How:  Visit our Sleep Out page and create your team by clicking the “Register & Donate” button, then scroll down to click on one of the “Join or form team” buttons.  You will be prompted to Sign Up or Sign In.  After this step, you can “Join an existing team” or “Create your own team.”  Here you will click on your personal fundraising goal and then click, “Join this fundraiser.”

For off-site participants, you must let us know by appending "(off-site)" to your team name, such as "Team Jerry (off-site)."  We will supply a sample schedule, yard signs and activity ideas to help make your event a success.

To make your fundraising efforts more compelling, we recommend adding your personal story. If you are the team leader, you may want to add text to “Story” that says something like:  “We are excited to hold an off-site fundraiser.  It will be held on DATE starting at 5 p.m. and ending by 8 a.m.  The address is ADDRESS, CONTACT EMAIL AND PHONE.” Then include other details you’d like your team to know.

Whether you’re talking to someone who wants to be an individual participant or a team member face-to-face is always better.  As you reach out to potential, team members, explain your “WHY?” – why are you participating in Sleep Out Brunswick.  Explain the need and the impact even small donations can make to help unsheltered families from emergency shelter to food banks to transitional housing. Cite the amazing impacts from our own Brunswick Partnership for Housing (BPH) families who have moved into permanent housing.  (See the About Brunswick Partnership for Housing fact sheet in your toolkit.)

Then ask them to join you for the Sleep Out Brunswick event. Detail, with excitement, the experience they’ll have at the overnight sleepout.  Plus, if they attend the main event October 16, they will experience the Poverty Simulation© -- an immersive experience that will take them through what it’s like to be homeless and in poverty.  This fund-raising event promises to be insightful and impactful.  They’ll leave feeling I want to do more – now that I know.  

For those holding an off-site sleepout between September 16 – October 16, we will provide impactful activities in the off-site sleepout toolkit.

Once team members agree to join Sleep Out Brunswick, explain how easy it is to set up their   own donation page and tell their “WHY?.”  And then, set a goal to raise $1,500 for the event.

If the overnight sleepout experience is a challenge for them, share the flier, “Alternative Sleepout Ideas for Off-Site Participants” in the off-site toolkit.  Or, ask them to sponsor you for the night to help you achieve your fundraising goal of $1,500.  (See the FAQ for what various giving levels could buy.)

Now that you have team members to join you, seek your individual sponsors.  Use the same process as for team members (listed above). Detail the experience, explain your “WHY?,” the excitement around the Poverty Simulation©, then ask them to sponsor you for the night. It’s easy to click to your page, fill out the donation information and receive their online donation.  See Step 1, “Online Fundraising” above. Your individual sponsor donor will choose you and their donation will go toward your goal.  

The low hanging fruit is your sphere of influence and those causes where you have donated.  It’s time to call in your favors. Start planting the seeds now about Sleep Out Brunswick. The follow-up ask in September will help heighten their excitement to “Join” or “Sponsor” you.

 You could say something like: “I’m jumping into a unique fundraiser called Sleep Out Brunswick. It’s for Brunswick Partnership for Housing.  This group addresses the needs of homeless families seeking housing and advocates for affordable housing in Brunswick County.  It’s a 15-hour experience.  In addition to raising funds, it is an impactful and thought-provoking event.  My goal is to raise $1,500. 

 As a participant I’ll engage in a Poverty Simulation©.  I’m going to feel what it’s like to face poverty and sleep out … whether in a tent, a car or a cardboard box. The main event is October 16 at Brunswick Community College in Bolivia.

 I’d like you to join my team and sleep out or sponsor me if you’d rather not sleep out.  Or, you can form a team and get participants and/or sponsors of your own. If October 16 doesn’t work, you can choose an off-site date between September 16 and October 16. I have a lot more information I can share.  I hope you’ll join me.”

People are always busy, and many may need a friendly reminder. Set dates for yourself to remind everyone how the fundraising is going and how close you are toward reaching your goal.  Also remind them that it’s not too late to contribute. This takes only a few minutes and is easy to do using email and social media.

Take the promotional flier provided in the toolkit to your workplace, community center, school, church or places around town.  Include a small written paragraph about your participation in Sleep Out Brunswick this year and attach your team donation link or our main Sleep Out page.

Inform your neighborhood about your participation in Sleep Out Brunswick, and share your team donation link or our main Sleep Out page to encourage team members and sponsorships.

Reach out to your friends, family, neighbors, groups, clubs, acquaintances with an email or through social media to share your excitement and “WHY?” Ask them to participate as a team member or sponsor.  Share your team donation link or main Sleep Out page.

Don’t undersell your cause and your efforts. Any size donation will help a homeless Brunswick County family in need.  But if you ask for too small of an amount, people will limit their giving.

Try saying, “I am trying to raise $1,500 to provide one month of housing for families experiencing homelessness. Will you please donate $150 and be one of my partners, knowing you are making an impact while helping me achieve my goal?”

Your team and sponsors are there to support you.  While they will be delighted with your success, it’s always important to say, “Thank you!”

Send a follow-up email or letter to everyone you asked – even if they did not contribute. Post it on social media.  Add a picture of yourself with your yard sign, tent or cardboard box. Include how much you were able to raise and how it contributed to the total contributions from all our groups. Everyone will appreciate a follow-up, and it will help increase your contributions for next year.