November15th, 2010: Now it is truly time to pull the trigger.
I’ve been delaying going public with this blog, simply scribbling them down in a Word Document, but I guess we have to go live sometime. The uncertainty of whether I could even pull off the half marathon crippled me from really setting up a web site and publishing…but now I am fully committing myself.
I have been casually seeking a way to successfully post these entries with the capability to accept donations…with a wee bit of angst. In my heart I realize this will be a small venture, but once I go public there is the fear that I will be required to put up a witty and intelligent posting every night for the next year. Being a private person I admit consternation, but everything leads to the conclusion that this is a worthy venture and a year from now I may lapse back into obscurity and the old daily routine.
Please know my fear of being a public persona is gigantic compared to my concerns over the challenge of running Le Grand Raid. Disappointing people is my biggest fear and by going public with this venture I expand the audience of folks whose expectations I might fail to fulfill. Trying to mold my body into shape for an ultra marathon is a personal challenge and I am way more comfortable with that.
But the adventure is teaching me the value of challenges and I really do want to raise funds for diabetic research. Hopefully I am sharing the delight I’ve been able to realize due to research, so it is only fair that I attempt a small payback. Setting up your own fund raising event has proven to be quite a learning curve – much easier to participate where a charity has already satisfied all of the administrative crap.
Here’s what I’ve learned thus far. Since I am pursuing this independently, it is a “third party” event where I bear the responsibility to send out letters acknowledging donation receipts for tax purposes. Fortunately JDRF will supply me with letterhead (and I think envelopes), but I still need to lick stamps and add my John Hancock for every contributor. Not a steep burden as I actually look forward to expressing my gratitude individually.
For me this is not unlike Christmas, because I hand write individual updates to my friends every year. I’ve never done a standard letter that gets photocopied…I actually relish the opportunity to catch up with the people I love and they are all unique, requiring unique letters sharing the year’s trials and tribulations (hope I can write about Le Grand Raid next year!). It takes a chunk of time but it is one of the highlights of the holiday season for me.
As for accepting donations, I had researched setting up a means for collection through PayPal, which actually has some easy methods to accomplish this task. However, JDRF has a web site where you can go in and set up your event with credit card donations flowing straight to them. I prefer this so I don’t need to transfer the funds but I might set up a separate bank account for accepting cash or check receipts.
I stopped off at my local Bank of America branch to inquire about this latter path for donations and the woman I spoke with told me Maria was their specialist in these affairs. Maria was apparently working with another client at the time, so we traded e-mails and she has pledged to do some research around what makes most sense for my endeavor. Will try to catch up with her during the last week of December when I have some days off to focus on erecting the charitable machinery.
So I still have to implement things, but the path seems clear with another learning curve endured (but another positive experience, compliments of the challenge of Le Grand Raid). Who would have thought I would learn so much from this crazy adventure? Since I need to set a goal to strive for, I don’t have too many options. Running to celebrate turning fifty translates into a fund raising goal of $50,000 in my book.
$50,000 seems like an appropriate goal though I clearly recognize it will prove a difficult amount to attain. What I am experiencing thus far is the necessity of setting targets to realize accomplishment. I certainly didn’t think I would ever run an ultra marathon and although I may never do that, striving towards that goal has pushed me run a half marathon and focus upon physical development.
What I expect to happen here is to quickly appreciate that I am tracking nowhere near satisfying this goal. The hopeful consequence will be motivation to identify innovative ways to bring in more dollars. I honestly have no clue what those avenues might be, but I am of a mind that unless I make a commitment, the creative juices will never get squeezed.
So here’s further entertainment for you along my journey. Now I not only have to train for a stinking ultra marathon, I have to mutate into a cash cow. Just one adventure after another here in the land of aging adolescents… J
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