Putting the Fun in Fundraising

One of the more rewarding aspects of my job with Busey is leading the annual corporate United Way campaign. Being afforded the trust and the ability to represent my company in such an impactful endeavor is something I take seriously, but never too seriously!

In my three years serving on the corporate campaign committee, the last two as campaign chair, I've found that limiting the seriousness as much as possible is a major key to success. The fact of the matter is that people understand the severity and the justness of the cause well enough - a lesson our friends in the political spectrum could learn - and while you don't want to ignore the facts you don't want to focus on them either.

This concept was never more prevalent than after the final event of our 2016 campaign, the Busey Triathlon. Now, this wasn't just a standard athletic competition, more than that it was a battle for bragging rights! Busey boasts 5 unique lines of business to serve all our customer’s financial needs - it also provides the United Way committee with 5 pre-determined and very proud teams.

We use this to the campaigns advantage and identify a champion from each line of business to accept the challenge of besting their rival lines in a competition of the committee's choosing. With the addition of a new corporate wellness center earlier this year, that competition was a gym based triathlon featuring a 10-minute stationary bike ride, 1 mile run on the treadmill, and a 1 mile run on the elliptical.

The competitors had been chosen and the stage was set for a lively event, but how do you monetize this style of competition into something that will lead to financial contributions for your community? Put the FUN in the fundraising. Each line of business chose one of their most physically gifted competitors, but the campaign committee added a fundraising wrinkle that completely negated the skill level of whomever represents a specific team - we made time alterations available for purchase!

Armed with the knowledge that you could purchase a minute subtraction from your time for $5.00, or a minute addition to a competitor for $1.00, the teams began their fundraising efforts a week before the event and raised a combined total of $2,500.00 to support the United Way of Champaign County. Teams made use of engaging email campaigns to recruit dollars from their teams, and the committees made sure each line of business were aware of the lengths their competition was going to raise funds as well!

There wasn't a single mention of the harsh realities that face our community, and what transpired was the most lucrative fundraising event in our campaigns recorded history.