This and all the pages regarding fund-raising initiatives are composed in part or entirely by young volunteers who have actually done the given project successfully. The authors simply want to share their experience, and it is general advice only; Trailblazers takes no responsibility for private initiatives, nor claims any percentage from those who find these ideas helpful.

Fundraiser Name: Walk-a-Thon

General idea:  You ask people to sponsor you by promising to give you a certain amount for every mile you walk. Walk-a-Thons are great because you can do them any time, and several times a year. They might be more pleasant, of course, during the warmer months.

Expected Income: $750 per person. For example, if you have two sheets full of 20 sponsors each, and you ask for about $25 flat donation from half, and a $2 donation per mile from the rest, after a six mile walk (2 or 3 hours), you could get $740. 

People Needed: Minimum 1, but with a whole group it's piles of fun. Larger groups may inspire the organizers to have someone along the way with refreshments in a stand or in the back of the mini-van. Then, tons of sponsors, the more, the better.

 Materials Needed:

• Paper. You'll need to design a paper upon which sponsors will sign and promise to pay you for distance. Your chart will have a heading explaining what you're doing. Don't put too many words there, as you will approach people in first person to explain them with your own voice what you're doing. Then put colums:
• Name, leaving a good twenty or so spaces on the page, one for each one of your sponsors.
• Phone number of that person, so you can find them later, maybe e-mail, too
• How much will they promise to sponsor you per mile, or have them put a flat fee in there.
• The maximum that they are willing give you... this is there to show your sponsor that you respect them, and don't want to surprise them asking for $400 when they expected to give you $20, just because you happen to walk a lot
• You may want to make more than one copy of this sheet. If you made it by hand, photocopy it and use the photocopy, to save yourself time and effort in making a second or third sheet
• Having a log where you and your friends, family, parents, whoever, can keep track of how much you walked, to keep everything honest and clear.
• Space, a location where you can do the walking, which is easily measurable. Roads with traffic aren't safe; we recommend somewhere else. State and local parks are very good options; one should speak with the sheriffs or rangers there to make sure one is observing all their rules.
• Spend some time collecting, and always be joyful and express your real gratitude for their help.

The time questions:

• Start with designing your sign up page. If you're not swift with computers, find a friend who is, or even call the secretary at Trailblazers and we'll try to hook you up.
• Spend some time filling up your chart. Make a list of people to ask, including teachers, neighbors, family, friends, and everyone. We recomend getting 50 sponsors or so as a goal. Give yourself one month to find enough sponsors, for it will take time, and some people will tell you no: don't let that bother you in the slightest.. No one is off limits for sponsoring here. 
• Avoid postponing: Don't get a sponsor, then postpone your Walk-a-Thon for a year. Do it promptly, so your sponsors remember, and are expecting to donate to you.
• You'll need to spend time collecting. Try to collect within a week of finishing the Walk-a-Thon, if it goes too long, people forget and don't pay.
• Be flexible on the day, so that, if bad weather hits, you have a back-up day already planned.

Location:

• Avoid busy roads.
• Trails in woods, forests, parks, etc. are very pleasant, and are often marked out by distance, making the calculation of your walk distance quite easy.
• Such trails are often great opportunities to visit with friends and get good exercise, all at the same time.

• There are good places on the internet to help you plan. Search for "Walk a thon" or other appropriate key words.
• A "pre-walk" info party is always a good teaser.
• With many people, you may wish to organize groups of say, 4 or 6, to make sure no one feels left out.
• We recommend asking for $2 per mile, or a flat gift of $25 for the whole walk. But if it's your little sister and she's only eleven years old, then ask her for ten cents per mile, that's OK too...

Note: Photo, thanks http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/smcp.html.