Team Fundraising

As you know, each individual Susan G. Komen 3-Day® participant is responsible for their own fundraising requirement. But don’t limit yourself. By working together as a team, we know you can raise even more.

The Top Team legacy pin is awarded at each event to the team who raises the most money overall. Aim high, and this reward could be yours!

Team Fundraising Ideas:

  • Make a Team Flag: Hang it proudly in your home, office or community center and have donors sign it after they make their generous contribution!
  • Neighborhood Garage and/or Bake Sale: Ask all of your friends and neighbors to participate by donating items for the sale. Make signs that indicate all proceeds are going to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day®. Ask your local paper to run an ad as its contribution. Add a bake sale and/or lemonade stand, and have a donation jar visibly displayed for those who choose not to purchase. Don’t forget to wear your Komen 3-Day team shirt and have plenty of donation forms handy!
  • Make (and sell) Team T-shirts: You can make your own team T-shirt, displaying your team name, fundraising goal, slogan and more. This is a great way to advertise your team and get people asking questions about the event; thus leading to a donation. You may also consider selling your team T-shirts, and putting those funds towards your fundraising efforts. Please remember that the special walker and crew logos that we provide may not be used on any item meant for sale.
  • Throw a Pot Luck Lunch or Dinner Party: Each member of the team can make a dish. Once your guests arrive, start by showing the 3-Day DVD during cocktails and appetizers. Then talk about why you’re participating in the 3-Day® over dinner and hand out donation forms with dessert. Collect the forms and give donors a pink ribbon, and/or have guests sign your team T-shirt before they leave.
  • Set up a Table at a Local “Hot Spot”: Get permission from a local health club, yoga studio or coffee shop to set up a table inside the establishment, and then ask interested patrons who pass by to support your team.
  • Special Screening: Ask your local movie theater to donate a special screening of a new release to benefit your team. Invite everyone you know and post flyers. Charge at the door.
  • Meet the Press: Contact the editor of your local paper, company newsletter—or both! Ask them to interview you about what your team has undertaken and why, and include a request for support. Be sure to include instructions in the story for how readers can make a donation to your team.
  • Benefit Night: Throw a fundraising party at a local establishment. Ask that local restaurant, ice cream parlor, etc. to support you with a donation of 10% (or more!) of the night’s sales. In the past, many local restaurants have supported 3-Day participants by donating a portion of an evening’s profit even without a fundraising party! You can offer to create and distribute a flyer to promote the establishment - it will help increase business and ultimately help increase the amount donated back to the cause.
  • Live/Silent Auction: Ask some local businesses to donate items or gift certificates and hold an auction at your fundraising event, or on payday at work. Good for a large crowd and some big-ticket items: a trip for two, a special bottle of wine, landscape, pool or housecleaning service - the list is endless! Set minimum donation limits and allow people to bid them up.
  • Team Car Wash: Go to your local car wash and talk with the owner/manager about doing a fundraising event there. Post flyers a week in advance, and then spend a few hours talking with people about what you are doing at the cashier stand. Hand people a flyer and accept donations.

Note: While fundraising, it is imperative that you adhere to the 3-Day guidelines in order to maintain the event and provide your potential donors with the confidence that their money will be put to good use in the fight against breast cancer. You can find the fundraising guidelines in the Fundraising Handbook and online on the FAQ page in your Participant Center. Also please remember that there may be Federal, State and/or local laws that apply to your chosen fundraising activity and compliance with any applicable laws is your responsibility. Please check with your local authorities before fundraising in these ways.

Team Donations
Although each walker is responsible for meeting their fundraising requirement before the first day of the event, there are still ways that teams can share fundraising dollars. Here are a few suggestions:

  • As team members reach their fundraising minimum, ask them to add a note to their Participant Center encouraging their donors to contribute to another person on your team who has not yet met the fundraising minimum.
  • Instruct donors to mail their contribution to you (the team captain) rather than directly to the bank’s address listed on the donation form (checks should still be made out to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, not to the team captain). An easy way to do this is to include a self-addressed stamped envelope (with your return address) with all fundraising letters. Be sure to let the donor know that donations will be shared with the team. As you receive checks, re-attach them to donation forms for team members who need the funds and send them to the address on the form. Important Note: It is not sufficient to cross out the name and Participant ID# on a donation form and replace it with another team member’s information. A new individualized form for the walker who should receive credit must be attached to the donation check.

Splitting Checks

The policy of the 3-Day is that a donation cannot be transferred from one participant’s account to another

participant’s account once it has posted. The only exception to this rule is if you have a donation check of $1,000 or more, the 3-Day staff can split that amount among your team members for you. Here are some guidelines:

  • The donation must be made via check (not credit card).
  • The donation check must be for at least $1,000.
  • The donation can only be split among team members who haven’t reached their minimum (have less than $2,300 in their fundraising account).

Here are the instructions for splitting a check:

  1. Mail in the check attached to a team member’s donation form.
  2. Once the donation shows up in the team member’s account, call us at 800-996-3DAY to request a split.
  3. You’ll need to give us the names and Participant IDs of the team members who want to split the donation, and the amount to be designated to each team member.
  4. We will split the donation according to your instructions. Please allow up to two weeks processing time for these requests.

This is the only scenario in which a donation may be split or transferred after it has been posted to a participant’s account. In all other cases, donations may not be transferred.

How to conquer your team members’ fears of fundraising:

  • Talk about your fears as a team. Getting face to face with someone who might have some anxiety about doing the 3-Day is a great way to assure them that they’re not alone.
  • Meet with your team to create a fundraising plan for everyone; brainstorm together and support everyone’s ideas.
  • Ask for help from your 3-Day coach. She is an experienced 3-Day walker who is ready to mentor you through any challenges you might face.
  • Create a timeline for your fundraising. Assign specific launch dates for your emails, fundraising parties, follow-up letters, etc. Then track results online and send team bulletins congratulating team members on achieving fundraising milestones.
  • Plan group fundraising activities and divide up various tasks according to your teammates’ skills. If a team member is shy, let her work on the behind-the-scenes logistics. If a team member is a “people person,” put her front and center, making the fundraising ask.
  • Watch the 3-Day Fundraising Webinar. Talk with your 3-Day coach.
  • Visit The3Day.org/Calendar for information about 3-Day meetings and workshops, and encourage team members to attend by sending them reminders.
  • Visit the 3-Day's Facebook groups to continue the conversation with other team captains.