Table of Contents
Introduction
VeloSano connects the cancer community with Cleveland Clinic’s expanding global impact in research, innovation and care. This unique partnership ensures an accelerated path to finding cures by making good on our promise – that one hundred percent of every dollar raised for VeloSano initiatives will support transformative, lifesaving cancer research happening at Cleveland Clinic today, in order to impact the lives of millions of people around the world, tomorrow.
Whether hosting an event, riding in Bike to Cure weekend or creating a fundraising page, you are impacting the future of cancer research at Cleveland Clinic.
Our fundraising guide will help you meet and exceed your fundraising goals. So, read along, or use the table of contents to jump to a specific section.
Together, we are VeloSano.
Together, to cure cancer.
Let’s get started!
1.Your Personal Fundraising Page
Your Personal Fundraising Page is the foundation of your fundraising efforts. It has a variety of built-in tools to help you reach and surpass your fundraising goals. From asking for donations, to sharing real-time updates with friends and family and sending emails to thank donors, your page has everything you need in one spot
View this tutorial video to learn how to access the dashboard of your personal fundraising page and from there, guide you to make changes such as uploading a meaningful photo, writing your Why I VeloSano story, creating a custom URL, providing updates to your supporters and more.
Top 5 Tips to Make the Most Impactful Personal Fundraising Page
- Update your photo and share your story to make the page your own
- Create a custom URL link to your page
- Donate to your page first to show your personal commitment
- Share your page on social media
- Create a QR code that takes donors directly to your page
How to Share Your Story
The key to a good story is sharing something personal about why you participate in VeloSano which inspires people to give. We all have a reason to be involved in VeloSano and give 100% for the cure. What’s yours?
Here are some ideas to help get you started:
- Why are you participating in VeloSano?
- If you are honoring someone special to you, share your relationship with that person
- If you are comfortable, share a personal story about your own journey
- Want a cancer-free future for your family?
- What does it mean to you to be “100% for the cure”?
Some additional tips:
- Tell your fundraising story in “chapters” – share further details as you get closer to your event, ride, or milestone
- Highlight the key point that led you to register for VeloSano
- Share photos in your story and provide descriptions
Examples:
Fundraising to celebrate a cancer survivor
Our family is hosting a golf tournament to honor my Dad and support VeloSano. He has been cancer-free since 2016 after receiving treatment at Cleveland Clinic. He is a living example of how cancer research projects can save a life. We are so glad to be able to celebrate with him by participating in his favorite activity and giving others an opportunity to support our fundraising efforts.
Fundraising to honor someone currently going through cancer
My friends and I are raising money for VeloSano to support our friend, Jim, who is currently undergoing treatment at Cleveland Clinic for leukemia. We have all been lifetime friends and want to help one of our own. He’s fighting hard every day, and we want to raise funds and awareness for his fight so that he can get back to doing the things he loves with his family and ours.
Fundraising in memory of a loved one
I am riding 25 miles in Bike to Cure in September to honor the memory of my mother, Janet, who passed away 25 years ago from breast cancer. While she isn’t with us anymore, we still fight for her and for countless families who are experiencing this horrible disease so that one day we can live in a world without cancer.
Fundraising because the cause is important to you
I created this personal fundraising page to raise money for cancer research with my coworkers. We have all been affected by cancer in some way, and we came together to make a difference. We are all 100% for the cure – are you?
I raised $1,000 overnight. I’m blown away. What surprised me most was that donors were sharing my post which encouraged their friends to start donating! It was incredible to see the powerful response from my network by utilizing my personal fundraising page.
2.Facebook Fundraising
Broaden the reach of your fundraising efforts by starting a Facebook Fundraiser that integrates with your VeloSano Personal Fundraising Page. Facebook Fundraising helps you share your fundraising page with a wider audience that includes friends, family, even acquaintances you may not have otherwise asked for support. The fact that an average Facebook Fundraiser raises $150 from 7 gifts is reason to give it a try!
The integration of Facebook Fundraisers with VeloSano Personal Fundraising Pages makes fundraising through Facebook more streamlined and easier than ever. Setting up your Facebook Fundraiser this way, enables donations to be credited directly to your VeloSano Personal Fundraising Page, ensures that you receive your donation immediately, and that you receive a notification of these gifts. There are no fees associated with Facebook Fundraiser, which still means 1OO% of your fundraising efforts support cancer research at Cleveland Clinic.
View the tutorial video below and learn how to create your Facebook Fundraiser.
Facebook Fundraising Best Practices:
- Tag VeloSano on Facebook in your posts. Use the hashtags #VeloSano and #BikeToCure for added visibility!
- Add photos or videos so your posts are more likely to be shown to your network of friends and family.
- Recognize and thank your donors by tagging them after they support your fundraising efforts!
Facebook fundraising was by far the strongest tool. Increased my giving by more than $2k this year
3. Asking Donors
Now that your VeloSano Personal Fundraising Page is ready, it’s time to start outreach to your network of friends, family and colleagues. The most successful fundraisers ask for support from a wide range of people in personalized ways. Think about your network and what’s the best way to reach them.
Ways to Ask Your Network for Donations
- Send personalized emails or letters
- Ask for donations in lieu of birthday, anniversary, or holiday gifts
- Bake an item and offer those for donations
- Ask friends and family to donate for every mile you ride in training
Here are some quick facts that will help you craft an ask to your network:
Where the Money Goes
- Since its inception in 2014, more than $51 million has been raised for cancer research at Cleveland Clinic. 100% of this amount has supported the cause.
- Cancer researchers across the Cleveland Clinic enterprise apply for funds raised for VeloSano, with the money being awarded to research proposals with the greatest promise. Thus far, VeloSano has supported more than 240 cancer research projects.
- The total return from additional, outside funding now surpasses $85 million, making the total impact of VeloSano more than $136 million.
- Learn more about the research projects funded by VeloSano by visiting our Impact Report.
Why Someone Should Donate
- 100% of every dollar that your donors give to your fundraising efforts will swiftly enable the treatments of today and the cures of tomorrow through innovative, transformative research happening at Cleveland Clinic locations around the world.
- Share your “why”. You can utilize the story that you shared on your Personal Fundraising page as you ask donors for support
- The VeloSano model allows for funds to be turned into groundbreaking cancer research projects within a very short timeframe. The dollars are quickly put into action
- Because we all want to live in a world without cancer
When to Ask for Donations
Sometimes, figuring out when to ask can be just as tricky as what to ask. Here are some times when it would be best to ask potential donors for support:
- Upon creation of your Personal Fundraising Page
- Life moments such as a birthday or anniversary. Ask people to donate to your page in lieu of gifts
- Updates on progress for training, event planning or fundraising
- After Bike to Cure weekend – recap and share photos from the event!
- After the final VeloSano fundraising announcement – spread the word about the cumulative total of fundraising efforts
- When the impact report is released – share with your donors what projects their donations supported
How to Share Your Story
The key to a good story is sharing something personal about why you participate in VeloSano which inspires people to give. We all have a reason to be involved in VeloSano and give 100% for the cure. What’s yours?
Sample Fundraising Solicitation Letter
Dear [NAME],
I am excited to share that I will be participating in VeloSano this year. VeloSano is a global fundraising movement for hope and action, created to swiftly enable the cancer cures of tomorrow through transformative research happening at Cleveland Clinic locations around the world today.
Since its inception in 2014, more than $51 million has been raised, advancing over 220 cancer research projects. What began as a weekend-long bike ride in Cleveland has become the link that connects philanthropy to research, research to patients, and patients to cures.
I am participating in VeloSano this year by [ENTER FUNDRIASING ACTIVITY – PARTICIPATING IN BIKE TO CURE, HOSTING AN EVENT, CREATING A FUNDRAISING PAGE]. I choose to fundraise for VeloSano because [SHARE WHY YOU ARE 100% FOR THE CURE AND TELL YOUR STORY].
I’m proud to ask for your support towards my fundraising goal, knowing that 100% of every dollar you donate supports lifesaving cancer research at Cleveland Clinic.
To make a donation, please follow this link to my Personal Fundraising Page: [INSERT URL]
Together, to cure cancer.
Double the Impact Through Matching Gifts
Your donors can double their giving efforts by utilizing the power of matching gifts! Visit This link to search for an employer and view details of companies’ matching gift programs.
4. Thanking Donors
Congratulations on raising critical funding for lifesaving cancer research at Cleveland Clinic! Now it’s time for the fun part – thanking your donors and sharing the good news of your success.
It’s important to thank those who supported your VeloSano fundraising efforts. There are a variety of ways in which you can thank your donors. Below are some ideas.
- Mail a thank you card
- Post about your fundraising success on social media and thank those that supported you. An additional benefit of thanking donors publicly is that it encourages others to donate to you as well
- Compile photos from your event or Bike to Cure weekend and send a postcard to supporters
- Create personalized videos for each donor to thank them
Thank You Letter Template
Dear [NAME]
Thank you for your donation to my fundraising efforts for VeloSano. 100% of every dollar you donated will support transformative, lifesaving cancer research happening at Cleveland Clinic today, in order to impact the lives of millions of people around the world, tomorrow.
This year, I'm proud to say I raised [AMOUNT] for VeloSano. This would not have been possible without you, and I feel fortunate to have supporters like you to help me reach this fundraising achievement.
To learn more about the lifesaving cancer research happening at Cleveland Clinic, visit the VeloSano Impact Report.
Thank you again for your support this year. Together, we are VeloSano. Together, to cure cancer.
[YOUR NAME]
Make sure you thank your donors soon after their donation or Bike to Cure weekend, while you can still capitalize on the excitement. Another great time to thank your supporters is upon the release of the VeloSano Impact Report so that they can see the projects that were brought to life because of their support.
5.Host an Event to Benefit VeloSano
Whatever activity you are passionate about, there’s a good chance that it can be turned into a fundraising event to benefit VeloSano. Hosting an event is a fun way to get your friends and family involved with the cause, all while helping you reach your fundraising goals. Our team can provide you with best practices and fundraising platforms to make your event as easy as possible to execute. Contact us at velosano@ccf.org to get started!
Types of Events
Our community has organized a variety of events to benefit VeloSano throughout the years. Below are just a few ideas to get your wheels turning:
- Golf Outing
- Karaoke Event
- 50/50 Raffle
- Online Auction
- Spin Event
- Bar Crawl
- Restaurant Give Back Night
How We Can Help
Online Raffle
Use our online 50/50 raffle platforms for a simple way to raise money using your teammate’s contacts. Your team can also raffle off unique items, such as bikes or event tickets.
Online Auctions
Encourage your teammates to gather auction items for online bidding! Our platform utilizes text messages to alert bidders when they have been outbid.
Ticketed Events
VeloSano can help you create a custom website that allows you to sell tickets and highlight information about your fundraising event.
For a variety of resources to promote your event, such as our flyer template, logos, and graphics, visit our Downloads section.
6. Further Resources
VeloSano App
Take your fundraising to the next level with the VeloSano App. Update your page, deposit checks, track physical activity and engage in team challenges from the palm of your hand.
Learn MoreFundraise With A Local Business
Looking for fun and creative ways to fundraise for VeloSano? Whether it's fitness studios, restaurants, or venues, we have a list of local businesses that you can work with to achieve your fundraising goals.
View Businesses