Fundraise for Our Power

May 2, 2014

Figure our your Fundraising Needs for Our Power Detroit, June 27-29


Our Power Detroit is focused on strengthening and scaling up youth and young adult leadership of the environmental and climate justice movements. 

We have been working hard to raise money to host an event that will not require folks to pay for food, lodging or registration. Unfortunately, we do not yet have funds to offer travel stipends. 

Therefore we are asking you to raise your own travel . Below are some ideas and tools for raising money from foundations and grassroots along with some resources attached:

Foundation Fundraising

  • If you receive foundation funding, ask your funders if they provide discretionary travel grants. Some foundations that do this include Chorus, Solidago, Noyes and Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock.
  • Common Counsel Foundation also provides travel grants for grassroots exchange meetings through the Grassroots Exchange Fund (GXF). Applications are due the FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH so complete yours this week to get it submitted for May!  http://www.commoncounsel.org/Grassroots+Exchange+Fund

Grassroots Fundraising 

Nine Tips: How to Raise Money for Your Participation in the Our Power Gatherings by Sha Grogan Brown for the USSF
  1. Ask 10 of your friends to save their spare change for 3 months and donate it to your costs.
  2. Ask 30 people if they will support you at $10 each.
  3. Plan a party at your home or a local community space, and ask for a $5-$15 donation.
  4. Creative Sales: bake a batch of cookies, decorate 20 postcards or write a poetry zine and sell them for $5 each.
  5. Did your organization receive grant money this year?  If so, ask your program officer about applying for discretionary funds to support your group's travel.
  6. Share a hotel room with 3 friends.
  7. Set aside $15 from each of your paychecks from now until the event.
  8. Host a yard sale or a car wash.
  9. If your birthday is coming up, ask people to donate to your Our Power costs instead of giving you gifts.