We Are So Glad You’re Interested in Joining the 3/21 Pledge Committee!!
Already know you’re ready to be a part of the awesomeness?
Click here to join the Pledge Committee now!!
Or keep reading to learn more!
The Pledge Committee is a group of passionate people who are committed to supporting our mission here at Ruby’s Rainbow – to help more peeps rockin’ that extra chromosome go for their college dreams!! We are honored and excited to partner with our Pledge Committee members every March to continue raising expectations, awareness and funds to help people with Down syndrome go for their college dreams while showing the world just what they are made of.
What is the 3/21 Pledge?
The 3/21 Pledge is our biggest annual fundraiser of the year! And it pretty much determines how many scholarships we are able to give out each year. The Pledge starts each year on March 7 and culminates two weeks later, on the 21st – World Down Syndrome Day.
The concept of taking the 3/21 Pledge is simple: Someone visits our Pledge site and donates just $21 (or more!); pledges to be kind to peeps of all abilities; and then invites three friends to do the same. That’s it – easy-peasy! But with that simple structure, based on relatively small donations, we have been able to raise an incredible amount of scholarship funds for our Rockin’ Recipients!
Time and again in my life, I have been blown away by what a group of people, big or small, can do when we come together – no matter what we are trying to accomplish! I always say that every little bit counts, and that Ruby’s Rainbow is able to do what we do thanks to “every little bit.” It all comes together to create something BIG. So far, Ruby’s Rainbow has not been supported by any huge grants or large corporate donors. Everything we’ve done has come from the kind and loving hearts of people like you, and every year I am humbled and amazed at what we pull together as one big group of peeps who are passionate about our cause.
Back in 2012, when Ruby’s Rainbow awarded our first few scholarships, I never would have imagined that in just 11 years, we would have granted nearly 750 scholarships totaling over $2.5 MILLION DOLLARS to peeps who are rockin’ that extra chromosome while going for their dreams of higher education and independence!!
Audrey and Jeremy raised funds for a 2022 scholarship award for Rockin’ Recipient Eden! Here they are proudly displaying the plaque they received commemorating their efforts! Audrey is a 2023 Rockin’ Recipient herself, and Jeremy was a 2019–2021 Rockin’ Recipient!
Click here to join the Pledge Committee now!!
How did the 3/21 Pledge come about?
Since a huge part of what we do at Ruby’s Rainbow is spreading awareness about the capabilities of people with Down syndrome, I really wanted to be able to show just how much of an impact one person can make, even with a relatively small donation – simply by sharing and shouting the worth of our incredibly deserving Rockin’ Recipients. And that’s how the 3/21 Pledge was born!
Our Pledge site automatically tracks the full impact of your Pledge donation: Once you make your own donation, you’ll receive a unique link to share with your family and friends. As they start donating under you and sharing their own unique links with their networks, you’ll get to watch the impact of your original donation, at a glance, as it spreads. This happens through a visual sunburst that’s automatically created by the site, which tracks your widening ring of donations – people who donated under you, those who donated under them, and so on. You literally get to watch your donation grow in real-time, and it’s really cool to see!
How does the 3/21 Pledge work?
Taking the 3/21 Pledge has three easy steps:
And with those three simple steps, BAM! You just helped someone with Down syndrome go for their college dreams!!
The beauty of the 3/21 Pledge is that $21 is a pretty easy ask for most people. It’s not a huge amount, and many people who donate love seeing and taking pride in knowing they helped a brand-new crew of Rockin’ Recipients when we send out info about them in the fall!
Best of all, if you raise $3,000 or more through your immediate network – the people who donate directly under you, via your unique donation link – you’ll be eligible to have a scholarship awarded in your honor, or in honor of a loved one!! We even connect you with the recipient and their family if desired, and if at all possible, let you surprise your recipient with their award!!!!!
Ready to take the plunge and join the Pledge Committee??
If you’re ready to join this awesome group of people, YAY – welcome!! We are so excited to have you!!
Please Click Here to Fill Out Our Form and Join!!!
We know fundraising can be intimidating, but please know that we are here to make the process as simple and enjoyable as possible! We do ask everyone who joins the Pledge Committee to set a goal of raising at least $1,500 through your network, even if you don’t reach it – but trust me, it’s fun and easy, and the majority of our members hit that goal and blaze right past it!!
Here’s how it works: In February, I contact our Pledge Committee members and ask each member to make an initial donation to the Pledge site. That first donation automatically generates your personal donation page link, which you won’t start sharing until March 7 – the first day of the two-week 3/21 Pledge drive.
Once that date arrives, you can put that link in your IG profile, share it on Facebook, email it out to your network, and include it when posting personal stories on social media, so people can understand why this is so important – why shifting and changing the narrative and the way we perceive people with Down syndrome is so very important!
You can also follow Ruby’s Rainbow on social media and share anything we post that might help you reach your network, including videos, pics, posts, or whatever! Every post and share helps, because once everything goes live on March 7, we’ll have two weeks to raise the roof for these peeps who deserve it so much!!
I also send our Pledge Committee members a link to our MEDIA KIT, which has videos, photos, suggested wording for posts and emails if you want to use them, and all sorts of tips and tools to make it SUPER EASY for you to keep your peeps engaged and inspired!!
And remember…I am here to help make this a success, so you can always reach out to me with ANYTHING you need!!!
Future Rockin’ Recipient Miles shows off his award plaque – his family and friends raised enough funds to grant a 2022 award to Rockin’ Recipient Aidan!!
Just think: In 2023, a committee of just 138 amazing Pledge Committee members raised over $456,000 of the $650,000 Pledge total – all in only two weeks!! Just imagine what we can do if we expand our reach even further this year – how many more peeps we can help while showing how capable people rockin’ that extra chromosome truly are!!
Thank you again so much for reaching out, and for the love and support!!