Fundraising Toolkit
We’re fundraising to provide peer support for bereaved families after pregnancy and infant loss.
Empty Arms Vermont provides peer support to individuals and families whose babies have died. By cultivating personal connections, creating a compassionate community, and fostering professional collaborations, we provide grieving parents with valuable resources and validation as they navigate the murky days, weeks, and lifetime without their baby.
We’ve done the leg work for you! On this page, you’ll find email and social media templates, fundraising tips, and ways to put your best fundraising foot forward. Did we miss anything? Send your questions to ellie@emptyarmsvermont.org.
Ten Steps to Cross the Fundraising Finish Line
- Personalize your fundraising page. Tell everyone why this cause and organization are important to you. You can either create an individual or team fundraiser - what’s the difference?
- Include a meaningful photo. A picture is worth a thousand words.
- Set your fundraising goal. Get the ball rolling by making a donation to your page- it doesn’t have to be big!
- Start with your inner circle via email. Be sure to include:
- That you’re participating in and fundraising for Empty Arms Vermont’s Good Grief Run & Walk.
- You’re starting with your closest family and friends before opening up to your larger network
- What you want them to do: “Will you help me reach my goal by making a donation?”
- A link to your fundraising page.
- Feel free to adapt and send these email templates!
- Then target your broader network on social media. Explain why the cause matters to you.
- Feel free to adapt and send these social media templates!
- Fundraisers who link their pages to a Facebook fundraiser earn on average SIX TIMES MORE donations than those who only use their RunSignUp fundraising page. Learn how to quickly create a Facebook fundraiser that is automatically linked to your existing fundraising page.
- Consider making weekly mini-goals: For example, if your goal is $1,000, try to raise $250 each week- and ask your supporters to help.
- Follow up. Share the progress that you’ve made toward your fundraising goal. Keep your appeal fresh by changing up each post with different information.
- Count down to the deadline. When you point out that time is running out to give, your appeal becomes more urgent and compelling. Be sure to emphasize how close you are to your goal.
- Show your gratitude. Maintain excitement by thanking donors on your fundraising page and/or social media.
How to talk about Empty Arms Vermont
The mission of Empty Arms Vermont is at the core of why you’re fundraising. Here are some key talking points about our programs so you can let your supporters know how their dollars are helping.
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Empty Arms hosts open, peer-facilitated, support groups to anyone who has experienced pregnancy loss or infant loss (within the first year of infancy). Those who participate in group support are affirmed in the value of what they have lost and are given the freedom to grieve and heal at their own pace.
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The Good Grief Run and Walk is our organization’s biggest community gathering, and our biggest fundraising event. We gather not to “get over” grief, but to honor our stories, feel connection, and support one another. This event raises almost half of our annual operating budget and makes it possible to run peer support groups, provide companionship for newly bereaved families, and supply essential resources during their most vulnerable moments.
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During October, Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness month, we host Remembrance Nights to remember the babies we miss and honor a journey where grief and joy coexist. Whether you had moments or months with your baby, we honor your journey and grieve as a community.
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We offer resources for professionals that work alongside the pregnancy population to help connect families to peer support. This includes materials for miscarriage support bags that can be offered to patients as a tool to extend empathy and training on best practices to support patients or clients who experience a perinatal loss, tailored for clinical settings, mental health providers, and doulas.
