Thank you so much for joining the 3/21 Pledge Committee and helping raise scholarship funds for Ruby’s Rainbow!!

The Pledge Committee is a group of passionate people who are committed to joining Ruby’s Rainbow in our mission to help more peeps rockin’ that extra chromosome go for their college dreams via the 3/21 Pledge fundraiser!!  We are honored and excited to partner with our Pledge Committee members 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. WE ARE SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE!!!!!

And now, a few action items to get you started!!

Step 1.

Get set up and connected!

  • Fill out this form so we have all the info we need to get your photo and bio up on the Pledge Committee page on the Ruby’s Rainbow site!
  • Join our 2024 WhatsApp thread to stay connected with other Pledge Committee members!
    • It’s SUPER fun to be involved in this thread during the two-week Pledge, and even beyond! You can be as involved as you want or just a fly on the wall – either way, we would LOVE to have you!
    • Once you join, just hang out and wait for Liz’s lead on introductions! Once everyone has joined the chat, we will start the introductions so nobody misses anything!
    • This thread is a GREAT way to ask questions, share tips, and stay motivated and energized as we ROCK the Pledge together!!
  • Familiarize yourself with the 3/21 Pledge by reading on below the 5th Step! 👇

Step 2.

Save the dates – Zoom and in-person events! Please put these dates on your calendar!

    • Thursday, February 29, from 6–7:30pm: Katie Quesada joined us to do a live “Story School” session that guided us in learning how to personally craft powerful stories and share with others in a captivating way! This event was FREE and just for our Pledge Committee members!! Katie is amazing and this was such a treat for us – here is the recording for those who could not attend live!
      Click here to view the Zoom recording!
    • Saturday, March 2, from 6–9pm: We had a fantastic time at our annual Rockin’ with Ruby Kickoff Party at Dane’s Body Shop in Hyde Park! It was great to see our Austin-area peeps at this FUN family-friendly evening where we enjoyed some live music and community and kicked off the 3/21 Pledge!
    • Wednesday, March 6, from 12–1pm: 3/21 Pledge Committee virtual Lunch Hour event – for those who were not able to attend in the evening on March 4!
      Click here to view the Zoom recording!
    • THURSDAY, MARCH 7: 3/21 PLEDGE KICK-OFF!! EEEEEK!!!!!!
    • Thursday, March 14, from 7–8pm: “You’ve Got This!” 3/21 Pledge Committee Happy Hour! Join us for a “You’ve Got This!” Happy Hour midway through the 3/21 Pledge! We’ll be there to answer any questions you have and support you! We will also have a Rockin’ Recipient there to cheer you on! We are here to support you and appreciate all that you do to advocate for individuals with Down syndrome and their families!!! YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!
      Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84092574036?pwd=WWh1emR4WUJlamdYVUM4YUp2S3RaQT09
      Meeting ID: 840 9257 4036
      Passcode: 418476

You should have calendar invites in your email inbox for all of the Zooms listed above! Remember that all of these are totally optional events but they’re all going to be really fun and informative, so we hope to see you there!!

Step 3.

Take a look at our Social Media Kit!

We created this one-stop-shop to give you ideas and inspiration for things to share on social media during the two weeks of the Pledge! This kit contains photos, videos, and sample messages/posts that you can use to ROCK your fundraising and awareness-raising during the 3/21 Pledge!!

Step 4.

📣 A quick note about Step 4: Please WAIT until Liz gives you the go-ahead before you complete this step!! 📣

Okay, okay 😝, here’s Step 4:

Head over to 321Pledge.org and make your first donation!!

  • After donating, you will get an email inviting you to activate your Personal Impact Page. This will allow you to log in to the 3/21 Pledge site and utilize all the amazing tools we have created for you guys! You can find more info on all of these tools in the Social Media Kit OR at one of our PC Happy Hours (events are listed above in Step 2)!
  • NOTE: If you have Pledged in the past, you can just “sign in” after donating or hit “reset password” to login!
  • After making your first donation, I want you to share your personal link with JUST THREE PEOPLE!!! And be sure to tell them NOT to share the 3/21 Pledge site or their own Share link yet!! We will kick off to the masses on 3/7, but for now we are just making sure everything is working properly!
  • To be on the leaderboard, you have to at least three people donate under you. Once you have three people in your Red Ring, please check the Impact Page to make sure you show up on the leaderboard! Let Liz or Rachel know if you spot any issues so we can make sure it’s working properly!
  • Once you have donated, please check that you received 3 emails: One to activate your Pledge Page, a THANK YOU email, and a donation receipt. These are staggered, so you won’t get them all at once!

Reminder: Please don’t make that first donation until Liz says it’s time! This is because we need help with testing the 3/21 Pledge site to make sure everything is working right!

When you do make your first donation, here are some things to look out for:

    • Was it easy to donate?
    • Was it easy to log in and check out your Personal Impact Page or “My Pledge” page?
    • Was it easy to upload a profile pic?
    • When someone donated under you, did they show up in your Red Ring?
    • Did you also see them in your History tab?
    • Were you able to send them a thank-you from the site?
    • Once you got three donations under you, did you show up in the Leaderboard on the Impact Page?

THANK YOU for helping us test the site and work out any potential kinks before the Pledge officially begins!

Step 5.

March 7, the first day of the 3/21 Pledge: It’s Go Time!!!

  • On this date, you can start sharing your personal share link with your peeps! This is the personalized URL you received via email after you made your first donation! It should look something like this: https://321pledge.org/share/annie-jones
    • Reminder: We ask everyone who joins the Pledge Committee to commit to a fundraising goal of $1500, even if you don’t reach it. We know this can seem like an intimidating amount, but we are here to support you every step of the way, and we think you will be pleasantly surprised at the generosity of your network of peeps!!
    • The sharing and awareness-raising piece is JUST as important to us as any donation, because we are trying to show the world just how amazing and capable people rockin’ that extra chromosome truly are!!
    • Remember that if you fundraise/donate $3000 or more, we would LOVE to grant a Ruby’s Rainbow scholarship award this summer in your honor, or in honor of a loved one!! Check out our Scholarship Award Program to learn more!
  • Stay connected and utilize our resources!!
    • The WhatsApp thread is an awesome place to ask questions, share tips and inspiration, and enjoy this awesome community of Pledge Committee members!
    • Don’t forget to use the Social Media Kit for photos, videos and sample messages/posts that you can share with your peeps in your fundraising efforts!!

More about the 3/21 Pledge!

What is the 3/21 Pledge?

The 3/21 Pledge is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and pretty much dictates how many scholarships we are able to give out. I literally have been blown away by what mamas, dads and loved ones can do when we come together, no matter what it is we are trying to accomplish! I always say that every little bit counts, and that Ruby’s Rainbow does what we do from “every little bit.” It all comes together to create something BIG. So far, we have not been supported by any huge grants or very many 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. I never would have imagined that in just 12 years (and we are currently in our 13th year at RR!) we would have granted over $2.67 MILLION DOLLARS to over 700 people rockin’ that extra chromosome going for their dreams of higher education and independence!!

A little about how the 3/21 Pledge came 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 can make, even with a relatively small donation, simply by sharing and shouting the worth of our incredibly deserving Rockin’ Recipients. And SOO…the 3/21 Pledge was born!! Our Pledge site (321Pledge.org – please don’t share that link just yet!) will automatically track your Pledge Donation; once you share the link with friends, you’ll get to track how much of an impact you have made at a glance. You literally get to watch your donation grow in real-time! The site shows you a visual sunburst that tracks each spreading ring of donations – people who donated under you, and those who donated under them, and so on. It’s really cool to watch!

How does the 3/21 Pledge work?

The 3/21 Pledge has three basic steps:

  1. Donate $21 (or more if you can!)
  2. Pledge to be kind to peeps of all abilities (easy-peasy!)
  3. Share it with 3 peeps.

BAM! You just helped someone with Down syndrome go for their college dreams!!

The beauty of the 3/21 Pledge is, $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 helping all the new faces of the Rockin’ Recipients in the fall! Best of all, if you raise $3K or more through your immediate network, 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 family and if at all possible let you surprise them with the award!!!!!