Creative Fundraising

These days there are all kinds of ways to do creative fundraising and there are tools available to set it up easily and  for free (or very close to free).  Take a look at what my friend Mary MacDonald aka Ruby Riptide – a Derby Girl who is also a pilot did.  She had the opportunity to attend an invitation only Airplane Acrobatics camp.  A once in a life time experience for a pilot.  She didn’t have the thousands of dollars she needed to go.

She set up this website.  It is simple and straight forward.  Simple header image.  Video explaining what she is up to and donate button connected to a paypal account.  She included the option for people to leave comments.  These days with video cameras in every phone, video editing on every computer & video hosting online it easy for anyone to put it all together.  It can be even easier with sites like Kickstarter.com.

This is more of what’s called a long tail fundraiser.  Instead of relying on one huge donation from one source the funds are raised by small donations from many sources.

Here’s a summary of  the tactical side.

1) Create a website with a very clear and simple URL.  I strongly recommend your name if you don’t already have your brand created this is a great place to start.  And it will be easy for your fans to remember where to find your posts sharing about your adventure.

2)Film a short video.  Two minutes or less explaining who you are, what you are raising funds for, why people should care and telling them to click on the donate button below

3)Include a paypal or some other secure online payment donation button.

4) You may want to provide the option for comments.  People like to share.

Now, because my business strategies tend to be a blend of tactical and philosophical here’s the philosophical.

Link Your Project To Other Big Names and Feel Good Moments

Mary is from Santa Cruz where James Durbin of American Idol recently returned to surge of hometown pride and which was represented by Lex van de Berghe in one of the first seasons of Survivor.  Had she started her video with a brief clip of Lex on Survivor and James Durbin’s welcome home event at Santa Cruz’s beach boardwalk (pretty much the whole city came out) and said something like “First Lex represented Santa Cruz on Survivor’s island, then James Durbin on the American Idol stage, Now Santa Cruz’s own Derby Girl Ruby Riptide is ready to represent Santa Cruz in the ultimate frontier – in the air.  Or something like that.  The point is  with the clips of the people who have represented Santa Cruz before her.  It evokes in viewers that pride and excitement.  It lines her up as the next source of that civic pride.  People want to be a part of that.

Who are the people who have come before you in your community?  What are the sources of collective pride?  How is your adventure a continuation of that?

Shameless Self Promotion or a Gift to the Community?

At this point some of you may be having a similar reaction to this idea as one person I know.  She felt completely uncomfortable with the idea of accepting money without giving something in return.  She has chosen to go a route that is much harder work, and that is more comfortable for her to raise the money.  What if your invitation to contribute to your adventure is actually a gift to the community?  I am reluctant to talk about the hard economic times because I believe we get more of whatever we pay attention to.  I will concede that these days many people are focusing on economic hardships.  Just look back at the stories of hope from other times in history and other parts of the world.  One of the most common and most loved is the hometown hero going out an representing their community in the world.  People love to support that.  And the gifts of hope, belonging, contribution, connection and significance that they get from contributing those few dollars It’s so much more than a few dollars.  As I explain in another blog post asking for and graciously accepting help builds community.

Bonus Tip – Newspapers need to fill pages everyday.  Local papers love stories about local heros.  Call your local newspaper and ask who would be the best person to query with your story. Call them and 1) Ask if it is a good time or if they are on a deadline 2) Share your story in a way that they will see how their readers would love to read about it. 3) Have the call to action to visit the video and donate integrated into the story.

How people respond to your fundraising will reflect your attitude.  If you approach it with shame and embarrassment it people will experience as an awkward ask for a handout. No one likes that.  If you approach it that you are inviting them to be a part of an adventure.  Now that’s something people are excited to be a part of!  Just be sure to post lots of videos, pictures, tweets etc so they can continue to feel a part of it all.

One Of The Most Overlooked Opportunities

If you haven’t heard about MeetUp.com you’ll want to check it out as soon as you finish reading this post and clicking the “like” or “tweet” button.  MeetUp is basically the ultimate online community bulletin board for people who want to get together for everything from eating to business to book clubs to mom groups, to  adventure.  Name even the most obscure hobby or interest there is probably a MeetUp group for it.  If there isn’t you can start one and they will come.

I use MeetUp for my own business by giving presentations to business oriented MeetUp groups. It’s a win all around.  I get the opportunity for new people to learn about me.  The organizer gets a great event for their group.  And the members of the group get an entertaining and informative presentation.

It’s a Win/Win/Win

Most MeetUp group organizers want to have a great MeetUp group with events that members actually attend.  One of their biggest challenges is consistently coming up with great events.  I can’t tell you how often when I’ve approached and organizer about giving a presentation they’ve responded with a “Yes!” dripping with gratitude and relief as I’ve just saved them the worry and trouble of figuring out what to offer their members next month.

When you check out MeetUp.com you’ll likely find many groups that would love an event on introductions to kitesurfing – a day on the beach with an expert to answer all the questions they’ve always wanted to know but were afraid to ask and the opportunity to try the trainer kite.

Don’t Make the Mistake I Made

When you hold the event don’t make the mistake I made when I first started.  I gave a great presentation.  The participants had a great time and learned a great deal.  They went home inspired.  I went home feeling happy and excited about how well it went.  But I didn’t have a single person’s contact information.  I didn’t share with them how they could continue working with me.  Which is really unfortunate because it is when I have the opportunity to work with people over an extended period that they get the lasting change in their lives.

If you don’t offer participants the opportunity to sign up for lessons you are depriving them of the fulfillment and joy we all know kiting provides.  Ok, maybe you are doing them a favor.  Since kiting also ruins lives by making settling for the routine unbearable.  You will need to discuss with the organizer what kind of offer you can make.  Some organizers are very sensitive to having a hard sell to their participants.  Though with kiteboarding it is natural participants would want to know about lessons.

At the very least be absolutely sure to get their email addresses and add them to your list so you can directly share with them future opportunities to take lessons.

Utilize MeetUp for SEO

 Search Engine Optimization isn’t just about having the right words on your website anymore.  One way to fill the first page of a Google search is to put a stake in other sites that have great Google optimization.  Sites like Yelp, Facebook, Twitter and MeetUp.  Set up a MeetUp profile. Along with a description of who you are and your services you have the opportunity to post your website, facebook page, etc. You’ll need it anyway to communicate with MeetUp group organizers.  Consider also establishing your own MeetUp group.

I’m using Kite Adventures‘ fan page for several of these examples because their consistently excellent job generating effective posts inspired this entry.

1) Always Post Pictures

That is, if you’re not posting video.  The two media that people like most online are videos and pictures.  You’ll notice on their page that even if they are just asking a question they post a related picture.

2) Ask Questions

Take a look at the comment rate on the posts that ask a question verses the ones that just share information.  Questions are an invitation to interact.

3) Balance Business Offers with Just For Fun Stuff

Generally a good rule of thumb is to sprinkle in offers about your business about one in every 4 to 5 posts.  Kiteboarding Adventures takes it one step further by integrating fun stuff into their offering posts.

4) Create Themed Photo Albums

If you are having a special event create a photo album for it.  Post pictures to the album throughout the event.  Each photo added shows up in your feed and the group are all stored together in an album.  As of very recently Facebook no longer allows fan pages to tag personal profiles in posts or albums.  You can invite participants to share albums or pictures on their profiles.

You may also want to create albums for ongoing themes.  For example if you are an instructor an album of  “Kiteboarding Lessons Firsts”  where you post pictures of your many happy customers grinning ear to ear at their first water start, turn etc.  Or even better put on a helmet cam and catch their firsts on video.

Resorts, does  your spot have particularly gorgeous sunrises or sunsets?  Consider creating an album for sunsets.  Next to babies and kittens I’ve found people like and comment on sunsets the most.

5) Encourage Fans to Tag You in Their Photos

F-One Kiteboarding Americas is great at this.  Seventy percent of people surveyed indicated that recommendations from friends and family significantly influence their buying decisions.  These days with the popularity of websites like Yelp more and more people are getting used to following online recommendations.  When fans broadcast how much they love you on your fan page it goes to all their friends’ feeds.

Bonus Tip

Double check when you are “liking” other pages that you are using facebook as yourself and not as your fan page.  When you are accidentally signed in as your fan page your likes show up there instead of on your personal page.  You don’t want random unrelated “likes” listed on your fan page.  It confuses customers.

Double Your Customers’ Stoke

Buying decisions area based on emotion. When people connect your product or service to moving towards pleasure and away from pain they buy and they refer their friends.  One of the most powerful positive emotions is the feeling that comes from having made a difference.  One of the most fundamental human drives is to contribute.  When we contribute we feel really good.  Imagine if your customers went home with both stoke over great wind and the flood of good feelings that comes from having made a difference.  It will  make the more likely to become repeat customers and raving fans.

Cater To the Kiteboarding Culture

Based on my highly unscientific observations I’ve noticed that kiteboarders tend to want to contribute to the communities where they kite.  Just look at La Ventana Mexico.  The hotels and their visitors have helped fund the school, helped stop the suffering of the many feral dogs and cats by setting up a spay and neutering program, cleaned the trash out of the arroyos and set up a recycling program.

Kristin Boese does it with her Kiteboarding For Girls Clinics.  Instead of paying a fee participants raise money which is then donated to a local charity.  I did the clinic and the fundraising and experienced first hand the double stoke. It was pretty powerful!

Kiteboarders want to make a difference in the communities where they kite.  Give your customers what they want!

Create  Partnerships & Support What’s Already There

Offering a Volunteer Tourism Kiteboarding Adventure doesn’t have to be more work for you.  There are already individuals and organizations working tirelessly to serve the communities.  They will greatly appreciate the support!  Here’s the site that inspired this post.  Global Kiter Foundation has a great list of projects in kiteboarding communities around the world. Laurel Eastman is helping the locals rebuilt their church in Cabarete

Which one would be a good match to create the kiteboarding adventure that offers double the stoke?

If you know of other kiteboarding organizations or projects that are contributing to the communities where they kite please post them here.

I’d seen the picture of Branson with the naked chick before, but one day it it hit me.  Mike & I need to do the reverse!  I thought about picking someone smaller but decided if you’re gonna do it, do it right – do it with the 200 lb. Mowhawked 6 footer.  And Mike is always up for shenanigans.

The Kiter:
Lydia Snider 5’4” 120ish lbs.
Kiting 6 years.
Discovered kiteboarding while exploring Highway 1 just after moving to Santa Cruz.
Favorite conditions: Waddell’s strong winds and fun frolicky waves!

The Monkey on My Back:
Mike Muldoon
Has candy and plays with strangers.

The Kite:
F-One 11m 2010 Bandit III. Strong, powerful clydesdale of a kite.

The Board:  
You’re probably wondering what is up with all the foot straps? It’s an old beater board with dual straps set for dual riders.  Our boat Captain Nat of Edge Kiteboarding takes kids out for rides on it.  Our first plan was for both of us to stand on a SUP and for Mike to jump on my back.  See below for the full story

Photographer:
Michael Beal

Boat Support:
Nat Lincoln of EdgeKiteboarding
All he knew going in was that we needed boat support for a “kite photo stunt”. In the future he’ll likely be screening our calls.

Location:  Sherman Island in California’s Delta.  Balmy by Northern CA standards, but hardly tropical.  Mike insisted that if he was going to be naked I had to be in a bikini.

To Get the Shot You Gotta Get Naked and Get Wet

I came up with this idea about a year ago.  Maybe even two years ago now.  Mike’s (aka Doon’s) immediate response was”There’s no way you can even lift me”.  He’s 6′ something and hovers around 200lbs.  I’m 5’3″ or 5’4″ depending on my mood and my weight hovers around 120 (muscle weighs more than fat!).  “Hop on.” I demanded and carried him the length of the deck.  Now he could see the possibility.

We talked about it theoretically off and on.  Where to do it.  The physics of it.  How we were both going to get into killer shape for it.  This stunt is like life.  Theory will only get you so far and talk is cheap.  To get the shot you gotta go get naked and get wet.  Finally I declared we are doing this by July 30th 2011.  Period.  From here on out the only discussion was limited coordinating the boat and the photographer.

There’s The Theory….Then There’s The Reality

Our brilliant plan was for both of us to stand on a stand up paddle board (SUP).  Once I had gotten my balance he would jump on my back.  We had practiced on land.  I was able to take him jumping on my back with no assistance from me. I’d be busy managing flying a kite that was way too much power for me but necessary for both of us to ride.

We knew me on an over powered kite could lift both of us from an adventure in Half Moon Bay kiting winter storm winds.  The moment I put my thumb up for a launch the wind was fine.  The moment my launcher let go of the kite a freight train of a gust came through and launched me.  I threw my kite towards the water, hoping to make it.  I didn’t as I dropped to the ground I arranged my forearm and leg into a cage to take the impact instead of my ribs.  Doon grabbed me just as the next gust came through.  It lifted our combined weights well off the ground.  That experience made Mike more than a little nervous about my purposely hooking into a kite with enough power to carry both of us.

What we didn’t count on was that the SUP we had access to and could fit in the boat sank as soon as Mike stepped on.  Plan B was for me to do a water start from the SUP with him on my back.  The new theory was that our combines weight would be enough leverage to push against the board.

First I had to figure out how to water start a SUP.  Those first few attempts were pure comedy!  Once I was getting it consistently Mike stripped down and joined me in the water.  Now the comedy was doubled with our first attempts with bodies boards and kites flying every direction!  We actually almost got it.

Sir Richard Branson Never Gave Up…Neither Would We

Suddenly I hit a wall of cold and fatigue.  I was flying a completely over-powered kite in a waist harness with an extra 200 lb. that would randomly drop off creating a slingshot effect for me.  Getting the kite back under control in those conditions took some doing. My abs were screaming, my body fatigued, I was suddenly cold to the core &  ready to give up.

The others circled the wagons.  Mike reminded me this was a once in a lifetime chance.  Really, when are we going to do this again?  I suppose we could.  But it’d be like going back and digitally adding new aliens into Star Wars.  This was it, this was the once in a life time moment.

And just like Richard Branson never gave up on his crazy ballooning stunts, record company or airline we weren’t giving up on this.

Plan D, No E…..Wait, what letter are we up to now?
Watching our attempts, Nat was sure a big board with footstraps would work better.  It pays to have people around who can be objective.  Doon and I were so sure of the SUP technique that we didn’t even consider anything else.  By now my teeth were chattering and I was shivering uncontrollably.  I needed to get back to shore to warm up.

While I got my system back together Nat dug out an old beater board he uses to give kids rides.  It has dual foot straps for two riders.  That’s why there are all those random extra straps in the picture.  Now we had a board known to carry two riders.

Warmed up, I was ready to charge it again. And I put on a shorts harness which brought my reach on the kite much closer to my hips and made it much easier to leverage against Mike and the board.

I had expected the hardest strain to be on my back. The weak point of the system turned out to be where my legs meet my hips.  I felt like they were going to explode out of the sockets with the opposite pulls of his weight and the power of the kite.  It reminded me of a childhood tour of the Tower of London’s dungeon where they describe in gory detail the experience of being drawn and quartered.

I dug deep, chanting to myself the words of my high school soccer coach as she drove us to do still one more lap, “It’s only pain, It’s only pain, It’s only pain” and held on as long as I could on each run.

Our learning from the attempts on the SUP combined with the right equipment and absolute refusal to accept failure as an option….suddenly it started coming together!  Oh, the exhilaration of success! Of actually pulling off this insane stunt we’d talked about for so long!  Sir Richard Branson: Challenge Accepted! Yeeehaaww!

Let the Bruising Begin!

Even though we had several shots, for their own amusement, Nat and Mike the Photographer kept giving us the signal for “just one more”.  Our wipeouts were spectacular explosions of bodies and board and tea bagged kite.

Now all that was left was the celebratory shot of Don Julio and watching the bruises come in. I knew I was going to have some doosies on my legs because most times when I slingshotted forward my shins slammed right into the board.  What I didn’t expect were the ones across my collar bone from the pressure of Mike’s full weight on his arms around me.  Doon had a nice set from my harness.  Like “Pole Kisses” that would make any stripper proud.

What’s our next stunt? Post your suggestions here!

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Think About Your Clients in A New Way

Many kite instructors practice catch and release with kiteboarding students.  Catch ‘em, Teach ‘em and Release ‘em out onto the water.  Instead, try thinking of new students as life long clients you have just met. 

Enrolling new clients requires much more work.  Once you count in the hours it requires to market, to reach out to the leads that don’t turn into clients, the hard work teaching beginners requires you really aren’t earning much.  What if you had a list of customers eagerly awaiting for your next clinic?  Customers rushing to sign up before it fills up. Customers calling you to book private sessions to work on a specific skill?

Proven Business Model

The personal growth seminar world business model has made many people very good money and easily adapts to kiteboarding instruction.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with the seminar world it is people like Tony Robbins. People pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars to learn from the experts in their field. You are an expert in the field (beach) of kiteboarding.  You may not reach the mutli-millions of dollars per year that he does.  It would probably be nice to have an extra few hundred or thousand every month.

The seminar gurus actually have it much harder than kite instructors.  They are trying to get “cold leads” into their events.  You have it easy.  Your clients already know and love you.  After all you were the one that made kiteboarding possible for them.  They are piping hot leads for your intermediate and advanced courses.

What Would I Teach?

Take some time to watch your target market on the water.  Make note of their mistakes and the bad habits they are forming.  Talk to them on the beach.  Or rather take, note of the skills they are trying to pump you for free information on every time they talk to you. Get curious.  Ask them what their biggest challenges are.  What they would most like to learn next.

Now Book ‘em! Advanced beginner, intermediate and even advanced intermediate clients are just waiting for the opportunity to take their kiting to the next level!

This post was originally posted to

Even my beloved kiteboarding, my sanctuary, my lazy man’s Zen is new and complicated and confusing now that I’ve moved to San Francisco.  Kiting at Crissy I feel like the frog in Frogger.  There can be one current going one direction and another going the complete opposite at the same time.  The wind is light and swirly on shore and nukin’ in the middle.  There are huge shipping container ships rolling through bringing all the plastic crap from China to fill our stores and eventually our landfills.  There are sail boats, tourist boats, crazy yachting boats going every which way.  The prospect of kiting Crissy scares me because almost every story I ever heard ends in “and I got picked up by the Coast Guard”.

When I kite I like to just go out and lose myself in it.  I can be two hours on the water and not even realize it.  But that was at my old beach where the wind turned on and stayed on.  Where all we had were big fun – usually predictable waves and great white sharks to worry about.

I must confess.  I’ve been avoiding going out.  I’ve been here almost 3 weeks and today was the first day I actually made it out.  I used several of the avoidance techniques I’ve seen with coaching clients.  Confusion: Oh, was that good wind today?  I couldn’t tell.  Avoidance: Oh darn, I got your text that it was good too late.  Dragging my feet: Awww, it shut down just as I got here.

With every thing else in life requiring so 3x more effort I just haven’t had the necessary energy and confidence and chillness to tackle kiting Crissy.
But there is only so long one can make those excuses without putting one’s credentials as a kiter at risk.  So today I decided I was going to make friends with Crissy.
The crew is awesome.  I’ve met a few people before.  Everyone was incredibly nice and helpful and explained about things to watch out for.  They helped me launch and promised to make sure I made it back in.

I had a few good tacks – first thing I need to do is adjust my foot straps.  They are so hard set for my goofy foot wave riding that I can’t even ride the board the other way.  The tacks are long and over choppy water – a tough ride toe side.

On one tack I thought, “I should go in, I don’t want to push my luck”.  Instead I decided on one more tack out. This time I couldn’t get above “Anita Rock” a buoy just off shore I guess marking a rock named Anita.  I wonder how a rock came to be named Anita.  They had told me to come in above that.  I was coming in below it.  I took another tack out.  Still too low.  I took another long, long tack.  At least it seemed long to me and went back. Still too low and now the wind was backing off.  I’ve heard all kinds of stories of the wind just cutting off at Crissy.

I decided to go for “Last Chance Beach”.  Then my kite fell.  I couldn’t get it back up.  Ok, I’d swim for the beach.  I did a horrible job of wrapping up my lines.  I haven’t done that since I had to do it during my lessons 6 years ago.

Fortunately I listened to everyone and threw and extra leash on my harness to attach my board in case things went wrong. Board and kite under control.  Concentrating on swimming for shore.  I had a small moment of panic as Last Chance beach slipped past.
Ok, my last, last chance was the harbor with the slippery barnacley steps, but at least leading to dry ground.  I kicked.  I swam.  I was breathing hard.  The harbor was slipping by. I was caught in a flood current and the wind was off shore so using my kite as a sail would have been counter productive.  Though it would have put me on a course for Alcatraz.  Then maybe I could’ve caught a ride back with the Alcatraz tourist boat.  Instead I waved to shore for help.  Some friendly fishermen waved back.  Fortunately others thought to call for help.

Usually the bay is filled with boats whizzing about like the cars and trucks of Frogger.  Today, not even one slightly intoxicated yachter.

Soon sirens split the air.  I knew they were probably for me.  Relief knowing people knew I was there and that they were coming for me.  And I then “No, no! I’m fine! I don’t need 3 trucks and the hook and ladder!  Just a little boat will do.

Then there was a low buzz, two jetskiis bouncing across the water heading my way.  My whole body relaxed and I realized how tense I had been.  I was a mess, tangled in my lines in my board leash.  I flopped up on the sled in the back of the ski and we started in. Then the boat arrived. Their efficiency was amazing. One person grabbed my board, another held the kite while I deflated it and four powerful arms hauled me in like a big bag of potatoes.  All the fire fighters were super nice and they made very sure I didn’t need any medical attention.  Really there was nothing wrong with me that a good shot of tequila wouldn’t fix.

As we pulled into the harbor I threw up my arms in victory to the crowd that had gathered on the pier to watch my rescue.  A little cheer drifted across the water as they threw their hands up as well.

The firefighters had me sit and get myself together in the harbor.  Two of the people who called me in came to talk to me.  It turns out they had been watching me for some time and about the time I gave up and signaled for help was when they had decided to call for help anyway.  My options for getting to shore had run out.

Jordan, a photographer who has a boat in the Marina and who called me in gave me a ride back to Crissy. Yep, I came back the conquering hero in the gold mini-van. Jake greeted me with a cold beer and another kiter greeted me with the comment “Is this how they do it in Santa Cruz”.  A cold beer and a heckle – the two signs of acceptance among kiting tribes.
It wasn’t exactly the rock star entrance I would have liked to have had for my debut on the Crissy Field kiteboarding scene.  But it did reflect what I actually more truly deeply value – Community.  That’s one of the things I loved about the Santa Cruz kiting scene.

Connection ran deep.  With my little mishap I felt sucked right up into the community.  The people cheering on the rock, the fire fighters, Jordan, Tim another kiter out riding his bike instead who came to check on me while I recuperated at the harbor.  The kiters who greeted me with beer and heckles and assurance it happens to every one.

I had been so worried about having to be rescued it’s probably best I got it out of the way early. I swear it wasn’t just because I’ve heard that the rescue guys tend to be hot.