The Summer of Solutions Fundraising Guide
Written by the SoS 2009 Coordination Team
Draft: November 27, 2008
Welcome once again to the Summer of Solutions. If you aren't getting pumped up for next summer already... start now.
Think about what we are doing. We are a national grassroots network supported by a youth-led organization running a breakthrough program that aims to build youth leadership around cutting edge sustainable community development initiatives in a way that makes them scale nationwide. Whew. Oh, and, remember that all the folks facilitating this are student and youth leaders. We've all run hard-core projects for years on shoestring budgets while learning the expertise we needed to make it work or finding the professional partners we need to make it happen - and we've done it at lightning speed with little assurance that the pieces will fall into place. We've launched successful and powerful campaigns on few resources other than social networks and sky-high visions that most well-funded non-profits would have a hard time taking on.
We assumethat this is resonating with you as a familiar description of your work. Its a quality of solutionaries: we're fast, efficient, and creative with whatever resources we can get our hands on. We make a way.
Once again, we're attempting to do something big, that few of us have very much experience with, on a super-short timeline that would freak lots of people out. And we're doing it at the time when the funding community is suffering from an economic crisis, even though our aim is the formation of a new type of economy. And we're mostly young people, who often don't get taken seriously by big funders, because we aren't "established" and don't have extensive management experience. And we're claiming we can do a lot with a comparatively small amount - in essence, we would wrestle cutting-edge models for a new society out of amateurs with little resources. The way we see it, that's actually the best case to make. We have to figure out ways that anyone could build a sustainable future without a huge influx of outside resources, so this is an ideal way to demonstrate that we can be the solutions.
Raising what amounts to almost $1 million when we add up programs all across the country is going to take all of us working in a decentralized and locally creative manner. This guide is meant to help you prepare for your own role in making that work - and figuring out how to empower others to join in making this happen. If the Summer of Solutions is meant to train youth leaders as solutionaries, figuring out how to fund our work is pretty crucial. So, our training starts here, even before we get to the program - and no, we're not going in this alone. We want to engage our participants in the fundraising process, too. We have a great edge, in that we can use money very efficiently and creatively and get a lot done with what we raise. Think of this less as raising the money required, and more as finding the way to sustain an incredible team of youth leaders as they change the shape of this country next summer.
In this Fundraising Guide, you will find:
1. The Summer of Solutions Funding Strategy - a description of the scales of our distributed funding strategy.
2. Local Fundraising Strategy - a more in-depth look at what local planning teams are doing.
3. Grassroots Fundraising - the best available, tried-and-true method for fundraising - connecting with the people we know.
4. Major Local Donors - working with our colleges and community businesses and nonprofits to support our work.
5. Foundation Funding - The riskiest tactic with the biggest payoff
APPENDICES
1. The Summer of Solutions Funding Strategy
Just as the Summer of Solutions uses a model of diversified organizing all across the country, our fundraising efforts need to be wide-ranging and full-throttle. To be honest, there is a lot of uncertainty in everything we are doing, and we don't know exactly how we're going to make the funding work. But keep in mind we sustained the programs last year with just a couple of months of prep time, and we are much better organized this time around.
Our main fundraising strategy to make the Summer of Solutions work is to take advantage of all the scales we are working on and all the tactics we have at our use. To make it work, we're distributing fundraising responsibilities across the Coordination Team, the local planning teams, and participants at large.
As the Coordination Team, we will:
Pursue large national funders: We'll research, write, and pursue major grants ($100k-300k range) from large national funders. Smaller additional funding may be sought for key coordination activities such as the January summit and for national coordinator stipends.
Assist local fundraising efforts: Help local planning teams identify and apply for local grants or other funding sources. We may have some sources to send your way, and may be able to offer support with the opportunities you find.
Form major partnerships: We are connecting with major national nonprofits, networks, or other groups for support, resources, and funds. For example, our North Carolina team is working with the coordination team on a major partnership with the Roosevelt Institute. Of course, local groups are welcome to make such connections.
Do the paperwork: We'll work on processing all funding that require 501c3 status through Grand Aspirations, fiscally sponsored by Global Exchange.
Provide training and guidance: like this guide) for the local teams and individuals for their fundraising efforts
NOTE: Most major funding sources we are pursuing will not be confirmed until February-May. While we really hope to be able to bring a few hundred thousand dollars to the table to help local groups out, you cannot count on it that money materializing. We will use funding we raise both for central support roles and to supplement local fundraising, but will have to decide how we distribute such funding based on foundation restrictions and the needs and capacities of various local programs.
As a Local Planning Team, you will:
Pursue regional or local grants: It's worth the effort to find some regionally-focused or locally focused foundation grants and try your luck with them. The Coordination Team and Grand Aspirations can help you out with them. Wherever possible, also pass on to the Coordination Team any useful opportunities you find that might help the national effort or other projects.
Develop local partners: Campus sources, major donors, organizations, local partners, local governments, and other potential supporters are great resources to tap into. They may be able to provide funding, space, expertise, staff support, or other needs. These local partnerships are key.
Manage donations: You'll be expected to keep track of the money you raise. It is especially pertinent for the cash you get that is not 501c3 or not required to go through Grand Aspirations, because the Coordination Team may not have any paperwork on it.
Support participants: Lastly, you should help out and guide the participants in your program who are doing fundraising at the grassroots level.
NOTE: You will have full jurisdiction over funds raised purely for your location, from local donors. However, if you appear to be meeting your goals, we strongly encourage you to see if you have ways to tap local funding sources to support the broader program, since funding sources may not be as easy at every site.
Everyone, as individual participants, will:
Use the grassroots: One of our best tools is grassroots, person-to-person fundraising. Our friends, family, and associates can be huge allies for something like Summer of Solutions. Local planning teams and the Coordination Team will be equipped to help this process out.
Identify personal funding sources: Often, students may be able to get personal internships, research projects, or other funded or credit-bearing opportunities that may help fund them to participate in something like Summer of Solutions. Colleges and nonprofits offer many opportunities for single-person support, which can be an easy way to get certain participants funded right off the bat.
NOTE: Participants should work with local planners to define whether they will process donations as tax deductible to get a formal Grand Aspirations stipend, or whether they are doing personal fundraising to directly receive funds from friends and associates without a formal stipend.
The rest of this guide will explain how to harness the power of this "diversified portfolio" strategy to the greatest extent possible. Many routes towards success!
2. Designing a Local Budget and Local Fundraising Strategy
The first step for fundraising is to figure out what you need by creating a budget for your local program. You'll want this budget to be reasonable, even if it ends up being flexible to the available funds. Develop a budget that achieves what you want to achieve! Youth have a tendency to budget for bare-minimum resources, because we are so used to having few resources, so we budget as if we're going to get the bare minimum. That actually scares funders, because they don't think we'll be able to do what we propose on that amount of funding. It seems odd, but we may actually be taken more seriously if we use budget numbers that really reflect what we need. But, uh, don't over-budget, either.
The biggest item you will probably want to budget for is stipends for participants. If you're able to find donated or really cheap housing, a $1500 per person stipend for two months should be enough to allow anyone to join us. Think about how many people you're going to have at your Summer of Solutions - we've estimated between 15 and 40, but it's really up to you. Are you going to have just 1 project, or several? Once you've decided how many people you want to attend, multiply that by $1500 per person and that's probably you're biggest budget item. If you prefer, consider the minimumnumber of participants you want to raise funds for, and if participants bring in their own funds for a stipend, grow. Also, think about how you're going to get paid for your planning efforts! We estimated $1500 for the summer per local organizer + $1500 for the Spring per local organizer ($3000 total per organizer).
Now think about any other costs. Housing? Office space? Phone lines? Materials? If at all possible get these things donated, or subsidized by a local partner. It's totally cool to ask participants to plan and buy their own food, but finding discounts always helps. The more partnerships you can form, the easier it will be to support your budget, and the more contacts you will have when you start in the summer. Think about how you can tap opportunities for student research, stipends, independent studies, and even jobs in related fields that can be integrated. You may not have to pay every person who attends if you can help them find other resources to support themselves.
We've estimated that your budget will probably end up being sometjing in the range of $50,000, although it may be dramatically less or more depending on how you do things. You can find our version of the draft local budget in Appendix I, or a more nicely formatted version at .
As you're getting a sense of how much you need to raise, start researching funding opportunities! You need to be sure to give yourself enough time to meet grant deadlines. We're already on a short time frame, so we have to get moving! Design a good case statement describing what you're doing. Project specifics and examples as possible will help, even if they are just example projects that students might do. Your message will depend on the funder you’re talking to, so you may want to play up concrete goals in your community, capacity building and youth leadership development, creative engagement of problems, or whatever works best. Get your brief description as soon as possible! It will form the foundation of your letter of inquiry or funding pitch.
Grants will help, but what's really going to make this work is grassroots fundraising - mobilizing our peers, friends, and families to raise money by talking to lots of people. This requires getting the summer participants on board, since we need everyone helping fundraise who possibly can! Most donations from individuals come during the holidays, so we're scrambling to support a big grassroots fundraising effort as soon as possible, but please start working on your own creative ideas for engaging people in raising funds, and get moving quickly.
As you start looking into all these sources, develop a plan for how you're going to get to your budget goal. You can't count on getting ever grant money - in fact, 15% is good in the non-profit world. And, to be honest, not everyone you ask for money will give it to you. It's also harder to convince participants to sign up later on if you haven't raised much money early in the game, so waiting to do a big push until April-May is a bad idea. As much as you can raise up front, the better. Plan several ways to get to your budget goal, set clear goals for certain time periods, and step up the pace and identify new sources if you're not making it. We'll develop a tracking system for funds raised soon, so that everyone can report their progress, but start getting ready now.
We would like to see your budgets as you plan. To submit a budget, or ask questions about your fundraising process, ask Timothy DHT:
3. Grassroots
Getting money is just plain difficult, especially in today's economy. But, if we effectively communicate the interconnection of personal empowerment, climate, energy, and equity solutions, and rebuilding the economy, a lot of ordinary people will get excited and want to help out in a small way. As a team, we need to commit to extensive strategic grassroots fundraising, and we need to prepare to start implementing it by mid-December, since a majority of small donations are generated over the Christmas holidays. We're outlining some central strategies you can use for grassroots funding and supplying you with some examples and templates in Appendix III. Grassroots fundraising needs to be directly integrated into the recruitment plan, since we need EVERYONE involved in organizing.
For grassroots to work, you can't be afraid to ask. Grassroots fundraising is in some ways even more awkward than asking people you don't know, but remember that you're inviting your friends, family, and associates to support you in meaningful and powerful work that has a real social benefit. Again, don't be afraid to be told no, and just keep on asking new folks. You want to target the amount you ask for to each person - be aware that you don't want to pitch too low, in case the person would be willing to donate more, but you also don't want to offer a number that's way too high for them. Grassroots fundraising really depends on who you're asking - if you know really rich people/ companies, you could get donations of $1,000 or more, but most donation amounts will be more in the $25-$200 range.
Always remember to ask donors if they would be willing to A. Personalize your request and send to others that they know to raise money for you, or B. connect you with other folks who you can ask. Wherever possible, decentralize who is doing the asking. In addition to the draft letters we provide, we will be integrating online donation tools into the Grand Aspirations website to facilitate donations, although donations through this online system will not be tax deductible. We will only make donations tax deductible if they are $100 or more and made via check, due to agreements with Global Exchange.
Asking participants to fundraise may be uncomfortable, but extensive grassroots fundraising like that can make the difference in getting your program to run. Due to the unreliability of grants, it's absolutely necessary that we employ as many methods as possible to get funds, and if participants are really jazzed about SoS and if they are given enough preparation and help, they can spread the message and pull in a lot of support. That way, you can help get them involved in the SoS process before it begins, and start building a wide network of support (not to mention a crowd with expectations) who can help drive our work.
One way to make sure participants are active fundraisers is to have a goal. Your goals can depend on the amount of cash you build up through other sources and, whatever they are, they shouldn't keep anyone from participating. That being said, having levels of achievement and recognition can give people a number to drive for. One idea is to set classes of fundraisers to recognize their efforts - from their own contributions, from money they raised directly through others, or even from moneythat they get other people to raise. Goals such as $250 (1/6 of a stipend), $750 (1/2 a stipend), $1500 (1 stipend), $6000 (4 stipends) and up create concrete targets and things to drive for.
There are a few options that donors have for giving money to SoS.
Tax-deductible checks - If donors would like their donations to be tax deductible, they must send them in the form of a check to Grand Aspirations c/o Global Exchange. Global Exchange has asked that tax-deductible donations be no smaller than $100.
Donating online - The Summer of Solutions website will have a PayPal donation site set up so that people can donate to the program online. This form may be the easiest for some donors, although it won't be tax-deductible. The SoS site ( is going through some reconfigurations that should be up mid-December, and the donation spot should be easy to find - and the Coordination Team will make sure to announce when it's ready.
Direct money donation - If a participant gets money in the forms of checks written directly to them, or as cash, local programs can consider how they want to incorporate that money into their stipends. Participants should remind donors that such donations would not be tax-deductible.