the days are counting down!

Yup, almost down to 100 days... time to start getting letters out, bikes tuned up, and of course, riding!

This letter has some important updates for riders, some news from NH, and some fundraising tips... not to mention a little silliness on Ebay. I'm planning an update of the site this weekend, so check in.

Thanks, and keep pedalin'!

site: Donation Request Letter Writing Tips

These tips, from fundraiserhelp.com

The key to many a successful fundraising campaign is writing a good letter. This may sound intimidating at first, but fundraising letters contain many of the same elements as any good sales letter.

First, know your donors. Beginning with an updated list of past donors is key - they will likely give again and may even increase their donations over time. Make sure to have a good, well-targeted, updated mailing list for new prospects as well.

Early in the letter, make your case quickly. Don't beat around the bush. Tell about your organization or project at the top of the letter and get to the point right away. What problem will this project solve? What need will it fill?

Appeal to your donors' hearts first with descriptions and anecdotes, then their heads with facts and figures.

If you are writing to previous donors, be sure to thank them first before you ask for more money. "Thanks for being such an important influence on our program in the past. Last year's fundraiser was such a success, we're inviting you to help again ..."

Also, lose the hype. Don't exaggerate or over-extend yourself. Nothing will destroy your credibility faster than sounding like a used-car salesperson when raising funds for a good cause.

Don't forget to ask for the money! Don't just tell them about your program, ask directly for their help.

Also, tell them how much to give so they have an idea of what is needed. "Our education program needs 25 computers, at $2,000 each. If you can't afford a whole computer, a donation of only $200 will buy a printer." You will get donations of at least $200.

Appeal to readers' sense of urgency by providing a deadline. "We need these funds by January 1 in order to carry out our spring awards event." If you don't get them to act right away, they probably won't act at all.

For the maximum reply, include a return envelope. Make it easy for people to donate by telling them how! "Just check the box on the reply card and mail it with your check in the enclosed, postage paid reply envelope." It may sound silly to you, but people respond to clear instructions.

Remember to include a PS at the bottom. The bulk of your letter will go unread by most of your readers. A post script is a last-chance effort to summarize your whole letter and get your readers to act on it.

As with any direct mail piece, it's good to make follow up phone calls one or two weeks after you mail the letter. Ask if the letter was received and if you can answer any questions. Of course, you won't always reach the right person, but if you follow up you greatly increase your chances of getting a donation.

Writing successful fundraising letters isn't rocket science. These tips are based on years of trial and error; if you follow them wisely your campaign will be successful. Plan early, be organized, and the letter writing will take care of itself!

About The Author:
Linda Elizabeth Alexander writes marketing copy for nonprofits and other businesses. Contact her TODAY for a FREE quote and to discuss your project needs. Visit write2thepointcom.com.

attn: RIDERS- some changes

After long, hard thought we're making a few changes, and kind of "upping the ante" for the ride this year. Some of these decisions were just plain necessary due to how much we've grown, some, we hope, will pay off by making b2p a better ride.

There will be a registration fee of $35 for riders. (Compared to other rides, and especially considering the amazing support our volunteers give, I think you'll agree it is still a bargain.) This money will go directly to offset the costs of the packages you'll be getting in the mail, and other support we will need that costs money. This also continues to assure that 100% of your sponsorship dollars can continue to go to research.

The minimum donation for each rider is being raised to $250. We're trying to raise the bar here, and get riders to pull together to raise our totals. The average contribution for each rider last year was $700, so we're hoping this is not a strain... To help you meet this, using the registration fees, we are going to be able to produce some more, and better fundraising support.

We are going to ask riders to help us by logging their contributions. This year, with changes at the FND, it falls on us to send out thank-you notes to every sponsor. We need your help, and will be supplying an online form for logging each donation you get. This should be pretty simple and fast for you, and by no means will it be a requirement... but it will be a HUGE help to us.

All checks now must be made out to "B2P" or "Boston2Portland". We will be writing one lump-sum check to the FND after all the donations are in. This is just tax/non-profit details... but make sure you're telling your sponsors.

As we grow, we are starting to face some of the organization challenges that other rides face, and have to make some tough decisions... I hope you understand. Above all, my highest priority is to keep all the things that make b2p special, and unlike any other ride. We change every year, but somehow the ride always has the same special feeling... all of us pulling together to beat this disease.

For complete information, check the Rider Pages... there you will find all the updates and changes, as well as all the resources you need. (The rider pages will be updated by June 1)

Any riders who have already signed up: As an "early registration" bonus, we will, at your request, waive these new policies... but this will apply to any rider signups after June 1st.

Thanks!

Ted

Edna's Fourth of July plans

This, from Team Woods:

Good morning to you all!

It is time for me to get my act together and plan the Fourth of July adventures for the B2P ride!! I am hoping we will have a lot of interest again this year. Last year we raised around $2500.00.

Just to refresh everyone's memory... we had 5 great prizes, the people bought a card of tickets, and then deposited the tickets in the containers corresponding with the prizes they hoped to win. This year I will have to be more creative with the prizes... Soooo, I am looking for some interesting donations....if any of you have contact with a company or individual who would like to make a donation, please let me know.

The parade is just a couple of miles long, through downtown Merrimack, and finishing at the midway at the high school. We had 10 or 12 "Team Woods" cyclists last year, and others who walked along handing out the blue Parkinson's bracelets, and flyers about the ride. I think the parade began around 11. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know.

We will be setting up two booths this year at the midway......one for the Raffle, and one for the children's games. We do a little fishing game for small children, with a prize for every child. There is no charge to play the game, but a container is there for donations to Parkinson's. At any rate, I will need volunteers to work the booths from noon until 8 p.m.. At that time we will pick the winning raffle tickets. At the midway there are games to play, and booths selling all sorts of food, ice cream, etc.. There is music, and sometimes dancing in the evening......plus a great fireworks display once it gets dark.

Please let me know if you would be able to help out.

Once I know what the prizes will be, the tickets will be ready for sale......I know a lot of you sold them for us last year. I will keep you posted on that.

Hopefully you all already know that the ride is Sept. 13th this year......and we have been promised no rain!!

Looking forward to hearing from you all!!

God bless! And keep cycling!
Edna

(contact Edna at rnewoods@aol.com if you'd like to ride in the parade or help. Thanks Edna!)

Apple Store stuff on Ebay to benefit b2p

check it out! EBAY listing is here.

A couple of really kind posts, building up some major buzz here, at the IFOApplestore site and here, at the TUAW site. Thanks guys!

Training: wow!

Just for a bit of diversion... check this out. Imagine how much fun it would be to train on this! (I would bet we see this avaiable within the year. HA!)

gaak! it's almost MEMORIAL DAY!

OK, my b2p Dashboard Widget says we have only 123 days until the ride!

I went through the list and we already have 18 riders signed up... the first was recorded back in September! It's time to start gearing up... rest assured, you're going to start hearing more about b2p starting now.

Spring has sprung and it's time to start letting people know about the ride. Shoot an email out to friends and supporters, let them know what you're up to. In the Marketing biz, that's known as "softening them up", but it's a nice courtesy. People want to know how they can help, and need time to think and plan. Later, when you are asking for their hard cold cash, they are ready and willing.

With our new email format we'll be able to help you with fundrasising bettter... tips and suggestions for involving your friends, co-workers, family and associates in the ride. Check back on the blog for stories and articles. You can even add it to your RSS feeds...

Thanks for your continued support, and of course, keep spinning those pedals!

-Ted

b2p wlecomes new FND director: Kate Redgate

Wendy Thaxter is officially, (and for the second time, by the way...) retiring from the FND. Today I had an exciting and inspiring lunch with Kate Redgate, who is stepping into Wendy's shoes after working with her for quite a few years... It was a great opportunity to sit down with the whole FND team, along with Dr. Matt LaVoie, and throw ideas around...

Wendy has been a great source of encouragement and support in the very early years of b2p... I'll always remember her trying to hold back the tears at the finish line for the first year we worked together, not quite believing what she was witnessing! (Always with her great big smile, too! )

Best wishes, and we WILL be looking for you on your bike this fall! heh...

Once again... changes with the eMail NEWS

The eMail News for b2p is now integrated with "Blogger"!

Besides making the posting and organization much easier, you can now comment on the posts, as well as search the archives for past posts. I'll be posting news-related stuff, but also some information on training, fundraising and Parkinson's support, as well as other Parkinson's events.

The site is online at http://boston2portland.blogspot.com/
...and you can also use the RSS feed feature for automatic updates!

Check it out!

b2p Call for HELP! (position avilable)

boston2portland needs YOUR HELP!

This is going to be a big year for b2p. We are becoming a Non-Profit Corporation, we have taken on some huge organizational tasks, and we need support.

If you are organized, can work independently, are great with Excel, email marketing and other online tools, and want to make a huge contribution to curing Parkinson's, please contact me about working as an Administrative Assistant for boston2portland, either as a volunteer or an intern.

b2p Administrative Assistant
Responsibilities:
Maintaining rider registration procedures
Managing Rider and Volunteer databases
Followup data entry, contributer appreciation
Maintaining Corporate Sponsorship
Planning and coordination of additional events

This position is available immediately, and although we concentrate our efforts in the months surrounding the ride, the work continues throughout the year. The hours are part-time, and, of course, very flexible... (The month leading up to, and following the ride (August/Sept/Oct) are the heaviest concentration of work.)

Please email me if you'd like to volunteer or intern for this unique chance to help organize a very special, and very exciting event: ted@boston2portland.com

WHY the FND?

The Michael J. Fox Foundation has been gaining great stature in the fight for a cure to Parkinson's. When I started the ride, only a few short years ago, support for Parkinson's research and patients struggling with the disease seemed, at best, splintered. The Fox Foundation has grown to me a core of Parkinson's support and, of course, fundraising.

So why have we chosen the Foundation for Neurological Disease?

There are many reasons... and they all relate back to the special character of this ride. First, they are local. It means a lot when the people who are the ones using your sponsorship dollars for their research are actually working the volunteer stands, handing out sandwiches, or riding along with you. Also, this year, Dr. Lavoie has offered to give personal tours of the Lab to the "top" riders and volunteers... (details to come!) You, and your sponsors can see exactly what their dollars are going to support.

Second, and most importantly to a lot of people, every dime you raise goes to research. The Fox Foundation has huge expenses... last I checked 85-90% of contributions went to research, and the rest goes to running the Micheal J. Fox Foundation. With respect, this is a great, and very efficient organization and that is a very high percentage compared with other charities...

Finally, and this is near and dear to my heart, our money goes into research as quickly and efficiently as possible. Let me offer this example.

Dr. LaVoie told me about the research he is currently working on... he needs to establish a better model for running various experiments, and that model requires over a year to develop. After lengthy consultation with his colleagues, the conclusion was that this was a viable, and essential, plan. Dr. LaVoie immediately put the wheels in motion to develop this model... using some funds from boston2portland.

The normal process would have been to start working on a grant... generally, something that takes a month or so. The next step is to simply wait. For the most part, the grant review process takes over a year. Only after that, would Dr. Lavoie know if he had the funding to start this project. Using b2p funding he can, after review and consideration by his colleagues and the FND, start work immediately.

The grant process has its purposes and advantages... every grant awarded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation goes through a lengthy and detailed review by some of the best in the field. But... at the cost of time.

This is officially BayStateBike Week

Thanks to Mayor Menino's bike initiative, we will be celebrating the bicycle commuter this week with BayStateBike week. This is supporting the bike commuter, and since I commute almost every day throughout the year, well, I'm supporting it.

It looks like fun, check it out here

Looks like fun...

eMail News: Feb08

Hey you crazy kids!

Welcome to the middle of February... we're almost through with winter now, right?

We've officially set the date (Sept 13) and are slowly updating the website... Steve Durkee guarantees NO RAIN this year!

We had a great meeting a few weeks ago, and Wendy reported that our totals are over $61,000! She also is putting together thank-yous for all the wonderful people who volunteered... We talked about a bunch of ideas, and we're putting together the plans for the future of b2p. Along those lines, the non-profit process is moving ahead, slowly, but we should have that in place by the time September rolls around. That will make working with Corporate sponsors much easier, and also open the doors for underwriting so we can continue to grow.

I'm officially setting the goal this year at $100K! We're working on improving the fundraising tools for you, and any suggestions you have are appreciated. Tell me what you want and need, and if you have any ideas or suggestions please share.

Thanks to Mike at Tech Superpowers we now have some cash to get the WashYourBike gloves out to our riders... look for those in your mail soon. What with the nasty winter we've been having I've had plenty of opportunity to use mine, and they ROCK! Thanks to Pete Able, WashYourBike Gloves' inventor, for generously sending them along, and remember you can order more at www.washyourbike.com and $1 from every purchase goes to boston2portland!

Also thanks to Tech Superpowers we are going to be able to put rider packets together this year. Once your register, you'll get a packet in the mail. This will have your important pre-ride information, maps, training tips and fundraising tools, too. Please show our appreciation by visiting the Tech Superpowers website.

You may notice that we are using a new email newsletter service, which allows more secure signup on the front page, and easier unsubscribe tools, making it much more workable and less likely to get spam-filtered. Please let me know if you have any problems or issues with this email. You can refer your friends and supporters to the Email News with confidence that their security and convenience will be respected.

PLEASE NOTE REGARDING YOUR EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION

The lists are now broken down into a Rider list, a Volunteer list and a Friends list. If you rode or volunteered last year you will continue to get this newsletter so you can keep up to date with the ride details.

If you did not ride or volunteer, out of courtesy your name will be dropped. If you want to keep getting this, you need to click HERE.

(Sorry to some of the riders who are getting this kind-of duplicate email... the email you got last week was a test run.)





Oh, and one more silly thing... for your Mac users, I made a Dashboard Widget that counts down the days until the ride. Just click this link and you can download it and put it right on your dashboard... http://www.boston2portland.com/b2p.zip and get a nice little reminder of how much time you have left to train!

Keep warm and dry, look for your gloves in the mail, and start thinking about September 13th! According to the b2p Dashboard Widget it's only 208 days away!


KEEP PEDALIN!


Ted


Ted Dillard

ted@boston2portland.com
b2p on AIM: boston2portland