FUNDRAI$ING Christine Pardue BEST Foundation

Why Fundraise? Attending tournaments costs $$$. BEST can help, but only some. It’s great for students. ➔ Leadership skills ➔ Morale ➔ A sense of initiative and ownership ➔ It expands their idea of what is possible!

TOURNAMENT COSTS: What to Expect Registration fees - 5lv per student Accommodations lv per student per night Transport - Train > Public bus > Charter bus Food - approx. 15lv per student per day

TOURNAMENT COSTS: What to expect from BEST Our reach is BIG but our budget is small. If you… ❏ register for the tournament on time ❏ fill out the scholarship app on time ❏ show attempts to fundraise ❏ pay careful attention to our terms and conditions...you will receive a per-student travel stipend which covers the cost of student-discounted train tickets. ***Use bdz.bg to research train ticket prices.***

DO: 1. Start early. 2. Be prepared to convince skeptical students and colleagues. 3. Expect a lot from your students. DON’T: 1.Wait till the last minute (!!) 2.Overestimate our ability to fund your team (!!!) 3.Forget to reach out to us for help :)

THREE PATHS TO SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISING Help from your school ➔ Ask your director. Do they have money set aside for this sort of thing? ➔ Sales: baked goods, ice cream, crafts, Valentines, etc. Community support ➔ Business sponsorship ➔ Special events Folks back home ➔ Crowdfunding ➔ Personal appeals

Strategy #1: How to plan a dope bake sale

Before your sale ❏ Pick the date carefully. Will it conflict with a charity sale? Is it easier to bake over the weekend rather than during the week? Ask your team and check with the student council. ❏ Delegate jobs. You need poster-makers; people to set up, sell things, and clean up afterwards; bakers (of course!) ❏ Maximize your $$$. Plan to... ❏ Advertise with posters and Facebook/in-class announcements ❏ Keep your table up all day rather than just the long break ❏ Leave a plate of treats in the teacher’s room w/ a donation cup & sign ❏ Make your table look pretty

#1 Rule: Sell stuff that... sells. What doesn’t sell? ➔ Re-packaged, store-bought treats ➔ Five pans of banitsa (though one is great!) What does sell? ➔ Stuff with frosting ➔ American baked goods - pie, brownies, lemon bars ➔ American candy - Twizzlers, Starbursts, Airheads, Laffy Taffy, Warheads

Other Ideas ➔ Healthy food - it’s unavailable in many schools and lots of kids are trying to eat healthy. ◆ Salad-in-a-box ◆ Smoothies ➔ Sandwiches - think PB & nutella, cold cuts + cheese ➔ Ice cream! Verrrry popular, but wait for warmer weather and make sure you have access to a freezer.

After your sale... ❏ Send students around to classrooms with unsold items ❏ Send students to small shops with the change and have them exchange it for paper money (banks often won’t do this) ❏ Celebrate with your students! Make them feel good about what they’ve accomplished.

Strategy #2: How to Host a memorable Event

Words of Advice ❏ Ideas and interests ❏ Authorities - EARLY! ❏ Roles, aka Management ❏ Venue??? ❏ DON'T spend too much $$$ ❏ ADVERTISE - FB, hand-made posters, invitations, etc ❏ Activities??? ❏ Have fun!

Strategy #3: How to successfully crowdfund

Crowdfunding in short… ❏ Consider the pros and cons and use along with with other fundraisers ❏ Make it a team effort ❏ Have a nice picture of you and your team ❏ Make the description on your page detailed and in English and Bulgarian ❏ Advertise on social media and make personal appeals ❏ Post enthusiastic and detailed updates ❏ Offer fun rewards for large donations ❏ Have your students follow up