Fundraising. Where to start?

[riverwed070707]

Posted about potentially doing a volunteer trip to a foreign country. The more research I do, the more excited I am about the opportunity it presents for us as a family and for the lives we may touch on our journey.

When we may be able to make the trip is entirely dependent on finances at this point. We want to do a 3 week trip and it's going to cost about $10,000 for the three of us to go, including airfare, meals, insurance, etc. We could cut costs by going for less time but with half of that cost being flights alone, it makes more sense to me to stay longer and have time to accomplish more rather than, say trying to make more than one trip.

My company does a matching gift program where if you donate to a charity they will match your gift up to $1,500 so with that and a match from our own funds (which we can easily do), that takes care of $3,000. The organization really encourages fundraising the rest but I just don't know where to start. I also don't know how to plan the timing. Do I need to have leave dates planned before we start fundraising or should we just plan to fund raise until we have the money to go? Who do you ask? Do people ever get business sponsors for these kinds of things?

I'd like to start a blog to track our progress and provide that to anyone who contributes to our trip so they can follow our journey if they want. I guess overall I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed with how to plan it all. Any tips for fundraising, planning, etc would be most appreciated.

[NetSkyBlue]

We have a bingo fundraiser every year at my church that brings in quite a lot, if you have access to bingo equipment and a hall. We (the group that puts it on) donate prizes, but you could easily split each round with the winner.

[photo]

What kind of volunteering can you do in 3 weeks?

[riverwed070707]

All kinds - community projects like building gardens to promote sustainability, proving care and activities for street children, helping in orphanages, construction projects, there are programs for students in healthcare (like my DH), there are environmental missions. If you think about it, there aren't a lot of people who can give 6 months or a year, but there are plenty who can give 2-6 weeks at a time. If you arrange groups to come in as others are leaving you get continuous support you might not otherwise be able to find. The 3 of us individually may not be moving mountains, but if you look at the overall picture the time, money and skills donated make a pretty substantial impact on these programs.

[photo]

It will probably be easier to get others to give you money when you have definite plans. There are some scams out there, and many people would be more willing to give if they knew specifically wher they were donating.

Also, and this is just a guess, it may not be as easy for you to find financial donors as it would be for teenagers or traditional college-age students. A lot of these trips that people take for volunteering are done on their own dime. Although you would be volunteering your time, others may look at it as financing your vacation. I'm not suggesting that's what you're doing, but you should be aware that your trip may be perceived by others that way.

[riverwed070707]

I agree to some extent. One thing that I think helps build credibility is that people can make contributions directly to the organization -- in this case the donation becomes tax deductible and the donor is ensured that their money will go to support the cause whether or not we are able to raise the funds to take our trip.

We are also working through a budget revamp to see how much of our funds we can pull together on our own. In a perfect world, I'd love to be able to come up with all of the costs for our trip on our own and just be able to take a sizable donation to give to the charity we end up working for while we're there.

[photo]

Is there a special skill that you have that isn't available locally? For instance, surgeons and optometrists will donate their time and money to help in areas where there's a shortage of those professions, if they even exist.

I know you'd really like to go, but when you add airfare for 3 people (including a child), that $10,000 may be better spent on the community and not yourselves. If the community needs labor, then realistically, it would be more cost productive to send them the money.

[moneybags]

Originally Posted by photo

A lot of these trips that people take for volunteering are done on their own dime. Although you would be volunteering your time, others may look at it as financing your vacation. I'm not suggesting that's what you're doing, but you should be aware that your trip may be perceived by others that way.

This...I agree with. I do not make donations to this type of cause. If people want to make these trips, great, but I think it should be at their own expense. The exception would be if they had a valuable skill, like a surgeon. Just my opinion.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by riverwed070707

The organization really encourages fundraising the rest but I just don't know where to start.

Can you clarify something? What is your relationship with the organization? Do they fundraise for you or do you have to fundraise on your own?

I am very active (soon to be president) of our synagogue. We do plenty of fundraising for various reasons, including some volunteer trips to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. The synagogue has a Social Action fund. People can donate to that fund and the money gets used for those trips and other community service work done by the temple. The Social Action committee also does some designated fundraising. Last year, for example, they had a Papa John's fundraiser where they sold coupon books from Papa John's. I think they were $5 each and had coupons worth a lot more than that and our organization kept something like $3 from each book sold.

Here's the problem, though. We are a certified registered non-profit organization eligible to participate in fundraisers like that. We also have a state gaming license to run games of chance like bingo or a casino night or a raffle.

If you are working as part of this non-profit organization, you can fundraise under their umbrella with their non-profit status. If, however, you are acting independently, you need to be careful. Individuals can't just go out and run a bingo game. That's illegal. Sure you can stand on the corner with a can saying you are collecting money for this organization but a lot of people will be hesitant to donate under those circumstances if they have no way to be sure the money is actually going to the organization. In this case, it sounds like the money would really be going to you to defray the cost of your trip.

people can make contributions directly to the organization -- in this case the donation becomes tax deductible and the donor is ensured that their money will go to support the cause whether or not we are able to raise the funds to take our trip.

I'm confused by this. If I write a check to this organization, how does that defray the cost of your trip? Does the organization then turn around and give you the money?

[riverwed070707]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Can you clarify something? What is your relationship with the organization? Do they fundraise for you or do you have to fundraise on your own?

I am very active (soon to be president) of our synagogue. We do plenty of fundraising for various reasons, including some volunteer trips to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. The synagogue has a Social Action fund. People can donate to that fund and the money gets used for those trips and other community service work done by the temple. The Social Action committee also does some designated fundraising. Last year, for example, they had a Papa John's fundraiser where they sold coupon books from Papa John's. I think they were $5 each and had coupons worth a lot more than that and our organization kept something like $3 from each book sold.

Here's the problem, though. We are a certified registered non-profit organization eligible to participate in fundraisers like that. We also have a state gaming license to run games of chance like bingo or a casino night or a raffle.

If you are working as part of this non-profit organization, you can fundraise under their umbrella with their non-profit status. If, however, you are acting independently, you need to be careful. Individuals can't just go out and run a bingo game. That's illegal. Sure you can stand on the corner with a can saying you are collecting money for this organization but a lot of people will be hesitant to donate under those circumstances if they have no way to be sure the money is actually going to the organization. In this case, it sounds like the money would really be going to you to defray the cost of your trip.


I'm confused by this. If I write a check to this organization, how does that defray the cost of your trip? Does the organization then turn around and give you the money?

No they wouldn't give me the money, it would just go toward the cost of volunteer accommodations, community meals, etc that benefit the volunteers directly to help off set the cost of hosting the volunteers. Things like our airfare and other travel costs would come from our own pocket, and while some people do fund raise for those things, at that point it really isn't a charitable donation anymore it's a gift so no tax deduction for donors.

Totally agree on anything that would be considered gaming and I've been on committees for enough non-profits to understand the restrictions they face. Guess that's part of why I'm struggling so much to come up with ideas. I think everyone is spot on in understanding this is for a trip we're planning to take and I understand the average Joe probably isn't going to just make a sizable donation. What I was looking for was, for example, a bake sale where we can make a little extra, get the word out about our cause and the donor is getting something in return. Obviously a bake sale isn't going to raise *that* much, nor do I have a place to hold one but that's the track I was looking for.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by riverwed070707

What I was looking for was, for example, a bake sale where we can make a little extra, get the word out about our cause and the donor is getting something in return. Obviously a bake sale isn't going to raise *that* much, nor do I have a place to hold one but that's the track I was looking for.

Gotcha. There are plenty of ways to raise funds like that. School groups do it all the time for band trips and such. Bake sale, car wash, hoagie sale, candy sale, etc. When I was in high school, I sold candy. I bought it at a wholesaler (the precursor to Costco and BJ's) and resold it for a profit.

While one bake sale might not raise much, if you could find a business partner, a place that would allow you to set up on a regular basis, it could add up nicely. Maybe a local family-owned business that would let you put product by their register with a sign advertising the cause.

You could also go online. Post to your facebook pages asking for friends and family to contribute. If a lot of people each send a little bit, it adds up. Set up a website or blog, too.

[aditi]

your question is right where to start because once u start there is nothing to look back you can analyse others from where they started then you can come to know what is starting point. After reading your thread i realise u are more optimistic about start and i hope it would really good.

hope to nice start