BFKS Toolkit

Here you can find ways to raise money, access and download pledge sheets, get step by step instructions on setting up your own personal online pledge page through Kintera, and download Sponsorship Packets if you are considering sponsorship for your company, civic organization or professional association. Scroll down to retrieve more information to help make this years Bowl For Kids' Sake and ultimate success. 

Click here for a printable version of our Bowl For Kids' Sake Team Captain Manual. This document provides step by step instructions on setting up your Kintera pages as well as tip and tricks to building your team and achieveing your goals.

Ways to Raise Money 

• Host a silent auction in the workplace. Employees can bring in items from their home, each department can create nice gift baskets (i.e. a movie pack with a few movies, microwave popcorn and candy), or the employer can donate items such as company sweatshirts, paid time off, gift certificates, etc. Each item can be displayed for a set period of time and auctioned. Hand made items like quilts and wood carvings as well as high-valued items like parking places near the entrance of large companies tend to auction very well.
• Organization-wide raffles. Perfect for the workplace, professional associations, civic clubs and church groups, a raffle including paid time off, gas cards, sporting event tickets, 50/50, etc. can be set up to include a different raffle everyday for a any set period of time. Each raffle ticket is one entry.
• Challenges between management and employees. Each organization can set a goal; when the goal is reached the organization head or manager must sacrifice something. Successful challenges in the past have included a principal kissing a pig, a boss publicly shaving his head, etc. With school and church groups this challenge could be as simple as a coin war.
• Challenges between departments. Organizations that have multiple departments or affiliations can set a fundraising goal per department. The first department to meet their goal wins. A pizza party in an inexpensive way to reward the winning department.
• Social events for charity. Civic clubs, church groups and greek organizations have successfully held car washes and dances, all proceeds benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass.
• Provide lunch for a donation. An organization can provide pizza, chili dogs, hamburgers, desserts, etc. and allow employees to purchase these items during their lunch breaks.
• Host a potluck. Each employee or member that wishes to participate contributes a dish and a monetary donation to the event.
• Casual Day. Employees contribute a donation for the opportunity to wear jeans on Fridays.
• Bake sales and pie auctions. Employees and members can either bake or purchase a dessert to be either sold or auctioned.
• Vending Machines. Companies that have onsite vending machines can choose to donate their proceeds to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass.
• Organizational Sales. Companies can choose to sell an item at their business or restaurant donating proceeds to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass. One company sold samples of a product for $0.25, all proceeds benefitted BBBS.
• Tournaments. Tournaments like Cornhole and WII provide a social event and a great fundraising opportunity. 

For more information about setting up a fundraiser to help your team raise money for Bowl For Kids' Sake contact your local Big Brothers Big Sisters office, call toll-free at 800.201.8797 or email bfks@bbbs-bluegrass.org. 

If you have a unique idea that helps you raise funds each year please share your idea with us so that we can make this years Bowl for Kids' Sake a huge success for all the children served in our communities. 

Personal Online Donation Page

 Register and Create Your Own Donation Page

• Go to www.bluegrassBFKS2009.kintera.org. This will open in a new window so you will be able to toggle between these two pages and follow the instructions or you can print these instructions here.
• Select the purple "Register Here" button at the top of the page.
• Select "I Agree" on the waiver page.
• To join a team online that has already been set up, choose "Join Team." If you are bowling for a company, church, community group or other organization, click on the arrow of the pull down box, scroll down to the organization entries for your county and select your organization. Existing teams from your organization will be listed and you may choose the one you'd like to join. If your team is not listed please email bfks@bbbs-bluegrass.org with your company name and contact information and your organization will be added within 24 hours. You may also choose to bowl as an Independent Team not linked to a particular organization. In order to "join" an existing Independent Team, you will need to know the team name so you can search and join the Team.
• If your team (or any team) is not listed, change your selection from "Join Team" to "Start Team." Choose your organization or Independent Team, select a Team Name and set a fundraising goal and check the box at the bottom of the page to list your team as open to new members.
• Complete the "Personal Information" form. Be sure to list your county and the organization you are bowling for at the top of the page. You may choose to upload a personal picture on this page, make a starter donationto your page, provide information about possible matching funds and set your fundraising goal. Please set an ambitious goal to challenge your sponsors - it costs about $1,000 per year to support one child with a caring adult mentor.
• Read the registration confirmation page for additional instructions and click the "Continue" button at the bottom of the page.
• Have fun setting up your personal donation page! In "My HQ," click on the "Start Here" link at the top of the page and follow the instructions to select or add a picture and personalize the text on your donation page. You can come back and edit your page anytime. If you would like to participate in a 15 minute Webinar explaining this process further please click here.

Send Emails Inviting Potential Sponsors to Visit Your Page and Donate

• In "My HQ," explore the links on the right side of the page (My To Do List) or use the tabs across the top of the page to navigate through your headquarters. Please be sure to visit the "Email" section to send emails to your friends and family requesting that they visit your donation page and make a donation to your fundraising effort. Use the small links just under the tabs to import your address book (it's simple, follow the instructions) and select recipients. You may choose to use an existing email template from the drop down list and customize it as you wish or select "blank" to create your own individualized email. Save your email your email as a template by choosing "Save As" next to the template drop down box. Send out your email invitations to visit your page and donate and raise money while you sleep! You can even view your "Email History Log" to see who has visited your page and who has donated.

Add Offline Donations to Your Online Donation Page

• Sponsors can pay online by credit/debit cards or electronic check or they can print the donation page to fill in and give you with their check, cash or request to be billed. You can add offline donations or pledges to your page by clicking on the "Enter Offline Donations" under "My To Do List" in your HQ. Just follow the instructions to make sure your page reflects ALL your sponsors, both online and off!

Use your emails to encourage friends and family to join the fundraising effort to make a difference in a child's life. They can choose to join a team or create an individual page to use THEIR address book to invite THEIR friends and family to get involved. Or challenge another team or company to a fundraising race - you can watch each team's progress on the team pages.

Email bfks@bbbs-bluegrass.org with any questions or technical problems
or call Keri Manley at 859.231.8181 ext. 228.

Sponsorship Packets

Your sponsorship of Bowl For Kids' Sake enables Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass to serve more than 1,200 children and their families each year. To learn more about becoming a sponsor download the sponsorship packet here.

Bowl For Kids Sake Sponsorship Packets

Also visit our sponsors page to view a list of our current 2009 Bowl For Kids Sake Sponsors and our Sponsorship Levels Page for an overview of sponsorship opportunities.