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Join us for our 5th annual NAMIWalks NYC May 7, 2011. Sign up at www.namiwalksnyc.org today!



Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Walker Spotlight: Meet Victoria Baran

This week, I’m happy to introduce Victoria Baran, a professional architect, devoted NAMIWalks NYC walker and all star fundraiser. She was kind enough to take time out of her day to answer questions that may help you reach well beyond your own fundraising goal. As a three-year NAMIWalks NYC veteran, Victoria knows the importance of switching up your fundraising techniques. Victoria explains…

You can’t be shy. Talking about your involvement in NAMIWalks NYC is almost a good ice breaker. I take fundraising on as a personal challenge.

Victoria has always been drawn to charitable causes, and when some of her family members were diagnosed with mental illness, she was grateful to find NAMI-NYC Metro.

I took Family-to-Family and it was amazing. The class was so informative. I have always been involved with charity work, but I found it’s so much more meaningful when you have a personal connection to the cause.

Victoria has proven to be an incredible fundraiser, so I was curious if she had any advice for those who are having trouble or don’t know where to begin. She suggested…

Set reasonable goals for yourself every week. Send out an email during each commercial while you watch TV. Swap favors: I’ll do X if you donate $10 to my charity. Think about your own skills and strengths. For example, if you are a good baker, say you’ll make an apple pie if you give me x number of dollars to my fundraising. I have a lot of friends that have their charities so I give to them and they give to me.

If people aren’t in a position to donate, I encourage them to walk. Cast the net wide. Last Saturday, I was rollerblading and the wind blew me over. A stranger helped me get the assistance I needed and I ended up with eight stitches. I spent the day writing emails because I wanted to pay it forward.

I wanted to know if Victoria was doing anything differently this year in regards to her fundraising strategies. She shared…

In addition to having a lot of business contacts, I also go through all my personal contacts. This year I am sending out personalized emails. I think it works better than a mass email. I say things like I’m at 50% of my goal. When people ask me for favors, I say yes – and would you give back to me?

Also this year I’m hosting a party. A spring wine party called “Team Spring Ahead.” I’m also trying to see if I can have bandannas made so I can give something to my teammates.

Victoria is well on her way to reaching her goal of $7,000. To date, she has already raised $2,850!

As always, she is looking forward to walking in NAMIWalks NYC:

As an architect, I really enjoy walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. It also feels good to be part of a group.

We thank Victoria for her amazing work!

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