Fundraising
DID YOU KNOW?
There is a strong connection between Public Engagement and Fundraising. In fact, the steps you take to engage your audience is the bulk of your fundraising effort! Once you have caught the attention of your audience, informed them about your topic, and shown your passion about making a positive difference, it’s an easy extra step to ask them to make a donation.
THE POWER OF FUNDRAISING
Our programs are made possible through the support and generosity of individual Canadians. You play a vital role in supporting these programs by inspiring those individuals to donate.
Your public engagement and fundraising efforts work hand-in-hand. When you use your skills and passion to inform people about global development, they will want to show their support of your efforts and make a positive difference by donating. By fundraising for WUSC’s programs, you give your family, friends, and colleagues the opportunity to make direct contributions toward a better world for all youth.
3 ways to fundraise
Your role is vital in keeping the Student Refugee Program alive on your campus, including supporting students who come through the program, ensuring the continued availability of placements for refugee students and increasing awareness of global issues in your community. Fundraising plays an important role in this and your Local Committee can fundraise for these three programs:
For the SRP on your campus
Local Committees are responsible for raising the funds necessary to sponsor refugee students and cover the costs of their living and academic expenses during their first year in Canada. Funds are raised through waivers (where school administrations waive the cost of tuition or housing for example); levies (where each student pays a small fee to support the SRP each year, implemented and increased by a referendum campaign); and individual fundraising events.
For the SRP national
The SRP is a unique program that does not receive government funding to operate, but instead relies on the generosity of individual people in Canada and academic institutions. Local Committee members are on over 100 campuses across Canada and have powerful firsthand experiences with the positive impact of the SRP - if all Local Committee members spread the word about the SRP in their communities, that’s a loud and far-reaching collective voice! You can help raise awareness and raise funds for the SRP as a national program during your Local Committee’s own initiatives throughout the year, or at WUSC-wide events such as Ride for Refuge.
For Her Future
Increasing access to education for girls in refugee camps and host communities has always been a cause close to the hearts of Local Committee members. WUSC has created the HerFuture campaign to put powerful public engagement materials in your hands, and the Girls’ Education Fund so that donors know that their dollar is impacting this issue directly.
How to fundraise using Raisin
Your Local Committee fundraising page will be hosted on Raisin, an easy-to-use platform that helps you to manage donations and track progress towards your target.
→ The President of your Local Committee is responsible for registering and maintaining the Local Committee fundraising page.
If you are fundraising for the SRP on your campus, refer to the “Receiving your funds from WUSC” document under the Resources section to ensure you are included in WUSC’s quarterly disbursement schedule.
Choose your fund (campus SRP, SRP National or HerFuture) and create your page by following the steps outlined below. You can also watch the follow-along videos under the Resources section of this page for how to register a fundraising page as Team Captain.
Steps to create your raisin page:
Begin your Local Committee registration on Raisin to create a team fundraising page by clicking one of the campaign fundraiser links provided above.
Choose the Team Captain’s Registration option to create your personal fundraising page as well as the team fundraising page for your Local Committee
Once you complete the registration form, name your Local Committee Fundraising page (e.g.: WUSC Dalhousie’s Fundraising Page) and set a goal for your team!
When registering your page, keep in mind:
The Registration Password you choose will be the one you will share with your fellow Local Committee members when you invite them to join your fundraising team. Be sure to write it down in a secure place.
It is not mandatory to make a donation in order to register, so you can click CONTINUE to proceed with the registration process if you do not wish to make a donation at this time.
Public engagement and fundraising activities
Do you want to start fundraising with your Local Committee? Use your Public Engagement activities and add a fundraising component!
How you fundraise is up to you! You can either craft an email or social media post that is exclusively about the cause you are fundraising for and ask the reader to donate to your campaign, or you can simply add a few lines and link to donate to an existing email, social media post, newsletter or blog that you have created to inform your network about your activities and global development.
In the same way, if you host a virtual event you can have a suggested donation and spend a few minutes during the event informing attendees why donating matters and providing your campaign link.
Tip: You can use the email and social media features on the Raisin platform to easily promote and manage your campaign, including thanking donors!
Resources
Peace by Piece for SRP
WUSC is proud to partner with Peace by Chocolate to create our very own chocolate bar to raise awareness and funds for the Student Refugee Program (SRP). When someone buys one of these bars, they support both the SRP and a thriving refugee-led business.
You can find Peace by Chocolate Resources here.
PxC PE Tip Sheet - Final.pdfFAQs
Do you have a question about issuing tax receipts, receiving a disbursement from your Raisin fundraiser, or anything else related to fundraising? Check out these FAQs:
Donation Details & Tax Receipt FAQs.pdfULeth Coffee Shop Partnership - Outreach Email
Outreach Email Example - ULeth Coffee Shop Partnership (ENGLISH).docxReceiving your funds from WUSC
07. Receiving your funds from WUSC one-pager EN.pdfFace-to-Face fundraising
(EN) Face-to-Face Fundraising Tips - Structuring the Meeting.docx