Thank you for being part of the Organization for Autism community this Autism Acceptance Month and participating in our Active for Autism 5K and Kids Dash!
Autism Acceptance Month is a great time to share about OAR’s work and resources. We’ve compiled some helpful Autism Acceptance Month information and resources to share with supporters to tell them more about OAR and your fundraising. Use our examples as a starting point to share OAR with your community.
Autism Acceptance Month raises awareness and promotes acceptance of autistic individuals. April 2nd is World Autism Acceptance Day, with the entire month of April dedicated to promoting awareness, acceptance, and inclusion of autistic individuals.
With the prevalence of autism at one in thirty-one, most people know and love someone on the spectrum. No two autistic people are the same, with characteristics varying significantly among different autistic children and adults. In addition, different autistic individuals will need support to greater or lesser degrees across a wide range of contexts.
Throughout April, we aim to celebrate neurodiversity and promote autism acceptance.
Goal 1: Provide informational resources to the autism community.
Goal 2: Increase autism acceptance and education through our Libby library.
Goal 3: Support autistic young adults through OAR’s Hire Autism initiative.
Goal 4: Raise money for OAR’s programs, resources, and new research.
You can learn more about these goals here.
Here’s some of the ways that OAR uses funds raised by the RUN FOR AUTISM team, including at the Active for Autism 5K and Kids Dash:
$10 provides a Curriculum in a Box Professional Development Set to general education teachers.
$100 provides the Kit for Kids peer education resource to an entire elementary or middle school.
$1,000 provides a research grant for a graduate student studying autism.
$3,000 provides a scholarship for a student with autism to attend college.
One of the easiest ways to get started with your fundraising is to personalize your fundraising page! When people see you get excited about your goals, they’ll be excited to donate.
Your page comes pre-populated with information on the impact of your fundraising and OAR’s mission.
Need help editing your page? Email run@researchautism.org
Sending out an email is a great way to share your fundraising campaign with your networks! Emails allow you to add information and pictures, and emails are easy for recipients to forward along. Ask your network to pass along information about your fundraising to their friends and family.
You can also add your fundraising information to your email signature. By adding a short description to your email signature you can reach every single person who you email, even some you might not feel comfortable sending a fundraising-specific email to.
Not sure what to mention in your email? Here’s some ideas:
The template below is a good jumping off point for your own email. Personalize your email by sharing your connection to autism and why you’re supporting OAR.
Hi (Name),
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be participating in the Active for Autism 5K this April in support of the Organization for Autism Research. As you know, I’ve run a lot of 5Ks, and running with OAR allows me to support autism research and awareness. I’m running in honor of my sister, Mary, who is on the spectrum. My goal is to raise $250!
The Organization for Autism is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by autism by supporting research that produces meaningful and practical results. They also provide free, evidence-based resources and information to families, educators, self-advocates, and professionals geared towards making day-to-day life easy for those affected by autism. My family took advantage of free resources like A Guide for Transition to Adulthood and Guidelines for College Success when my sister was graduating high school.
I would be extremely grateful if you helped me reach my goal and donated to my fundraising efforts. All donations are tax-deductible and go towards a great cause! Here is the link to my online fundraising campaign: (insert fundraising link)
Every bit makes a difference, no matter how big or small.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
Stacey
Feel free to use any of the following images as tools to help boost your Active for Autism 5K fundraising efforts and promote Organization for Autism Research’s resources and programs. Remember to use the hashtag #RUNFORAUTISM or #ActiveForAutism in all your posts and tag us @RUNFORAUTISM on Facebook and Instagram!
In addition to using these resources, personalize and share your own stories, photos, and experiences as much as possible.
Posting on social media is a great way to share about your fundraising with networks of family, friends, coworkers, and others you know. Social media use is incredibly widespread: 68% of adults use Facebook and 47% use Instagram. Additionally, other social media platforms such as TikTok, LinkedIn, and Snapchat are used by three-in-ten adults (Pew Research 2024).
Picture are powerful
Our apologies for being cheesy but… a picture is worth a thousand words. Using pictures on your social media posts is the best way to draw attention to your fundraising posts. On Facebook, posts with photos have 120% more engagement than the average post.
Use different platforms to reach different audiences
Meet people where they’re at by posting your fundraising page on different platforms. Posting an Instagram story might be a great way to engage friends, while LinkedIn can be used to let former coworkers know what you’re up to. By leveraging multiple networks, you’ll reach even more people!
Encourage followers to re-share
Autism touches the lives of many. By encouraging donors to re-share your post, you’ll reach a wider audience, many of whom may be inclined to donate to a good cause.
Need some inspiration for your post? Use some of our sample picture and caption ideas below as inspiration!
Photo of yourself with those you’re running for:
“This Autism Acceptance Month, I’m participating in the Active for Autism 5K and Kids Dash! I’m running for Sadie and other children like her on the autism spectrum. Help me reach my goal of raising $100 for @OrganizationforAutismResearch ->(insert fundraising link)”
Photo From Training Run:
“Beautiful day to run 3 miles and to raise money for #AutismResearch! Donate now: (Use Google URL Shortener for a shorter fundraising link).
With a Facebook Fundraiser, any donations received are automatically added to your official fundraising page if you follow these directions. Follow the directions to set up your Facebook fundraiser and start getting donations straight to your official fundraising page!
Public speaking is hard, and making your pitch in-person can be stressful, especially when you’re not expecting it. We encourage you to have a few sentences about OAR ready to pull out when you need them.
Good elevator pitches explain what OAR does for those who have never heard of us and explain how OAR’s focus is unique as we aim to use applied science to answer questions that autistic individuals, their parents, families, teachers, and caregivers confront daily. Connect with your audience by also explaining your connection to the autism community.
“I’m running the Active for Autism 5K this April and fundraising for the Organization for Autism Research. They fund applied autism research and provide free resources to the autism community, with all research and resources aimed at bettering the lives of the autism community in a practical way today. My nephew was diagnosed a couple years ago, and I want to make sure he has the resources to thrive as he gets older. I’m aiming to raise $250 by race day this April!”
Whether or not you make a direct donation ask at the end is up to you – you can also use your pitch to raise awareness of OAR and the cause you’re running for!
If you do not see your company, you can contact the Human Resources department to see if it offers a matching gift program. The database may not be totally up-to-date or offer a complete list of smaller companies.
Request donation guidelines and a list of eligible charities if the company does offer a matching gift program.
Donate and fill out the appropriate forms to ensure that the donation is matched.
Tell us about your matching gift, and pass along the donor and company names so that we can look out for your donation. We will typically get a notification from the company but feel free to reach out as well. Once we confirm the matching donation, we will credit those funds to your donation page.
Share the news and be sure to highlight any donors when you give your fundraising updates. Don’t forget to include companies that provide matching gifts; they’re donors, too!
