1. Start Early – Months Before the Race (5/17) Get your on-line funding platform from your charity. Personalize it with your photo and message.

2. Lose your inhibition to ask for money. Fundraising for your favorite nonprofit is selfless; it benefits others. Shake off your nervousness! Be proud of raising money for the cause you care about. It’s not about you.

3. Find your personal connection. Craft a compelling message. Express your personal conviction about the work your nonprofit does and the people who benefit. Use this message on your on-line fundraising page and other social media outreach. If you are raising money for a 2nd year, tell people about last year’s race and tie it to your motivation for this year.

4. Get Specific! Ask your nonprofit how they will use the money you raise. Tie your personal fundraising to a specific purpose. For example: My goal = Raise $1,000 to pay for backpacks full of school supplies for 25 homeless kids that my charity supports.

5. Include an Effective Call to Action. People decide on their own how much to donate, based on your story and their own tie to the cause. If some of your contacts have limited funds, ask for a small amount that would make the donors (and you) comfortable.

6. Reach out Broadly. Ask everyone you know to support your nonprofit. It’s just not possible to predict who will relate strongly to your cause and give. Use email and your on-line fundraising tool for your direct ask. Does your employer match contributions?

6. Leverage with Social Media. Tell you story on social media. People will “like”, share and retweet your story to others who may donate. Use all of your social media sites to reach others more than once, as a reminder and to document your progress.

7. Update your contributors. Let people know your progress. They want to live vicariously through you. Post photos that show you training and participating in races.

8. Create a follow -up system. If someone promises to donate, put a reminder on your calendar to follow up in two weeks. We all forget our good intentions, sometimes.

9. Thank your contributors quickly. Thank people individually. Thank them collectively via your social media outlets. Let them know specifically how their contribution mattered.