How to Become an Elite Fundraiser

By Tara Brewster

Did you know that as a race participant you can fund free support services for people facing cancer? How do you get started with fundraising if you’ve never asked people to give to a cause that’s important to you before? Runner and elite fundraiser Tara Brewster’s got you covered!

Florence, MA resident and Western Mass Mother’s Day Half Marathon participant Tara Brewster has a lot of experience as a peer-to-peer fundraiser. She supports people in her community by funding services that help them at times of great need through this model. She mobilizes friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors to donate and encourages them to get involved as volunteers and board members. She helps spread awareness about cancer support needs, domestic violence prevention, children’s healthy growth and development, and so much more.

People jump on what we call the Tara-train to support causes that speak to both them and Tara. But how did she get started doing all of this?

Tara says, “Over a decade ago, before kids, before I got married, I became involved with my first event, the Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage, and I was definitely not a runner. In fact, I was a drinker and a smoker. And to be totally honest, at that point I wasn't a fundraiser yet either.” But Tara figured she could try all of it because the race was only a 5K and the peer to peer fundraising model made it easy to ask. “I got through that race with a lot of cheering on.” And she raised some funds that year. Eventually, year-by-year, she has raised tens of thousands of dollars for organizations she cares about.

Today, when Tara runs regionally and there is a fundraising component to the event for a local non profit you can bet that she is raising money and awareness for the causes that mean so much to her, including Cancer Connection, Safe Passage, and more.

Tara said the combination of running and fundraising “holds me more accountable in regards to both my personal and community philanthropic goals.” She said she thinks about her ability to run for those who can't or don't. "I always think of the deceased when I run. It is our privilege to do what the dead cannot in this life and our responsibility to support the sick in our efforts and actions.”

It’s not always easy to ask people that you care about for money for a cause. People often ask Tara how she does it. She says, “Peer to peer fundraising begins with you saying, yes, I can ask my circle on behalf of an organization in need. Think of yourself as a vehicle of possibility. Many don’t give because they have never been asked. Ask them, please. You are doing all of us a favor by opening that door.”

What if you think someone can’t or won’t give? “You never know a person’s capacity until you put the question on the table. Believe in the power of asking for help for another. It allows you the freedom to do the same for yourself when you find that the need arises in your world.”

Tara has had incredible results, raising many thousands of dollars that have made a difference in the local non profit community. But she couldn't have done it without all of her many family, friends, co-workers, and community members stepping up to her ask and saying yes, yes! She has generously offered that if you would like to talk, or discuss ways to become a fundraiser, you can reach out to her directly:

Tara Brewster
VP Business Development, Greenfield Savings Bank
tbrewster@greenfieldsavings.com
413-588-7434