No matter where you and your fundraising efforts stand – whether you’re raising money for a personal cause or for a huge organization – there are certain methods you can use to solidify funds. Let’s face it; sometimes it’s tough or almost impossible to get people to donate, no matter how worthy the cause. A little push in the right direction, though, and they can’t get their wallets out fast enough!

Timing

Timing is everything, and not just in stand-up comedy. Knowing when to ask your friends, family, and coworkers for donations is just as important as knowing how to run the campaign.

When do you usually ask people for donations? At WePay, we’ve seen our fair share of donations, to a myriad of causes. One thing we’ve noticed is that people rarely donate on the weekends. They’re just too busy doing other things, and are typically not stuck at their computers.

So forget the weekend. That leaves the work week…but not the entire week. Give people time to settle in before you start asking. Who wants to be bothered on a Monday? Our studies show that over two-thirds of donations are collected from Tuesday until Friday.

But not just any time! Don’t ask them at the end of the day after they’re tired and ready to go home. Send your solicitations out at lunchtime (noon through 1:00 PM) and watch your donations soar.

Who?

Not only are there specific times to ask for donations, certain folks out there are going to be more likely to hand over the dough.

For instance, you may think women are more likely to give than men…and it’s true. However, men typically donate more money at once; women just donate more frequently. So if you’re looking for a big push, you know where to go.

It also helps if they’re married: something about being hitched makes people give away their hard earned greenbacks. Not only do they donate more frequently (just under 20% as opposed to 13%), they also give more overall ($65 married, 52% single).

Plus, it also helps to know where your potential givers live! Not every state is the same, as residents in certain areas are more likely to give than others. For instance, California is the most giving state at over 23% of total donations given. Almost a quarter! Clearly, they’re a target you can’t ignore. Other good states: New York (at 10% of total donations), Florida, Texas, and Massachusetts.

So to recap: ask all your married friends who live in California for money toward your cause every Tuesday at noon and you’ll be perfectly fine!

While this may sound like a beautiful hybrid in theory, things are rarely that simple these days. The value of voluntourism is a topic that has been viciously debated in recent months, particularly in my new home of Phnom Penh.

Let me start off by saying: I think the fact that this discussion is even happening is inherently great. It shows that enough people, from all over the world, have chosen to forgo the typical sun-surf-sand getaways in favor of working in developing countries that an entire new industry was created to support them! That in it of itself is an incredible feat, and should not be undervalued.

However—it seems like there’s always a “however” nowadays—if desperation breeds ingenuity, then ingenuity often breeds exploitation, hence the very polarized views about voluntourism as a whole.

The argument made by its opponents can essentially be broken down as follows: whatever value gained from a volunteer’s short visit is almost always outweighed by either the costs of hosting them, or even the lasting damage they can cause.

This is especially pertinent when dealing with child-based projects. Here in Cambodia, orphanage and school tours are all the rage. Volunteers from the US or Europe come for a day, maybe a few; read a couple books aloud; play some games; take lots of pictures surrounded by smiling Cambodian kids (the cutest in the world, if you ask me) to be uploaded to Facebook later; and then proceed on their merry ways to Angkor, the cheap beaches, and home again.

Enough studies have been done to show that this type of interaction—attaching to visitors who always leave—can be very damaging to a child’s psyche, particularly in an orphanage setting. Do orphanages or schools in your home country ever let random foreign visitors come in for a few days? Extremely unlikely, and for good reasons.

Friends International recently launched a campaign entitled “When Children become Tourist Attractions,” which encourages visitors to support viable enterprises that help local children, but to not visit them directly.

The Friends campaign also featured a study that showed the number of orphanages in Cambodia has increased 65% just from 2005! It also found that 72% of children in Cambodian orphanages were not orphans—many either have a living parent, or other close relative in the area!

Furthermore, voluntourists will oftentimes pay hefty fees to “support” the causes of their choosing. Various scams that exploit this are unfortunately commonplace, and donations typically line pockets rather than help the children. Even if the money does go back into the institution, relying on the small gifts made by tourists is not financially sustainable.

This is not to say that voluntourism is entirely an unscrupulous industry. I thoroughly believe that it has its roots in a good place. But as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Sadly there are too many people out there willing to tarnish the goodwill of others.

The good news is: there are ways that tourists can help the countries they visit. True, viable, socially conscious, sustainable tourism is growing at a healthy rate, and can be accessed by anyone.

The main thing to remember as a visitor anywhere is to think. Think about your actions and think about their ramifications.

For more information on Friends International and their wonderful work; and to see how you can help, check out Think Child Safe’s website.

Also, stay tuned for my sister post on how all you aspiring voluntourists can make your giving-back dreams come true, in a real and safe way…coming soon!

Cailee Mellen is a recent graduate from Boston University, with majors in Archaeology, Art History, and French Language. So, her ultimate career goal is to be Indiana Jones, naturally. Though not an avid Nazi-fighter, Cailee does love to travel and has recently become involved with the development sector. She currently works as a grant-writer for a Cambodian-American NGO focused on pediatric healthcare. Feel free to send her some questions, comments, love, hate to caileelouise@gmail.com.

Photo by learning executive.

Here’s what I learned …

I used to believe nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses were different. They’re not.  Nonprofits are businesses.

If you ask someone to donate their time, talents or money for charitable purposes – even if you’re not associated with a nonprofit organization – you’re conducting a business transaction.  You’re exchanging one value for another.

In order to create successful fundraising emails, you have to follow the same principles for-profit marketers and copywriters use.  Here are some of the mistakes I made (pre-research) creating fundraising emails … and ways you can avoid doing the same.

Trying to Accomplish Too Much – Decide what you want your email to accomplish. Have only one objective. Do you want recipients to make a donation or volunteer at your event?  Perhaps you want recipients to make a donation and volunteer. Then create two emails … one for donations and one for recruiting volunteers.

No Clear Call to Action – Based on your one objective, decide what action you want recipients to take. Make it obvious what that action is.

It’s Too Difficult to Take Action – After you’ve clearly communicated your one objective and described the specific action you want your readers to take, make it easy for them to take the desired action. Provide a link in the body of the email that goes directly to your donation page or to a volunteer sign-up page on a website.  Provide the same link again in your signature file or in a P.S. below your signature.

Not Using Viral Marketing – Asking your recipients to forward your email to their friends, family and colleagues expands your reach … exponentially. Try taking it a step further and suggest they ask their email recipients to forward it on to anyone they think would be interested in your cause.

Subject Line Isn’t Working – If your Subject line is interesting and quickly grabs your reader’s attention, s/he is more likely to open the email and read it. Bob Bly, master copywriter and Internet marketing guru, suggests, “Subject lines of 40 to 50 characters generate approximately twice the click-through rates of subject lines 70 to 80 characters in length.”

Avoid using all caps or trigger words (free, Dear Friend, never, see for yourself) that could send your emails to a spam filter.

From Line Isn’t Working – Recipients won’t bother opening your email if the From line doesn’t contain a name they recognize. Use your name if you’re sure recipients will recognize it.  If you’re with an organization, use the organization’s name.  If you ask your social network to forward your email, ask that they put their name in the From line.  Avoid using acronyms.

Operating As a Focus Group of One – Don’t assume you know why someone would want to support your cause. Ask a current donor or volunteer why s/he decided to donate or volunteer.  Ask what benefit they feel they get from being associated with your cause. You want to discover both the logical and emotional benefits. This will help you write interesting content that keeps the reader engaged (and reading your email).

Content Is Boring – Starting with the first sentence, the body content has to be interesting or recipients will simply stop reading. Content should be conversational.  Write as if you’re writing from one friend to another.

Recipients need to see what’s in it for them. Show them the benefits of participating.  Think about the logical and emotional benefits current donors and volunteers expressed. Let your recipients know who else has already participated (the benefit of association). Why you need their support and how important they are to your success (benefit of doing the right thing). Acknowledge successful campaigns they’ve supported in the past (benefit of ownership).

Or, use a story that connects recipients with the action you want them to take. Stories are memorable and more interesting than boring stats or sterile data. It will be easier for your email recipients to pass along a story to their recipients if you’re using viral marketing.

Content Is Difficult to Read – Use conventional fonts like Arial or Times New Roman. Avoid using jargon.  Short sentences and short paragraphs are easier to read (and more interesting). Delete adjectives and adverbs that mean the same as the noun or verb (like in the third sentence of this blog post where I used dismal failures … what failures aren’t dismal?).  Be concise. Get to the point as quickly as possible in as few words as possible.

Not Conveying a Sense of Urgency – It’s never a good idea to sound desperate, but you do want to convey a sense of urgency. Let your recipients know there is a specific time frame (and why) in which donations need to be sent or volunteers need to sign up.

Not Testing – Send a test email to yourself before sending it to your audience. All the important points should appear in the preview pane so recipients don’t have to scroll down to see the main message (some recipients won’t bother).

If you used an image, how does it look? Speaking of images … images are often disabled in email programs.  If you must use images, put them at the end of the email so only text is visible in the preview pane.  Don’t waste this valuable space on images that may or may not be seen.

Ignoring Can-Spam Act of 2003 – I (thankfully) never made this mistake, but it’s one you should be aware of. If you’re associated with a nonprofit organization, be sure to include an Unsubscribe link in your emails. If you don’t, recipients could mark the email as spam and your organization as spammers.  That’s a tough one to overcome when you’re trying to raise philanthropic dollars.

Ready to create fundraising emails that work?

About the Author

Roberta Falkner has 20 plus years’ experience working in nonprofit fundraising, marketing, and communications.  She’s worked in the fund development departments of a large, metropolitan zoo, museums, social service agencies, a philanthropic foundation and a high-technology business incubator.  Roberta has also served on the board of directors for a national historic trail association and a humane society.  She currently consults with small and start-up nonprofit organizations and has written books on fundraising and foundation grant writing.

In 2002, when Buck served as PTA president of Walnut Grove Elementary in Pleasanton, California, she worried that not much was being done to conserve the planet. Through in-depth research she discovered that there were lots of single, pigeon-hole conservation programs, but not a one-stop-shop for what schools could do to be more environmentally friendly overall.

Buck, who later became the founding president of the Pleasanton PTA Council, decided to write an environmental education program she could share with her school and possibly other schools, as well. To date, she’s spoken at the PTA conventions in nine states, who have all have adopted the program.

The five pillars of the program are:

1. Generate compost – through basic composting and worm composting, children learn about ecology, biology and waste reduction
2. Recycle – repurposing items like paper, plastic, aluminum, cell phones and printer cartridges reduces toxic greenhouse gas emissions and conserves energy
3. Educate – schools serve as catalysts of desired behaviors for the community at large
4. Evaluate – assess every activity you plan for your school and consider the environmental impact of your decisions, purchases and actions
5. Responsible paper consumption (paper has its own pillar because schools consume so much of it) – manage paper use responsibly

PTAs and PTOs Role

First and foremost PTAs need to role model the behavior they want to see in their schools, says Buck. Do you send out a paper newsletter when you could just as easily send it in an email? Could you use both sides of a sheet of paper to send your news to parents? Do you throw environmentally-responsible events? Do you use paper cups instead of Styrofoam ones?

Buck said her school was able to save $10,000 in printing costs by conserving paper, which enabled them to hire a part-time art teacher with that money.

Always check with the principal before beginning a new program. Most practices will require his buy-in, which is always good to have no matter what you’re planning.

“Do some fact-finding and ask questions of your waste hauler or custodian and then take that information to your principal,” says Buck. “Sometimes recycling programs create less work for the custodian and sometimes more, so he needs to be brought in on the initial discussions.”

Be sensitive to what the teachers need. They are incredibly inundated with curriculum and standardized tests. Make going green a team effort and try to take the burden off the teachers whenever you can.

When you institute a campus recycling, offer to help with it. Have a parent volunteer show kids how to use the recycling containers – what to put in them and what not to.

Whatever action you choose to adopt first, take it slow and gradual to get the wrinkles ironed out and not overwhelm anyone.

“Always ask yourself ‘how is this action preparing the future for our children’ and make sure you have a good answer before continuing,” says Buck.

Having worked in non-profit fundraising for almost a decade, I have experienced the good, the bad and the unbelievable.

To ensure a streamlined and successful event, the following 5 pitfalls can easily be avoided – with 5 more coming soon!

Registration Aggravation

Tickets are sold, seats are assigned and you can just sit back and wait for the guests to arrive, right?

Wrong.

Registration is the First Impression – it sets the tone for the rest of the evening.  To ensure a sparkling evening from the get-go, the volunteers and staff you assign to registration must be the most cordial, most polished and most helpful at your disposal.

Whether you work for an organization that invests in specific event-based software or one that relies on Excel, you need to be extraordinarily organized regarding guests names, contact information, table assignments and assigned bidder numbers.  You must understand fully who guests are and how they relate, or you may end up, as I once did, with an incumbent senator seated at the same table as his aggressive challenger.  Awkward…

And the Winner Is…?

Please, please, please do not ask guests to fill their names into little spaces on printed Excel spreadsheets or Word tables as a method of bidding on silent auction items.  Why?  Because as the event carries on and the drinks keep flowing, those names end up looking more like hieroglyphics than symbols from the American alphabet.

Moreover, those who have imbibed too much often forget that they have bid on anything leaving you with the “won” item and no revenue for it.

It behooves every organization, large or small, to use specifically assigned bidder numbers so that winners are easily identified and held responsible for their purchased item(s).

During live auctions, you may want to employ the practice of requiring the winning bidder to sign a promissory document immediately upon winning.  That way if a bidder is tipsy and engages in a fierce bidding war for, say, Red Sox vs. Yankees tickets and is the highest bidder at $10,000, that bidder can not, at the end of the night, say “I didn’t bid that much on that!  I’m not paying.”   Adults throwing drunk tantrums are no fun to deal with at the end of an event.

Slurred Speech

I am a proponent of open bar during the cocktail and dinner hours of any black tie event.  This prompts numerous debates – nay, arguments – but that is a topic for another blog.

Having said that, I have had the unfortunate experience of needing to literally hold upright my inebriated honoree while he provided a truncated and slurred speech about things that were vaguely to remotely related to my organization.

Did that change my mindset regarding open bar?  Absolutely not.  It did, however, change the way I approach my honoree and those representing him/her.

To avoid any future Ricky Gervais type moments, I require a meeting one week prior to the event with the honoree, his/her representative and the event committee chair to discuss the layout of the evening and to set the ground rules…like no getting hammered before the speech.

Menu Mishaps

Anybody for a plate of oily chicken and dry pasta?  Mmmmm…sounds delicious.

Your guests may be paying upwards of $100 per ticket…please don’t feed them bland, boring or scary food.

Regardless of the venue, your contract should require a menu tasting for at least two, one of whom should be your committee chair.    Most chefs are very willing to modify standard menus for events and enjoy taking creative liberties when allowed.

The chef at the venue that hosted our Gala Caliente was thrilled when he understood that we sought a Cuban theme.  He created a completely unique menu and ended up thanking us for the opportunity.

Blunderfully Decorated

Incorporating a theme in a black-tie event is a fabulous idea.  Too often black-tie galas feel more like overdressed snoozefests but adding some flavor keeps things fresh and interesting.  Going overboard with themed decorations can be off-putting, though.

I shudder to recall the year the event committee selected a Venetian Garden theme and insisted on having strolling minstrels, living statues and a theatrical introduction of our corporate honoree.  People in the room were freaked out.  Quite honestly, so was I.

Remember what I said about anything and everything reflecting on the organization?  That event was more than 6 years ago…and I still can’t live that one down.

Not horrified enough by these blunders? Stay tuned for Part 2 – coming soon!

So, let’s break it down. What exactly can we do?

Content

The biggest thing that promoters neglect to do is include as much information as possible. It’s a common theme nowadays, especially with the social media explosion, to create a ticket link, make a facebook event, blast both of those links out to your personal and professional networks, and then cross your fingers that people click the “buy” button. If they do include a description of the event, it’s usually just a quick “who’s playing/what time/ticket price” type blurb.

WAKE UP! We need more than that. Especially when it comes to up and coming artists. Give us a YouTube video, a free mp3 download, a bio of the artist and where they come from, links to interviews with the artist or anything that’s going to give us a feel for who’s playing before they even show up at the venue. On top of that, this is your time to create a sales pitch! No, I don’t mean make your event pages all sound like you’re selling the Magic Bullet, but in order for people to want to buy anything, they need to feel like they want it. Which is…SALES!

Don’t be scared, we’re not all going to become telemarketers. But you’ve got to spruce things up and make it appealing.

Study

One thing I’ve learned through my years of marketing and promoting, is that it’s not enough to have a huge list of people that you can blast links out to. If you’re bringing Katy Perry to a venue, you’re not going to send a message out to the Metallica fans are you? No. Learn your demographic for each event. Study who they listen to, what they want to hear, what they’re looking for in a concert and then cater to that! And honestly, even more than targeting the right people, if you send out a Katy Perry blast to the Metallica fans enough times chances are you’re going to end up losing people in your networks.

When?

So when do you put your event up for sale? Some people say it’s better to do it as early as possible. Others say it’s better to wait until a few weeks before the event and then release the tickets for sale. Honestly, it depends on the demand for the show. If it’s a high demand you can put them up for sale early giving people enough time and notice about the show that they’ll be able to secure their tickets. If it’s a low demand show (i.e. someone that people don’t really know about) it doesn’t really matter when you put the tickets on sale. Honestly, in my opinion, it’s probably better to hype your event as much as possible and then create a link to buy tickets. It creates that “where are the tickets?!” type feeling.

Specials

This isn’t news if you’re promoting events, but it is something that you can always be improving. Contests, specials, giveaways, 2 for 1 deals, etc. are all a great way to get people buying tickets. If you’re lucky enough to have sponsors for your event, you can always include some type of package prize. Anything to whet the appetite of your target audience and get them looking at your event and talking about it.

V.I.P.

Also, the term “VIP” is something that is so simple to pull off but will end up going a long way for some of the people attending your show. If it’s a small show, pick a group of people that will get to come early to the show and hang out with the artist. Get to know him/her/them. It’ll work wonders for you. If it’s a large show, create a VIP area where people can go to watch the show, get some food and have a better time than if they were in the nosebleeds. Obviously these tickets are priced a bit more, but it allows you to make a little extra profit and gives the consumer an experience they won’t forget.

All of these are ideas that should help boost your ticket sales. Learn how to sell, learn your audience and most of all Be Creative! It’s a lot of work to put together a concert and have it go off without a hitch. It’d be a real bummer if no one showed up, wouldn’t it?

Work your tails off, but always make sure you have fun. Until next time.

It’s nothing new and everyone knows how to do it.  But we sometimes forget to do this in the excitement of receiving a donation for our favorite cause.  We think the exchange is completed at this point.  It is not.

What’s the ONE big thing you must do to raise money? You must show appreciation.  Genuine appreciation.  You must say, “Thank you,” and you have to say it immediately after receiving a gift and before you ask for another.

January is National Thank You Month. Not too surprising after all the gift giving last month.  It’s also a great time to plan how you’ll show donor appreciation throughout the coming year. There are a number of ways to say thank you.  Find the way that suits your donors best.

Donation Thank-You Letters

The most common method of thanking donors is the donation thank-you letter. Traditionally, thank-you letters are mailed. If you know your donors prefer communications via e-mail, it’s perfectly okay to send your thank-you letter as an e-mail.  Some donors don’t want you to waste precious resources (the cost of a postage stamp). If you do not know your donor’s communication preference, mail the letter.

A good thank-you letter has a personal salutation (hint … no “Dear Donor”) and sincerely expresses your appreciation for the specific gift. It should be signed by the highest authority in your organization or by you if this is a personal appeal.  Make note of how the funds will be used, which should be consistent with how you presented the funding need in your initial request. Acknowledge any previous gifts from the donor. The letter should be concise and to the point, should not ask for another donation, and should not continue to promote the need for additional funds.

Publicly Thanking Donors

My local newspaper recently published some of the names of donors who had responded to a virtual food drive to end childhood hunger in our community. The article’s message read, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Your response was greater than we could have imagined.”

The names of donors who had opted to dedicate their donations – along with the names of people being honored – were published in the newspaper.

Few of us have the means to pay for a two-page newspaper spread.  But this inventive method (asking donors to dedicate their donations in another’s name) and publishing the honorees’ names alongside the donors’ names makes everyone feel appreciated. Do something similar that isn’t so costly.

Always tell donors you intend to publicly thank them and give them the opportunity to remain anonymous

I add a P.S. to my donation thank-you letter that says, “Your generous donation will be acknowledged in our (quarterly newsletter, website, annual report, etc.) as being from Jane and John Doe.  If this is not how you wish to be acknowledged or you prefer to remain anonymous, please call Roberta at xxx-xxx-xxxx or email her at xxx@xxx.org so that we can change our records accordingly.”

WePay donors are publicly listed on your donor page and are given the opportunity to remain anonymous if they wish to keep their donations private.

Thank-You Phone Bank

An inexpensive way to thank donors and one that helped me raise a great deal of money is the thank-you phone bank.

No … not the annoying phone call asking for a donation that comes just as you’re sitting down to dinner or a minute after you’ve finally gotten the baby to fall asleep.  A thank-you phone bank.

Two months before I sent our year-end appeal letter, I asked my board members to call donors and thank them for supporting our organization. Under no circumstances were they to ask for a donation.

We got together one evening (after dinner!), and I supplied the board members with a list of names, phone numbers, the total amount the donor had contributed that year, and the program or service their donation was intended for.  Board members used their own words to express gratitude (there was no script to follow), mentioned the amounts donated, where those funds were used, and the progress to-date of those programs and services.

I encouraged the board members to ask if there were any questions or concerns the donors had about our programs and services, which opened up some great dialogues.

My board members thanked me for the opportunity to interact with donors (without having to directly ask for money) in such a personal way.  Donors thanked the board members for their genuine expressions of appreciation (without being asked for more money).  The organization benefitted from the (no-cost) market research donors provided us when asked if there were any questions or concerns.

My year-end appeal raised considerably more money that year than in any previous year.  Never underestimate the power of saying “Thank you” when fundraising.

If you’re raising funds on WePay, you have the opportunity to write a thank-you message to donors. Because this is such an important part of the donation transaction and can greatly increase future donations, put some thought into the message.

You won’t know who will be donating, so you can’t personalize the salutation. But you can make the message personal.

Envision a person.  A real person and write the message as if you were writing to that one person. Sincerely and genuinely thank that person. Keep the message positive and upbeat. Communicate your excitement about the project. Use the words “you” and “your” more than “me” or “my.”  Reiterate how the funds will be used (in keeping with your original WePay appeal for funds). Sign off with your name as if it were a real letter.

Ask your donors to come back to your WePay donor page where you’ll keep them updated on your progress. And, remind donors it’s their good deeds that are making your progress possible.

How have you thanked donors?  I’d love to hear about it. Please post your comments and share the creative ways you’ve found to thank donors.

Photo by Fer Kazalz.

It is 2012 and if the world isn’t going to end then there are a lot of us who are saying we have to get organized, get on track and set some new goals. It may be cliché to write down your New Year’s resolution,  start a diet or create a new expense budget on the  first of the year but what better time to start. It’s like the universe is giving us a giant ‘reset ‘ button- so why not take advantage of it?

We set small goals each and every day and reach them through a series of smaller steps. We already know how to do it so why not use this month to set some big goals, huge ones.  I know logic says make them small and attainable. Experts (whoever they are) will cite statistics that say if you go big, you will fail.  The same dream crushers actually say you will most likely fail if you try at all.  But there is only reward with some risk. Some other non-experts say take off more than you can chew or you will never know your true capacity. A true measure of your character may be the result of really testing it.

What is the point of making a long list of resolutions where you know you will not succeed?

Since we are no longer taking wagon trains across the prairie or tall ships on arduous voyages we barely test ourselves physically or emotionally. Most of our challenges come from the everyday stress of maintaining the niche we have chosen, working our career, or keeping our house.

Maybe it’s time to mix it up.

You may not really want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro or be president of your company but what is your wildest dream?  Most of us can’t remember.  Sure, you have heard the question “If you could anything you wanted, what would it be?” For most of us this is too broad and the prospects are daunting.

To really find out what your answer, to determine your loftiest goal it could be a matter of asking yourself some serious questions:

What did you want to be when you were a child?

Who do you admire most? What are they like? What is it that they do? How did they get there?

What is it that you really want to achieve?

The trick here is to be specific.  You may say “I want to write a book.” Why? Do you want to write a book to tell an important story – or do you really just want to be on the Today Show talking about your book?  Maybe there is a different path for that notoriety.

You may be like millions of us who just want to lose some of that ‘extra’ weight or save ‘some’ money each month.  But I encourage you not to make these goals ambiguous or too easy.  If your goals are small and vague-so are the results. In the past I had to set a huge goal to kick start myself down the path to better health.

I thought I might want to lose a few pounds or start a fitness regime -  thought it for years but never did much about it until I set a big goal. I got a flyer for a marathon and in a few seconds decided to do it, yes 26.2 miles! Even though, until that time, I followed the Miss Piggy rule of exercise “Never run unless someone is chasing you.”  I didn’t focus on if or how I was going to do it, I just made the choice.

Setting a big goal took me to a different level of thinking.  I could lose interest in a 5K but a marathon was going to take some thought and some work. More than physical strength, it took a lot of planning and an amazing amount of time and coordination. I simply had to think about it an revisit some aspect of it (training, diet, schedules, shoes!) every single day for nearly half a year.  It became part of my life and the small goals fell away day by day, then month by month.  One October day I completed my first (and only) marathon. I didn’t do it in record time or with much flourish but I would have never reached the finish line at all by saying I am going to start exercising “someday.”

This may be the year you climb the mountain or become CEO if you set a big, clear cut goal.

So  take some big steps, think big and set your biggest goals ever! And tell us your big goal in the comments!

About the author:

Kelly Sallaway is a professional writer and video and event planner with an extensive background in sports and entertainment. Her production background includes corporate backed experiences for executives, VIPs and the media including press conferences, media days and product launches. She has produced celebrity races, charity fund-raisers and nationally televised events. Kelly is also an avid traveler and published travel writer. She has been published in international print magazines and many on-line travel sites.

The Benefits of Mother Daughter Volunteering

Moms and daughters who volunteer together learn the values of service – giving back to others, showing gratitude of what you have, and improving the life of others. Mothers and daughters can create a closer bond while volunteering as they spend time together, learn about the difficulties of others and how to cope with problems that feel beyond their control, and form beliefs about social causes.

Daughters can learn, with the guidance of their mothers, about professional goals that may interest them as they use various skills. Both can gain work experience and professional and networking skills. Volunteering with others helps social skills, helps with self-confidence and increases self-fulfillment.

When mothers and daughters volunteer together, the uneasiness of starting something new and meeting new people is lessened because the activity is being done together. Moms and daughters can rely on each other to get over hurdles and to push their limits.

Types of Mother Daughter Volunteering

• Mother as Volunteer with Daughter as Helper – A mom volunteers directly with an agency and has her daughter assist her with specific activities. For example, a mother is a volunteer with March of Dimes and her 10 year old daughter helps her stuff envelopes for donations.
• Mother and Daughter Volunteer Together on Same Project – Some agencies, such as KidServe Seattle allow children to volunteer with parents.

How to Find Mother Daughter Volunteer Opportunities

Search for local agencies that allow families to volunteer together by using sites such as Volunteer Match and United We Serve. Look for causes that interest the both of you, be it the environment, homelessness, poverty, animals, veterans, medical or some other worthy cause. Then look at what type of work is needed, such as clerical, fundraising events, mentoring, etc.

Visit the agency and get a feel for what you’ll be doing. Since it’s a decision that both mother and daughter will have to be happy with and comfortable with, it may take more time to find a good fit, but it will be worth it in the long run.

To learn more about the mother daughter volunteer experience, visit National Charity League, Org., which specifically matches mothers and daughters with volunteer work.

Mothers and daughters who volunteer together grow together. Have you ever taken advantage of this opportunity? If so, please leave us a comment about your experience and plug the cause you worked for!

There has been much change in MLB lineups since the end of the World Series, and here is a review of the how the 3 biggest name offensive free agents will do on their new teams:

Albert Pujols Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (.299 AVG, 37 HR and 99 RBI)

Once you get past the mouthful that is his new team’s name (do we REALLY need two cities in the name of one team?), you probably won’t be as enthusiastic about this move unless your last name is Pujols. Sure $254 million is a nice chunk of change, but that money will not help you win your fantasy league. The move to the AL West for Pujols will not improve his offensive statistics; ergo will not help you perform better in your league. He is moving into a ballpark (Angel Stadium) which saw 86 less runs scored in it than the park he is leaving (Busch Stadium). Now that may not seem like a lot, but considering that Pujols is generally good for roughly 15% of his team’s total runs scored (when factoring RBI and Runs Scored) he may lose about 10-15 runs scored and 10-15 RBI per season versus having stayed in St. Louis. Additionally, the Cardinals were ranked 5^th in runs scored for the entire league last season and the Angels were 17^th (a cool 100 runs behind the Cardinals). While Pujols certainly had a lot to do with that, the Angels offense is clearly inferior and Pujols will play most of his division away games at two of the worst hitter’s ballparks in the big leagues (Safeco Field in Seattle and the Oakland Coliseum). Couple that with the 81 games at Angel Stadium and it’s hard to argue his numbers will suffer. While he will probably still be the number one pick in your draft, this is the first year in almost a decade where he’s not a sure bet to be the best player in baseball.

Jose Reyes Miami Marlins (.337 AVG, 7 HR, 44 RBI, 39 SB and 16 Triples):

Anytime you speak of Reyes you have to begin with his well-documented injury problems. Yes, he has missed some games over the last 3 seasons, but most of those games missed came in 2009 when he was out for ¾ of the year. The last two years he has played in 133 (2010) and 126 (2011). From 2005-2008 he was a relative iron man, only missing a total of 15 games over those four seasons. The last couple “injury prone” years have also coincided with the Mets being a well below average team, and an inclination to coddle their star shortstop’s hamstring injuries. The move to South Florida should be a bonanza for Reyes, who moves to a much warmer climate (better for those hamstrings than the cold Spring and Fall of New York) and into a lineup that will surely take better advantage of his offensive skills. Outside of Reyes and David Wright, there is not elite level production rampant on the Mets lineup. That lack of production, and the fact that Citi Field is the 6^th worst hitters ballpark in the majors, led to a lot of Reyes’ trips on-base to be wasted in New York. Putting Reyes atop the Miami lineup has Hanley Ramirez (best all-around player in baseball before last season), Gaby Sanchez (All-Star last season), Mike Stanton (56 HR in a season and a half) and Logan Morrison (23 HR and 72 RBI in 123 games last year) all batting behind him and all being quite capable of 100 RBI. This team has a chance to be one of the better run scorers in the NL and Reyes will be setting the table leading off in Miami. Assuming he plays in 140 games, a stat-line of .330 AVG/10 HR/115 Runs/60 RBI/45 SB is not out of the question. He should be the first SS drafted after Troy Tulowitzki.

We are still waiting on Prince Fielder to sign with a team (current rumors have him headed to the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers or Seattle Mariners). Once he officially signs somewhere, I’ll be able to give a more definitive perspective for his 2012 performance as the three rumored suitors will offer him drastically different supporting casts and ballparks.

Check out this great article by Cliff Corcoran, of SI.com, on how Carlos Beltran fits with the Cards (click here).

Also, follow my useless ramblings on twitter @joshuabrier and on my blog @ ramblingfantasynut.blogspot.com.