Waggin' Trail Walk for the Animals

Spring is a busy and exciting time at the Kentucky Humane Society. Our 17th annual Waggin' Trail Walk for the Animals is coming up on Saturday, May 21st at EP Tom Sawyer State Park.

I want to share a letter with you from Rick Maynard, a dedicated KHS Board Bember and captain of the KFC and Yum! Brands Team--our top fundraising Waggin' Trail team for six years running. I hope you'll be inspired as I always am by Rick's passion for the animals.

Kim Ulrich, Community Outreach Manager

First things first: I hate to run.

I’ve always said that if you ever catch me running, that means someone is chasing me.

So how do I explain my going-on-seven-year love affair with a 5k event? It’s simple, really. It’s not just any 5k event. It’s the Kentucky Humane Society’s 5k event.

While I don’t love running, I do love my dogs and I do love the Kentucky Humane Society. So since I’ve lived in Louisville, I’ve always been a supporter of the Waggin’ Trail.

The first year that I was a team captain, my KFC and Yum! Brands team raised about $2,400 and we won a nice little trophy. I thought that was a huge amount of money and I was very proud of that trophy. It’s still on my desk.

The next year, we raised $6,000 and I was even more thrilled. In 2007, the total was $8,000. The following year, our team collected more than $17,000. And so on.

In six years, our little corporate team has been responsible for raising more than $50,000 for KHS through the Waggin’ Trail 5k.

So, people ask me: “How do you do it?” It’s simple, really:

One donation at a time.

The Waggin’ Trail web site makes it really easy for you to invite people to donate. We’ve always had 10 or 15 or 20 people on our team and everyone hits up their own contact list – friends, family members, doctors, dentists, Facebook friends, vendors, people who owe them favors. And through the miracle of modern technology, you can hit people up for donations and you don’t even have to look them in the eye! It’s beautiful.

My friends know I am a huge supporter of KHS and they also know that I ask them only once a year for a donation. I think they write the check for the 5k in part to ensure I don’t bother them the rest of the year.

Last year, I accidentally (really) sent an e-mail solicitation to my insurance agent. He made a donation. Guess what? He’s getting another accidental e-mail this year too!

I send an e-mail to the folks who have football season tickets in my row. I ask them if they’re renewing their season tickets for the fall and I ask them to make a little donation. They always renew their seats and they always donate.

I e-mail an ex-boss and tell him how much I miss working for him. He never responds that he misses having me work for him, but he always makes a donation.

I ask family members to make Waggin’ Trail donations in lieu of birthday or holiday gifts. Their gifts are always the right size and color and nothing has to be exchanged.

One year, I promised to actually complete (“complete,” not “run”) the 5k and send photographic proof to anyone who made a donation. I completed the event. It wasn’t in record time, but we raised a record amount of money. I found out my friends were susceptible to deal making. I’ll be making some kind of deal again this year.

We’ve done raffles. We’ve solicited funds from employees in our cafeteria. We’re lucky to work for a really generous company that matches every gift of $25 or more, which makes it an easy thing to “upsell” donors to the $25 level. “Well, if you’ll just add $5 to that $20 donation, the animals will actually receive $50!” See? It just sells itself.

We’ve mastered the art of telling heart-warming stories about our own pets (and distributing photos of same) in our e-mail solicitations. My dog Steel is personally responsible for thousands of dollars in donations. Some of my friends can say no to me, but they are powerless to say no when Steel is making the ask.

I urge you to form your own team and get creative in your Waggin’ Trail fundraising. You might be surprised how much fun it can be to ask people for money!

At Yum! Brands, we take a lot of pride in the fact that we have had the top fundraising team for the past six years, and we’ll be shooting for a seven-peat. But you know what would make me even happier? If some motivated team captain forms a team and raises even more money than we do.

Because while we are all very competitive, no matter which person or team raises the most money, it’s the animals that really win.

Steel and I will see you at the Waggin’ Trail!

--Rick Maynard

KFC and Yum! Brands Team