the momentum going, and raise another $500 by October 30th! To that end we're working on doing a little inexpensive advertising, and working with group moderators to get the word out there in a way that isn't spammy, just informative. Not to mention Facebook, and the RSDSA website!
We're also soliciting vendors who would like to donate to this worthy cause now that one round is successfully completed. So if you know of someone who has his or her own craft business, please pass along my information so we can get in touch. (We are currently able to cover materials cost and shipping, but our budget's limited. I'd love to buy everything outright!) In exchange for their product donation, they will receive a shout out in each forum update for the two month period, their name on a Ravelry banner as a donor, and links to their website on my FirstGiving site. Not to mention the warm fuzzies you'll receive helping a good cause and exposing a new audience to your product! Vendors have the option of maintaining their donation with them and contacting the winner(s) directly should they so choose.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding Knit/Craft for Pain, I will try to answer you as quickly as life allows!
Love,
Bronwyn & Evan
