Jonathan Han speaks us today about his fundraising page with Unique Learning Center and how he has been able to raise over $800 in donations. Check out both the fundraising techniques he has been using as well as some of the challenges with fundraising.
Tell us a little bit about who you are.
Well, I’m 25 years old and grew up in a small town named San Dimas in Sunny Southern California (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures!). I graduated college almost 3 years ago with a BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. I currently work at the US Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner in Semiconductors. I love to cook and go fishing on my free time, but anything that lets me be surrounded by friends enjoying their company is fine by my book. I’m an active member of Open Door Presbyterian Church in Herndon, VA and currently serve on the Praise Team as one of their bassists.
Why did you decide to fundraise for ULC?
I’ve been tutoring for the Unique Learning Center (ULC) for almost 2 years now. Ms Sherry Woods and her staff are amazing people doing absolutely phenomenal things for the youth in inner-city DC and I’ve always felt privileged to work with them and do my part, even if it felt small. I currently tutor a sixth grade student by the name of Delonte and previously tutored a fourth grader by the name of TaQuan. It’s very challenging at times but when you start seeing improvement and enthusiasm in the students, it definitely is worth it. You might have had the worst day at work but the minute you step into ULC and you see all the excited kids running around and you’re greeted by the littlest ones, you begin to forget how tired you are and feel renewed with energy. Unfortunately, programs like this don’t come cheap and ULC has seen its fair share of financial difficulties. The summer is such a vital time to work with the students and with grants the way they are, I saw firsthand the effects of trying to stay afloat with barely enough. I decided to involve myself actively in their fundraising by opening my own page on ULC’s fundraising site.
What methods are you using to get people to come to your page?
As horrible as it sounds, shameless promotion. I never let the link off my Google Chat status and actively asked my small group to donate. I also continuously updated on my Facebook page on how the overall fundraising was doing as well as actively Twittered. Most of my large donations came from my closest friends who know what I do and why this is so important to me. They’ve seen me run off to tutoring every Tuesday and have had to sit by while I talked about Delonte so they know this is a very important part of my life. I also took time to thank people directly who donated. I stopped caring about how I looked to people and went to anyone and everyone I knew and asked for even the smallest of donations. Most people respond rather positively even in times of their own financial trouble.
What has been the most difficult part of fundraising?
My roommates as well as some close friends are also fundraising for ULC. It’s hard when we have mutual friends and we start asking the same people for donations when they already donated. We’re still grateful but I can’t help but felt like we’re overly concentrating on one group since we all run the same circles. Finding people who we know that other didn’t and being able to show them that this program is important to us was the hardest. People aren’t too excited to donate when they only see the side of the program that involves emptying out their pockets. They want to see the fruits of that action and while it’s easy to see to those that interact with you every single day, it’s so much harder to convey that importance and the need of the organization to those that you don’t often interact with. So, just being able to get out of my comfort zone and ask people. I grew up in a household that was the epitome of “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” so I wasn’t used to asking people for help.
Any tips you’d like to share with other fundraisers?
Start by asking those closest to you. You’ll be surprised on how generous people are even in their most trying financial times. They’re your friends for a reason and they’re there to help you through struggles and you’re there to help them. If the program is that important to you, make it obvious to those around you. Thank people who donate as soon as you know they did. It shows you care about them and aren’t just using them for financial benefits but that what they just did actually means something beyond making a counter go up that much more. A simple thank you can lead to bigger things as those that donate have that appreciation stick with them and they begin to spread the word for you. Make an active effort to involve yourself with those that donate.
