Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

Fundraise Locally
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Dinners and Parties

With 4 or 5 friends, have a spaghetti dinner at a church or union hall or other big room with a large kitchen. Charge $10 per person and feed more than 50 people. You can charge extra for wine or garlic bread, or for dessert. Try to make the event educational or cultural by having artists or musicians to perform.
Have a fancy dinner at your home or a regular dinner at someone's fancy home. Serve unusual or gourmet food, or have special entertainment. Charge $25 or more per person, and have 20 or more guests.
Get three friends to help you have a progressive dinner. Start at one person's home for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, progress to the next person's house for soup or salad, the next person's for the main course, and the last person for dessert. Either charge by course, or for the whole package.
Host a wine and cheese party. Do not charge admission and invite as many people as you can. During the party, give a short talk about your organization, and ask everyone to consider a gift of $10, $25, $50, or $100 or more (depending on the crowd). Either pass out envelopes and ask people to give then, or after the party contact everyone individually who came and ask for a major gift. Indicate that you have given, and if appropriate, how much you have given.
Invite people to your birthday or other party and ask that in lieu of gifts they give money to a particular Guatemalan organization, cause, or effort your group is promoting.
Start a pyramid dinner, or a chain dinner. Invite 12 people and charge $12 each. Get two people of the twelve you invited to invite 12 people each at $12, and two people from each of those two dinners to invite 12 people at @$12, and so on. Here's the income: = $576

Collections at Speaking Events, Before and After

Participate in NISGUA’s annual fall tour and organize university talks for visiting Guatemalan speakers. You should be able to arrange a university honorarium to cover travel and speaking costs. Talk with people in departments (i.e. Latin American Studies, Foreign Languages, Women’s Studies, Social Work, Political Science, International Relations, History, Peace Studies, Sociology, etc.) that might be interested in sponsoring or helping to organize a Guatemala-related event. Other possible sources of funding on campus include student government, honor societies, community service clubs, and social justice groups. Local community institutions may also be interested in supporting your fundraising and educational efforts, so don’t forget to do outreach to churches, civic organizations, small businesses, and the like.
During your event: Set up a challenge campaign. Challenge gifts can be quite small. Tell people you'll give $5 for every $25 they give, or will match every $10 gift up to ten gifts. For added suspense, make this challenge during a fundraising event. You or the host can announce, "We now have the Dave Munroe Challenge for the next five minutes. Dave will give a $5 matching contribution for every $5 donation to Guatemalan Worthy Cause."
Get permission to collect foreign currencies at stores or airports in border towns. Have a sign that asks people (in several languages) to throw in any coins or paper money they have not exchanged.
Ask friends who belong to churches, service clubs, sororities, antique collecting groups, support groups, bridge clubs, etc. to discuss your organization in their group and pass the hat for donations. A once-a-year sweep of even small organizations can yield $100 from each.

Raffles and Auctions

Organize a traditional raffle. Gather donated items. Ask local people/businesses/groups to contribute goods in exchange for favorable publicity for supporting your cause. Make raffle tickets (being sure to have matching numbers on two sides of a ‘ticket,’ with name, phone number, and address on the side of the ticket you keep) and have many people ‘sell’ tickets. You can invite ticket ‘buyers’ to attend the raffle drawing event. Having a Grand Price and a “Need not be present to win” written policy usually result in more tickets being sold (but requires particular attention to detail).
Organize a service raffle. Follow the same basic principles as in a traditional raffle, but start off by getting four people (one can be you) to donate a simple but valuable service that many people could use. Also ask local people/businesses/groups to contribute services in exchange for favorable publicity for supporting your cause. Sell raffle tickets for $3-$5 or more each. Try to keep the price a little high, if you can, so you don't have to sell as many tickets and buyers have a better chance of winning. Services can include child care for a weekend; a day of housecleaning; yard work; house painting (interior or exterior), etc. Sell the tickets to neighbors, work mates, and to other members of your organization. Encourage people to buy several by offering discounts for multiple purchases, such as one for $5, 3 for $13, 4 for $17, 5 for $20. If you are really bold or live in a more affluent area, or have few friends, sell the tickets for $20 each. A full day of housecleaning for $20 is a real bargain, and buyers have a high chance of winning with fewer tickets sold.
Hold a traditional service auction. Like a raffle, a service auction is a great way to draw the local community into your fundraising efforts. Again, people volunteer their services such as cooking a gourmet dinner for two, leading a nature tour, or baby sitting for an afternoon. Then you auction these services off. Don’t forget to ask local businesses to donate their services, too (haircuts, dinners, movie tickets, etc.). A local group in Durham, North Carolina, raised over $3,000 this way.
Hold an "I'm Not Afraid" Auction. You can do this with just a few friends or with hundreds of people if you have enough items to auction. You survey a few people (and use your own common sense) about what things need to be done in their home or office that they are afraid of or would really rather not do. This is different from a service auction – there has to be an element of dread in the activity. For example, some people cannot wash their windows because their apartment, or the second story of their house, is too high and they suffer from vertigo. If you are not afraid of heights, you can sell your window-washing service. This goes for drain cleaning, minor roof repairs, antenna fixing, etc. Or, if you are unafraid of cockroaches or water bugs or spiders, you can offer to clean out that dark corner of a garage or basement for a small fee. Snakes can be found in gardens and woodsheds, but maybe that doesn't bother you. The problem doesn't need to be as serious as a phobia. How about allergies to dust, pollen, weeds? if you don't have them, you can mow, sweep, and clean for a fee. By marketing it as an "I'm Not Afraid" Auction, you have the option of having people announce to the group something they need done, and then have a volunteer in the audience say, "I'm not afraid to do that." In that case, you need a set fee for service.

As you can see, almost all of these strategies involve asking for money and giving money yourself. These are the basic premises of fundraising -- you must ask, you must give. Everything after that involves creativity, imagination and a sense of fun.

Some of the information included here is excerpted from "55 Ways for Boards to Raise $500," written by Kim Klein, founding publisher of the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, found on the Support Center for Nonprofit Management’s website at: www.genie.org (Information has been pared down, added to, and regrouped for easier reading.) Excerpted and Reprinted with permission of Chardon Press

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print \| close window Fundraise Locally ............................................................................................ Dinners and Parties With 4 or 5 friends, have a spaghetti dinner at a church or union hall or other big room with a large kitchen. Charge $10 per person and feed more than 50 people. You can charge extra for wine or garlic bread, or for dessert. Try to make the event educational or cultural by having artists or musicians to perform. Have a fancy dinner at your home or a regular dinner at someone's fancy home. Serve unusual or gourmet food, or have special entertainment. Charge $25 or more per person, and have 20 or more guests. Get three friends to help you have a progressive dinner. Start at one person's home for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, progress to the next person's house for soup or salad, the next person's for the main course, and the last person for dessert. Either charge by course, or for the whole package. Host a wine and cheese party. Do not charge admission and invite as many people as you can. During the party, give a short talk about your organization, and ask everyone to consider a gift of $10, $25, $50, or $100 or more (depending on the crowd). Either pass out envelopes and ask people to give then, or after the party contact everyone individually who came and ask for a major gift. Indicate that you have given, and if appropriate, how much you have given. Invite people to your birthday or other party and ask that in lieu of gifts they give money to a particular Guatemalan organization, cause, or effort your group is promoting. Start a pyramid dinner, or a chain dinner. Invite 12 people and charge $12 each. Get two people of the twelve you invited to invite 12 people each at $12, and two people from each of those two dinners to invite 12 people at @$12, and so on. Here's the income: = $576 Collections at Speaking Events, Before and After Participate in NISGUA’s annual fall tour and organize university talks for visiting Guatemalan speakers. You should be able to arrange a university honorarium to cover travel and speaking costs. Talk with people in departments (i.e. Latin American Studies, Foreign Languages, Women’s Studies, Social Work, Political Science, International Relations, History, Peace Studies, Sociology, etc.) that might be interested in sponsoring or helping to organize a Guatemala-related event. Other possible sources of funding on campus include student government, honor societies, community service clubs, and social justice groups. Local community institutions may also be interested in supporting your fundraising and educational efforts, so don’t forget to do outreach to churches, civic organizations, small businesses, and the like. During your event: Set up a challenge campaign. Challenge gifts can be quite small. Tell people you'll give $5 for every $25 they give, or will match every $10 gift up to ten gifts. For added suspense, make this challenge during a fundraising event. You or the host can announce, "We now have the Dave Munroe Challenge for the next five minutes. Dave will give a $5 matching contribution for every $5 donation to Guatemalan Worthy Cause." Get permission to collect foreign currencies at stores or airports in border towns. Have a sign that asks people (in several languages) to throw in any coins or paper money they have not exchanged. Ask friends who belong to churches, service clubs, sororities, antique collecting groups, support groups, bridge clubs, etc. to discuss your organization in their group and pass the hat for donations. A once-a-year sweep of even small organizations can yield $100 from each. Raffles and Auctions Organize a traditional raffle. Gather donated items. Ask local people/businesses/groups to contribute goods in exchange for favorable publicity for supporting your cause. Make raffle tickets (being sure to have matching numbers on two sides of a ‘ticket,’ with name, phone number, and address on the side of the ticket you keep) and have many people ‘sell’ tickets. You can invite ticket ‘buyers’ to attend the raffle drawing event. Having a Grand Price and a “Need not be present to win” written policy usually result in more tickets being sold (but requires particular attention to detail). Organize a service raffle. Follow the same basic principles as in a traditional raffle, but start off by getting four people (one can be you) to donate a simple but valuable service that many people could use. Also ask local people/businesses/groups to contribute services in exchange for favorable publicity for supporting your cause. Sell raffle tickets for $3-$5 or more each. Try to keep the price a little high, if you can, so you don't have to sell as many tickets and buyers have a better chance of winning. Services can include child care for a weekend; a day of housecleaning; yard work; house painting (interior or exterior), etc. Sell the tickets to neighbors, work mates, and to other members of your organization. Encourage people to buy several by offering discounts for multiple purchases, such as one for $5, 3 for $13, 4 for $17, 5 for $20. If you are really bold or live in a more affluent area, or have few friends, sell the tickets for $20 each. A full day of housecleaning for $20 is a real bargain, and buyers have a high chance of winning with fewer tickets sold. Hold a traditional service auction. Like a raffle, a service auction is a great way to draw the local community into your fundraising efforts. Again, people volunteer their services such as cooking a gourmet dinner for two, leading a nature tour, or baby sitting for an afternoon. Then you auction these services off. Don’t forget to ask local businesses to donate their services, too (haircuts, dinners, movie tickets, etc.). A local group in Durham, North Carolina, raised over $3,000 this way. Hold an "I'm Not Afraid" Auction. You can do this with just a few friends or with hundreds of people if you have enough items to auction. You survey a few people (and use your own common sense) about what things need to be done in their home or office that they are afraid of or would really rather not do. This is different from a service auction – there has to be an element of dread in the activity. For example, some people cannot wash their windows because their apartment, or the second story of their house, is too high and they suffer from vertigo. If you are not afraid of heights, you can sell your window-washing service. This goes for drain cleaning, minor roof repairs, antenna fixing, etc. Or, if you are unafraid of cockroaches or water bugs or spiders, you can offer to clean out that dark corner of a garage or basement for a small fee. Snakes can be found in gardens and woodsheds, but maybe that doesn't bother you. The problem doesn't need to be as serious as a phobia. How about allergies to dust, pollen, weeds? if you don't have them, you can mow, sweep, and clean for a fee. By marketing it as an "I'm Not Afraid" Auction, you have the option of having people announce to the group something they need done, and then have a volunteer in the audience say, "I'm not afraid to do that." In that case, you need a set fee for service. As you can see, almost all of these strategies involve asking for money and giving money yourself. These are the basic premises of fundraising -- you must ask, you must give. Everything after that involves creativity, imagination and a sense of fun. Some of the information included here is excerpted from "55 Ways for Boards to Raise $500," written by Kim Klein, founding publisher of the Grassroots Fundraising Journal, found on the Support Center for Nonprofit Management’s website at: www.genie.org (Information has been pared down, added to, and regrouped for easier reading.) Excerpted and Reprinted with permission of Chardon Press print \| close window