Well, Friday is my fundraising deadline and I'm still short $2500 of my fundraising minimum.
I've had to make some serious decisions:
I could walk out on my commitment. Not a nice thing to do, but in these economic times, and with two of our credit cards having slashed our credit limits to what we owed... The training has been rough through all of this. I'm not what one would call an athlete, but I still had this dream to complete a triathlon. It was bad enough that I would be walking out on a commitment to people who seriously need the support and caring, but I would be walking out on myself as well. Then there was the fact that I had already spent $1500 of my own money on the trip to HI. Money that was non-refundable...
So today took out a personal loan. I'll be meeting my commitment, going to HI and finishing my triathon. I can honestly say it's been one of the best and worst times in my life. There will be other triathlons (I've several lined up this year) and I will do other things for charity... but I will never try to do something of this scale again.
Shawn - at least how we do it here, we have several weeks after the event to finish fund raising and get reimbursed. Check that out with your coordinator. For example, my race is April 25. We get charged April 10 but we have until around May 11 to continue fundraising and get some of that money back. Keep pushing ahead, and if that is allowed, have a big victory party after the race and ask for donations. It is tough, I know, to raise those kinds of bucks. But be proud that you tried, gave it your best shot, and honored your committment. Plus you will have a fantastic experience out of it all, being a triathlete in HI. How cool is that? Good luck. Art
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to you!! It IS hard, especially during these times, to meet such a big commitment. When I first signed up, I debated whether to travel or stay local. I have soo much respect for you for following through, and I know that you won't regret it. Art is right -- there's a small window after to continue to receive donations. I would also ask for help from others on your team who have exceeded their minimums as they can transfer donations to you. Don't let the stress affect your training or your mood at the event -- celebrate and have fun!!
ReplyDeleteYou took out a personal loan! I will call it quit myself. Like Racn4acure said, your should be able to continue to fundraise 2 weeks after your events. In GLA you can't transfer money from one account to another... but if your teammates get extra money, you can ask them and see if they can donate it to your account. It's a touchy subject... you just need to make sure the donor is cool with it.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up and enjoy Hawaii.
You are awesome!
Louis