Our goal is to support year round health and well being of the community we love. 

All donations are tax-deductible through the Provincetown Community Compact.

Our minimum pledge of $100 to register has not changed since 1988, making the event as inclusive as possible, a hallmark of the Swim. We encourage creative fundraising. Check out our Fundraising Tips below for ideas for effective fundraising. Post your video/photos on Facebook and Instagram #ptownswim @ptownswim

Collecting pledges 

1. Check + Cash: Collecting checks and cash is ALWAYS a good option. Use this PLEDGE SHEET to keep track of your donors. We will collect your pledges in cash and checks on the day of the Swim.

2. Create a peer-to-peer fundraising page on our fundraising platform, Pledge It, and use email, Facebook, and other social media to spread the word. We recommend this way to fundraise. It’s easy for you and your supporters! Give Lively supports Team Fundraising.

3. Facebook. You may collect pledges on Facebook by using Facebook's Fundraising pages. Find the Fundraising link on your home page and choose the option of starting personal or a non-profit fundraiser. If you choose non-profit fundraiser the funds you raise will be deposited directly with us. Be sure to PUT YOUR NAME and SWIM FOR LIFE 2022 in the title of your fundraiser to ensure that the money you raise for us this way is credited to you. If you prefer to do a personal fundraiser, that’s fine, just bring a check for the total with you when you come to the Swim.

4. Other fundraising platforms like GoFundMe are not recommended as they are generally more complicated for us to track and administer.

Thanks for your successful fundraising efforts. We are grateful. 

Tips on Fundraising

Ask and you shall receive.*

Comments from swimmers:

When I explain that the money supports women's health and AIDS. Also, when I explain the atmosphere at the swim and the community of Provincetown, donors get very excited, as do I.” 

You decide you want to join the Swim for Life, you are excited by the challenge, you might even set up a personal training program for yourself and personal fundraising page on Give Lively. Then there’s the raising of pledges! This seems like the most difficult thing to do, more than swimming or kayaking.  

Online fundraising works, but there’s nothing like the personal touch*. Your stomach starts churning at the thought. But guess what, there are a lot of people out there who are ready and waiting to support your commitment. They may want to help you in these times of COVID-19. 

If you are passionate about your reason for swimming - supporting a loved one who is ill, or deceased, or helping all the beneficiaries of this special community - people will see that and want to join you.

Or maybe it’s a personal challenge - recovering from a dramatic turn in your life or deciding to take your own health seriously. These are real motivations and your family and friends will sense your passion and join in. Ask yourself, How did you feel when you made a donation to a special cause?

‘Talking it up! Providing info on beneficiaries of SFL donations. Multiple postings on Facebook, plus direct email to all previous donors. I made a trial swim, which my wife documented on video and posted on social media. People really responded to that.”

If you are afraid about asking, think about the many people who are living in fear every day, struggling with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and other life threatening illnesses. Fear of COVID-19. Check out the Swim beneficiaries. Develop a fundraising plan, inspire your family and friends to assist you in your commitment. Have them join your team. Maybe one can help with pledges, another could kayak with you, another could be on shore greeting you as a volunteer at the finish line. It’s about creating community and sharing the good will you are creating.

‘I don't need to decide to do the swim. I already have. I will do the swim every year. It is a very important day for our family. I swim in memory of my oldest friend who I spent many happy vacations with in town. I love, love, love that this is a fundraiser. I feel so happy to hit my friends up for money to aid people in this most beloved place.”

Some fundraising suggestions and challenges: 

These times call for creative, out-of-the-box ideas and challenges

“I use Facebook. Set up my page and keep refreshing all the time. Will change my photo to represent Swim4Life. I also dedicate my swim to someone that has passed away. This year I used my wetsuit as a way for people to write in remembrance of someone that passed or just a note. This gave it a personal touch. Very successful.”

I made a thank you card on Snapfish with pix of me at the swim and sent them to all donors. I also posted a thank you with a link to my fundraising page on each donor's Facebook.

I raised $1,700 this past year by asking more people mostly via email and making donations to the web site. I found that people are more willing to charge rather then write a check and mail it in.

Personally contacting people worked the best. I could answer any questions they might have immediately and help them to understand my reasons for my participation.

All the $ goes to the intended programs and stays in the community, and there in lies the meaning. Being thanked by beneficiaries of the programs as we get in the water always brings me to tears as does judging where I am by the glitter of the prayer ribbons.

* Comments from a recent survey

* Jay’s father’s advice