Y&G Bulletin #3: Letter-Writing and more (read carefully - there may be a bonus down there)

How to turn 44-cents into $1200

At the last meeting we discussed individual effort you can put into fundraising money to put toward your program costs. This idea is available to anyone, whether or not he or she has applied for financial aid.  But we expect to see delegates who have applied for aid try this method to raise money.

Developing your Contact List:

1.)    Who is your community? - School? Church? Clubs? Service Organizations? Your neighborhood? Kiwanis, Elks? Masons? Lions? Junior League? 20/30 Club? Who should you target who would be likely to support your efforts to participate in Y&G?

• Note that if you're going to approach businesses or foundations with whom you do not currently have a contact or existing relationship, you should talk to Christiana first. Sometimes the YMCA already has asked local businesses for help and we should coordinate efforts. 

2.)    Who are your elected officials? - Some of them will be willing to help from their personal funds and some, like the Sacramento City Council, have discretionary funds to use for programs just like this.  You'll never know until you ask. But make sure you ask the write elected officials. Use your home address.  You can look up your representatives here.
3.)    Don’t forget your family – near and far.  Instead of birthday or holiday gifts, ask them to sponsor your participation, instead. Video games come and go, but Y&G is forever!
4.)    Learn how to properly format and address a business letter - FORM MATTERS, almost as much as content, in most cases. In addition to instilling democracy into each generation, Y&G is about teaching you to act professionally. You dress professionally in Sacramento and behave professionally at all times. You should look professional on paper as well. You can google up examples (like this one) and many computer programs (like Word) will have templates ready for you. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to be clean and competent. Also, make sure you appropriately address elected officials.  For example, if you were writing to Congresswoman Doris Matsui, the address and top of your letter would read:

The Honorable Doris Matsui

United States House of Representatives

Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse

501 I Street, Suite 12-600

Sacramento, CA 95814-7305

Dear Congresswoman Matsui,

If you have questions about how to properly address or format a letter, ask your parents or advisors!

Developing Your Fundraising Letter:

1.)    Know your audience - where is this letter going? If you're asking a service club to sponsor you, how would your letter differ from one directed to your city council person? A lot of your letter can be standard and will be applicable to anyone. But you should always have a carefully tailored paragraph so the recipient can tell you are really paying attention and asking the recipient specifically for aid.  For example, if you are asking your city council member, how might learning about civic engagement and democracy benefit the city?  If you are asking a legal club (the local bar association?), maybe you are interested in the model court part of the program?  No one likes a pure form letter!
2.)    Explain the program - we know this is more difficult for new delegates, however, you can still have a solid paragraph about Y&G. Pull information from the website, for example.  In its most basic terms: Youth & Government is a YMCA sponsored program for California high school students to learn about democracy and civic engagement. It is a model legislature and court program that runs from September through February.  We attend 3 conferences . . . etc etc.  If you are a returning delegate, give concrete examples of what you've done at conferences in the past. ("Last year, I sponsored our delegation's bill to open adoptee records. As a sponsor, I spoke about my bill in legislative committees and on the floor of the Assembly." etc etc)
3.)    Draft your "ask," be specific - Don't just say "I need a lot of money."  Say, "This year's program fees are $1200 and due to our financial situation, my family can afford to pay $400, so I am working hard to raise $800 myself.  Would you be willing to donate $100 toward my goal?"  Jordan recommends including a self-addressed-stamped-envelope and a reply sheet to make it extra easy for would-be donors to send you money.  The easier the better!
4.)    Explain what participating in the program means to you - Why do you want to do this?  You don't need to claim that you want to run for President someday.  And its also fine to mention the social aspects of this program: it is beneficial to meet people from all over the state, to hear about the problems their legislation focuses on, to socialize with people from different backgrounds, etc.  If you've been before - why are you back? If you have never been - what made you come to a meeting this year?
5.)    Explain what else you are doing to raise money - This may come at the start or end of your letter, but mention your other efforts. You are reaching out to community clubs. You are selling bags. You're doing something, etc etc.
6.)    SPELLING AND GRAMMAR COUNT - this should go without saying, but we'll say it anyway.  And do not rely on a computer program's spell check feature. You must read what you write. You must ask at least two other people to proofread your work.
7.)    Say thank you.

The Thank-You Note:
1.)    Don’t bother taking on this project if you aren’t going to write a solid, heartfelt thank-you note and send it in a timely manner.
You can buy very inexpensive, basic thank-you-note cards at office supply stores, craft stores, Target, WalMart, etc.  Prepare your thank you note at the same time you write your initial letter. Address it the same way you addressed your letter. Then, just keep your pile of prepared thank you notes handy and ready to fill-out and pop in the mail as soon as you get a response. Send a thank you regardless of the amount you receive, be as thankful for gifts of $10 as for gifts of $1000, and send a thank you note even if the response you receive is "sorry, we can't contribute right now."
2.)    Thank you notes MUST be sent no more than one week after you receive a gift of funding
3.)    Thank you note should be heartfelt, sincere, and give a concrete example of what the funds will be used for (this $300 will cover my registration fees for our final conference of the year; this $100 will help to cover the hotel room in which we'll stay during our final conference, etc)
4.)    Hand write it. Write neatly. Spell correctly. Write a draft first.  If you cannot write legibly, go ahead and type your letter instead.


The Follow-up:
1.)    Contact is essential to maintaining your network - you worked hard to put this list together and to cultivate this donor/recipient relationship. Don't forget about your contacts. You may need them later.
2.)    Send a follow-up thank you after each conference, especially after Sacramento  - this may depend on when/if you receive a gift.  
3.)    Include a photo - especially post-Sacramento - you'll have some great pictures of you in your professional attire in your program area and donors love to see proof of the good they are doing by supporting you.
4.)    Explain what you have learned from your participation and how you will use that knowledge.  A donor wants to know you benefited from their gift.
5.)    Craft this and all communication with the specific recipient in mind, just like before. Avoid obvious form letters. If someone spared even $1 for you, you can spare time to be unique in your response.

So what do you do now?
1.)    Draft your “ask”
2.)    Ask someone to proofread it
3.)    Email it to Christiana for review - if you are applying for financial aid, I won't know about all your hard work unless you let me know about it. Even if you don't receive any money as a result of your letters.
4.)    Mail it ASAP - payment deadlines come quickly and delaying does you no good.
5.)    Keep a list of the people you contact and the date on which you contact them - and what the result of each letter is.
6.)    Send a copy of your records to Christiana
7.)    SEND THANK YOU NOTES (see above)

We've had several parents graciously volunteer their efforts as proofreaders and resources as well.  We thank them for that offer!   Take this option seriously: past delegates have completely funded their program costs just by sending some letters. Why shouldn't you be able to claim the same?