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Fundraising Kit Contents (Printable
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Letter of Introduction from Girls Summit
Leaders
Hello,
Girls International
Forum (GIF) is a non-profit organization created to empower girls to
take action on issues affecting them now and in their future. We are
members of GIF’s Girls Summit Leaders Team, a group of fifteen
girls from across the United States and Canada who are organizing an
International Girls Summit, to be held in July 2006.
We plan
to bring together 100 girl delegates and their women mentors from around
the world to discuss how to improve the lives of girls and their communities.
We will also involve thousands of additional girls in creating a Girls’
Platform for Action and “Action Projects,” based on the
goals of our Platform. As leaders, we are involved in every aspect of
planning this exciting project, called A 21st Century Girls Platform
for Action. We decide the Summit agenda, speak to the media, recruit
participants--and also participate in fundraising.
GIF received
a $200,000 grant from U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs. At this time, we need the help of girls--and others--to
help match this funding. We invite you to learn more about GIF, our
sponsors, and the opportunity to join us by holding a fundraiser
in your community. Check out the rest of our Fundraising Kit, which
we designed to give you information and material to make it easy and
fun to organize a successful fundraising event of your own. You may
even want to consider being a Girl Ambassador!
We appreciate
your interest and hope you, too, can be part of Girls International
Forum!
Viviana,
Mai Chong, Jessica, Yezenia & Alice
Girls Summit Leaders
Fundraising Committee
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>> Event Ideas
Here are ideas to help you create your own fundraiser!
- Have
a garage/yard sale. Look around your room, house, garage, and neighborhood
for stuff that is no longer being used. Put your junk to use.
- Organize
a bottle drive. Recycle while getting a refund.
-
Have a “penny drive.” Ask your friends to save their change
for a month, two months or longer. Watch all your pennies turn into
dollars!
- Organize
a car wash. Make a splash for a good cause.
- Have
a bake sale. Think about selling your baked goods around a holiday
or special occasion, such as Mother’s Day or International Women’s
Day.
- You
don’t need to leave your neighborhood…set up a lemonade
stand or fire up your backyard barbeque.
-
Show off your craft…and sell it at an event you organize.
- Ask
a local “celebrity” to speak or perform. How about an
actor, woman’s or girls’ activist, poet, politician, singer/song
writer, musician, comedian, athlete, or writer?
- Throw
a party or a dance. There are so many reasons to celebrate girls!
Sell tickets to the event. Look for a donation of a great door prize
and sell raffle tickets during your party.
- Host
a dinner or tea party and ask for a $10, $20 or $30 donation per “plate.”
Make it an ongoing gathering by finding a different friend to host
a party each month.
- Create
a book club for the purpose of reading more girls’ and women’s
literature. Ask your local bookstore to sponsor a fundraiser.
- Have
an open house. Show a short video, tell your guests
about girls’ issues most important to you, provide informational
handouts, and ask people to support the work of Girls International
Forum.
- Sell
tickets for a film.
-
Organize an auction. This is a great way for individuals and businesses
to advertise their products while showing their support for girls.
- Are
you an athlete? Ask people to sponsor (pdf
sponsorship form) your participation in a sporting event, such
as a walkathon, marathon or swimathon. Then collect the donations
your sponsors pledged after completing your event.
- Set
up an informational booth/table. This is an easy way to inform people
about girls’ issues and ask for a donation—even if you
have just met them. If unable to donate, encourage people to give
you their contact information if they would like to receive more information
on participating in Girls International Forum in other ways.
-
Donate a portion of your income from your allowance or job. Or take
on an extra lawn mowing, babysitting or other part-time job. Tell
your family, friends and employer that you plan to donate a portion
of your earnings and ask them to match it!
-
Always fun…how about a pie-eating contest, duck derby, self-produced
play or fashion show?
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>> Tips: 5 Easy Steps
The basic tools you need to organize a fundraiser are right here!
Step
1: Look at each section listed in the Fundraising
Kit Contents.
If you
are unable to download or print the kit, please request one by contacting
us at: forum@girlsforum.org
Step
2: Plan your fundraising event.
- Decide
on the type of fundraising event you would like to organize.
- Check
out the 20+ Event Ideas.
- Figure
out how many people you will need to help you with the event.
- Determine
how much time you need to plan, and then hold, your fundraiser.
- Make
a checklist, including the things you will have to do and the
supplies needed, by using this Tips list as a reference.
-
Create a budget, remembering that local businesses and individuals
are often willing to donate supplies, such as paper for flyers
or food and beverages to serve your guests.
- Schedule
your planning meeting(s).
-
- Decide
who you want to invite – people are the most important part
of fundraising.
- Figure
out how many people can attend your event.
- Make
a list of all the people you want to invite.
- List
all the places where you can advertise your event.
- Mail
or e-mail invitations to your relatives, friends, neighbors, and
others on your list.
- Post
flyers at schools, local businesses, places of worship, community
centers, and even busy street corners.
- Contact
your local newspaper, radio station or community newsletter to
announce your event or do a story about you and Girls International
Forum’s project.
- Get
people interested in girls’ issues and your event by talking
and handing out our Flyer.
- Contact
us by email to let us know what you are planning or if you
have questions.
Step
3: Organize your fundraising event.
- Use
a checklist to prepare for the fundraiser. Make a list of everything
you will need to purchase, request, collect, and/or schedule for the
day of your event.
- Ask
for donated supplies or services (such as entertainment by a local
musician). Make these requests well before your event.
- Create
a schedule of all volunteers. Make sure each volunteer understands
her or his role, as well as what others are doing and when.
- If
you have created a good checklist ahead of time, staying organized
should be easy!
Step
4: Host your fundraising event.
- On
the day of your event, first of all, have fun! But don’t forget
a few essential tasks:
- Collect
your guests’ contact information, using our Sign-Up
Form (pdf), including their mailing addresses, phone numbers,
and e-mail addresses.
- Consider
assigning a volunteer to ask guests to sign in as they arrive.
This is important so that you can thank them and send them information
on any future events.
- Ask
for and collect donations by having people complete our Donation
Agreement Form (pdf). Don’t be shy—people attending
a fundraiser expect to be asked. They want to support a good cause.
- There
are many ways to ask for donations. You might ask for a specific
donation amount for attending your event, pass a hat, sell items,
ask people to write a check after a presentation, or collect pledges—just
remember to ask! That is the real secret to fundraising.
- Educate
your guests and help them leave more aware than when they arrived.
Provide copies of our Flyer (pdf).
Provide handouts using information from our recommended Fact
Sheets or by gathering information on girls’ issues
most important to you. Show a video, give
a short talk or bring in a presenter.
- Publicly
thank individuals and businesses that have donated services or
supplies. Hanging a thank you sign is one way to recognize donors.
- Have
fun and be proud of all your hard work. We appreciate your help!
Step
5: Follow Up!
- After
your event, don’t forget to follow up.
- A
thank you note is one of the most important tools in fundraising.
After your event, send cards thanking all of the people and businesses
that donated their time, products or services, and money! People
will feel appreciated and want to participate in the future.
-
Make copies of the Sign-Up Forms (pdf)
you collected and send them to Girls International Forum, P.O.
Box 16007, St. Paul, MN 55116 USA. We want to thank people, too.
We may also want to send them more information about girls’
issues and our work.
-
Mail the Donation Agreement Forms
(pdf) along with the contributions you collected to us. Please
do not send cash through the mail. If you received cash contributions,
please send a check or money order.
-
If you used our Sponsorship Form
to gather pledges (dependent on the completion of your event),
collect the donations you earned and mail them along with Donation
Agreement Forms to us.
-
Tell us about your fundraiser, so we can share your success with
others by posting your story on our website. Send a picture if
you can.
-
Think about how fun it was. Consider hosting an ongoing or new
event!
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Fact Sheets & Other Event Resources
Fact
Sheets:
You may want to plan your fundraising event around educating your guests
on one topic, and creating a handout or two can be a helpful tool. You
may already be an expert on a girls’ issue important to you or
maybe you want to learn more…
Some of
the main global areas of concern regarding girls include the right to
an education and the spread of HIV/AIDs. We found the fact sheets published
by Working Groups on Girls (WGGs) a good overview of these and other
complex issues affecting girls, yet they are short and easy to understand.
They also provide lists of sources if you want to learn more about a
specific topic. You can access these fact sheets under “Fact Sheets
About the Situation of Girls” at:
www.girlsrights.org/grls.htm
Videos/Films:
Using a video or film as part of your fundraising event is another great
resource to help your guests become more aware of girls’ issues.
Women Make
Movies (WMM), a multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts organization,
is one good source of videotapes and independent films by and about
women and girls. WMM sells and rents over 400 titles. Find out more
by checking out their website or contacting them at:
www.wmm.com
Women Make Movies
462 Broadway
Suite 500 WS
New York, NY 10013
212-925-0606
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