How to Hold a Successful Polar Plunge The Maryland State Police hold a very successful Polar Bear Plunge each year to benefit Special Olympics Maryland. Following is a "best practices" description of one of their past plunges. Maryland Lt. Governor Michael S. Steele (blue shirt) and Governor Robert L.Ehrlich Jr. (black shirt) lead the charge into the Chesapeake Bay at the 10th Anniversary Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge on 28 January 2006 at Sandy Point State Park. An astounding US$1.5 million was raised. Colonel Thomas E. Hutchins, Secretary of the Department of State Police, recognized the collective impact that the thousands of individuals willing to make difference have made in the past ten years. “Thanks to the willingness of thousands of committed, caring individuals with warm hearts, this event has become the most unique and most successful fund-raising event in Special Olympics Maryland history,” Colonel Hutchins said. 1. Briefly describe the goals of the event, activity or program.      The goal of the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge was to raise money for Special Olympics Maryland. A Polar Bear Plunge (or Polar Plunge) is a fundraising challenge made to an individual or group challenging them to dive into a cold body of water in order to raise money for Special Olympics. Each participant collects pledges (usually about US$50 minimum) from family, friends and businesses in the hopes of raising lots of money for the local Program. Then, on a select day, they "take the plunge" into the cold water to benefit Special Olympics. The Polar Plunge is a very popular special event among Law Enforcement Torch Run® volunteers across the country. Approximately 24 Polar Plunges take place every year in 15 U.S. states, helping to raise millions of dollars for Special Olympics Programs. Along with the thousands of law enforcement officers who help fundraise, Special Olympics Maryland athlete Ben Collins has been a dedicated fundraiser for the Maryland event, collecting individual donations every year. He was the first athlete to participate when it began in 1997 and has retained his celebrity status every year. He often kicks off opening ceremonies with celebrities such as Mike McCrary of the Baltimore Ravens Football Team and Colonel David Mitchell, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police and Maryland's Board Chairman. 2. What were the biggest challenges or obstacles you faced in trying to achieve these goals?      The biggest challenge facing this event was recruiting enough plungers to raise significant funds. There is also the expectation that the event will raise more than the previous year and help grow the Program. Just maintaining the same level of success as the year before is difficult enough without the added challenge of continued growth. Because these events have a large percentage of "repeat customers," there is the need to keep the event fresh and offer something new and different each year in order to keep those people coming back and also recruit others to come with them. For those plungers soliciting friends and family, the task of securing and collecting at least US$50 in donations is time-consuming. Often, they must dedicate their working and nonworking hours to securing donations. It is therefore challenging to the event planners to rely on participants to put the time in to collect more than the minimum US$50 in pledges. 3. What were your tactics to achieve success and overcome the challenges/obstacles?      Because of the reliance on individual participants, it's important to get information to them very early so they can begin fundraising. Special Olympics Maryland does a Plunge Newsletter in the fall, recapping all three cold water events. This piece acts as a "Save the Date" card, and also includes a pre-registration form so that people can begin soliciting donations. The aerial view of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline at Sandy Point State Park in Maryland on 28 January 2006 shows the popularity of the annual Polar Plunge. In 2005, the Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge boasted 2,700 Plunge participants, and raised $625,000 for Special Olympics Maryland athletes – a substantial increase over the first event in 1997 that hosted just 350 Plungers and raised $40,000 for the organization. “We are in awe of this event,” said Tom Schniedwind, Sr. V.P. of Sports Marketing for Special Olympics Maryland. “When we look back over the last 9 years, there is really only one reason that the Plunge has been so successful – the individual participants that embrace it. You are our greatest recruiters, fundraisers and promoters, and there is no doubt that we owe the last 9 years of success to your absolute dedication and enthusiasm." As early as November, online registration is available, including a fact sheet on the Plunge. At least one month before, all plungers are mailed the event information and instructions, a pledge form (to collect donations) and an insurance waiver for the day of the event. Collecting all the donations on the day of the event ensures a streamlined one-day collection process so that there are few outstanding pledges after the event. Ultimately, the hard work and persistence necessary to raise significant funds remains in the hands of the individuals. Therefore, offering higher level premiums (embroidered fleece, sports bag, autographed sports memorabilia, etc.) as incentives to plungers who bring in with higher levels of donations are key. The levels in Maryland are US$50, US$500, US$1,000, US$2,500 and $5,000. Depending on inventory, there are also variations; for example, a Santa Fe Ski Vacation was raffled off for anyone raising US$1,000 or more. It is also important at the base level to offer a first-class event to every participant, whether they bring in the minimum US$50 or US$5,000. To that end, each plunger receives an official Polar Bear Plunge sweatshirt, a complimentary Outback Steakhouse lunch and a group color photo. They are also eligible to win great prizes during the event. There is music throughout the day and the ever-popular costume contest. To keep the event fresh and attract for new plungers, Special Olympics Maryland has had good initial success with recruitment of groups, similar to the Virginia Polar Plunge team recruitment model. See http://www.polarplunge.com/. The Program also had to create awareness, ensuring there were as many dedicated fundraisers and participants as possible. Therefore, securing a local radio station to advertise the event is essential. In Maryland's case, local radio station WQSR promoted the event, raised awareness and put out the "challenge" to Marylanders to come out and plunge for Special Olympics. The station enjoyed a brand presence at the event with signage and a booth, and also recruited employees to fundraise and plunge too. Much of the success of the Special Olympics Maryland Plunge is credited to the efforts of the radio station, in particular, Steve Rouse, Baltimore's #1 morning show personality. He has a huge following and the fact that he supports the event not just with lip service, but by actually plunging every year, is invaluable to the event. The value of WQSR's promotion of the event was upwards of US$200,000. Securing Outback Steakhouse as a restaurant sponsor also was critical. They provided a complimentary meal (steak and chicken lunch) to every Plunge participant on-site, which is perceived by the participants as a very high-end amenity because of the popularity of the restaurant chain. Outback also helped recruit plungers by displaying Polar Plunge brochures, posters, table tents, etc., in its area restaurants. Having local celebrities attend the event, meet participants and autograph merchandise provided additional incentives for people to participate. Ralph Friedgen, University of Maryland football coach, was Honorary Co-Chair this year, along with McCrary (Baltimore Ravens), Steve Rouse (WQSR) and Col. David Mitchell (Maryland State Police). Friedgen's popularity among Maryland fans helped attract some participants that otherwise may not have attended. 4. In your experience and considering your expertise, why do you think these tactics worked?      All the above factors, (law enforcement community support, celebrities, sponsors, the media and lots of dedicated individuals) made it possible for the Polar Bear Plunge to raise the necessary funds for Special Olympics. From the Program's perspective, it is so important that, first and foremost, we are offering a fun, safe, quality event that people like to attend. Getting the date of the event out into the community and getting the pledge forms out in a timely manner are key to the success of the Plunge. Offering online registration is also important because it is more convenient for people; 75 percent of our registrations come through our Web site. The relationship we enjoy with radio station WQSR is also crucial to our success. The fact that Steve Rouse has a strong following in the community and goes on air during morning drive time, talks about how he's excited about being at the event, and encourages his fans to come out and join him in support of the athletes is just invaluable. We also work with the WQSR sales team to sell additional event sponsorships through their advertisers. This results in even more promotional mentions on air. We have begun to have more success with recruiting teams or groups over the past two years. We have always enjoyed great support from law enforcement, but we also have begun pushing group involvement through other avenues such as the Chamber of Ravens Nest (a NFL fan club), Star Fleet International and Business Network International. It's important that we take time at the event and through the event collateral to educate participants about why they are doing this, which ultimately results in their full investment in the mission of the organization and a renewed commitment to raising the most money possible. Ben Collins of Rockville, Maryland, USA, was the Chair of the Special Olympics Maryland Athlete Congress for two years when the group modernized its terminology from mental retardation to intellectual disabilities. An athlete for more than 25 years, Collins trains and competes in aquatics, cross country skiing, athletics, bowling, sailing, golf and bocce. Legally blind, Collins commutes independently to his job at Special Olympics headquarters in Washington, D.C. He has been a popular "plunger" for years. Recruiting individuals like Special Olympics athlete Ben Collins makes the difference because of their level of persistence and their relationships with people. Ben, who works at Special Olympics headquarters in Washington, D.C., USA, secured US$1,400 by pursuing almost every colleague, one-by-one to request their support. That tallies up to approximately 120 requests in one month. As he says, he was on a "mission." Finally, the fact that people trust him is a vital ingredient to any fundraising relationship and the phrase, " people give to people," rings true here. The most important thing we know about this event is that word-of-mouth is the single most important recruiting tool out there. Therefore, it's crucial that participants enjoy the event and are treated well. To that end, the volunteer force working the event must be properly briefed and trained and be prepared to offer quality customer service to each and every plunger they encounter. It's one thing to get the participants there, it's another thing to offer them a first-class event and have them leave the event wanting to come back next year. 5. How could the approach be improved?      Ben Collins strongly suggests putting more time into fundraising, citing that if he had started a month earlier, he could have secured more money. He's considering going outside the office next time to find more donations. From the Program's perspective, we could always get pledge sheets/brochures out earlier. It seems people call us earlier and earlier every year inquiring about these materials. We can also come up with some new incentive for individuals which encourages them to raise more money. 6. What would you not do again or do differently?      Getting more persistent and dedicated fundraisers like Ben Collins to help fundraise. We need to continue to aggressively recruit teams/groups and offer customized incentives for the chapter/individual that raises the most money.