Writing samples on this page highlight my work to raise money for the Pan-Mass-Challenge with Team Jenstrong. The Pan-Mass Challenge is a Massachusetts-based bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. Always held the first weekend in August, the PMC raises funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a world leader in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research. Since 1980, the PMC has raised $767M for Dana-Farber.
Team Jenstrong is poised to cross the $1M donation milestone.
Examples of my work include:
Donor Communications
Social Media Content
Press Outreach & Corresponding Coverage
Team Jenstrong: Background
Meghan, Jen, Connor, Michael Ryan and Michael Maher circa 2002
Team Jenstrong is named in honor of my sister-in-law Jen who first introduced our family to the cause. Jen was an avid participant in the event even after treatment for the nasopharyngeal cancer which she battled valiantly until her death at age 41 in 2007.
In recent years, my niece, Meghan and youngest nephew, Connor have joined my brother Michael in riding and raising money to fund Head & Neck Cancer Research at Dana-Farber.
Donor Solicitation Letters: Nurturing a New Fundraiser
Meghan’s First Pan-Mass Letter
It was challenging for Meg to write her first donor solicitation letter for many reasons. I spent time talking to her about her ideas and the message she wanted to convey. I wrote this letter that captured her passion for the Pan-Mass Challenge. The content was shared online and in print (mailed) to prospective donors. The letter provided context for a press pitch and subsequent article about her decision to join the team and ride the PMC (covered in “Press” section).
Meg raised nearly double her fundraising target in her first year as a PMC participant.
Michael’s Letters: Marking Milestones & Making a Difference
Michael’s story is a powerful reminder of what a formidable foe cancer is and why he is so passionate about raising money to support the research required to conquer it. His longtime core donor base has watched him go from a young father with a beautiful, healthy wife to a widower with 3 young children at age 40. They have an interest in how he is managing and in his ongoing commitment to the Pan-Mass Challenge. I work with Michael to outline the family updates we always include, select visuals that will accompany the communication and then write the content.
Michael has completed 18 Pan-Mass Challenge rides and achieved “Heavy-Hitter” status given by PMC to top fundraisers.
Team Jenstrong Social Media: Facebook
In 2015, I began managing the social media accounts for the team beginning with Facebook. Facebook is currently the core social channel for our donor base. Until the past few years, the bulk of our team was comprised of riders in their 40s and 50s. The majority of our donor base falls into that demographic. I can track donations back to Facebook exposure via our PMC donor data. I also use tracking data from custom URLs I began creating in 2017 to identify the main source of link referrals, which has continued to be Facebook.
We are just beginning to see our donor base expand and evolve as we add younger riders to the team. As Meghan and Connor’s networks have entered the workforce, we now see young donors in our fundraising updates. I will add Instagram, TikTok and other relevent channels to the content communications plan to engage a broader range of new and potential donors going forward.
The content I create for the team’s Facebook page:
Builds a sense of shared goals, spirit and community.
Uses humor and visuals to update visitors on our riders.
Reflects the gravity of the cause and the impact of our collective work to inspire donations.
Recognizes and thanks donors.
Team Jenstrong Social Media: Twitter
In 2016/17, I began managing the social media accounts for the team. Content I develop for Twitter:
Raises awareness for the Pan-Mass Challenge cause and our team’s fundraising efforts year-round.
Builds our relationship with the Pan-Mass organization, other teams, donors and volunteers by communicating the passion and goals we share.
Consistently grows our followers, supports our fundraising efforts and communicates our sense of the community fight against cancer. We are now followed by The Pan-Mass Challenge organization, members of the Dana-Farber medical community, other PMC teams and local reporters. PMC consistently retweets our content to their 7k+ followers.
Team Jenstrong Press Outreach & Coverage
In 2015, I pitched local media the Team Jenstrong story. I developed a relationship with a sports reporter and he did 4 features on the team. I supplied him with background data, story ideas and visuals. The team will cross a major fundraising milestone in 2022: $1M in donations raised for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Expect to see more stories like these:
2015: Maher Family Riding with purpose
2016: Team Jenstrong gets a new rider
2017: Pan-Mass Ride has Extra Meaning for The Maher’s
2018: Team Jenstrong Powers On
Donor Communications: Personal Facebook Outreach
Meghan, Connor and Michael Maher
