Congratulations! You've taken the first step towards joining DuPage Animal Friends for Giving DuPage Days, a 5-day giving event to raise funds for pets in need beginning at midnight on May 2, 2022, and ending on May 6th. We are so grateful you're here with us!
Our WHY is simple and drives everything that we do daily: TO IMPACT THE LIVES OF ANIMALS IN NEED, IN OUR COMMUNITY AND BEYOND.
The animals that we help are at their most desperate. They are lost or abandoned, scared, and many times need urgent, critical care. Thanks to your support, DuPage Animal Friends can serve as the philanthropic partner of DuPage County Animal Services and fund the progressive and compassionate care these animals receive.
If you know someone with a pet, are looking for a pet, have a pet, or had a pet, then you are part of this amazing community impacted by the joy and love our animals unconditionally give. You also understand how important it is to watch over, protect and love them when they cannot do it for themselves.
The funds you help us raise, the social media posts you share, and the generous donations you give during these five days will help DuPage Animal Friends get to our goal of raising $50,000 for the animals.
FUNDRAISING CAN BE FUN, AND IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK! You love the animals and you want to make a difference — otherwise you wouldn't have found your way here. As a part of our Friendraiser team, you'll help us reach more people and raise more funds. If this is your first time asking for gifts for a cause you love, don't be nervous—we are here to help you every step of the way! Here's the short story: You create your page now (it's super easy), set a goal, then invite your friends to come make a donation using your personal link during Giving DuPage Days May 2 - 6.
Or read on to learn more about peer-to-peer fundraising with DAF:
Tell your story
It all starts with why. When you join DuPage Animal Friends as a fundraiser, you get to tell your story, share your passion for animals with the community, and help everyone see why supporting DAF is important to you.
What inspires you will inspire your friends, especially when shared with excitement and enthusiasm, which brings us to...
get the word out
Inspire others to join you! Once you've created your Giving DuPage Days profile, share it!
Copy & paste the link to your fundraising page in emails, text messages, and social media posts.
When you're ready to spread the word about your participation, we have email and social samples in the Sample section below!
Don't wait until the event to start sharing your excitement—let everyone know what's coming and how they can join the fun!
use all your social media
Go where your friends are! Promote your fundraising page on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, even LinkedIn to reach possible supporters.
If you're not already following DuPage Animal Friends on Facebook and Instagram, follow us! We will be posting tons of shareable content that will help you gain support.
Check out our Downloads section below for images you can use on your social media pages.
Don't forget to @ mention DuPage Animal Friends and use the #GivingDuPageDays hashtag on all your posts!
Share your excitement about the event in the week leading up to the event.
During May 2 - 6th, post regular updates about your fundraising progress and Giving DuPage Days.
Encourage those who can't give money to support you by sharing your fundraiser with their friends. It's a great way to spread the word about your efforts.
Always thank your donors publicly on social media and remind everyone how much you have left to hit your goal—it's a great way to show appreciation and inspire giving.
it's all for the animals!
It can FEEL weird to ask others for gifts. Just keep in mind that you aren't asking them to give to YOU, it's for the ANIMALS! They'll give because they see it's something that is important to you, and because they want to help make a difference.
Think outside the box...er...screen
Place a flyer in the break room, we've made a printable poster you can get from the Downloads section below.
Personalize the flyer with a note and visit your neighbors
Print a few, and ask your favorite local businesses if they will display a flyer about Giving DuPage Days
Change your zoom background for meetings
More friends = more fun!
Challenge your friends to a little friendly competition—it's more fun when a few of you are working together to make a difference, and see who can raise more! Encourage the animal lovers in your life to make their own page.
Pick another DAF fundraiser or another department at your company and set your goal up against theirs. You can compete to raise the most money or recruit the most donors.
Challenge yourself—find another DAF fundraiser to follow, and see if you can work to get more donors or more dollars.
Prefer collaboration over competition? Create a DAF team page where all of you can work together to hit a shared goal. Use the power and talents of your entire team to collect donations.
Giving DuPage is offering some great prizes for the organization: 1) with the most donors, 2) with the top fundraising individual, 3) whose board members raise the most, and 4) that raises the most overall. Using one of these as inspiration to reach your goal might help DAF win a top-tier prize!
CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS
At the end of Giving DuPage Days, be sure to let your friends know how it went! Your help took time and effort, and DAF appreciates every bit of it.👏👏👏
Say thank you
Good friends are worth a million! Be sure that you thank them and make them feel like their efforts are appreciated!
Name them on your social media when they make their gift and again following the event!
Consider other personalized ways to say thanks—a card in the mail is a rare treat these days, or an email, or direct message.
GET STARTED
1. Visit the Giving DuPage Days website for DuPage Animal Friends and click FUNDRAISE to get started building your profile.
2. After you've submitted your information, you'll receive your exclusive profile link. But don't worry about saving it right now, because you will always have access to it in your dashboard. Now you can click MANAGE PROFILE to begin building your profile.
3. Your dashboard provides you with the ability to edit your fundraiser profile, make a donation, and share your profile link as well as a progress bar to keep track of your campaign.
4. When personalizing your fundraiser profile in the Tell Your Story tab:
Share why YOU care about DuPage Animal Friends.
Set your fundraising goal.
Upload your photo(s). You'll be able to customize both your profile photo and your story photo!
Because Giving DuPage Days is a virtual fundraiser, you can make your participation as big or as small as you want it to be. That's why we've opened peer-to-peer fundraising to anyone under the age of 18 (with parental help, of course!)
Click here to download the toolkit and see how you and your family can participate.
Prizes based on funds raised will be announced soon — think tees and a pizza party with the shelter pets!
STILL NOT CONVINCED? Check out this graphic to see how you can go from $25 to $500 in just 10 easy steps:
YOU CAN BE A FRIEND FOR ANIMALS BY SPREADING THE WORD
Follow Dupage animal friends
Catch all of our Giving DuPage Days updates on:
share, react, comment!
Every time you share, react, and comment on our posts, it helps people see them. As a friend for DAF, you'll use some of your social media time helping to save shelter animals by getting the message out about Giving DuPage Days. You can also @ tag your friends if you see a post that might resonate with them.
Oh, and by the way, you can also check out our Downloads section for images to help you rep DAF on your social profiles.
crosspost
Here are some other places you could crosspost Giving DuPage Days information:
Local Facebook groups
Nextdoor app
Other social media platforms we aren't cool enough to use yet. Show us your Giving DuPage Days TikTok, please!
GIVING DUPAGE DAYS HAS BEGUN! GIVE NOW!
GIVING $250 OR MORE? MAKE YOUR MATCH DONATION HERE & INSPIRE OTHERS TO GIVE DURING THE EVENT.
MATCHING LEVELS
We are looking for generous supporters who want to leverage their donations to inspire others by donating at one of the following levels now. These donations will then be offered as a match to encourage others to participate in making donations at all levels during the event May 2nd - 6th.
Match Levels: $10,000 $5,000 $1,000 $500 $250
RECOGNITION
We will acknowledge our match donors on our Giving DuPage Days organization page, our DAF website, as well as social media and elsewhere.
Subject line: All furry, fuzzy, feathered friends matter!
Hi [Name of Friend],
I am so excited to join DuPage Animal Friends to make a difference in the lives of the pets in our community. You know my love for animals and whether they are furry, fuzzy or feathered…they make the best of friends and their lives matter.
So, as a friend of mine, please join me in helping change the lives of these pets in need.
Many of the animals that come through the doors at DuPage County Animal Services are lost or abandoned and often in need of critical care. Because of the philanthropic support from DuPage Animal Friends, life-saving measures happen, and animals find new homes or are reunited with their family. Tails wag, kittens purr, and bunnies binky.
YOU can make more of that happen!
Did you know that a contribution of just $35 can microchip and vaccinate one pet?
My goal is to raise $500 and all I need is 15 friends to donate $35. Will you please help me reach my goal? (To be completed however appropriate by fundraiser)
IT’S EASY – Click [insert link to your personal page] to check out my fundraising page and choose the contribution amount you are comfortable making - every dollar matters! It’s all part of a fundraising event called DuPage Giving Days to make a difference in DuPage County!
Together, as friends, we can make a big difference for these furry, fuzzy, feathered friends.
Thank you! [Your name here]
Sample #2: SAVE THE DATE
Subject line: Save the Date! Please join me.
Hi [Name of Friend],
Have you heard of DuPage Animal Friends? They partner with DuPage County Animal Services to make an impact on the lives of pets in need. You know how much I love animals, and I wanted to be part of something big to help animals, so I joined their team for Giving DuPage Days—a community-wide event to raise money for local charities.
Please save the date for May 2nd - 6th, and in the meanwhile, check out my page here [insert link to your personal fundraising page], to learn more about why I am so excited to be part of this life-saving, life-changing event that will help so many animals!
I will only be able to reach my goal with the help of my friends, and that is why I’m writing to you today—because I want to invite you now to learn more about this event, this amazing organization, and to save the date so that you can join me in helping create happy outcomes for pets in need May 2nd - 6th.
Thank you! [Your name here]
Sample #3: FINAL STRETCH
Subject line: I need you—it’s not too late to help!
Hi [Name of Friend],
I hope you’ve had a chance to go see what is going on with Giving DuPage Days. If you had a chance to read my other emails--you already know how excited I am to join the team with DuPage Animal Friends to raise funds to help pets in need.
Have you had a chance to go see my page? I’m getting closer to my goal of $500 but I still have a little way to go. Together, our efforts help homeless pets get medical care, provide foster care, and do so much more to ensure animals find new homes or are reunited with their families.
I only have ‘til this Thursday at midnight and it would mean so much to me if you would join me and help me reach my goal.
It's easy – Click [insert link to your personal page] to check out my fundraising page and choose the contribution amount you are comfortable making - every dollar matters! Together, as friends, we can make a big difference for these furry, fuzzy, feathered friends.
Thank you! [Your name here]
Sample #4: THANK YOU
Subject line: You are the BEST! Thank you!
Hi [Name of Friend],
My heart is SO FULL! Thank you for making a donation in support of my fundraiser for DuPage Animal Friends and Giving DuPage Days. This year’s theme was “With a Little Help From My Friends”, and I am so happy to count you as one of mine.
Together, we are helping every pet find a home. Whether furry, fuzzy, or feathered, your gift helps make sure that pets in need who come to DuPage County Animal Services get the TLC they need to be well and find a loving family. That makes YOU the G.O.A.T. in my eyes!
Thank you, thank you, thank you again for joining in on the fun of Giving DuPage Days and giving to DuPage Animal Friends. I’m inspired and awestruck to be part of this amazing community, and to have friends like you join me for the ride.
Thank you! [Your name here]
Facebook & Instagram samples
Pro-tip: direct links are not supported on Instagram, but you can edit your Instagram profile to include the link to your Giving DuPage Days fundraiser profile. Then—instead of inserting the link into the captions below—you can tell your followers to click the link in your bio!
Sample #1 I am SO excited to be supporting DuPage Animal Friends during #GivingDuPageDays May 2nd - 6th because their work helping pets and families in our community is important right now. It would mean a lot to me if you'd give to my campaign! [insert link to your Giving DuPage Days fundraising profile]
Sample #2 DuPage Animal Friends helps thousands of shelter pets every year by providing DuPage County Animal Services with the resources they need to save lives. And it is only made possible by our generous community. Will you help me reach my #GivingDuPageDays goal with a gift today? [insert link to your Giving DuPage Days fundraising profile]
Sample #3 Want to be part of something BIG for DuPage County's pets in need? There's still time to give and together we can make more happy tails possible! Learn more at [insert link to your Giving DuPage Days fundraising profile] #GivingDuPageDays
Sample #4 You've helped make a huge pawsitive impact on shelter pets' lives during this year's #GivingDuPageDays. I just want to say THANK YOU so much for your support! ❤️
Twitter samples
Sample #1 I am SO excited to be supporting DuPage Animal Friends during #GivingDuPageDays because their work helping pets and families in our community is important right now. Check out my campaign! [insert link to your Giving DuPage Days fundraising profile]
Sample #2 Want to be part of something BIG for DuPage County's pets in need? Together we can make more happy tails possible! Learn more at [insert link to your Giving DuPage Days fundraising profile] #GivingDuPageDays
