Raising Money is Hard

Running for a cause

I am running a marathon. If you follow my (new) blog, this is something you already know. If not, well…I am running the 2014 NYC Marathon for a cause. In doing so I am raising money for the Tusk Trust, a charity organization that is doing great work across Africa in conservation, education and local economies. Sounds great right?! Right! So then why is it so hard to raise money?

Training for a marathon is taxing. I have never run one before so I knew it would be difficult. I also knew that raising money wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but I never thought it would be this hard. So why is it? As I write this, the television is on in the background and it becomes incredibly clear. Everyone is asking for money. Money for abandoned animals, money for under-fed children, money for this, money for that. All of them are worthy causes, all of them presented in a manner that tugs on your heart strings and you gladly donate. I’ve been there before. Today is no different from any other day. I see countless pleas for donations day in and day out. So how do you get your campaign to stick out more than other’s? Apparently, I have no idea how to do this. I am trying to raise $5,000 and I am holding steady at $245.

I am raising money for African Wildlife Conservation and I live in an area of the country where the trend is more “let’s hunt!” than “let’s conserve!” This could be a very logical reason why I am having trouble raising money. Location, location, location — right?? But isn’t that just an excuse? We are global now! Social media makes it easy to reach a very wide audience, very quickly. I have a somewhat decent following on Twitter yet, I’m still in the hundreds of dollars raised, not thousands.

This is proving to be much tougher than I expected. Does no one care? Or are we all just overrun with requests for donations? I have found that many people would like to donate but they feel like their donation won’t make a difference because it is small. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! Every single dollar raised goes to the Tusk Trust and will make a difference along the way.

I am very grateful for the donations I have received. It is a great feeling when you see a donation come in, knowing that there are people out there that support you and your cause. I’ve got 99 days until the marathon and hopefully I will figure this whole money raising thing out before my toes cross that starting line.

What about you guys? Have you ever been challenged to raise a large amount of money for a cause that you support? I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

As always, if you have a few dollars to spare, please consider donating to my campaign. I, along with all those that will be touched by your donation, thank you.

https://www.crowdrise.com/TuskNYCMarathon2014/fundraiser/hillaryolomi