Fundraising for your Chapter

There are many components to learn about successful fundraising, from the most popular fundraiser events to the most generous local businesses and ways to appeal to them. In the end, effective fundraising boils down to one point: Do not be afraid to ask.

The Groundwork

Know Yourself & Your Appeal - Create party-line language describing the group, the goals of the specific activity you are fundraising around, and the various benefits of your involvement on the campus and in the community. You also may want to create letterhead for the chapter and make business cards (which you can get for free at vistaprint.com) for your fundraising efforts.

Do Your Homework - Study what is out there for various funding sources at the beginning in of the year. Have all this information readily available to refer to whenever planning an event, collaboration, or fundraiser.

Network - Forming connections in the beginning and throughout the year will give you the contacts and relationships that often result in organizing support, publicity assistance, and funding for activities.

Tips for networking:

• In the fall, set up meetings with prominent Deans/Faculty you've identified who are interested in health equity and human rights.
• Don't stop at the first line of contact. Contact the especially enthusiastic deans and faculty to ask them who else they think would be interested in PHR. Then reach out to those contacts. The more people you know, the more support you receive.
• Baseline topics for meetings include: description and impact of PHR; what your chapter will be working on this year; your goals and the benefit to the campus; and (where appropriate) what your budget is and what your needs are. Ask him/her for any ideas for events, issues, etc. he/she thinks would be good to work. Also, do not be shy to directly ask for his/her support throughout the year.
• Assigning a lead position, such a [your school name] PHR Liaison, to these activities may be a good idea to ensure that someone always has an eye on networking opportunities and is maintaining contacts.

Outlets for Financial Support

There are a variety of potential venues for funding. Here are examples:

• Grants, in your school and in your community

  Some grants can be found on online databases such as foundationcenter.com or foundationsearch.com

  See if there is any grant makers bodies in your city that have grant search functions—such as Associated Grant Makers in Boston

  On campus, grants are often available or searchable at the office of career services

  Check out major foundations in your city that might be interested in community activities

• Student Government
• Cosponsoring events with other people/organizations
• Fundraiser Events
• Networking on campus and in your community
• Solicitations directed to local organizations/businesses/ individual donors
• Group Dues

The two most effective fundraising avenues for chapters have been co-sponsorships and donation solicitation. The important points of information when seeking sponsorship or donations are:

• Concise description of organization and activity's goals
• Let them know why you are contacting them (similar values, unique position in school/community)
• Let them know how they will benefit from cosponsoring/donating (promote reputation and community presence, publicity for department or business)
• Let them know how the school benefits (the school is connected to a well-known network of human rights activists)
• See sample letters below for co-sponsorship/donation solicitation

Fundraiser Event Ideas

• Art Exhibits (with refreshments)
• Auctions
• Benefit Concerts
• Benefit Nights (working with local sports venues, clubs or restaurants, have a benefit night on a specific issue)
• Casino/Poker Nights
• Coffee House
• Food Festivals
• Mentor/ Tutor Sessions
• Spare Change Drive (make it competitive among years or departments on your campus, with a prize for the winner)
• VIP (with a guest expert) Dinners or Cocktail Parties
• Walk/Run/Bike-a-thons

An event does not have to solely be a fundraiser; you can tie a fundraising component to an action or event. Some examples of fund raising add-ons:

• Entrance fee to an entertaining or exclusive event
• Raffle
• Merchandise Sales (shirts, buttons, bags, hats, etc)
• Refreshments Sales
• Donation Solicitation (save money by not paying for services or goods)

These are some common fundraiser ideas. When deciding what the chapter wants to organize, it is also important to consider who your targeted audience is to assure the most participation. Generally speaking, the more creative or privileged the event is, the more successful it will be. 

Some sample language for letters or emails:

Example Request for Collaboration/Support for an Event on Human Rights:

[Date]

Dear ________:

My name is _____, and I am a _____ year student at ______. I am the president of a student chapter of a national organization called Physicians for Human Rights. The mission of the _______ chapter of PHR is to promote health by protecting human rights through advocacy and awareness at both a school and a community level. We accomplish this through awareness raising events, educational events and activities, advocacy events and activities, and community service events. We therefore particiapate in the national campaigns and activities of Physicians for Human Rights in addition to our chapter's activities. If you would like to know more about PHR, please see http://physiciansforhumanrights.org.

Option for requesting cosponsoring:

As a member of the _[schoolname]_ community who has consistently displayed a passion for human rights and health equity, it is clear that you and PHR have similar ideas and goals concerning these issues; therefore, PHR at [school name] would be honored to have the opportunity to work with you during the year. We hope that by collaborating with such a like-minded person that we will be able to achieve our shared goal of raising awareness and advocating for [specific event issue] and human rights. [If you have a specific need to be filled with a co-sponsorship: include information here. If business, include what benefits they would receive from the support.]

Option for support (implying financial):

As a member of the  _[schoolname]_ community who has consistently displayed a passion for human rights and health equity, it is clear that you and PHR have similar ideas and goals concerning these issues; therefore, PHR at [school name] would be honored to have your support as we plan advocacy and awareness raising events. Whether you are able to attend our events or if you are able to provide us with resources for an event, any help at all would greatly impact our ability to effectively address human rights and health. We hope that by collaborating with such a like-minded person that we will be able to achieve our shared goal of raising awareness and advocating for [specific event issue] and human rights. [Include information here on your specific donation/funding request.]

Sponsorship: I would very much like to meet with you to discuss PHR at [school name] and our potential to work together. Please let me know at your earliest convenience if you interested and when you are available.

Donation Request: [Include information on how to contact you to accept or decline the request, or with any further questions & discussion.]

Thank you for your time,

Your Name

President, Physicians for Human Rights at [School Name]

Sample Letter (on Letterhead) to Business for Donation for a Breakfast Event:

[Date]

Dear [Business Name],

As a member of the student chapter of Physicians for Human Rights at [school name], I am writing to ask if you could donate to an event that we are organizing. Physicians for Human Rights is a national organization which mobilizes health professionals to advance health, dignity, and justice, and promotes the right to health for all. As a student chapter of PHR, our goal is to increase awareness and move our community to get involved in issues we care about via educational and advocacy events and activities.

We have been hosting a morning lecture series on current events in human rights in an effort to raise such awareness. The event typically takes place once or twice a month before class at the medical school, and all students and faculty are invited to come and learn about a specific issue in human rights. The series has been well received in the past, and we would like to continue this tradition.

As a student group, we receive little funding and thus we rely on the generosity of the community to help us with these events. In the past, local businesses have been kind enough to donate breakfast foods to us for this event. We are therefore asking if you would be willing to donate coffee and baked goods for two of our upcoming events. We would need enough for 40 people. The dates of the events will be [include the two events' dates], and we would pick up the food at 7:15 a.m. on those mornings. If you are able to donate for these events, it would mean a lot to our group and our student body. We would also include an advertisement of your business on our events flyers.

I will contact you next week to follow up on this letter. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Position, Chapter name

School

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