Hello All Team In Training Folks, 

I wanted to introduce you all to a fundraising alternative that can supplement your efforts.  I own Mother Earth Fundraising (www.motherearthfundraising.com), a website that typically works with schools and other non-profits.  In short, groups register as 'affiliates' on my website, tell their friends and family to shop for exclusively Eco-Friendly items on the site, and the non-profit group receives 25% off all purchases credited to them at checkout. 

I was just contacted by a Team in Training member who will participate in the upcoming Philadelphia Marathon.  She and several of her training partners are going to register with Mother Earth to assist them in reaching their goal, so I thought that I'd share this option with you all. 

I'm sure you all have certain people that you don't mind soliciting directly for donations and I wish you the best of luck in doing so.  However, if your social circles are anything like mine, there are larger groups of folks (with whom you are less close) that you are less likely to solicit because of it may seem a bit awkward to ask them for something without giving them anything tangible in return.  In such cases, they are more likely to support you through this type of 'affiliate' model.  And in addition to supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, it would also be a nice secondary benefit to perpetuate the Eco-Friendly movement.  

It would work as follows:  You register as a 'Non Profit Group' on www.motherearthfundraising.com.  You would then be the 'Fundraising Chairperson' of your 'Group'.  You would then send emails to friends and/or post our link to your individual fundraising site.  Friends shop on the site for 'green' items and identify your 'Group' as the beneficiary.  We UPS the orders directly to them and they receive order confirmations and tracking via email.  As the 'Fundraising Chair', you'll be able to login to track sales.  Shortly before your 'due date', I will send a check made out to The L&L Society to you (I typically send profit checks on pre-determined dates, but I can make an exception for Team in Training efforts).  

Please feel free to write me at tjcompagnone@motherearthfundraising.com or call me at 888.927.5633. 

An FYI - I feel the need to disclaim that I run a FOR PROFIT business, and I hope that you don't confuse my post with a shameless plug for my company to profit from you all.  I am an avid supporter of all of my friends who do events through Team in Training, and I actually did a cross country bike trip last summer that benefitted the American Cancer Society.  I've also done about a  dozen events (AIDS rides, MS rides, marathons) for which I've raised money in the same fashion as you are.  In short, I appreciate your efforts and understand your fundraising struggles and simply want to introduce you to a creative alternative.