FUNDRAISING TOOLKIT A GUIDE TO FUNDRAISING ON BEHALF OF SCARF

Transcription

1 FUNDRAISING TOOLKIT A GUIDE TO FUNDRAISING ON BEHALF OF SCARF

2 Thank you! Dear Champions, THANK YOU for choosing to become a Champion of Welcome and supporting SCARF! Your dedication to refugee entrants here in the Illawarra really means a lot to us, and will make a tangible impact. Your support has come at a critical time for SCARF. We ve welcomed an unprecedented amount of refugee entrants in the Illawarra in recent years. Because of this, we need your support to ensure we have the resources to give a big, warm, SCARF welcome to every single person who joins our community. By joining us in fundraising, you are helping us ensure each refugee entrant is supported to rebuild their life here in the Illawarra. Your support will help us provide vital programs, such as: Befriending Education and tutoring L2P Learn to drive Community education Youth leadership Social inclusion, and Continuous Learning for Adults No matter what your Champions of Welcome idea is or how much you want to raise, you can get involved today and make a real difference it s easier than you think! This toolkit is all about getting you started and making you feel supported in your Champion journey for SCARF. It outlines what you will need to know to make your Champions of Welcome activity a huge success. We can t wait to cheer you on! Warm regards, The SCARF Champions Team

3 Be a champion... Who is SCARF? SCARF is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of refugees settling in the Illawarra by creating connections and generating opportunities that build a sense of belonging; promote social & economic inclusion; and empower individuals and families to lead independent lives. We are independent, community-focused and volunteer-powered. Since 2005, SCARF has worked to connect local volunteers with refugee entrants, providing friendship and support to over 1700 men, women and children through all stages of their settlement experience. SCARF facilitates a range of targeted programs to help refugee entrants navigate the practical and personal challenges of building a new life in Australia. Why $250? It costs $250 for SCARF to provide one refugee community member with access to our programs and services for one year. For each $250 our Champions raise, they ll be helping to provide one refugee entrant with access to big impact programs like Education and Tutoring for students, Learn to Drive, Befriending, Continuous Adult Learning and a range of social inclusion initiatives. SCARF receives no ongoing funding and relies on public donations and small grants to resource our vital programs and services. Who are SCARF Champions of Welcome? Champions of Welcome are ordinary people doing extraordinary work by championing compassion and welcome for refugee entrants here in the Illawarra. Our Champions will do this by raising $250 or more to support SCARF s vital work, in a way that suits them. Champions of Welcome are also SCARF representatives in their communities. They ll be having positive conversations about refugees with their colleagues, friends and family, and will be helping us change the refugee narrative here in Australia. EDUCATION AND TUTORING

4 1 Get to know SCARF: Before you begin your Champion journey, it will be helpful to get to know SCARF: who we are, what we do, and our impact. Not only will this motivate you, but will enable you to share from the heart as you speak to your networks and ask for their support. You can visit our website ( support.org.au), or follow us on Facebook ( SCARFrefugees/) to get up to speed! 2 Choose your plan of action: We encourage you to tailor your plan of action to suit you! You can raise your target amount in a way that s as big or small, creative or simple as you like. Think about what you enjoy, what works practically for you, and what resonates with your communities. For example, if you love organising events, you might host a movie night with friends, or organise a lunchtime event with colleagues. If you re time-poor, you might want to keep it simple by sharing your page on Facebook along with a heartfelt message. If you re a hiker, perhaps you could tackle a big hiking challenge, and ask for sponsorship. An alternative option to fundraising alone is fundraising as a team. The Everyday Hero platform allows individuals to link up their pages and fundraise together. This would work perfectly for colleagues or friends wanting to take on a challenge or host an event as a group. IMPORTANT: SCARF is a registered charity with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status. If you need a Fundraising letter approved by SCARF for your fundraising activity, please contact champions@scarfsupport.org.au Below are just a few creative ideas for individuals and groups: Take doughnuts to work and leave a sign saying Please take one - leave $10! Organise a non-uniform or dress down day for a gold coin donation at work Have a movie or band night with friends and charge an entry fee Host a Coffee and Cake Morning for a donation Leave a collection tin at reception Hold a work-sporting event on a Friday such as a mini golf tournament or pedometer challenge Host a trivia night and charge an entry fee for individual or teams Have a car-boot/garage sale Consider yourself a bit of a Comedian? Have a comedy night! Have a darts fundraiser or a bare foot bowls event Give up chocolate or sweets for the month and ask for sponsorship Have a cheese and wine tasting night at home and ask guests to donate their rating of the cheese and wine on offer out of 10.

5 Host a sausage sizzle or cake sale at school or uni Do a multi-day hike or marathon (in solidarity with refugees who travel vast distances in search of safety) and ask for sponsorship Sign-up for a fun run, swim or ride and ask for sponsorship Ideas for business Champions: Donate a percentage of sales from a day of business to SCARF, and promote this to your customers. Leave a donation tin at the till/at reception Host an event for your customers/community, and donate proceeds to SCARF Take on a staff challenge together, and ask for sponsorship. 3 Create and personalise your online fundraising page: To be a Champion of Welcome, you ll need to create your own personal online fundraising page on Everyday Hero a peer-to-peer fundraising platform. All donations to individual pages will be directed to SCARF and counted collectively, but you ll be able to see how much you ve raised on your own page, so you can see the individual difference you re making. To do this; 1. Head to champions2018 Personalising your page will give you the best chance at reaching your target. Upload your own photograph on your Everyday Hero page, or even better, a video showing you in action. In your page description, try to tell a story. Explain why you are trying to raise money, how the money will be used, and why you are personally moved to support SCARF. If you re planning an event or taking on a challenge, include details of this. Don t forget to share from the heart! 2. Click Become a Champion. 3. Create your fundraising page* by filling out a few details, including your page name and fundraising goal. 4. Personalise your page by adding a photo of yourself and your story about why you re a Champion of Welcome and supporting SCARF. *Optional extra step: If you d like to fundraise as a team (where individual pages are linked together as a group), click create new team on the right hand panel after you ve registered as an individual. From your team page, click on Invite Members. This will let you add fundraisers to your team. If you get stuck, a detailed step-by-step guide can be found in the resources tab on the Champions of Welcome website: event/champions2018/resources Hello I m 18 years old. I came from Syria. I ve been in Australia about one year and a half. In Syria I wasn t speaking any English ever before. The Homework Help tutors helped me a lot, especially with Science because Science has a lot of English and long words. When I came to Homework Help the tutors teach me more about Science, particularly Chemistry. I m really good now my teacher told me now I m really good with everything. Nadine

6 4 Share and promote like a champion: After you ve created your own page, the next step is to get the word out about the great work you re doing so people in your network can support refugee entrants by donating to you. The way you communicate with your social circles is unique so your sharing and promotion plan should be customised to you. Do you usually communicate with your friends over Facebook, or is more effective? Perhaps you re more of a one-on-one conversation person. Below are some tips and ideas for spreading the word! Use our graphic and written resources: When sharing to your networks and thanking your donors, you may want to use our Champions of Welcome graphic and written resources (e.g, Facebook graphics and templates). You can access these by heading to the resources page on the Champions of Welcome site: champions2018/resources The first and the first donation Send your first to your most generous supporters, before asking others to donate, to encourage a high value first donation. Or you may want to consider making the first donation yourself. Talk about the cause and about what your challenge/event is (if you re having one!). A sample can be found under the resources tab on the Champions of Welcome website. Share your fundraising page through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter You can do this using the icons on your page. Update your status, upload pictures of what you re doing, send personal messages to your friends, and don t forget to say thanks, a lot! If it helps, you can use Champions of Welcome social media resources. These can be found under the resources tab. Don t forget to use the hashtag, #ChampionsofWelcome Change your signature Consider changing your signature at work and/or at home to add a line at the bottom that includes the web address of your fundraising page. Ask to be on your company s website See if your company would be prepared to add your site to its public website or company intranet. Many companies like to promote the charitable and public-spirited efforts of their staff. Get media attention Contact local newspapers, radio or TV networks to advertise your event. A media release template can be found under the resources tab on the Champions of Welcome website. Create posters or flyers You could distribute these to your local café, shops, library, school or workplace. Update potential supporters on your progress Keeping people updated on your progress is a great way to thank your donors, and call out again for support from other people. Share how far along you are, and how close you are to reaching your target. If it helps, you may want to mention how close you are to reaching $250 the amount it costs to give one refugee entrant access to our programs and services for one year. Say thank you! Thanking people for their support is not only kind and courteous, but is a way to build momentum and get others on board. Send your donors a personal message with a heartfelt thanks, or if it s appropriate, acknowledge their support publically.

7 5 Changing the refugee narrative: Having positive conversations Being a Champion of Welcome is about more than just fundraising. We want you to be busting some myths about refugee entrants along the way, so we can start to change the narrative for the better. This is part of our aim to make the Illawarra as welcoming as we possibly can for refugee entrants. It s important to understand that SCARF is a service delivery organisation, not a political organisation. We do not take political sides - we leave this to organisations who are dedicated to that mission. Whilst as individuals we all have political views, it is critical that SCARF isn t associated with political commentary. Here are some tips and suggestions when having conversations about SCARF and the refugee entrants we support: Hi my name s Kwibe Nicholas, I m Congolese by nationality. When we came to Australia, or in a new country, it is very confusing When I was doing my Certificate III in Aged Care, I had a problem with some assessments. So I came to SCARF and asked if anyone could help me with it. They said yes, and matched me with a volunteer. She helped me a lot of times Now I ve finished my Certificate III in Aged Care, and I m planning to go to Uni and do Nursing. That is my future and what I plan in my goals. Nicholas About SCARF: SCARF is an independent, volunteer-powered, community-focused organisation that supports refugee entrants who ve come to Australia through UNHCR and the Australian Government s Humanitarian Visa Program. SCARF provides a helping hand to people who, after fleeing persecution, are now navigating a whole new challenge: rebuilding their lives from scratch here in Australia. SCARF provides ongoing, practical and social support to refugee entrants in the Illawarra through a range of programs. These include: Education and Tutoring, Learn to Drive, Befriending, Social Inclusion and Continuous Learning for Adults. About refugee entrants: No one chooses to be a refugee. Refugees are people who are deemed to have a wellfounded fear of persecution, and are forced to leave their country in search of safety. Just like anyone, refugee entrants are people who deserve a happy and fulfilling life. Unlike most of us, refugee entrants have experienced trauma, upheaval, and face specific barriers and challenges here in Australia. Refugee entrants bring a variety of unique experience, skills and talents to Australia, and make important contributions to our society.

8 You re set to go! We hope this toolkit has provided you with some helpful information before you begin your Champions of Welcome journey. Don t forget that you re not doing this alone you have the support from the SCARF Champions Team at any point, just get in touch! We ll be checking in regularly to provide you with any support you may need, and to cheer you on as you reach some major milestones. Thankyou, and good luck! Growing up in Australia as a refugee teenage girl, I felt very different from other people. I was different in the way I look, the way I behave, the way I dress, the way I speak and many more, I felt less confident in myself Then, I met SCARF volunteers. They helped me with my homework. They also listened to my story. They understood me, they supported me and it made me feel like I was a star. It made me feel that people in Wollongong were lovely. Elizabeth Champions of Welcome website: champions2018 scarf website: