Just hit another fundraising milestone

We just hit $2,500 for SMB.  Next stop $3,000.  Here is the interesting thing.  Businesses just keep giving us things (often, in addition to a cash donation).  Last week we got a lot of food and that is still happening.  Lately we have been getting things like gift certificates, t-shirts, dog products, and more.  It is all really nice stuff and it adds a fun aspect to the event.  We have what amounts to a lot of door prizes and the challenge now is to find fun ways for people to win them.  This adds an aspect to SMB that we never considered when we first started.

The main thing I feel the need to say is this: Please take a minute to look over our growing list of sponsors.  Be sure to thank any of the individuals you know who have become sponsors (we never imagined there would be so many people stepping forward to sponsor SMB).  Then, trust me on this one, the businesses that have sponsored us have all been absolutely amazing both in their generosity and overall spirit.  So many of them want to be directly involved in the event next year.  Today, one of them invited us to an important corporate meeting next week because they want to get on board for next year as soon as possible.  It sounds like they might be a big sponsor and so we are trying to attend even though the meeting is really close to May 11th.

Happy trails, Bill

Early RSVP contest winner announced

It took me until late last night to do the drawing for the winner of the contest we were having to encourage people to RSVP early. So I got it done on the 28th as promised, but I couldn't announce it until after I talked with the winner. I just had a pleasant conversation with Lucinda Pefferle who will get two free meals at Jake's Diner. She hikes the Butte almost every day. Over 140 people had RSVP'd in time for the contest and that helped us a lot. Thank you everyone for getting your RSVP's in early. If you know anyone else who plans to RSVP, if they do so by May 1st, their event form will be partly filled out and waiting for them when they arrive on May 11th.

 The contest aspect of SMB was started by Jake's Diner. They gave us the idea. We have another contest running right now and it is sounding like there will be quite a few contests running the day of the event. All of this adds to the fun and the celebratory aspect of SMB. So we are experiencing an amazing hike, raising money for the Butte, having a big party, and giving out prizes. Like I've said before, SMB just keeps getting better and better was we go along.

 Happy Trails, Bill

Thanks to you, we are getting what we always wanted

When we first started planning SMB, we asked the park for a permit.  Our request was denied mainly because time was short.  We were told we could hold the event informally by fitting it into the day-to-day operations of the park.  We did that, using only word of mouth to publicize SMB.  Well, we have had so much success that the park now wants us to have a permit.  All those RSVPs got their attention.  This is great news and it will help us make SMB better.  But we still need to rely on word-of-mouth this year because we can see the potential for SMB to get too big, too fast.  Recently, a popular radio station told us they were planning to tell people about SMB.  We had to scramble to make sure they didn’t because something like that could easily overwhelm us.  It is important that SMB doesn’t get so big this year that it causes problems for us or for the park.  A successful SMB this year will help us to have a bigger and better SMB next year.

Btw, did you notice we are getting close to the $2,500 mark.  We have two more people helping us to get donations.  Thank you Jerry and Kristin for your amazing energy and enthusiasm.  

Just passed $2,000

China Doll restaurant just gave us a donation that took us past $2,000 in fundraising.  This was our original goal when we first started, so it is kind of cool to see that happen.  But the amount will continue to go up.  Next big milestone is $2,500.  We also got four dozen mini cupcakes from Ida's Cupcakes for the party.

Quick update

There is so much happening this week that it would be impossible to keep everyone up-to-date.  Much of that has to do with the nuts and bolts of things and that probably is not of interest to most.  Here are a few things that might be of interest:

• The Jake's Diner early RSVP contest is helping.  We recently passed 160 RSVPs.  The contest runs until the end of the day on the 27th. 
• Fundraising continues.  We are almost up to $1,800, have soft commitments for at least $200 more, and are in talks with more than a dozen potential sponsors.  We also have two more people helping us to raise funds. 
• Almost like magic we started getting donations of items we need: Coffee, Gatorade, Dog Treats, Cookies, water, and more.  That was a nice surprise.
• Strictly Organic Coffee gave us two $25 gift cards.  We are using one in a contest now and will use the other in a different contest in the future.
• Volunteer groups taking on specific tasks will start meeting this week.  We will probably have one more meeting for all volunteers just prior to May 11th.
• We have a good rough estimate of how many people walk/hike/run in Pilot Butte State Park for exercise each day.  Would you believe 900 people?  That is the average and we still have not had a really busy day.
• The announcement of the Mega-Sponsor is coming up on the 27th.  This is the most important thing that happens prior to the event itself.  Things will start kicking into high gear after that.

Jake's Diner helping us get early RSVP's

Jake's Diner has donated two meals we are using in a contest to encourage people to RSVP before April 27th.  If you have already RSVP'd, you are already entered into the contest.  Early RSVP's are important because they help us predict what will happen and link the money we've raised to what our hikers accomplish.  Thank you Jake's for helping us with this aspect of SMB.

To keep things honest, the prize will awarded on May 11th when you show up to hike.  If, for some reason, the winner does not show up on May 11th, the prize may go to one of the runners-up.  As much as our canine participants might want to eat at Jakes, that probably is isn't a good idea.  We'll do our best to come up with a prize for them.  Stay tuned.

Happy Trails, Bill

Just passed $1,100 in fundraising

This has been a good day for SMB.  Four new sponsors came on board pushing us past $1,100.  Included is the Mega-Sponsor who plays a very specific and important role in the event.  It is important to SMB that this sponsor remains a mystery for a while.  We will officially announce the name of the Mega-Sponsor on April 27, 2013.  But I can give you a hint: it is one of the businesses that Butte walkers have probably mentioned most often as a potential sponsor.  Butte Walkers sent us to this business and they ended up becoming our Mega-Sponsor.  How cool is that?

We had thought the Mega-Sponsor would be hard to get.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  This is an amazing business that "gets" what we are doing and really wanted to be involved on this level.  Please remember that all sponsors are important.  We now have donations ranging from $5 to $300 and many places in between.  Plus, the Mega-Sponsor is by no means the largest sponsor.  They are just the first to step forward and fill this very important role in our event.   Having this roll filled takes away any worries we have regarding fundraising.  It should be clear sailing ahead from this point forward.

Happy trails, Bill

Unbelievable enthusiasm for SMB

It has only been about three weeks since we started telling folks about SMB and the response has been amazing on every level.  We have 130+ RSVPs, 20+ volunteers, great input that has helped us shape the event and make it better, and over $500 in donations.  The interesting thing about the donations is that most of that money has come from people who have RSVP'd.  We really never expected that to happen.  Meanwhile, Carol, and a couple others, have been out visiting local businesses seeking their support.  That process can take up to 8 contacts per business and so it takes a little while.  If you have been wondering why you haven't seen much of Carol on the Butte the past week, that is because she has been hiking from store to store.  We have yet to have anyone give us a "no," lots of maybes, and about 20 yeses with the amount to be determined.  Three of those became firm sponsors yesterday and we are expecting the rest to reach a decision next week.  In short, there is a ton of enthusiasm for SMB.

Have there been unexpected problems along the way?  You bet.  But the core concept of this event is so powerful that it just seems to rise above every problem with ease.  In other words, the solution to almost every problem encountered has made the event better.  I was joking with someone the other day about how I was wishing there were more problems (really, there have been a lot less than I expected).  I swear that I was just joking.  Well, I probably should have kept my big mouth shut because, a couple days later, we ran into a real doozy!  That one took a while to solve and it took more than just me to do it.  But here is the amazing thing.  The solution makes the event A LOT BETTER.  I'll have more to report on that soon.  It is very exciting news.

Happy trails, Bill

Lots of participants, fundraising ramps up this week

The response to the event has been amazing. Over 125 participants have now RSVP'd and we keep getting more. Based on that, and a few other things, 300 or more participants seems likely. Time to focus on fundraising. As the sponsors officially come on board, they are being listed at the bottom of this page. We're up to $220 right this minute with 20+ irons in the fire. So that figure should increase soon. The Bend community as a whole is incredibly generous even when the economy isn't so great.

Do you use Twitter? We set up an account and you can access it from this page. I'm thinking that it might be a lot of fun on the day of the event. Our hashtag is #bendsmb. I am working on a twitter contest that might even start before May 11th and then continue as we are hiking. I am not the biggest fan of social media, but I do like Twitter. Hopefully one of our volunteers likes facebook because I hate it. We really need someone who loves it because people just expect it with everything, including events like this.

Happy trails, Bill