Fundraising

Some Points:

• God is not broke, nor is He cheap. All money is His, and He will allocate it for His glory. You are part of His divine will in this regard.

• God so often shows Himself to be faithful when we are faithful.

• God will provide—but don’t use that as an excuse to be irresponsible or lazy.

• You are responsible for raising the funds you will need.

• If you want to raise money, you’ve got to do so creatively—think outside the box.

• ASK! Every dollar you don’t ask for will usually remain safely tucked inside someone’s pocket.

• Be specific in what you are asking for. People often want to know the exact need.

• People want to give. Most Christians have a certain amount of money set aside for the very thing you are doing. They don’t find your request strange or invasive—in fact, they eagerly anticipate that the Lord will bring to them people who need the money they have already chosen to give.

• A face to face request is worth ten letters.

• People tend to feel connected to something when they have contributed financially and will be more likely to remember to pray. They feel as though they are investing in God’s work–and they are!

• Be sure to communicate with passion, conviction, and excitement. Passion inspires more than need. If you are excited about what you are doing, chances are they will get excited too!

NOTE:  A complete list of the CCWG Fundraising Guidelines and Policies can be found in the Resources Section of your training manual.

“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

-Hudson Taylor

Raise Your Own Money

Sacrifice:

• Sacrificing some of your own money for this mission trip can be rewarding.  Try sacrificing some of the money you would normally spend on things like coffee, new clothes, or the movies; save up for your trip instead.

• Instead of asking for gifts for your birthday or Christmas, you can ask for money to be donated towards your trip.

Odd Jobs:

• If you are a youth, you can do odd jobs for family, friends, and neighbors.  Try babysitting, doing yard work, washing cars, mowing lawns, or cleaning houses.

Personal Conversations:

• Mention the trip as often as possible.
• Talk about what you are doing to anyone who seems interested.
• Give people an opportunity to get involved –either prayerfully or financially.
• Remember that people WANT to support you!

Support Letters:

• Always pray and ask God to inspire you before writing your letter.
• Give details about the trip and explain what you will be doing and why.
• Share your goals.
• Share the need for prayer support (this is most important!) and give specific prayer requests.
• Share the need for financial support.

• Send Letters to:
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Congregation Members (no mass mailing to people you don’t know)
  • Business Associates
  • Clients
  • Health Care Providers
  • o
• Very Important!
  • Make sure to send thank you letters to your supporters!

How to Write Support Letters

It is scriptural to ask others to support you prayerfully and financially for your short-term mission trip.  In many of his letters, the apostle Paul often asked the churches to assist him on his journeys.  Calvary Chapel WestGrove has come up with some guidelines to help you in creating your support letters.  If you are feeling stressed about fund raising, try these scriptures for encouragement:  Psalm 20:7, Psalm 9:10, Matthew 6:33, and Philippians 4:6-7.  God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.  Trust Him!

Before you mail out your support letters, please give a copy to your team leader for review. If you are struggling with your letter and/or need help, please talk to your pastor or missions coordinator.

Attached are Do’s and Don’ts and a sample letter.

REMEMBER to always pray and ask God to inspire you as to what to include in your letter.

Guidelines for Writing Support Letters

Do’s

• Do supply complete information. (i.e., All your NEEDS-prayer, physical, monetary)
• Do explain what you are doing, how you got to that point, and how you fit into the mission trip.
• Do personalize the letter with a handwritten portion and pictures.
• Do leave a lot of white space (i.e., don’t use a small font and don’t cram too much onto the page).
• Do highlight important stuff to catch people’s eye.
• Do follow-up afterwards.
• Do ask for prayer.
• Do be specific.
• Do tell people to make checks payable to Calvary Chapel WestGrove.
• Do give a time line (i.e., full funding needs to be in by X date, we leave this date and return this date, etc).
• Do e-mail or send a copy of your letter to be approved by the team leader or the missions department before sending the letter.
• Do prayerfully write your letter.  Spend time crafting it as the Holy Spirit leads.
• Do everything with excellence.

Don’ts

• Do not solicit money.  Present full information, not solicitation.  Provide them with what you need and invite them to participate in your ministry in any way that they can.  God can supply all your needs according to His riches (Philippians 4:19).  This is a process in which God allows us to put our trust in Him completely to supply.
• Do not make promises that you cannot keep.
• Do not say that you have control over where the money goes. Monies donated directly from the missionary or their parents/guardians may be refunded, transferred to another person’s trip, or used as general funds depending on the parent’s request.  No refunds may be returned to the missionary without approval of the Missions Pastor. Funds less than $300 will roll to the general funds of that mission trip country.
• Do not copy other letters in form or content.  Make it your own.

Dear Donor,

Thank you for supporting our missions program.  When sending your donation, please make checks payable to Calvary Chapel WestGrove (CCWG).   If paying with cash or check, please include your name and full address with the cash or check and place it in the CCWG Missions envelope enclosed, so that we can process the payment correctly.  Also, indicate the recipient’s name and mission trip name in the memo section.

Please send payments to the following address:

Calvary Chapel WestGrove

12832 Knott St.

Garden Grove, CA  92841

It is our desire to honor all requests by applying funds to specific missionaries. However, in order to be in compliance with IRS guidelines, contributions for individuals must be made with the  understanding that the Calvary Chapel WestGrove has complete control and administration over the use of the donated funds.

Your year-end financial statement will be available after registering online at the CCWG website.  You may print it off at any time during the year.  If you need a year-end statement sent to you, you may request it by checking the box on the tear-off portion at the bottom of this letter. After you register, it will take three weeks to process your account.   Payments will show on your account approximately two weeks after we receive them.  The following information will enable you to print a statement of giving for your tax records:

1. Go to the www.CCWG.org website
2. Click on “online giving” and do one of the following
   1. Enter your account information
   2. Register as a “new user” if you do not have an existing account and password.  Make sure when creating your account that you input the information exactly as it appears on your check, or your account will not be matched properly.
   3. Click on the “contribution history” tab which reflects processed payments
      1. Select the year and tax statement range you wish to view.
      2. Click on “view” and it will display your contribution statement.
      3. Print the statement for your records.

—————————————————————————————————————————

(cut here and return)

Enclosed please find funds in the amount of  $ ______________.

I am requesting they be applied toward the ___________________________ mission trip.

I would like it to benefit ____________________________________.

I would like to request that a year-end statement be mailed to me at the following address:

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

Should you have any questions, I may be contacted at the following number: ___________________

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing to you to tell you about an exciting opportunity for us to join together in the Lord’s work!  I recently heard about an evangelical outreach to Uganda and Sudan that my church is participating in along with Believers World Outreach, which is a missions organization run through Believers Church.

When I heard about this opportunity, I began to pray about it and feel that the Lord is calling me to step out in faith, walk in obedience, and go.  I am very excited about this opportunity to follow my Jesus, and give even a cup of cold water in his name.  During this trip we will be serving through village evangelism, profiling and interviewing children for Promise Child, and participating in two Calvary Chapel Pastor’s Conferences with African pastors from all over Africa.  Our brothers are hungry for the word, and eager to learn so they can better pastor their own flocks.

The peoples of Uganda and Sudan that we will be working with are predominately Muslim, living in abject poverty, and are without Truth and Hope.   Many hold superstitious beliefs and have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

I am very excited about this trip, but also somewhat apprehensive and in great need of your prayer.  The battles to be fought before, during, and after this trip are spiritual and serious, as Satan will not tolerate what we are doing! If you are willing, I would like to ask you to make a prayer commitment to pray for me and all the team members every day we are gone.  The dates for the trip are July 17^th-August 7^th.

Please pray for:

• Our traveling, and all forms of transportation
• Our safety, health, and energy
• boldness, wisdom, and discernment
• Our brothers and sisters in Christ whom we will have the chance to work with
• the hearts of the people to be ripe for the harvest
• both Pastor’s Conferences

In addition to your prayers, I am also in need financial support.  The cost of this three week trip is $3,898. These monies not only enable me to obey the great commission and “go”, but also will be used in the actual work we will be doing with the people of Uganda and Sudan.

If you are able, and feel led to give, please fill out the pledge form and send it back in the self- addressed envelope.  I need to have raised the total funds by July 1^st.

I am very excited about the opportunity to minister to the lost and hurting people of Uganda and Sudan.  So please join me in this great adventure.  Thank you, and God bless you for your prayers and support!

In Christ,

Janay Hamrick

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