Create Your Own Fundraising Page for Manatees!

SMC Member Hannah Douglis created a Firstgiving page as part of her Bat Mitzvah project on manatees. "Hannah just loves those manatees and is truly dedicated to your organization," says Hannah's mom, Tanya. (Photo courtesy Tanya Douglis)

Are you interested in helping manatees? You can create your own online fundraising page with Firstgiving. It’s free, it’s fun, and Save the Manatee Club member Hannah Douglis can show you how it’s done.

At Firstgiving, you can choose the type of page you want to create, include photos and video, and tell the world why you love manatees. Set a fundraising goal, then email your page to family and friends and ask them to donate by credit or debit card in an easy, secure online transaction. You’ll have fun reading their comments to you and checking to see how well you are doing on your goal.




Here’s how it works:

  1. Go to Save the Manatee Club's page at Firstgiving.com

  2. Click the orange “Get Started” button.

  3. Firstgiving will then guide you through the process of creating your own fundraising page for manatees. It's that easy!

Hannah's Firstgiving page for manatees.

We learned about Firstgiving from Save the Manatee Club member Hannah Douglis, who lives in California. Hannah was 12 years old at the time and had chosen manatees as her Bat Mitzvah project. She first contacted the Club to get stickers and materials to help educate others about manatees. You can see Hannah’s Firstgiving page at www.firstgiving.com/hannahdouglis. Hannah raised $570 for manatees!

In addition, Hannah helped to educate people about manatees through a wonderful poster display she created for a “Mitzvah Mall” held at her synagogue. “Kids of all ages donated money to all the organizations of the 7th grade Mitzvah projects, and we made a total of over $700 for all the projects,” says Hannah. “Everyone came over to my booth, and manatees intrigued everyone. I might not get all the earnings I made because we are splitting the money equally, but more children and adults are now aware of manatees.”

Hannah (at left) helps to educate interested visitors about manatees at the Mitzvah Mall. (Photo courtesy Norma Grinfeld)