May 19, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Patricia Wilson, who is facing a $200,000 deficit as the executive director of the Greater Bay Area Make-a-Wish Foundation, in San Francisco, is telling everyone she knows that she ‘s a “big loser” when it comes to raising money.
But as she becomes more of a loser, her charity is the winner.
Ms. Wilson has started a one-woman fund-raising campaign, going on a 12-week diet and getting people she knows to pledge money for every pound she loses. So far, she has recruited more than 100 people who are collectively giving $610 for every pound she loses—and she’s looking for more donors.
Ms. Wilson shares her experiences in an article she wrote for Blue Avocado, an online publication about fund raising and nonprofit issues.
“The short story: You are going to see less of me,” she writes. “Why? Because while I’ve helped grow our organization significantly over the last 10 years, my butt has grown significantly as well. That situation just has to change!”
To publicize her campaign, Ms. Wilson created a Facebook page where she posts weekly posters of herself in workout gear looking progressively slimmer. In each photo, she holds a sign stating how much she has lost. Now in her sixth week, she’s lost 11 pounds, raising nearly $7,000.
Only halfway through the diet drive, Ms. Wilson will in all likelihood handily surpass her goal of raising $7,500—as long as she doesn’t fall off the wagon. What’s more, she’s inspired six other Make-a-Wish colleagues to imitate her example and hold their own dieting fund-raising challenge.
“What a win-win situation!” one imitator wrote in an online comment in response to Ms. Wilson’s article. “I start June 1 with my 12 weeks. As I have been so stressed about money at my nonprofit, I have not been taking care of myself…. Thanks for the inspiration!”
