Fundraising Guide

As you prepare to attend your upcoming program, you may find that you need to raise additional funds to cover tuition and costs. Many of our students turn to community fundraising to earn the money they need to attend. Fundraising enables you to cultivate important skills for the working world.

3 Steps to your Fundraising Journey

Step 1: Determining your Funding Goal

The very first step is to determine how much money you’ll need to raise. This means considering the full cost of attending the program—tuition, travel costs, incidentals—and then subtracting the amount that you’ll contribute from your personal savings or family donations.

Step 2: Develop a Plan

Now that you have a starting point to work from, you can decide on your best course of action to reach your fundraising goal. This may come in the form of finding scholarships, hosting an event, setting up an online donation site, or providing goods or services. Keep in mind the following points as you brainstorm fundraising ideas.

Timeline: Work backwards from the date when your tuition is due to see how much time you have to raise funds. If you are unsure of your tuition due date, please contact the Office of Admissions. Also, think about how much time you have in your day or week to devote to your fundraising efforts. This may help you decide how you’re going to go about meeting your goal.

Materials and Resources: What will you need to successfully advertise for your fundraiser? Make a list of materials (e.g. paper supplies and markers for advertising, plus anything you may need for the actual event) before you get started, and ask for donations on as many needed tools or products as possible.

Publicity: Getting the word out is a crucial part of any successful fundraising effort. We recommend that you start advertising a few weeks prior to your event. Consider posting flyers around your school or using digital channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to spread the news. You can also advertise in physical locations around the community, such as grocery stores, community centers, coffee shops, and other areas where flyers can be posted. NOTE: Be sure to get permission before hanging any flyers in public areas .

Step 3: Start Fundraising!

Sponsorships

Local businesses often have funds set aside for sponsorship opportunities. You can also ask individuals in your community to sponsor you in attending your program. You can seek out sponsorships in person, via mail, or have people contribute online. It helps to find mentors or professionals who can point you toward the right people or businesses to solicit for program sponsorship. Here are some places to look for sponsors to help you with your fundraising efforts:

Seek sponsors for your trip from a variety of sources. Your immediate circle is a great place to start, including family, friends, previous teachers, and current or former employers. You can also explore options within your local community by reaching out to businesses like supermarkets, banks, and restaurants, as well as community organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, religious groups, and service clubs. Finally, don't overlook your school's resources, including academic departments, alumni associations, and student clubs.

Remember to suggest a specific amount to each donor, but don’t over-ask. Make it clear how much you are personally contributing to your goal (for example: by working a part time job, tapping into funds from your savings account, conducting a bake sale or other fundraising activity, etc.).

In person

Visit local businesses, your parents’ workplace(s), and/or community centers and ask about sponsorship opportunities. Explain the program you have been accepted to and why you are excited to attend. Bring information about the program and explain how much you’re hoping to raise. Be sure to leave contact information and thank them for their time, even if they are not able to donate.

Via mail

Put together sponsorship packets including a cover letter describing your fundraising effort, information about the program, a short biography about you and your accomplishments, and contact information. Send the packet to local businesses, your parents’ employer(s), and local community organizations. Be sure to keep a record of responses so you can thank them promptly.

Traditional Fundraising

Door-to-door sales is one of the oldest fundraising tricks in the book! While you don’t necessarily have to make your rounds in the neighborhood (this is a great opportunity to use social media to your advantage), selling goods and services is an easy to raise money while using your interests and abilities to your advantage. Whether you love to bake or you’re a master lawnmower, consider turning your talents into a fundraising opportunity.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Tutor/Mentor Program: What better way to promote learning and leadership than providing an afterschool tutoring program for young learners? Advertise with the PTA and elementary schools and enroll students in private tutoring. You’ll learn how to teach others and become an excellent role model for younger students.

Social Media Bake Sale: Start a community bake sale by posting an upcoming sale on social media. You can post ahead of time to take pre-orders, have all items available for sale on a single day, or sell one item each day across several weeks. Once orders and sales are in, organize the delivery of the baked goods.

Miscellaneous Jobs: Jobs can include babysitting, dog walking, leaf raking, lawn care, snow shoveling, or even acting as a “taxi,” (i.e., driving older citizens to run errands, visit friends, and attend appointments). Advertise your efforts in the community through word of mouth, social media, fliers, etc.

Host a Raffle: Have parents or local businesses donate items of value, like gift certificates, goods, or services. Don’t underestimate less traditional donations, like asking creative people to donate homemade products (artwork, quilts, knitted items, pottery, woodwork, fancy cakes or cookies, etc.) Sell tickets for $1 each or $5 for 10 and watch your fundraising soar! You can also make the raffle 100% online and have a pick-up location the day of the raffle or create a delivery system.

Fundraising Events

This is a great way to provide goods or services in exchange for funds while getting involved in your local community. Fundraising events can also help bring attention to your cause, which may result in even more donations. You might consider holding a car wash, talent show, or yard sale—whatever you do, make sure to get the necessary permissions and authorizations if you are holding your event in a public place. Publicize your event as much as possible, making sure to note the reason for your fundraiser, and set reasonable price points.

Here are some of additional ideas for fundraising events:

Auction: Obtain donations from anyone and everyone and display them on tables throughout the room. To make this socially distant, you can do a live virtual auction hosted on a virtual platform using comments as bids.

Watch Party: Host a watch party through Facebook and charge for tickets to the virtual event. Pick a movie that takes place in your destination or that showcases a famous performer. Not only can you watch the movie with others in your community, you’re able to interact just like at a movie theater.

Game Show/Trivia Night: Produce your own game show and sell tickets for entrance. Have contestants sound off from their own homes through a meeting app. A standard trivia night where anyone is welcome and can form teams is another popular way to raise funds!

Craft Night: Painting and craft nights are all the rage now. Sell spots ahead of time to know how many supplies you need to gather and secure a leader who knows how to walk through painting or putting together the project. Need to make it a virtual party? Create project kits for pick up or drop off before the virtual event. Get creative! You could host creating a succulent garden, learning macramé, or even art with found items to keep costs down. Just be sure you’re charging enough to cover your supplies and turn a profit.

Virtual Meeting Platforms

Nearly any event held in person can be adapted to be virtual with the right technology. Even if we can’t all be in the space together, we can utilize online meeting apps to get a large group together. Consider turning your event virtual through apps like Zoom, House Party, Google Hangouts, and more. The same recipe applies—have entertainment available, websites needed for donations lined up, and pump up the fun through your internet.

Online Fundraising Platforms

eFundraising: Envision by WorldStrides has teamed with eFundraising to provide you with resources for fundraising campaigns that are low in cost, but high on impact. The most popular fundraisers include cookie dough packages, scratch-card coupon books, and candy bar variety packs. Find more information about eFundraising at envisionexperience.com/fundraising.

GoFundMe: The beauty of GoFundMe is that it allows campaign organizers to invite others to take part in their story. Just as we share parts of our lives on Facebook, we also want to share our dreams, pursuits, celebrations and challenges online with crowdfunding. People will always be eager to support others they care about. GoFundMe removes the physical barriers traditionally associated with receiving financial support from the people in our lives. Envision and its programs are not affiliated with GoFundMe. Any use of this site is at the discretion of the customer. If you have any questions you must contact the company directly. Wishbone:

Wishbone is a non-profit that gives students the chance to pursue their passions. Through crowdfunding and sponsorships, students can attend life-changing summer programs. Wishbone provides the tools students need to find, apply to, and fund their summer experiences. Each student teams up with an Advocate (a teacher or mentor) and together they use Wishbone’s robust fundraising toolkit to raise funds for program tuition. Wishbone currently serves low-income high school students from New York City, the SF Bay Area, Connecticut, and Los Angeles.

Step 4: Follow Up

When you return home from the program, make sure to reconnect with your sponsors and donors to thank them for their generosity. All the people who helped you achieve your goal will be interested to hear about the program, and sharing the knowledge you gained will allow others to benefit from your experience.

Write a sincere thank you note to let your sponsors and donors know how much you appreciate their help. Put together a presentation or report that you can send or e-mail, including information about what you learned in the program, the experts and speakers you interacted with, photos, and how the experience affected you and your goals for the future. By giving your sponsors such positive feedback, they may be willing to sponsor other qualified young people from your area in coming years.

Here’s a sample thank you letter to sponsors who donated goods or funds:

Dear (Sponsor Name),

I want to thank you for your generous support in sponsoring me and making it possible for me to attend (Program Name). Upon my return, I would be honored to give your organization a presentation on what I learned from this tremendous educational experience.

Thank you again for what I know will be a life-changing experience for me!

Sincerely, (Your Name)

A Final Note

Whatever you choose to do, success begins with you. Let your excitement about the program shine through and emphasize what you will gain from attending. Those who know you best will be most receptive to rewarding your educational success and helping you achieve your dreams. We wish you the best of luck in meeting your fundraising challenge. Please don’t hesitate to contact one of our Admissions Advisors at 877-587-9659 or by email at fundraising@envisionexperience.com if you have questions or need advice.

Fundraising Guide

3 Steps to your Fundraising Journey

Determine a Goal

Develop a Plan

Start Fundraising!