TOTO Challenge #3 – The Winner!

TOTO Challenge #3 required the shortlist fundraise for Project TOTO to help us reach our $10,000 target.

This challenge was not just about testing each nominee’s creativity, network of influence and social media skills, but was also a practical necessity.

The $10,000 fundraising target aimed to cover the costs of setting up the next outreach blog – including sending the next outreach blogger on their training mission and setting up the outpost with appropriate technology.

Prior to this challenge, supporters of Project TOTO had generously donated over $1,300. Our nominees were tasks with making up the difference.

What they raised

In the end, our nominees managed to raise over $5,000 for Project TOTO, taking our total to just over $6,500.

Although it was an excellent effort from our nominees, we are still left short of our $10,000 target. We must now figure out whether we can squeeze all our costs for the next outreach blog into the reduced budget. More on that later.

So who won?

Four nominees successfully completed Challenge #3 – with widely varying results.

Before we tell you who we’ve judged to win, it’s worth remembering our judging criteria:

1) Funds raised: first and foremost, this challenge was judged based on how much money each nominee raised by the cut-off date.

2) Creativity: a secondary criteria was how creative the nominee was in their fundraising. In particular, the judges were looking out for innovative fundraising techniques that could be scaled up for use in the charity sector more generally.

Based on these criteria, the judges agreed the deserving winner was…

Emily French

Emily raised an impressive $2,205 mostly by hosting a series of fundraising events – including a brunch, Trivia Night, and BBQ. She also secured donations on Everyday Hero from family friends and from the company McKinney Rogers. Finally, Emily decided to de-clutter her life, and raised funds by selling items on eBay.

ActionAid is eternally grateful for the effort, time and dedication Emily injected into this challenge – not to mention her success in raising the most money of all nominees.

Here’s what Emily had to say about her winning fundraising drive:

“I made a decision early on in my fundraising process that I was not going to rely purely on goodwill donations to raise money for ActionAid. Given that I am a student and virtually everyone I know is also a student, I was well aware that my peers were not in the best position to be donating money as they are sustaining themselves on student loans. Instead, I planned a number of events so that people felt they were getting something back for their money. Having said that, some family friends were wonderfully forthcoming with their donations and I am so grateful to them for their generosity. Thank you to everyone who attended my events, sent donations or offered words of support and encouragement – I couldn’t have done it without you!”

How did the other nominees go?

In their own ways, each of the other nominees, who took up the fundraising challenge, did a stellar job. Putting in significant time, effort and planning. Here they are in no particular order…

Sharna Bremner

Sharna used a particularly brave strategy of only asking people to donate one dollar to the cause. She then spread the word about this micro-donation drive through social media – using Twitter, Facebook and her personal blog, to spread the word.

The gamble paid off, with a total of $1,227 raised on the Everyday Hero website. Some friends also donated directly to ActionAid’s Haiti appeal in Sharna’s name – raising an additional $107.

Interestingly, although Sharna was only asking for single dollar donations, most people gave considerably more – typically $5 or $10 and even up to $50.

To keep up the momentum, Sharna then threw in another $5 for every $100 raised – encouraging supporters to break the next $100 milestone.

This is one strategy ActionAid may have to test out ourselves one day…

Here’s what Sharna had to say about her strategy:

“As January is usually a fairly expensive time of year for most people, my fundraising strategy was to ask people to donate just one dollar. I set up a page on the Everyday Hero website to receive donations and using social media, I sent out requests for donations. I created an event on Facebook, sent out emails and also used Twitter and my personal blog. I asked all of my online friends to donate just one dollar, and then ask all of their friends to do the same. I hoped to not only raise money but also awareness of ActionAid’s work and Project TOTO. By simply using social media, updating my Facebook status or Twitter account to request donations, I raised $1,120.00 via the Everyday Hero website.”

Father Dave

Father Dave’s fundraising strategy definitely had the most “punch” to it, organising a charity Boxathon on Australia Day, with proceeds going to Project TOTO.

Promoting the event through posters, email and a story in the local paper, Father Dave fought an incredible 50 rounds against 30 different boxers – all in the name of charity.

He even managed to get some of the biggest names in Australian boxing to take him on – including Nader Hamdan, fresh from TV’s The Contender Australia boxing series, Solomon Haumono, the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Heavyweight Champion, and Australian Light Welterweight Champion Solomon Egberime.

Fighting Father Dave raised an impressive $1,513 for his efforts. He says he would have raised more had his intended live 0nline streaming of the event worked out – alas the technology failed. Don’t worry Father Dave, we were impressed enough you lasted 50 rounds!

Check out video from the event on Father Dave’s website www.fatherdave.org (click on Ezine link)

In Father Dave’s own words:

The box-a-thon was a great success and I want to thank each of you who sent me emails and text messages of support, and most especially those who sent donations to help support the work of ActionAid Australia. I completed 50 rounds of boxing.

My hands and feet were throbbing for the next couple of days but, frankly, it was the easiest money I’ve ever raised, and I do plan to do another box-a-thon same time next year if not before. Next time I may attempt twice as many rounds! Of course the beauty of the event was not just the funds raised but the way it brought together people in the community to support the event, and most obviously the way some of our most prominent boxers showed up to give their support.

In truth I have great faith in the ability of fighters to combat poverty and injustice. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I believe you can’t really make a difference in this world unless you are a fighter. Fighters know the meaning of hard work and persistence, and, most importantly, they know how to get up again and keep battling after they’ve been knocked down.

Joel Katz

Always the musician at heart, Joel decided he’d sing his way to TOTO riches. Wearing hand-made ActionAid t-shirts and singing a TOTO tune, Joel and his supportive girlfriend took to the streets of Sydney.

Unfortunately, as it happens, the streets of Sydney aren’t always that generous and Joel ended up raising a modest $120. But his well-branded busking helped raise many questions about ActionAid and Project TOTO.

If passion and hard-work could pay the way for the next outreach blogger, then Joel’s effort would have funded the whole trip.

Here’s how Joel explained his strategy:

“Me and my amazing girlfriend approached this Challenge from another angle, as I wasn’t too comfortable asking my friends and family for donations, especially in light of the Haiti tragedy. We made-up posters and t-shirts promoting ActionAid’s ‘Toto Challenge’ witha the web address, and hit the streets, guitar and bongos in hand. Busking our way around Sydney we spread the ‘Toto’ word and busted out some tunes, too. Sadly, I discovered that wandering minstrels don’t make much, and after a few days, bloodied fingers and worn out vocal chords, our misshapen collection hat wasn’t overflowing with cash. But we got heaps of questions about the challenge, and lots of people saying they’d check out the website.”

In summary: amounts raised by each volunteer

Emily French – $2,205

Father Dave – $1,513

Sharna Bremner – $1,227 (+$107)

Joel Katz – $120

Want to help us reach our $10,000 target? Donate to Project TOTO