𝗜 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝟭𝟮𝟬-𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 $𝟱𝗞 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗸𝗲.

My first major fundraising initiative? Raise $5K for a charity bike ride.

The problem?

𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘬𝘦.

Yes, you read that right.

Up until 8 weeks prior to Labor Day Weekend - the weekend of the ride, I had never pedaled down a street, let alone ridden 120 miles. 

And I had never raised more than a few hundred dollars.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴?

At first, fear nearly paralyzed me. I could’ve backed out. I could’ve let self-doubt win.

But instead, I did what I now teach others to do every day: I leaned into the discomfort and figured it out.

• I got my best friend's husband to teach me to ride a child's bike over July 4th weekend.

• I rode the Loop around Central Park 2-5 times every morning for 5 weeks.

• I learned how to ask for support (sometimes even with confidence).

• I embraced the awkward, the terrifying, and the unknown.

And you know what? I raised every single dollar and crossed that finish line. 

𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁.

This experience shaped everything I know about fundraising today.

Because the best fundraisers?

They’re not the ones that start with the perfect pitch, the biggest networks, or years of experience.

They’re the ones who are 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘆.

So if you’ve ever felt like you don’t know where to start, that fundraising is too hard, or that you’re not the “right” person to ask for money—trust me, you are. 

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁.

What’s a time you took a leap before you felt ready?