Campaigner's Guide

Dear YMCA Campaigner,

Thank you so much for your commitment and dedication to the YMCA of Grays Harbor Annual Campaign.

Because of you, thousands of kids, families, and seniors in our community will have the opportunity to participate in YMCA programs and activities regardless of their ability to pay.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you achieve success during this important campaign.

You are making a difference!

Erik Kupka, Alissa Shay, and Lindsay Jones Campaign Chairs

“The Y provides my family and I the opportunity to spend quality time together.”

YMCA Member Kelly

1,399

Family Time Family members nurtured to grow

Teaching Values

Kids in YMCA programs and activities experience the Y’s four core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. All kids need these important values to grow up strong and healthy.

Annual Campaign contributions provide financial assistance to kids and families who want and need YMCA programs and activities but cannot afford to pay.

The Y. For Youth Development, Healthy Living, Social Responsibility

Why the Campaign is Important

Gifts to the Annual Campaign support YMCA financial assistance, to help ensure that everyone has access to the YMCA regardless of their ability to pay.

100% of every dollar contributed will benefit youth, teens, families, and seniors by enabling them to participate in programs and activities that develop positive values and healthy lifestyles.

Scholarships open the door for children to have the opportunity of a lifetime like this camper.

My Y Story Camp Bishop

“The YMCA has been a part of my life for a long time. In elementary school, I frequented day camps and pools in the summers of my elementary school years. During middle school, the Y had dances and activities for kids my age to feel cool and safe at the same time. In high school, the Y gave me my first and most memorable job.

My younger’s siblings are all over a decade younger than me, and as they grew I knew I had to introduce this amazing organization into their life as well. My sisters and brothers live in an urban environment without an ability to get to the beauty of the natural world. My employment at YMCA Camp Bishop put me in a unique position to send my siblings to camp for the first time, under careful family supervision. It was clear after day one, however, that there was no need for me to be there.” Y Camper

486 Campers

Campers on

127 Scholarships

Your Role as a Campaigner

• Make a personal gift.

• Share the YMCA story with your friends, family, colleagues, prospects, and others to raise your personal campaigner goal.

• Attend events and report pledges regularly.

• Make use of the open list and build your prospect list.

• Reach out to your captains and/or staff rep is you need help.

• Wear your red campaign bracelet and use it as a conversation starter.

860

Active Kids

Kids lead to a healthy path with youth sports

$38,213

Awarded amount of scholarships for youth sports

“I started coming to the Y for my kids. We come here afterschool to do homework, swim and spend time with friends… because of the Y we spend more time as a family.”

YMCA Member Chelli

Building Assets

All of the Y’s programs and activities are designed to build important developmental assets, the key building blocks that all youth need to grow up strong, healthy, and productive.

The Y. For Youth Development, Healthy Living, Social Responsibility

Share

Here are a few ideas:

• Let your social circle know about the Annual Campaign. The Y will post about the Campaign on Facebook and Instagram. Share the Y’s posts and create your own posts to create buzz around the Annual Campaign.

• Use the Hashtags: #AC2024 #YMCAofGraysHarbor #FindYourReason #FindJoyInGiving #FindYourY #BeAnything

• Each campaigner will have their own unique personal donation link. You will be able to share this link to make it easier to donate.

• There is an Annual Report in your campaigner packet that is full of information about our Y. Use this info to help tell your story.

1,876 Kids taught Swim Lessons and skills to be safe around the water Water Safety

$75,793 Awarded amount of scholarships for swim lessons

Build Self-Confidence

Kids who grow up in YMCA programs not only achieve, they thrive! They learn new skills, build self-confidence and self-esteem, learn how to be part of a team, and have caring adults to guide them along the way.

Process for Adding Prospects

It’s an Easy Four-Step Process

We like to keep our donors happy. This goal is accomplished in many ways. One way is to say thank you often. Another way is to make sure that each person is only asked for a gift once during the campaign. By sticking with our process, you can help us keep our donors happy. Donors that are happy and appreciated are generous donors!

Step One

Complete Prospect Request: Create a list of family, friends, co-workers and others that you would like to ask for a gift. Review the taken list to verify these names are not already assigned to another campaigner.

Step Two

Submit to YMCA: Call or email the list to Melissa Dahlstrom, 537-9622 x101 or mdahlstrom@ghymca.net.

Step Three

Names Cleared by YMCA Staff: Melissa Dahlstrom will work quickly to let you know who you can contact from your list.

Step Four

Prospect Added to the Master List: Once you get the okay you are free to contact the individual for a gift.

721 Kids with a supportive mentor after school at Harbor After School Mentorship

43,700 Meals

45,200 Snacks

Develop Leaders

The Y provided snacks and meals to fight food insecurity

At the YMCA, all kids have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills! Whether it’s teaching a younger child how to do a craft, organizing a YMCA Earth Service Corp event, or serving as a counselor-in training, all YMCA participants are developing important leadership skills that will help them become confident and productive.

The Y. For Youth Development, Healthy Living, Social Responsibility

How to Ask

Each campaigner has her or his own style and there is not one single method that works for everyone. Here are some methods that have worked well for successful campaigners.

• Send an email to your prospect and include your online donation link.

• Call to make an appointment to meet with your prospect face to face. This can be as formal as setting a meeting or just a call to ask if they’d have a minute to speak with you after church, a meeting, or in whatever arena you usually see them.

• If you can’t meet with each person, give them a call. Ask if it is a good time to talk, if not, ask when a better time might be to contact them. If they’re in the middle of something at work or at home, chances are they will be less willing to listen well to what you have to say.

• Send a personal note and information on the YMCA. Some campaigners find that their prospects like to receive written information and time to think about whether they’d like to contribute. A personal note is an opportunity to share information and prepare them for your meeting or phone call. A sample is provided in your packet. Cards are available at the Y and report meetings.

It’s Amazing What You Don’t Raise When You Don’t Ask!!!

In every study, the number one reason most cited for why a person hasn’t made a gift is because they have never been asked.

Keys for Success

Make your own pledge first

This is the single most important step you can take toward success.

Share your story about the YMCA

Have face-to-face conversations with your friends, family, and colleagues about the ways in which the YMCA has impacted you and our community. Telling the story face-toface gives you credibility when asking for a donation and will help build a wider base of support for the future. Don’t forget to share your Y story on social media to create buzz.

Find their connection to the YMCA

How have they been involved in the Y? Did they attend Camp Bishop as a child? Did their kids learn how to swim at the Y? Do they have a child participating at one of the Harbor After School sites? Find their connection and let them tell you their story.

Illustrate how the Annual Campaign makes a difference in their connection to the Y.

Ask your best prospects first

Practice asking those potential donors who you feel most comfortable with or who have the greatest likelihood to give first. Success breeds success.

Aim high and ask for a specific amount

When the time is right, ask for a specific dollar amount and talk about the good things those dollars will do.

Encourage pledging

Most of us can give more when we make small payments over a period of time as opposed to giving one larger gift.

Make friends for the YMCA

Of course, not everyone will choose to donate to the campaign. However, try and make a friend for the YMCA even if they decide not to contribute now.

How to Fill Out a Pledge Card

Step One: Verify contact information and update on the card, if needed or if this is a new prospect please complete this section.

A pledge cannot be counted without proper contact information. If it is a pledge of $1,000 or more please get a current email address. We use this information to contact the donor about information to be placed on their banner.

Step Two: Collect an email address from your donor.

Step Three: Complete the Total Gift amount box, payment included, and the balance pledged. If donor is not paying in full at time of pledge, please mark how they would like to pay for their pledge.

• If the donor wants to make quarterly payments, obtain the first payment and return with the pledge card. This insures that the pledge is completed before the start of the next campaign.

• For monthly bank draft payments, obtain the first payment and return with the pledge card. Bank draft will start with the second payment. Also, bank draft and credit card payments require a donor signature.

Other Information:

The donor history (in your packet) lists the amounts that the donor has contributed in previous years. Use this information as a starting point in asking for an increased gift. Please keep this information confidential to respect our donors.

30% Of members receive Financial Assistance For All

$254,727 Awarded amount of scholarships for memberships

Each year, the YMCA provides financial assistance to hundreds of kids in our community to experience summer camp regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

www.ghymca.net