Fundraising Resources & Answers to Recent Questions

Training is underway and the questions keep coming in. The more you ask, the stronger your fundraising becomes. Below are the questions we hear most often from our Heroes. 

I’m nervous about asking people for money. Do you have any tips or templates I can use?

You’re not alone — this is the most common piece of feedback we hear from new Heroes. You don’t have to “be a salesperson.” You’re inviting people into something meaningful, and most of them want to be asked. Three mindset shifts that help: you’re not asking for yourself, you’re asking on behalf of children who can’t ask for themselves; a “no” is rarely a “never,” it’s usually “not right now”; and lead with your why, because people give to people, not to causes.

For more, see our posts on unique ways to ask for donations and additional templates for asking for donations. Refreshing yourself on your “why” brings more confidence to asking for donations. Read: About Mercy Home for Boys & Girls.

How should my supporters donate, and do matching gifts or other payment types count toward my minimum?

The preferred method is by credit card on your fundraising webpage set up on the Haku platform at registration. Mercy Home also accepts checks, stock, cryptocurrency, corporate matching gifts, and donor advised funds — contact us for details on how these are managed and credited to your page.

For cash donations, if the donor wants a tax receipt, the best method is for you to make the donation yourself on your page, crediting the donor, or write a check and attach their information.

For checks, make them payable to Mercy Home for Boys & Girls with your name and "marathon" in the memo line, and mail to:

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls

Attn: Mary Connolly/Marathon

1140 West Jackson Blvd.

Chicago, IL 60607

For matching gifts, forward any match documentation to Heroes@MercyHome.org so it can be credited to your page. Since checks and matching gifts can take time to process, submit all match requests by September 1 at the latest to ensure they're credited before the fundraising deadline.

Can I use Facebook or Instagram to collect donations?

When you joined our team, a fundraising page was automatically set up for you. That page is the only vehicle for collecting online donations. Please share the link far and wide — Facebook, LinkedIn, your Instagram bio, anywhere your people are. What you shouldn’t do is set up a separate fundraiser on any of those platforms. We can’t track those gifts, acknowledge donors, or credit them to you. Only the totals on your official Heroes page count toward your minimum. The one exception: we do manually add all checks and company matches to your page.

Can I work with a restaurant or retailer to set up a percentage-of-sales fundraiser?

Similar to social media fundraisers, we don’t recommend anything where the money flows through a third party. We can’t know who gave or how much, can’t acknowledge those donors, and there’s no guarantee the check arrives before the deadline. A better alternative: host your own event — a happy hour, a bake sale, a paint night — and direct every guest to donate through your official Heroes page. You still get the energy of a group event, and every dollar is tracked, credited, and properly acknowledged.

Where can I find more statistics about Mercy Home for Boys and Girls to share with my donors?

We publish Mercy Home by the Numbers each year alongside our full Annual Report. View the latest at Mercy Home by the Numbers (2025), or download the 2025 Annual Report (PDF) for the full picture.

A few FY2025 highlights you can drop into a donor email: 144 youth lived with us, and 303 former residents and families received ongoing support. We delivered 3,538 individual therapy sessions and 632 family therapy sessions. We remained 100% privately funded, with 75.7 cents of every operating dollar going to program services, and a fundraising ratio of 22.1% — well below the 35% benchmark from the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance.

Where can I find kids’ stories to share with prospective donors?

Our Stories highlight the successes of the youth who have passed through our doors. Every story is public and built to be shared — pull a quote into an email, drop a link in a text, or post one on social media. The Mercy Home YouTube Channel also has a Stories of Our Residents playlist with short, powerful videos. Pair one story with one specific ask (“My goal this week is $250 — will you help?”) and you’ll see a real difference.

When is the fundraising deadline? And what happens if I do not reach the minimum by that deadline?

October 1, 2026. That’s the hard cutoff for hitting your committed fundraising minimum. Any remaining balance will be charged to the credit card you included at the time of registration the afternoon of the deadline day.  Should that charge not go through, your race bib will be pulled, and you will be required to raise or donate your balance when you arrive at the Expo to obtain your race bib.

We never want it to come to that, and it almost never does. If you’re worried about hitting your number, the worst thing you can do is go quiet — reach out to us as early as possible at heroes@mercyhome.org and we’ll work through a plan with you. We’d much rather hear from you in June than in September.

What is a bib pull?

The Chicago Marathon will ask all charities to submit a list of runners who haven't reached their fundraising minimum by the last Friday in September. Runners on the "bib pull" list must come to the Mercy Home Heroes booth at the Expo to pay any remaining balance on their fundraising minimum and obtain a signature to receive their bib for the race. Failure to do so means you will not be allowed to participate in the race.

If I create or join a team, does the team have a fundraising goal or does each individual have to fundraise their minimum?

Each Hero is responsible for their own minimums. Donations can be made to the team. However, the team captain will need to distribute team donations to individual team members. We recommend doing that before any fundraising milestone dates, and of course, the final deadline. However, setting a team goal that is higher than the sum of the minimum for each individual team member helps keep everyone motivated. To learn more about Team Fundraising, see Team Fundraising for Bank of America Chicago Marathon

How do I thank my donors?

A handwritten thank-you card is always encouraged — it’s the gold standard, and it consistently leads to a second gift. You can find your donors’ mailing addresses in your Haku dashboard, or our team can send the list on request. Haku also lets you automate an immediate thank-you email so no donor is left wondering whether their gift came through. For help, see Haku’s guide to finding donor information, and Societ’s how to write a great donation thank-you email for examples you can adapt today.

I’ve already hit my minimum. Should I keep fundraising?

Absolutely. Every dollar above your minimum goes directly to the youth and families at Mercy Home, and there is no cap. Many of our top fundraisers blow past their minimum two, three, even five times over. Your page stays active through the deadline, so set a stretch goal and share it publicly: “I hit my minimum thanks to all of you. Now I’m going for $5,000. Will you help me get there?” Your fundraising number is a minimum, not a finish line.

 Is there an incentive for reaching or exceeding my minimum?

Yes. Heroes who raise at least $500 over the minimum will be eligible for incentive prizes. Prizes get better as you exceed your minimum by $1000, $2,500, $5,000 and $7500. See  Let’s Talk Fundraising Milestones & Incentives for more details. 

How does Hero HQ work?

There will be an RSVP invite that goes out a few weeks before the race to sign up yourself and any guests that will join you on race day. Note that the invitation will be sent on a rolling basis beginning in August to everyone who has met their fundraising minimum. Doors will open at 5:30 a.m. and close at 4:30 p.m. Gear check, real restrooms, and some breakfast items will be provided. After the race, runners will receive access to our buffet, beverages, and our recovery rooms. Family members can also join for lunch (for an additional fee).

One Final Thought

Still have a question we didn’t cover? Email us at heroes@mercyhome.org and we’ll get you an answer — and probably add it to the next update of this post. Thank you for running, fundraising, and showing up for our kids.

Heroes don’t just do the minimum.