07/31/2020

Popular Fill the Boot Fundraiser Transitions to Virtual

How IAFF found online success

Like so many other groups, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) realized the ongoing pandemic would make its 66-year tradition of the Fill the Boot campaign impossible to carry out in the traditional way. Because the collected funds support the Muscular Dystrophy Association, IAFF knew it still wanted to hold the fundraiser. So the group decided to transform the campaign into a virtual effort.

“It’s not an easy task to do,” Roger Lopez, IAFF-MDA national coordinator, said of the transition. “Just giving our members a link to share to Facebook or social media wasn’t going to have the impact we were hoping for.”

The traditional Fill the Boot program saw IAFF members outside in their communities holding a fire boot that people dropped donations into. To help members move their campaign online, IAFF created a toolkit that encourages creative virtual efforts tailored to the community. “We’ve packaged tools for our locals to get creative with it,” Lopez said. “A department can decide, for—and I’m just guessing at a number—a $100 donation, they will do a drive by of the house [in the fire truck] and honk the horn for the kids.”

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.