Donations for Trip to School in Africa?

[skinnyweek675]

I am 18 and have been involved with a charity organization for 3 years. It is a school for orphans in Africa... I've decided to make it a personal goal to plan a trip to the school for myself and three other friends in summer 2011. The airfare for each person costs around $2300.. my mother told me that she would be able to pay for my ticket and I have decided to use inheritance money from a family death for a second passenger.
I wanted to know if anyone had any idea how to raise the other amounts (around $4600).. we have had a fundraiser party before (raising $1500) so I assume a few more would be beneficial, but are there any programs that grand money to people who want to travel for community service?
Thank you!
RE second person:

We are going there for community service. It's not some free vacation.

[Hampo14]

I'm not sure if you'll find grants to help with your travel expenses but it's always worth a try! What you could also do is write a sponsorship letter which you then send to as many local businesses, as well as national companies asking for sponsorships... But this doesn't unfortunately gaurantee you will find a sponsorship.

Your best bet would be to actually go personally to local businesses and speak to the owners directly and then hand them a sponsorship letter so the have something physical in their possession about your trip once you've left. Speaking face to face with someone will give you a much better chance of getting a sponsorship... It's so easy for someone just to throw your letter away, but it's harder to turn someone away when they're standing in front of you.

I would suggest that you go to Rewarding Fundraising Ideas (RFI) and read the fundraising letter tips there before you right your sponsorship letter!

Which also brings me to the fundraisers you could do... Once again visit RFI and have a look through all the fundraising ideas there and read the advice on making those ideas really profitable. Here are a few ideas you could do...

The Online Magazine Fundraiser - This is always the first fundraiser I suggest as it's one of the best and hassle-free fundraisers you could do! Get friends, family and supporters to subscribe to magazines they like via a customized webpage given to you and you will earn 40% commission on every subscription. Your supporters will also find excellent discounts on the magazines of up to 85%. Many groups are raising between $2000 - $5000 with this fundraiser while I've seen others raise over $20,000. Read about it at RFI.

The Credit Card Fundraiser - Another really hassle-free fundraiser that will work really well alongside a magazine fundraiser! Get people to apply for a credit card online and you'll earn $15 for every approved application. By promoting both of these fundraisers together you increase your likelyhood of getting a positive response... Someone may not want to apply for a credit card but they may be interested in the magazines, or vica versa, or maybe they'll want to do both!

Get Paid Guides - Many people make money online by completing surveys, receiving and reviewing advertising emails, and also just by surfing the net. There are loads of companies on the net that are doing research and also trying to gain exposure and they all pay for it! A get paid guide is a single website that finds and lists all those websites that are offering paid surveys etc. There's usually a once off membership fee but you can generally earn that fee back by doing one or two surveys!

Cookie Dough - Although this is somewhat of a boring fundraiser now, it is still successful and profitable! Definitely worthwhile considering!

Lollipop fundraiser - This is one of the easiest and profitable fundraisers around. Most people will generally buy a lollipop from you as they are really cheap. It's one of the quickest moving fundraising ideas and loads of schools and organizations are having great success with this one!

Discount Fundraiser Cards - Another winner! You raise money while saving money for your supporters through the discounts offered on the cards. Win-Win for both of you!

Raffles - A fundraiser that will always work really well. It is also the best fundraiser to add to any type of event. What you must make sure you have is some really great prizes that people actually want to win. That way they'll want to buy as many tickets as possible, to have as big a chance to win!

Events - Generally any sports event will work well but you'll have to find a venue to do it. You could also consider doing a sponsored challenge like a cross country walk or a sponsored cycle.

If you do do something like that I would suggest you start a facebook page about your cause and event. In fact you should start a facebook page about your cause regardless of whether you do a challenge or not!

Set up a method for people to donate online (Paypal offers a really good online donation/payment solution) and then link to it via your facebook page. Then invite all your friends, family and contacts to join the page and take part by sponsoring you a small amount ($2 - $5; Compare it to something like a couple of cokes or a few beers)! Write a emotive invitational letter that makes people feel like they are already involved. Also encourage them to forward the invitation on to all their contacts.

You should also advertise your other fundraisers, like your magazine fundraiser, on your Facebook pg!

I really hope your fundraising works out and your able to all make that trip to Africa.

Cheers,
Rob

[Iffy]

No Donated money cannot be use for personal reasons. You need to earn the money