Donations 101

Fundraising the “3-Day Way”
Fundraising Checklist
Know Your Donor
Donation Forms 101
Check-In and Fundraising
Donor Receipts
Cash Donations and Self-Donations
Finalizing Online Donations
In-Kind Donations
Repeat Donors Are Often the Most Generous

Fundraising the “3-Day Way”

The golden rule of fundraising is: You raise money when you ask for it. You don’t when you don’t. So Ask Big! If you ask someone for $100, you might get $100, or you could get less. But if you ask someone for $10, you might get $10, but you probably won’t get any more than that. You don’t lose anything if someone says “no” to your request, or gives less than you ask for. But you are losing out on a potential donation if you don’t ask in the first place, or don’t ask for very much. Over the years, tens of thousands of Susan G. Komen 3-Day® walkers have raised millions for breast cancer using this exact same advice. It works.

Once you have a fundraising goal, a list of potential donors and an “ask big” attitude, you can begin your campaign.

Fundraising the “3-Day Way” consists of three important building blocks:

  1. Your personal webpage
  2. Fundraising Ask: Emails, letters and/or social media updates
  3. Fundraising Activities: Parties or an event

Fundraising Checklist

Know Your Donor

When you create your fundraising plan, make a list of everyone you know. These are your potential donors. For each donor, ask yourself, “What is the best way to approach this person?” “Would she prefer a letter, an email, a phone call, a fundraising party?” Many donors respond best to a personal request, a face-to-face ask. Others love a good party, auction or sale. Some prefer an old-fashioned letter. You may want to alter your approach for separate groups of donors.

If your first request doesn’t immediately result in a donation, don’t cross that donor off your list just yet. A “no” from a donor could actually mean a variety of things. Perhaps the donor lost your email or letter, or put it at the bottom of their to-do list. Perhaps money is tight right now, but a donation request at the beginning of the month, or when the tax refund comes in the mail, would be much better received. Maybe they just need a good reason to give. Donors who may not respond to a form letter or a mass email could be moved to give if they heard your personal story, saw your training walk photos, or heard about how your fundraising progress was going.

Donation Forms 101

When you ask for donations for the Komen 3-Day in person or via a mailed letter, you’ll want to provide a printed donation form to your donor, in case they prefer to donate through the mail instead of on our website. Each printed donation form is personalized with your fundraising account information, including your Participant ID. After the donor completes the form, they should mail it with their check to the address on the form (Susan G. Komen 3-Day, PO BOX 660843, Dallas, TX 75266-0843).

To print a copy of your donation form, please go to your Participant Center home page. Click on the link at the top that says “Donation Form.” If you are registered for more than one 3-Day®, choose the "Select a Different Participant Center" link to switch from one Participant Center to another.

Read your 3-Day Fundraising Handbook for more information about donation protocol and how to make sure that your donations are processed correctly.

Online Check-In and Fundraising

For the San Diego 3-Day: If you haven’t raised your minimum fundraising requirement ($2,300 for 3-Day walkers, $1,800 for 2-Day Walkers, $750 for 1-Day Walkers), you can still complete online check-in, but you will not be able to receive your official 3-Day credential or participate in the event until you reach your fundraising requirement. We do not accept donations at the 3-Day event, so please plan on completing your fundraising commitment before the event begins on Friday.

For events with hotel lodging (Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, New England): You must complete your fundraising requirement 30 days before your event in order to select your roommate, receive a hotel assignment and finish online check-in. For these events, walkers may choose to make a delayed donation. Your credit card will only be charged if you participate in the 3-Day, and only for the difference between your fundraising total (as of the Monday after the 3-Day) and your fundraising requirement. With a delayed donation, you may complete online check-in.

Please contact your 3-Day coach if you are having trouble fundraising and we will advise and support you to help you reach your goals.

If you do not ultimately participate in the event, you are not held responsible for your fundraising requirement.

Donor Receipts

All donors who provide a valid email address will automatically receive a receipt via email. If a donor does not provide an email address and requests a receipt, please email your 3-Day coach to request a receipt.

Cash Donations and Self-Donations

If a donor gives you cash, you have two options. 1: Write a check to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the donation amount and mail it in with your personalized donation form (or use the mobile check deposit feature of the 3-Day app). Put the donor’s contact information on the form so they can be properly acknowledged. 2: Make an online donation using your credit card for the donation amount. Please put the donor’s contact information, including their email address, in the Donor Information section. Your contact information goes in the Billing Information section. It is very important that you do not put your own email address in the donor email address field. If you do, it could cause your participant record to be overwritten with the donor's data.

If you do not know the donor’s email address, please enter a fake email address using the following convention: first_initial+last_name+zipcode @ noemail.com. Please enter this type of unique address to prevent their transaction from being associated with a pre-existing record in our database. If a fake email is given, no receipt will be emailed out and you can contact your coach to request a receipt.

Finalizing Online Donations

If your donors plan to make their donation on our website, remind them that there are three steps to the online donation form. After entering their billing information, the donor will be taken to a confirmation page to review their donation. They must click Finish/Process in order to complete the donation and charge their credit card. Donors who are not used to making financial transactions online may miss this - and we don’t want you to miss out on any donations!

In-Kind Donations

Some businesses may offer to provide in-kind donations (gifts of goods or services) rather than monetary donations. You can use these donations to help fundraise. For example, a restaurant may provide an in-kind donation of food, which you could then use to cater your fundraising event. However, please note that in-kind donations may not be tax-deductible for the donor. The tax ID number for Susan G. Komen® should not be used by participants to obtain for in-kind donations because the donation is being made directly to the participant and not to Komen or the 3-Day event itself.

Repeat Donors Are Often the Most Generous

We have conducted an analysis of giving to the 3-Day and noticed some very encouraging and interesting results. Donors who have supported the event in the past give, on average, 38% more than donors who are giving for the first time. What does this mean for you? It means that the donors who have supported you in the past are the best ones to approach again this year.

Some participants who come back to the 3-Day year after year are afraid to keep approaching the same donors. Don't be! Their donations may get bigger, year after year. While widening your circle of supporters is good, don't neglect your reliable donors.