Fundraising Tips for Your Mission Trips

How to Fundraise for Your Mission Trip…

Typically mission trips are in summer, so why are we posting a blog like this right after summer is over? Because this is to help you prep for a mission trip next year. One of the most important tips to help you fundraise for your mission trip is to plan ahead. Yes, there are times where last minute opportunities arise and we must walk by faith to meet goals which seem impossible on short notice, but in most cases, we should utilize the wisdom God has made available to us and consider what lies ahead. The earlier you start saving, the less stressful the fundraising aspect of your trip will be, and the more you will be able to focus on the other parts of your trip such as language learning, project preparations, or other details to ensure your mission is a success. With that said, let’s take a look at a few helpful strategies to make your fundraising efforts more fruitful. 

Put Your Work In

● If you don’t already have a job - get one. Not only will it allow you to have trackable income which can aid in planning out your fundraising, but people are more willing to help support others when they know the one asking is also working hard to raise funds. After all, if you are not working hard now, they may assume you won’t work hard on your mission either. 

● Don’t be too picky when looking for a job. Obviously, you want one that pays well, but you may have to settle for less than what you were hoping for. It’s better to have one that pays lower than to have no job at all. It at least helps you to stay caught up on payments, rather than falling too far behind in debt waiting for an ideal job which just might not come. 

● People are more apt to help, if you help them in return. Rather than simply writing support letters for money, if it is not a close friend or relative, you may have better luck asking if they have any work opportunities. Whether it's getting down a leaf stuck in a tree or raking up a pile of cats, people may have odd jobs they need done, or they may know someone else who does. Ask around, and you may be surprised at the opportunities that open up. When people know you are using the money you earn for a good cause, it makes them want to give you work.

● If you already have a job, see what you can do to make a little extra. Let managers and coworkers know you are looking to pick up extra hours or more shifts. Be the person they know to call for a sub if they get sick and are unable to make it to work. 

● If you prove yourself to be a hard worker who goes above and beyond what is expected, then people will be wanting to give you more work opportunities. 

Wise Budgeting
● You may have a job, but if you aren’t financially disciplined, your money may seemingly disappear before you get a chance to set some aside for your upcoming trip. This is why you need to make a budget and stick to it. However, you have to make sure your budget is realistic. Don’t think you can set aside a whopping $200 each month for your trip if you are currently struggling to pay your bills. Make sure your plan is doable, and have a financially savvy friend look over your budget to offer advice.

● When it comes to spending, you’ll have to make sacrifices. This could be lessening your entertainment budget or not going out to eat as often. Rather than going out to the cinema with friends, put that money towards your trip and just watch something with your friends at home instead. If you are going on a mission for God, making sacrifices is something you’ll need to get used to (but don’t worry, it’s worth it). 

● Once you have your monthly budget set, do what you can to go under budget. Ease up on the thermostat to keep electric bills down, carpool to save on gas money, or eat more filling lunches so you don’t get hungry and spend extra on snacks or junk food. Aim to spend less than what you have budgeted, and then at the end of the month, put any extra money from your frugal living towards your trip.

Connect with People

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when writing a support letter:
● It is of utmost importance to keep in mind who you are writing to when drafting a letter. If you are just mindlessly copying and pasting the same script and sending it to every person you’ve ever met, then don’t be surprised when people ignore you as if you were a cold-call marketer. Consider who you are going to write to and write it personally to them. If you can’t think of a way to make it personal to the specific person you are writing to, then you may not know them well enough to be asking for money from them. Think of relatives or friends who you know support your cause. If you are going on a trip with a specific mission, like a teacher’s empowerment conference, then consider people who you may know who would be willing to get behind that cause, such as a teacher you used to be friends with. For a great in-depth approach to raising support through connecting with people, check out this article: Fundraising for Mission Trips which explains important topics like “how to write a support letter” and “how to ask people for money.”

● Find a balance. If your letter is too short, it could seem like no effort was put into it, but if it’s too long, it could cause your reader to lose interest before you get to the part worth telling.  You want to let people know what you are going to do, but they also likely don’t want to read a novella of your entire life story leading up to this moment of you going on a mission trip. You have to know what details are worth telling. A lot of this will depend on who you are writing to and what your relationship with them is like.   

● Don’t just think about money. Sometimes people can offer support through other means. Certain individuals or companies may have access to certain goods or services that you could give away as donations to the people you will minister to, or that you could use in order to run a fundraising project, such as borrowing a weed-eater to allow you to do some landscaping as a side job. 

● If you write support letters, then you also need to write “thank you” letters. Gratitude is essential to display the proper disposition of one who is involved in ministry. It will also cause supporters to be more willing to support you again. Following up to let people know how their contribution to your trip helped to change people’s lives is something you should never forget to mention. It keeps your supporters in the know and makes them feel connected to your mission. 

Pray Continually
● When you pray, don’t ask God to drop a pile of cash in your lap. People often say God works in mysterious ways, but then wait for him to act in obvious and tangible ones. Ask God to give you eyes to see how he is working, and how you can connect with him to help move towards his mission. 

● Pray for his protective hand so you don’t have any unforeseeable issues like bills from a hospital visit or a car accident (or a hospital visit because of a car accident). Pray for guidance and awareness to handle situations in a way that is accessing the wisdom of God as you save to go on a mission trip.  

● Pray for your mission. Sometimes people get so caught up in praying for money for their trip, they forget to seek God on how they can work towards his mission. Don’t allow the stress that can come with fundraising to blind you from the purpose of the mission itself.