Following the Equator

5 Fundraising Tips from Oprah

Wrapping your head around getting fundraising started for your educational tour can be overwhelming. Take 5 Tips on Fundraising from the November issue of Oprah's O Magazine to get the ball rolling and see success:

1. Ask frequently, ask big (more than you think you can get), and ask specifically (focus on individuals and organizations that are more likely to care about your project because they have similar values or philanthropic priorities).
2. Avoid cold-pitching whenever possible. You can be more brilliant with your preparation and documentation when a potential donor is expecting you, even if he or she is having a bad day.
3. Protect donor privacy by asking their permission before sharing their information with anyone.
4. Spend 90 percent of your time on the 10 percent of your donors who have the potential to give 90 percent of the money.
5. Keep in mind that, although there's a lot of competition, around $300 billion of philanthropic money is now given away every year.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Tessa Lorenze and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Tip of the Week: Give thanks!

Don’t forget to thank your sponsors for their generous support. At all future fundraising events, offer to display the names of any local business or community organizations that have contributed to your educational tour.

You also can invite individual and group donors to keep tabs on your group with an on-tour blog or hear all about what you’ve learned at a post-tour slideshow presentation. And, as always, don’t forget to send them postcards from your trip abroad.

(For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Tip of the Week: Scrip programs

Pairing with corporations through virtual malls and scrip programs helps your group earn money on purchases that you, your family and your friends are already making.

Scrip.com and the Great Lakes Scrip Center are services that allow your group to buy scrip, or substitute money, in the form of gift cards. The scrip is purchased at discounted rates and then resold to family and friends at full value.

Scrip programs are great alternatives to fundraising events because they require little planning and the earnings come from purchases that potential donors are already making.

Many of our groups have found this to be an easy way to earn money for their educational tours. For more details on how it works, check out the About pages on scrip.com and glscrip.com.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Tip of the Week: ChipIn

My last fundraising tip described the power of the Internet to help raise funds for your educational tour. Getting the word out to a lot of people about your tour—and your fundraising needs—is easy when you spread your message through email or social-networking sites. But once people know about your tour and want to donate, they need a place to send the money.

Now with the help of ChipIn, you can easily collect and track the donations your group receives. Also, if individual travelers are raising funds on their own, they can set up an individual account. Students can now find a link to ChipIn on our new student website at eftours.com/student.

Ultimately, ChipIn helps take some of the fundraising responsibilities out of the group leader’s hands.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Tip of the Week: Internet campaigns

When you're searching for donations and sending letters to potential sponsors for your educational tour, don’t forget the power of the Internet!

Emails and updates to family and friends about your tour can be powerful fundraising tools. Sending your message electronically— either through emails or on social-networking sites such as Facebook—allows you to reach beyond your network and encourage others to forward your message to more potential donors.

Ultimately, the goal is for your message to wind up in the hands of people who identify with the importance of educational travel. Fundraising isn’t just about raising money but about inspiring someone with your group’s story and the impact your educational tour will have on your students.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Tip of the Week: Holiday help

With the holidays quickly approaching, there are a number of fundraising opportunities that come along with this busy time of year.

One fundraising option is to wrap shoppers' gifts at a local shopping center. Check with a nearby store or mall to see if your group can set up a gift-wrapping table to raise money for your educational tour. Don’t forget to bring along information about your tour, because people will love to learn that their donations are benefiting your amazing experience.

If gift wrapping is not an option, suggest that your group set up a coat check at the mall. One group raised money for their tour by giving people a place to leave their winter coats while they shopped.

Be sure to inquire about these fundraising opportunities soon before other arrangements are made by the stores or malls.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Photo: Compromised Exposure via Flickr (CC license)

Tip of the Week: Green fundraising

There are a number of ways that your group can raise money while helping the environment. Green fundraising can be done a few different ways:

1. Collect ink cartridges, laptops or old phones and redeem them for money. Check out companies such as EcoPhones for more information.

2. Encourage your school to use a paper recycling company that pays you for your efforts. One EF Group Leader has had success using Paper Retriever Recycling.

3. If you aren’t interested in using a company, your school can do an aluminum can and glass bottle drive. If you start early enough, you can raise a significant amount of money for your educational tour.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Photo: kino-eye via Flickr (CC license)

Tip of the Week: Sell stock in tour

To make tour donations more tangible, travelers can break their itinerary down into days or even hours for people to sponsor.

When soliciting donations, allow sponsors to buy “stock” in a specific day, such as the first day in Paris seeing the Eiffel Tower or a day spent horseback riding in Costa Rica. While students are on tour, they can send thank-you postcards from the specific location that was sponsored. It’s a great way to show sponsors exactly how their money helped travelers experience a new culture.

Travelers also should consider asking for gift donations from family and friends—holidays and birthdays are good ways for travelers to raise money for their trips. Instead of receiving typical gifts, having family and friends buy stock in your tour is a fun and unique way to encourage donations.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Tip of the Week: Restaurant nights

Organizing and hosting fundraising events can take more time than you have in your busy day. The good news is there are a number of restaurants that understand this problem and want to help.

Hosting a restaurant night requires little planning and very little investment. Ultimately your group is responsible for getting customers to the restaurant on a designated night. Then your group will receive a percentage of the sales on that selected night.

For more information and a list of restaurants that host restaurant nights, check out Fundraising with Restaurant Nights.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Tip of the Week: Another person’s treasure

After speaking with many of our EF Group Leaders about what fundraisers work for them, there is one that I hear over and over, no matter what state they are from—the big yard sale.

Organizing a yard sale to support your travel takes little planning and can raise big funds. Ask parents, friends and family to donate items they no longer want for your yard sale, and be sure to check if you have items to contribute as well. Once you have gathered enough items, choose a weekend without competing events to schedule the sale.

Successful fundraisers offer multiple ways to contribute. Consider these two additions to your yard sale: 1. Have students set up a table with information about your EF tour and accept additional donations; and 2. Set up a small concession stand and sell some refreshments to your bargain-hunters.

(Tip of the Week is written by EF Fundraising Specialist Erin Griffiths and appears at Following the Equator every Tuesday. For more fundraising help on your EF tour, check out EF's fundraising tips or contact an EF Fundraising Specialist at fundraising@ef.com.)

Photo: *Sally M* via Flickr (CC license)