| Fundraising Starts With a Good Plan
by Freddie Espinoza
Southern Pacific district
Fundraising requires a plan—like a map to evaluate, direct, and complete your goals. A good plan will include the steps and time you will need to reach your destination: Camporama 2002!
The Southern Pacific District recommends the following five-step plan as your guide.
- Determine how much money you will need.
- Find potential sponsors.
- Write your scholarship request.
- Follow-up with a phone call to show you really care.
- Send thank you letters.
Determine how much money you will need
Look at your resources: How much do you have in personal savings? How much money will you be able to contribute yourself? What financial assistance will come from your parents or church?
Attending the Camporama means meeting two costs: the Camporama registration and your transportation to Eagle Rock, Mo. Make a balance sheet of your resources. Refer to the example in the sidebar.
Find potential sponsors
There are plenty of places to find potential sponsors in your area. The local Chamber of Commerce, visitors' bureaus and similar agencies will have free directories and lists of businesses and community organizations in your vicinity.
The Yellow Pages of the phone book offer a quick treasury of local businesses too.
Your most valuable resources are people active in community affairs, like your high school principal or the president of the PTA. They are knowledgeable and willing to help you find sponsors. Ask them for help. While rarely able to provide any financial assistance, local town officials, clergy, and other school officials also are good sources of ideas for potential sponsors.
Meeting with these people and asking for help is not as difficult as you might think. Many adults enjoy talking with young people and sharing their experiences. So relax, and talk to people about the National Camporama and what you intend to gain from it. And be honest about what you want-represent your case openly and sincerely.
Seek out adults who can point you toward the right individuals or businesses to solicit for your National Camporama scholarship. Choose adults who have raised funds in your community. They can shorten your quest for scholarship funds by knowing which businesses and organizations will be most likely to give and how generous they might be.
Don't limit the scope of your mission. Many businesses and charitable organizations in surrounding cities or towns of your residence may be willing to help. Seek out businesses that serve, employ, or are patronized by the residents of your town.
Types of Sponsors:
Businesses: Supermarkets, banks, town merchants, utility companies, sports stores, newspapers, law firms, realty firms, restaurants, insurance companies
Organizations: VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), Rotary Club, Lions Club, PTA (Parent Teacher Association), Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, churches, women's clubs, sororities or fraternities
Write your scholarship request
With your sponsor's list in hand, you are ready to begin fundraising! This part of the map to your goal is called solicitation. You need to introduce yourself and your cause to potential sponsors. A letter is a terrific form of introduction. In the letter, clearly state the following: your name, school, where you live, your grade, why you are writing, why you want to attend the National Camporama in Eagle Rock, Mo., what the National Camporama is, how much money you will need, and your desire to meet and discuss this further. Use the sample fundraising letter as a model.
Remember, your letter is the only information a potential sponsor has when deciding whether to see you or give you funding. So be creative and firm.
Good fundraising letters convince readers that the request is worthwhile. Give the potential sponsor information to make the decision. Include the balance sheet that justifies your request. Tell them how much you need and suggest that they may provide all or part of the money. Also, tell them what other businesses and organizations you are soliciting.
Important: Keep a copy of the letter for your records. An individual or business you have solicited may lose it or ask about it, and you want to answer questions confidently. You may also have to send a duplicate.
Follow-up with a phone call to show you really care
Cultivating your sponsors is as important as your letter. How successful your fundraising campaign is often depends on this phase. Your call to each potential sponsor is a reminder that your scholarship request hangs in the balance and requires immediate attention.
Wait a week after sending your solicitation letters before making follow-up calls. When you phone, introduce yourself, state the purpose of your call and suggest that the potential sponsor meet with you. In some cases a meeting won't be possible, so be prepared to state your case over the phone.
Your efforts will be bolstered by support calls to sponsors from influential individuals. Whenever possible, secure letters of support and recommendation from prominent individuals-like teachers, principals, ministers, etc.-in your community to present to potential donors.
Planning and preparation is essential to your presentation. Being prepared will mask any nervousness you might feel.
You and your request are worthy and reasonable, so forge ahead. Make your presentation honest and simple, and present your materials with confidence in a friendly manner.
Practice the call with a friend. Decide on a format and highlight the points you want to emphasize.
Use your pastor and church as a reference for questions you can't answer. Give potential sponsors the church's phone number, and encourage them to contact the pastor for further information.
Send a Thank-You Letter
Send letters to those you meet and phone, thanking them for their time and consideration. Again, keep copies of all correspondence.
If you do not receive a positive response from your first solicitation, don't despair. Contact additional sponsors and be persistent. Many of the individuals or businesses you solicit may give you only a portion of the scholarship costs. You might have to accumulate your total goal from a number of sources.
Paving The Way For Future Royal Rangers
When you return from the Royal Rangers National Camporama, you must thank all sponsors for their generosity without delay. Sharing the knowledge you gained at the Camporama with other Royal Rangers and sponsors will allow others to benefit from your experience. It may also benefit other boys by encouraging continued support of those who are willing to be sponsors.
Please present a list of your sponsors to your Senior Commander. And thank your pastor, the church, and commanders for their prayers and moral support.
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