Help Raise $15K to Celebrate 15 Years 

Some of your connections may prefer to hear from you via email. You may also want to use personalized emails if you are asking someone for a larger gift ($100 or above). An email provides the opportunity for you to share more of your passion for the mission of Blue Water Baltimore as well as focus on programs or specific impacts you think will most appeal to each person.

For example, if you know someone lives in the Back River or Patapsco watersheds you could explain how the 2023 settlement for our wastewater treatment plant lawsuit was the largest civil penalty for a water pollution violation in at least 25 years and one of the largest ever civil penalties for a violation of any Maryland environmental law. A significant portion of the penalty funds (40 percent — $1.9 million) was allocated to restoration projects in the Back River and Patapsco watersheds (administered as competitive grants overseen by the Chesapeake Bay Trust) ensuring help for the waterways and communities that were most affected by the pollution.

Here is a suggested template email you can start from (again, the more you write authentically about your passion for clean water in your own words and address the specific interests of the person you are emailing, the more effective you will be). As you personalize your emails, don’t forget to use your personal goal, preferred donation amount, and fundraising page (highlighted in BOLD below):

Subject line: Help me celebrate 15 years of Blue Water Baltimore

Hi Name,

Clean water is vital for everyone. Blue Water Baltimore, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring Baltimore’s waterways, is celebrating their 15th anniversary this year.

Their mission is to restore the quality of Baltimore’s rivers, streams, and Harbor to foster a healthy environment, a strong economy, and thriving communities. Their programs are science-based and include monitoring water quality, partnering with communities to reduce stormwater runoff entering our waterways, providing native trees and plants, and securing policy and enforcement wins that have improved the lives of tens of thousands of people in the Baltimore region.

In honor of their 15th year, they have issued a challenge to raise $15,000 by September 23rd. I’ve set a personal goal of helping by raising $500. I’m asking for your support — even a small donation can make a big difference.

Here’s my personal fundraising page: https://givebutter.com/BWB15/YOURGIVINGPAGELINK. Every dollar counts, and I appreciate any amount you’re able to give. Please consider sharing this request to help spread the word to increase the positive impact we can make together to protect Baltimore’s waterways.

Thank you for considering my request and for supporting this important cause. Let’s work together to ensure clean water for generations to come.

With gratitude,
Your Name

PS: See the attached 2025 Water Quality Report to learn more about the current state of our streams, rivers, and Harbor. They need our help!

ATTACH 2025 WATER QUALITY REPORT

Another great way to reach a lot of people with your personal fundraising message is posting to social media.

Blue Water Baltimore actively posts to Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and LinkedIn. Keep your eye out for posts that you can remix or share about this fundraising challenge (don’t forget to include a link to your personal fundraising page though so you get credit for donations that come from your hard work!)

Here’s some suggested copy for your initial social media post (be sure to use your personal goal, preferred donation amount, and fundraising page link highlighted in BOLD below — don’t forget to tag us in your post as well):

Help me celebrate 15 years of @bluewaterbmore! I’m honoring their anniversary by helping them raise $15,000 by 9/23. My personal goal is to raise $500. Gifts of any size are welcome — every dollar will go directly to supporting their mission to protect and restore Baltimore’s waterways. Become a clean water champion today and donate through my personal fundraising link here: https://givebutter.com/BWB15/YOURGIVINGPAGELINK.

Here’s a shorter version for platforms where post length can be limited (X/Bluesky):

Help me celebrate 15 years of @bluewaterbmore! I’m honoring their anniversary by helping them raise $15,000 by 9/23. My personal goal is to raise $500. Become a clean water champion today and donate through my personal fundraising link here: https://givebutter.com/BWB15/YOURGIVINGPAGELINK.

Regardless of the social media platform, keep your post text focused on letting people know what you are asking them to do. Remember on Instagram, links in the body of the post can’t be clicked. So be sure to place your personal fundraising page link in the links section of your profile and let folks know that they can access the link in your bio.

Here’s nine different graphics you can use throughout the campaign. Simply right click (or tap/hold) on the image(s) you want to use and save them to your device.

Interested in more information about Blue Water Baltimore’s work that may help with your fundraising campaign?

2025 Water Quality Report Card: Over the past fifteen years, our water quality monitoring program has grown from a handful of bacteria samples in the Baltimore Harbor to a full suite of water-health parameters at 51 stations in the waterways throughout the Baltimore region. In that time, our staff and volunteers have collected more than 193,000 individual data points. If someone wants to learn more about the condition of our local waterways consider sharing a link to our most recent water quality report card or to our water quality monitoring project site https://baltimorewaterwatch.org/.

Fundraising Facts and Donor Impact: Looking for a little more information on the impact of donations and Blue Water Baltimore’s programs? Our spring direct mail appeal has a lot of useful stats about our impact over the past 15 years. We also have a donor overview from our development team.