Josh and Paulina Levine lost their twin daughters Chloe and Isabelle who were born prematurely in 2006. They have since had two other children, Olivia and Julian. They are dedicated to supporting the March of Dimes to help prevent premature births and ensure all babies are born healthy. Their fundraising tips include telling their personal story, creating videos to share on social media, developing a donor database to track supporters, sending targeted email campaigns to different lists, being active on social media and creating a team page, and organizing fundraising events.

1. Fundraising tips
from Team Levine
Josh and Paulina Levine
2013 Volunteer Leadership Conference
Washington D.C. September 26-27

2. Tell your
story
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3. Our beautiful twin daughters, Chloe Hope and Isabelle Frances, were
born premature on May 31, 2006, at just 26 weeks, weighing just over
1 pound each.
Josh and I held our breath in the delivery room as they performed an emergency c-
section. We were thrilled when the NICU doctors in the delivery room told us both
babies were breathing and doing well. Chloe and Isabelle remained stable and seemed
to be thriving in the NICU.
Early in the morning of June 1, Chloe and Isabelle had pulmonary hemorrhages at the
same exact time--a very twin thing to do--and went into critical condition. Doctors woke
us to say our goodbyes to our babies.
Chloe, who was slightly smaller than Isabelle, and a bit weaker, could not take the
stress on her body. She died in our arms on June 2, two days after her birth.
Isabelle fought for five weeks in the NICU. She was on a respirator, had many blood
transfusions, infections, collapsed lungs, and swelling in her brain. Isabelle was so
strong and tough but her body was pushed to its limit. She too died in our arms, on July
3, 2006.
In 2007, Josh and I were blessed with another little girl, Olivia Faith and in 2009 with a
baby boy, Julian Ilias. Olivia and Julian are our little miracles and we tell them about
their sisters all the time. Chloe & Isabelle will forever be their guardian angels.
We are dedicated to supporting March for Babies. Our amazing friends and family were
there for us during our time in the NICU and we hope you can continue to show your
support. This is a very special cause. It is so important to us, and to countless other
expectant parents, that all babies be born healthy.
While we can never bring our babies back, we think the best way to honor their memory
and give meaning to their lives is to dedicate ourselves to raising money for an
organization that fights for babies and preventing premature births.

4. Create a
video
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5. h"p://youtu.be/y4uaee3Fkmo

6. Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
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Example outline:
- Introduce yourself
- Tell your story
- Explain why the MOD
- Ask for support
- Tell them how they can help
- Thank them
How to do it

7. Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
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How to do it

8. Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
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2
3
4
5
How to do it

9. Write a quick script
Use your phone or camera
Trim or edit clips
Add music/photos
Upload & share
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2
3
4
5
How to do it

10. Upload all of your videos to your new
family team youtube account.

11. Reach out to the March of Dimes and
ask for their support by featuring your
video on their Facebook page (they
have over 400,000 fans).

12. Create
a Donor
Database
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13. and your friends’
facebook friends
and fill it up with your contacts.
Create a spreadsheet

14. This past year we started using Donor Tools to
track fundraising and donor management.

15. Email
Blasts
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16. Send different emails to your
different segments.
Josh & Paulina1
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Paulina Work
Josh Work
Grandma’s List
In the past we’ve sent one email blast to everyone on our list. Recently, we’ve
customized the messaging based on the segment and it has had a huge impact
on our donations.
Example:
Paulina uses her maiden name at
work. By segmenting this list we
were able to reach out to them using
her work email. This resulted in less
confusion and more donations.
These people wanted to help, we
just weren't making it easy for them
to donate.

17. Email 1:
Big blast
Subject: Support Paulina & Josh
Levine in the fight against
premature birth
Email 2:
Reminder 9 days left
Subject: Renew your support &
help Team Levine save babies -
9 days left to donate
Email 3:
Reminder, 4 days left
Subject: Just 4 days left! Support
Team Levine in our fight to help
all babies be born healthy.
Frequency & follow-ups are key.

18. Email 1:
Big blast
Subject: Support Paulina & Josh
Levine in the fight against
premature birth
Email 2:
Reminder 9 days left
Subject: Renew your support &
help Team Levine save babies -
9 days left to donate
Email 3:
Reminder, 5 days left
Subject: Just 5 days left! Support
Team Levine in our fight to help
all babies be born healthy.
Frequency & follow-ups are key.

19. Be Social
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20. Create a team “Page”
Don’t just use your personal pages. A “Page” allows anyone (not just your friends)
to subscribe to your team and have dialogue with you and others.

21. Add content - old and new.
Upload photos/videos and create albums (i.e., 2011 March for Babies Walk).

22. Tag everyone!

24. Keep your supporters updated with
your team’s progress and activity.

25. And keep them informed on March of
Dimes news, facts and progress updates.
Always include a call-to-action to
make a donation at your team site.

26. Use admin and tracking tools.
Invite friends to like your page. Get useful insights about which posts and photos
are reaching the most people and the having biggest impact.

27. Show support and link to fellow family
teams all over the country.

28. Fundraising
& Events
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29. Ask people to donate venues...
Gaga Center Kid’s Event
$1500 raised
Annual Fundraiser and Auction
$3500 raised each year

30. ...or services and gifts.

31. And then publicly thank them and
include links to their pages.

32. Ask local chapter for signage,
stands and banners.

33. Other
Tips
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34. Write handwritten thank you cards.
We write all handwritten thank you notes to anyone who makes a donation or
contributes in any way. While it takes a bit more effort, there is no better way to
show your appreciation.

35. Use an email signature.
Include a March for Babies team signature on all of your emails for everyone to
see. Include a link to your Facebook page, personal site, your team page and any
other relevant information. This is an easy and effective way to spread awareness.

36. T-shirts generate excitement and offer
sponsorship opportunities.

37. We hope you found this
helpful. Good luck!
Please reach out to us if you need support or
have any questions. We are more than happy
to help and are always looking to meet other
families.
Josh and Paulina Levine
www.goteamlevine.com
paulina@goteamlevine.com