Fundraise Your Way to the End Genocide Action Summit
Fundraise Your Way to the End Genocide Action Summit
In October, hundreds of activists and experts will convene in Washington, D.C. around a common theme and purpose: creating a generation without genocide.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN -- CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE END GENOCIDE ACTION SUMMIT 2011
Fundraise Your Way to the End Genocide Action Summit!
In order to assist those participants who need it most, the End Genocide Action Summit is offering financial aid to those who qualify. Click here to apply. Full fee waivers are also available to DC upSTANDers who are willing to house an upSTANDer or two for the weekend! Find out more here! Click here to register now.
The End Genocide Action Summit will offer a very limited amount of need-based free housing spaces to STAND students who need it most. Eligible students will be housed at a local university with a current student of the university. In order to be considered for free housing, interested students need to apply here!
HEADS UP, DC upSTANDers!!! Want to attend the conference without paying the registration fee? If you host a fellow upSTANDer or two, you will receive a full fee waiver! Find out more here!
Please note: there are a very limited number of need-based housing spaces available, and so we ask students only to apply if they cannot easily afford the conference otherwise.
Is $179 a night (plus tax) too expensive for your chapter? Try hotel comparison websites like hotelscheap.org to find a hotel that's right for you! Please note: many of these hotels will require you to wake up a little early because they involve a metro trip to the conference location. Remember to budget for metro costs! (Find out how long it will take and how much it will cost here.)
For locations closer to the conference, check out cheap DC hostels!
Too overwhelmed? Email Jenn at jpolish@standnow.org for help with your hotel plans.
Think it's impossible to get from LA to DC for a reasonable price? Not if you're between the ages of 18-22! With AirTran Airways, you can get round-trip tickets from LA to DC for $198; from Fort Lauderdale to DC for $138; and from Atlanta to DC for $138! Check it out to see if your town or city is included!
AirTran doesn't go through your town or city? Not between 18-22? That's ok! There are other cheap ways you can travel! Try farecompare.com to find out the cheapest ways for you and your chapter to get to the End Genocide Action Summit.
Too overwhelmed? That's ok, too! Email Jenn at jpolish@standnow.org for help with your travel plans.
Fundraising Tips for the End Genocide Action Summit
Don't think you can fundraise on such short notice? Of course you can!
All the skills used by good organizers are the very same skills used by good fundraisers. Check out some simple ways to get started below.
1. Set a Goal. Set a goal for how much money you'd like to raise to help get you and your chapter to the End Genocide Action Summit, including the amount of commitments your chapter would like to get from organizations and businesses. Don't forget about travel, registration fees, food, accommodations, and metro costs if you're staying for Lobby Day and/or not staying at the Renaissance.
Need help setting a goal? Contact Jenn at jpolish@standnow.org
2. Ask You already know all the people you need to know to raise funds to help you and your chapter members get to the End Genocide Action Summit. Ask EVERYBODY for contributions. Even if they can only give a little, you can make it go a long way.
Start with school officials. Many schools will pay registration fees and/or food costs, while others will also pay for housing and transportation. If you don't know whether your school offers this, find out at your student life/affairs office as soon as you can. If your school does not offer financial assistance to attend conferences, you may be eligible for financial aid from STAND. (See above.)
Even if your school pays your fees or you're eligible for STAND financial aid, it may still be challenging to pay for everything else by yourself. So if you can, ask relatives! Ask friends for an early birthday gift! Ask faith-based or community groups in your area to participate and make a donation!
Click here to access our list of funding sources!
Nervous about asking? Click here to access the End Genocide Action Summit fundraising script.
Click here to access the End Genocide Action Summit fundraising letter.
And remember, you're not asking for a favor per se, you're giving people the opportunity to be a part of something important.
3. Sponsorships Connect with large and small businesses. By sponsoring you and your chapter, they can help the cause by strengthening the movement as well as receive free advertisement (or something comparable) from you. Individual sponsorship is a creative way to get funding for your trip to the End Genocide Action Summit.
Click here to access "How to Get Sponsored".
Click here to access our "Template Business/Community Sponsorship Letter".
4. Sell merchandise Selling merchandise raises money and promotes STAND. Sell t-shirts, mugs, candy, brownies, etc. anywhere you can!
5. Hold an event A great way to raise funds while promoting the cause! Examples of low-cost and effective events include movie nights, teach-ins, dance marathons, walk-a-thons, parties for peace, or a concert.
Still need help? Send an email to jpolish@standnow.org and we will do our best to help you get to the conference!
