Creator / originator

Can Too Australia.

Summary / objectives

This is a fundraising campaign that supports volunteer fundraisers in a real way…ie not simply sending them sponsorship cards and leaving them alone.

Background

Australians often have a great turn of phrase. They have the ability to give everything a catchy name. And this is reflected in their fundraising.

A friend of mine sent me a link to sponsor him as he raises funds for Cancer Research. He’s called Sam and he’s taking part in Can Too. He titled his email Sam Can Too and the tag line is You Can Too. Great stuff.

Can Too is a nonprofit programme raising money for Cure Cancer Australia by training people to run or swim in an endurance event. So not only do they come up with a great name for a campaign they give support to participants. So often we ask people to take part in events for us or on our behalf, but leave them to their own devices. What a great way to truly engage your supporters in your cause, support them and help them reach their goal so you can reach yours.

Any fundraiser who is reading this should look at the Can Too site and think about adapting it to their market.

If you want to support Sam and cancer research join his Sam Can Too group on Facebook and sponsor Sam Francis on the site, click here.

Special characteristics

Real support to fundraisers.

Influence / impact

This idea is probably expensive to implement but the returns are greater and it has been shown that people will come back to do more with you.

Results

Can Too and their supporters have raised $1,615,000 since 2005.

Merits

Often we just take our volunteer fundraisers for granted. This demonstrates that we shouldn’t.

Other relevant information

From Can Too’s website:

‘What is Can Too?
‘Can Too is a program where professional coaches will train you to run or swim an endurance event while receiving professional team coaching. You have the opportunity to reach your goal in a supportive, fun and sometimes crazy environment, while raising money for Cure Cancer Australia Foundation.
‘Can Too was created by Annie Crawford, who wanted to combine her passion for fitness with raising money for cancer. The program is structured so that everybody wins. It is an opportunity for participants to achieve a goal they may never have thought possible, while making new friends and getting support from them. At the same time, participants can ‘make a difference for others’ by raising funds to directly support breakthrough cancer research, as part of Cure Cancer Australia’s vision for “a world without cancer, nothing less”.’