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Fundraising Information

Forum Fundraising Assistance | Finding Sponsor and/or Donors |
How to approach funders | Request Template | Access Fund

Forum fundraising assistance

The cost of attending international events like the AWID Forum can be a financial challenge for many participants. Below, you will find information on creative and more effective ways to fundraise, as well as some ideas adapted from the Women's Fundraising Handbook (published by the Global Fund for Women).

Finding Sponsor and/or Donors

Contact your donors to inquire about your participation as soon as you can. If you work for an international NGO or donor NGO, ask for money to be set aside for your participation in the AWID forum as an important part of your professional development. If you work for a local or regional NGO, ask your donor's regional offices for discretionary funding to attend. Or consider raising money for your participation through a personal fundraising effort using your personal and professional contacts. Be resourceful. Ask your friends and colleagues about ways they have found funding for international conferences. Follow their leads.

Contact relevant companies, societies, and funds in your community:

• Your place of employment
• An organization where you volunteer
• Schools, universities and colleges. If you are a student or associated with an academic institution, talk with your academic dean/headmaster about the availability of unrestricted funds.
• Community centres
• Local religious centres
• Local and/or national charities
• Local and/or national businesses and corporations - ask for money as well as discounts or donations to match funds you raise, or support your fundraising efforts by providing goods or services at cost for you to sell for a profit.
• Politicians
• Ask for in-kind donations from family and friends
• Local women's groups
• Service organizations (Kiwanis, Rotary, Soroptimists, etc.)
• Airline offices and travel agencies - ask for sponsored or free airline tickets.

Funding Organizations: Consider approaching the following government development organizations: AIDAB (Australia), CIDA (Canada), DANIDA (Denmark), DFID (UK), FINNIDA (Finland), NORAD (Norway), SIDA (Sweden)

There are also a number of United Nations and related agencies that may provide funding for your participation in the Forum: OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), PAHO (Pan-American Health Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), UNDP (United Nations Population Development Program), UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) UNIFEM (United Nations Fund for Women), WHO (World Health Organization).

You can also request funding from organizations that occasionally fund women's groups. Some examples include: Commonwealth Foundation, Global Fund for Women, Inter American Parliament Group, Social Development Fund, World Association Christian Committee, African Women's Development Fund.

The links below can help you find funding organizations in your region:

Africa and Sahel
East Asia, Asia Pacific, and Australia
Eastern Europe
Latin America and the Caribbean
Middle East
North America
South Asia
Western Europe
International

How to approach potential funders

Whether you are asking for donations or organizing events, remember to emphasize how your participation in the event will help you to better serve and contribute to your community. You can do this by:

• Letting donors know that the forum is a wonderful skills and capacity building opportunity, a chance to network with key funders, and an opportunity to have the issues facing your community heard about in an international arena.
• Explaining the expertise and contacts you will bring back to your organization after the forum.

How to Approach Potential Funders:

• Besides sending letters, why not ask in person? It is easy for a potential donor to throw away an unsolicited letter. A personal appeal commands immediate attention.
• Articulate your cause clearly and concisely. If you are asking for money, what is it for? How much do you need and how much are you requesting from this potential donor? Have a one-page description of the AWID forum and a financial breakdown ready to give to the people you meet.
• Speak about why you personally are involved and committed to your program. Be open, friendly, and honest. Represent your program as an investment to feel good about.
• Demonstrate accountability and responsibility, as donors will want to know that you are able to manage your money well.
• Be prepared to contribute to your own cause, however little, if you truly believe in the cause or event and want to demonstrate credibility.
• Try to include your donors in your cause: give them as many details as possible, share your vision and get them involved.
• Now is a great time to start thinking about your plan to bring all of the information that you'll gain from the conference back to your own community. Research local organizations and community groups to see if they would be willing to sponsor you in exchange for volunteer hours or a presentation for their staff on what you learned from the conference. Even if these organizations are not able to support you financially, they can serve as valuable resources for you after the conference, when you are ready to turn your vision for a better world into a reality.

Request Template

The letter below can be adapted for any donor or organization from whom you are requesting financial assistance to attend the AWID forum. Remember to add your specific information within the parentheses. If possible, print your request on your organization's letterhead.

(Date)
(Name of donor/organization)
(Name of Contact Person - if applicable)
(Address- if available, or Fax - if faxing)

Dear (insert name of contact person or title),

I am writing to your organization to request financial assistance in the amount of (enter total amount, based on the budget below) to attend the Association for Women's Rights in Development's (AWID) 11th International Forum, "The Power of Movements," which is being held November 14-17, 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa. I sincerely hope that (Insert Organization/Donor's Name) can assist us in this endeavor.

The AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development is the largest international summit on gender equality outside of the United Nations System and one of the most important global meetings on women's rights. The Forum offers delegates an unparalleled opportunity to develop strategies, share ideas, build skills and provide support - all to advance the goals of gender equality and social justice. The past ten forums, held every 2-3 years since 1982, have attracted as many as 1,800 policy makers, practitioners, researchers, grass roots activists, students and business people from over 120 countries.

Delegates to the AWID Forum will be discussing the urgent issue of movement building. The Forum will be anchored by daily plenary sessions that will offer new visions and strategies from some of the most dynamic and innovative leaders in the global women's movement today. In addition to the plenary sessions, the forum will also offer over a hundred different breakout sessions and skills-building workshops that will provide both new ideas and new skills for people and organizations working in women's rights and gender-sensitive development.

As a participant in the 2008 Forum, I will:

• (Personal Goals and Objectives). What do you personally hope to gain from your participation in the AWID Forum? Let donors know that the Forum provides an important opportunity for skills and capacity building as well as a chance to network with key funders. Explain how you plan to raise awareness about local campaigns and the issues facing your community in an international arena.
• (Strategic Benefits). How will your participation affect your organization's capacity to achieve its goals? How will it advance the rights of women and social justice in your community and country? What expertise and contacts will you bring back to your organization after the Forum?
• (Add benefits appropriate to the interests of the funder). For example, funders may be particularly interested in supporting women from certain groups (youth, indigenous, rural, etc.) or in promoting certain issues (HIV/AIDS, governance, leadership, etc.). Do your research and make connections with those you contact.
• (Add Future Outcomes) What steps will you take to ensure that an impact is made in your community after the conference? Let donors know how you and your organization plan to contribute upon your return. These plans may include documenting what you learn, giving workshops and presentations, and sharing your experiences with your colleagues and larger community.
• (Benefits appropriate to the conditions of your country, organization, community, ethnic group, special interest group, sex, age group, income level, etc.) How will others in your region benefit from your attendance at the forum?

The Forum will also help all participants to do the following:

(Describe the Forum and its Benefits). For example:

• Share, analyze and develop solutions for gender equality and social justice.
• Learn new valuable capacity building skills - from research and training methods and economic literacy to proposal writing and information technology.
• Network and build strategic alliances (South/North, East/West, intergenerational, development/human rights, policy makers/researchers/activists, etc).
• Make linkages between issues and sectors towards an integrated approach for gender equality.
• Strengthen advocacy campaigns - from transforming international financial institutions to the rights of women.
• Place new issues on the development and human rights agenda.
• Forge action plans for policy, organizational and personal change.

The estimated cost of my attendance is as follows (for information on Forum expenses and budget information, visit the Forum Costs section of this website). The following is an example:

(Give details here of your planning and the status of your fundraising goals. What kind of preparation is being made to attend? Who else is contributing to your participation? Describe what efforts have gone into fundraising.)

Thank you very much for considering my request. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon about this request.

If you would like additional information on the AWID Forum you can refer to the Forum website at www.awid.org/forum.

If you have any further questions about my participation or our organization, please contact me at (enter contact details: email, fax, phone).

Sincerely,
(Name)
(Title, if applicable)

Funding from AWID

Given the number of requests, AWID is unable to provide funding for all Forum participants. Partial assistance from AWID will be available to a limited number of presenters whose proposals have been selected. For more information, please see the "Access Fund" section of this website.

Other Fundraising Ideas

• Organizing fundraising events within your community, such as: auctions, arts and craft sales, bake sales, raffles/lotteries, book luncheon/sale, bazaars, concerts, selling tickets for dances/dinner/theater/film, harambee (women joining together to help others/themselves), write/sell publications, sub-contract for government or others, charge workshop fees, write for a fee, or consult (get paid for your expertise).
• Sell holiday gift baskets of local handicrafts and/or items made by your group members.
• Make and sell balloon bouquets or cookie bouquets.
• Host a desserts and crafts day (specialty desserts donated from restaurants or baked by supporters and locally made crafts which have been donated).
• Conduct a large yard sale, elegant junque (junk) sale, or white elephant/collectible sale.

For More Information

Some of the information provided on this web page has been used with the permission of the Global Fund for Women. To receive a copy of the Women's Fundraising Handbook, send a request to the Global Fund for Women:

Global Fund for Women
1375 Sutter Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA
94109, USA
http://globalfundforwomen.org

Access Fund

The Access Fund is a fund that AWID has created in order to assist a limited number of forum presenters with the costs of attending the forum. For more information on how to apply to organize and present at a session at the AWID forum, visit the Call for Proposals section of the Forum website (www.awid.org/forum08). Note: only presenters are eligible to receive Access Funds.

The Access Fund covers the cost of flights, hotel and visa. The forum registration fee, taxi to and from the airports, and other incidental costs will not be covered by the Access Fund, as AWID expects all participants to cover at least a small portion of the forum participation costs themselves.

Decisions about the Access Fund are made by the International Planning Committee, using the following criteria:

• Strength of proposal: Proposals should be clear and relevant to the theme of the forum ("The Power of Movements"). Preference will be given to proposals that are groundbreaking or innovative, and that propose solutions rather than simply reiterating problems.
• Multiplier effect: AWID would like to reach as many people and have the greatest impact for our funds. As such, we will be giving priority to those who are planning to do outreach to other groups in their regions after the forum with the information they learn at the forum.
• Diversity and inclusion: Preference will be given to those individuals from sectors historically marginalized by and within women's movements, as well as to those who provide diverse perspectives on the issues to be discussed.
• Fundraising capacity: An individual's or organization's capacity to raise funds will be considered in the decision-making process. Those who are most likely to be able to raise funds elsewhere will be given lower priority than those who are less likely to be able to find outside donors to assist them.

To apply for the Access Fund please click below:
Access Fund Online Form

To download a Word version of the Access Fund please click below:
Access Fund Form