Remember, remember, the fluff of Movember
It has been just over two weeks since the Mo Purpose team said goodbye to the much coddled appendages below their olfactory extremities. Moustaches may have to be left to Tom Selleck after all it seems, never mind our delusions of grandeur. Despite the visages we ported throughout the month being best described as ‘experimental’, and truthfully were more often described as ‘well you aren’t getting any kisses from me’, we can pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. The team of 15 managed to raise a tidy £3,685.
The true success story though, is the Movember movement itself. Love it or hate it, Movember had another rip roaring success this year. The growth in funds raised shown below speaks for itself. I am pretty sure 2012 will follow the trend, taking into account the number of friendly twitches I received during the month from immaculately groomed moustaches while out and about.
[caption id=”attachment_4207" align=”aligncenter” width=”347"]
Source: http://uk.movember.com/about/[/caption]
While reflecting on my entire month of bristle fostering, I began to wonder why on earth a person of already dubious fashion sense such as myself would get involved in a scheme like this in the first place. The lessons I learned in this investigation may help anyone fund raising in some capacity in the future, and so I thought I would share them publicly, as a true gentleman should:
1. Never underestimate peer pressure. I probably wouldn’t have participated if it wasn’t for the team dynamic that is part and parcel of the ordeal. After a couple of other On Purpose members had joined, I couldn’t say no, could I … could I?
2. Competition. Now I know we are all very mature over in the UK and think competitiveness is a thing of the past, but then again, with Premier League Football club turnover in 2011/12 at £2.9 billion who am I to judge. Tony Meloto over at Gawad Kalinga told us that to get sponsorship for his villages, he started with Procter & Gamble, and then Unilever had to get involved in the next one, and so on. The only reason I raised 75% of the money I did was in order to be ranked near the top of the Mo Purpose Associates, and I am still a little sore at being pipped after the 30th; no names mentioned, *cough* Martin *cough*.
3. The bunch over at Movember are smart, and I mean SMART. The task they set out follows the SMART framework closely, which allows it to translate directly into action.
Specific — What could be more specific than “each Mo Bro must begin the 1st of Movember with a clean shaven face. For the entire month each Mo Bro must grow and groom a moustache. There is to be no joining of the mo to the sideburns (that’s considered a beard), there’s to be no joining of the handlebars to the chin (that’s considered a goatee)”
Measurable — Every part of the fundraising in Movember is measured. The money you raise is posted on your wall, even showing individual contributions and the Gift Aid contribution separately. You are measured by rank against your team, your team is ranked against the other teams, and even the participating countries are ranked against each other.
Achievable & Realistic — Well unless you are fortunate enough to never need to spend any money on shaving apparatus, the challenge is definitely achievable.
Time bound — Therein lies much of the magic, knowing that come the 1st of December, you will find reprieve at the end of some sort of hair removal apparatus.
4. The promise of reward. Smaller rewards started at £25 with a free burger, and progressed smoothly the more money you raised. But the reward for raising £1000 or more? Pride. You join the Movember Platinum Club, no specific reward mentioned, but everyone wants to be a part of a platinum club, no?
5. Public recognition mixed with a little rapport. Okay maybe this is built in, but there is a certain satisfaction in the approving looks that pass between two Mo Bros when they happen to chance upon each other in public. One can almost hear the “that’s the ticket, old boy” passing through their shared space. Pretty similar to the Poppy Appeal in many ways.
Well that was all my ruminations on effectively fundraising, if you have any of your own tips I would love to find out more in the comments below!
Yours on the far end of the sublime to the ridiculous,
Toodle pip!
Duncan Garde
