Ask if they would like to support you in your educational travel goal.  Be sure to give them information about what you will be doing and learning.  Be sure to tell them how you will use what you learn when you return from your tour to make the world a better place. 

Gather-NOW does not support “fun trips”.  They only support high-quality tours that Feature the Power of Place (sacred sites), harness the Power of People (gathering), and focus on powerful prophetic Purposes.  People, in general, want to know that their money is being used for wise purposes and will want to be reassured that you will be using their money accordingly.  

People may want to just give you money to put towards your trip and that is fine.  However, if they want, they can donate it through Deepen Your Learning, a non-profit organization, set up specifically to support educational travel.  When they donate that way, they can get a tax benefit.

For example:  Your grandparents want to give you $100 for your birthday to be used for your educational tour.  They can get a tax benefit by donating the $100 to Deepen Your Learning IN YOUR NAME.  That way, you get $100 directly into your travel account and your grandparents receive a Written Acknowledgement Letter (similar to a receipt) that they use to get a tax credit for their charitable donation.  

Show gratitude by sending a thank you note.  Thank the person who donated money to your tour in various ways, before and after your tour.  Make sure you tell them about the great things that you learned and how you are a better person because of your experience.  This is very important to you and to those who support you.  

Many people would love to support youth in the great things they are doing and by using Deepen Your Learning, they can also get tax benefits by donating to a non-profit organization.  It is a win/win/win.  Win for you to be able to participate in these amazing opportunities, Win for the people who are donating because they get tax benefit, and win to your family & community for the great things you will do and be when you return.  

Many businesses and organizations have a specific amount of money that they use for charitable purposes each year.  Many of those businesses only donate to non-profit organizations.  

Asking for donations from businesses or organizations is similar to asking individuals, except it is more formal.  Most businesses and organizations want a formal written letter and non-profit identifying information.  Deepen Your Learning can help you write a letter and give you the identifying information you need to request a donation.  

Some businesses only donate items referred to as in-kind donations and NOT monetary donations.  This would be useful if you were doing a fund raiser.  See Fund Raising below.  

Show gratitude by sending a thank you note.  Thank the business or organization who donated money to your tour in various ways, before and after your tour.  Make sure you tell them about the great things that you learned and how you are a better person because of your experience.  This is very important to you and to those who support you.  

Remember that many businesses and organizations already have money set aside to donate to non-profit organizations.  Accessing those funds are a win/win/win.  Win for you to be able to participate in these amazing opportunities, Win for the business and organization who are donating because they get tax benefits, and win to your family & community for the great things you will do and be when you return.  

There are MANY types of fund raisers that you can do.  Think of your specific skills and talents to help guide you to something that will work for you.  Speaking with a Deepen Your Learning Representative to come up with great ideas specific to you.

There are two main types of fund raising campaigns:  Selling things and Doing things

There are many things that you can create to sell and there are things that you can purchase (or obtain through in-kind donations—See #2 talk to local businesses or organizations).  

For example:  You know that you are really talented at crochet.  So you decide that you want to make and sell dish cloths.  You could ask your local retail store to donate cotton yarn, provide them with letter and non-profit tax information, make the dish cloths and sell them around your neighborhood or online to friends and family.  Win/Win/Win.  You get money for your educational travel, your neighbors get amazing dish cloths, and your local retail store gets tax benefits.  

Service fundraisers are similar except that you are not selling items, you are doing something in exchange for money.  As with the selling things, you could gather supplies for your service through in-kind donations-- See #2 talk to local businesses or organizations. 

For example:  You may want to do a service fundraiser by washing cars (or my favorite, washing garbage cans) in the neighborhood.  You could ask your local retail store to donate washing supplies as well as advertising supplies, provide them with letter and non-profit information, circulate flyers to the neighborhood advertising your service fundraiser details, and conduct the service.  Another win/win/win.  You get money for your educational travel, your neighbors get clean cars (or nice smelling garbage cans), and your local retail store gets tax benefits.  

Show gratitude by sending thank you notes.  Thank everyone who supported you.  Thank them in various ways, before and after your tour.  Make sure you tell them about the great things that you learned and how you are a better person because of your experience.  This is very important to you and to those who support you.  

Contact Deepen Your Learning to discuss various opportunities in your area and how we can support you.  

Deepen Your Learning has been working with Savers Thrift Stores for several years doing FundDrives.  You set up a FundDrive date/location through Deepen Your Learning.  Then you advertise that you are picking up donations of clothing (you can also do books, household supplies, etc. depending on FundDrive location/rules.)  You can have a specific drop location OR you can pick up from the neighborhood by having people label and place the bags of clothing on their porch.  Then you deliver the items to Savers.  This is a win/win/win since you get money for educational travel, the people get help getting unwanted items out of their house and other people can purchase these items from their local Saver’s thrift shop. 

Gather-NOW Scholarship Link