Raise Funds. Change Lives.

As much as The Achievement Challenge is about raising awareness and changing perceptions, it's also an opportunity to raise mission-critical funds to support advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

When you become a fundraiser for The Arc, you're telling your friends and family what The Arc means to you and inviting them to support programs that change the lives of real people living right here in our community. It's a powerful message that means so much more when it comes from you. 

And it's all going to be easier than you think. Just follow these simple steps below. 

Set Up Your Fundraising Page

The Colfax Marathon has partnered with Everyday Hero to offer a sleek and simple fundraising page to anyone who wants to raise funds for The Arc. Here’s ours.

Setting up your own page is easy-peasy. There are two ways to get started:

• Not registered yet? When you register for your race at www.runcolfax.org, select The Arc as your Charity Partner (we're under "T" for "The" -- don't ask.). Answer "Yes" to the question "Would you like to receive an online fundraising page?" and within a few days you will receive additional instructions by email from Everyday Hero. 
• Already registered or not planning to race? Just email Genni Williams at genni@arcjc.org and we’ll send you a link to build your fundraising page on Everyday Hero. 

Once your page is set up, make a note of your unique URL, because this is what you're going to share with everyone you know. 

Share your link online

When you're on your Everyday Hero fundraising page, you'll find easy links to share your page on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. You can also share the URL on other social media sites by simply copying and pasting your URL into the platform of your choice. We've had some success getting donations from LinkedIn, so don't overlook the generosity of your professional contacts. 

Since most of us are already on Facebook, we've written a couple of status updates you can use when you post to your page:

• I'm racing in The Arc's Achievement Challenge in May to support people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Donate $20 in my honor at [your URL] to support life-changing advocacy. 
• For Parents and Self-Advocates: I'm a part of The Arc's Achievement Challenge because The Arc's training and advocacy have made a difference for me and my family. Donate $20 in my honor at [your URL] to give life-changing advocacy to others like me. 

No matter what you post or where you post it, try to share your page at least once a week leading up to race weekend in May. 

Send an email to everyone you know

Your fundraising page also has an easy link to email the URL directly to your friends and family right from the page. This will send a pre-written email with your fundraising page to any contact you enter, and the from line will show as Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon. It's got a nice message, but it's not super personal, so be sure to send it to yourself first to see if you like it before sending it to your contacts. 

You can still send your page the old-fashioned way, using whatever method you prefer to send email. Just compose your message and copy and paste your fundraising URL into the message. Click here to see a sample email you can modify for your own use. If you've made your own personal fundraising flyer (below), you can also attach that to your email, too. 

Ask for Support Face to Face

Even in this day and age, our lives aren't entirely digital. We still go places and see people face-to-face, which is usually the best way to ask for support. We've created this blank fundraising flyer with space for you to tell your own story, which can be either typed directly in the form or handwritten on a printed copy. Click here to view Genni's flyer as an example.