Big Hairy Challenge Post-Mortem
Personally, I would consider my first attempt at fundraising with NorthumberlandView.ca a success. A total of about $1,800 was raised for local charities, I raised the profile of NorthumberlandView.ca in the area , I got a haircut and I still get to give blood. Even though I didn’t reach any of my goals (which frankly were just pulled out of the air) I went through with most of the “deeds”.
About $650 was raised for Hospice Northumberland Lakeshore and I got my head shaved at the Buskerfest in Cobourg. I did it in the middle of King Street, on a stage set up by a dance school. While there were a few people wondering what I was up to, after I explained it, they were all very supportive. My biggest problem was the fact that I hadn’t thought to bring a broom to sweep up the newly-cut hair. The owners of the Dollar Store on King were kind enough to let me borrow their broom and I managed to get most of the hair before it all blew away.
I raised another $650 for the Northumberland Humane Society and about $350 for Northumberland Services for Women and as a result, I got my legs sugared and my chest waxed at Pet Palooza at Global Pet Foods. One of the volunteers from the Shelter of Hope was kind enough to video tape pretty much the entire ordeal (the whole thing took about 45 minutes and the video was about 35 minutes). Angela Johns and Rachel Walsh from Angela’s Body Sugaring and Day Spa were kind enough to donate their time and materials to make this happen. They could have probably completed the waxing and sugaring in less time but they were both laughing so much that it took a bit longer. I got both my legs and chest done at the same time so I really can’t say which hurt more. Just to be a bit cruel, every once in a while, I would hear “1, 2, 3″ and both Angela and Rachel would rip out some more hair at the same time. Needless to say I was either called brave, stupid or crazy a few times that day.
I was supposed to get either one or both of my nipples pierced during the Waterfront Festival but because I only raised $150 for the Fare Share Food Bank, I didn’t go through with it. The reason for this is fairly simple, if I had gotten the piercing done, I wouldn’t be able to give blood for 6 months. Giving blood is very important to me and I wanted to make sure that if I was going to get it done, I wanted to make sure I raised as much as possible.
I make no excuses for not reaching the goals. However, I can think of a few reasons why I might not have succeeded.
- Exposure: I promoted the Big Hairy Challenge almost exclusively online, using Twitter and Facebook. I had contacted other local media outlets on a number of occasions to help get the word out. Unfortunately, the only media coverage I got was a single article in Northumberland Today and several reports from MyFM in Brighton.
- Other Fundraising Activities: Northumberland Services for Women was running their Walk a Mile in Her Shoes fundraiser during the time of the Challenge. Also, the Fare Share Food Bank was broken into during the Challenge and there was an outpouring of support from the community. A number of donations were made because of the break-in, including a $5000 donation from Rotary.
- Fundraising Fatigue: People are being approached every day to support a variety of charities and most people have a set budget for donations and are unable to give any more.
- Number of Challenges: I was told by several people that I was being a bit ambitious and spreading myself too thin by doing 4 separate fundraisers. Had I done a single fundraiser I would have been more likely to reach the goal.
- Donation Method: I used CanadaHelps.org to accept donations and while it’s a secure website that is used by most not-for-profits as a way of accepting donations, some people are still leery about giving out their credit card number online.
As far as next year goes, I haven’t quite decided yet. I might do a single fundraiser for 1 charity. It could include piercing, or it could include getting a tattoo. We’ll see.
You can still view all the videos from the Big Hairy Challenge at www.northumberlandview.ca/hairy. I’ll keep it up for a while.
I congratulate you on this whole venture. It was a great idea & you raised substantial money for the charities.
If you do this again next year, would you consider *doing* something instead of body mutilation? Could be digging a veg garden at the women’s shelter (could use buying garden tools, seeds & plants, etc. as added incentive for donors); setting up a website for a charity that needs one; challenging someone known to some sort of contest — you can probably think of better ideas.