As the Wall Street Decathlon inches closer (it's less than a month away!) we want to remind you what really matters: your fundraising tactics.

While training is important -- and a crucial way to show your supporters that you are taking this event seriously! -- the real reason we're killing ourselves at the gym and on the track is to raise money to support pediatric cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).

To date, the Wall Street Decathlon and its competitors have raised more than $4.6M. Proceeds from the 2015 event will fund several vital initiatives in the fight against pediatric cancer, such as:

1. Cancer biology studies that aim to reveal the fingerprint of each child’s cancer from diagnosis to relapse—and to seed development of rapid and less-invasive tests for identifying cancer.

2. Preclinical testing that will determine the ability of new drugs to overcome genetic changes in children’s tumors—before they are used in the clinic.

3. Drug discovery that will evaluate new drugs for use in treating childhood cancer, and four new clinical trials will test therapies targeted to the genetic fingerprints of a child’s cancer.

To inspire your fundraising efforts, we've highlighted some of the more unique fundraising tactics we've seen by notable Decathlon competitors.

1. Patrick Murphy: Business Cards

"I created business cards with my contact information, event details and a QR code that is directly linked to my fundraising page. I keep them in my wallet and hand them out to everyone I see. The business cards have made it easy to ask for support from people across my networks, and more importantly, easy for them to follow through."

See Patrick's Meet the Decathlete's page here. 

2. Michael Ortiz, Fundraising Videos

"As a first-time participant myself I didn’t know what would be most effective. I made a few videos to create awareness and help in the fundraising effort, but I’ve found that directly reaching out to people is the best approach. People care and when they receive that personal connection and find out what you are doing, they are likelier to engage. Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and reach out to people in your extended networks – this is great work for a great cause and people recognize that."

Fundraising video #1: On Top Of The World

Fundraising video #2: Where Does Your Money Go?

See Michael's Meet the Decathlete's page here. 

3. JP Witkop, Joel Rosenberg and Paul Sirignano: Team Fundraising Video

This group of former Manhattanville Hockey players -- JP Witkop, Joel Rosenberg and Paul Sirignano -- have combined forces along with Ethan Witkop to form a Deacthlon team to honor their late cousin and friend, Aaron Witkop. Aaron passed away in May 2011, but their team name, "Aaron Conquers" ensures that he won't be forgotten.

Here's their team video, which explains what the Decathlon means to them:

They also have a blog, which you can read here. Visit their official team fundraising page, "Aaron Conquers," to donate to the cause.

Do you have a unique fundraising tactic? Email erin@thedecathlon.org and tell us about it!