1. Mission Trip Fundraising in the Internet Age A Guide For Utilizing Social Media & Websites to Raise Funds

2. Why should I use the internet to raise mission trip funds? In this day and age, the internet has become an intrical part of everyday life. Information can be shared immediately on a global basis, for free or extremely low costs vs. using traditional means of fundraising (U.S. Postal Service, postage costs, supplies, delivery time). By utilizing your email & social networking contacts via the internet, you can start a campaign for donations or prayers that are limitless. People prefer the ease of the internet to receive & send information. People are more apt to donate to your Mission if you provide them with a safe, secure place to do so online with a credit or debit card.

3. What is the best Social Networking Site and how do I use it to fundraise? FACEBOOK: This is the most widely used social networking site in the world. If you don't have a FB account, then set one up & invite your friends. Ask your student if they are on Facebook. If so, they can utilitze their friends for prayers & donations as well. FACEBOOK allows you to do the following to spread the word about your Mission: Create an "Event" or "Group Page" which details your Mission & fundraising goals, in which you can invite your friends, and ask them to invite their friends. The power of God travels fast. Ask your friends to invite their friends.

4. What to do & how to do it Go to the "Events" Application on your "Home" Page on Facebook. At the top is a "Create New Event" tab. Click on it. There are three easy steps to creating your "Event" 1.Create the Event - here you will insert the name (i.e., "Send Austin to Ecuador on a Mission Trip", set the timeframe dates, and Privacy factors (Leaving "Open" allows others to invite their friends, so that is advised). 2.Edit the Event Details - This is the "heart & soul" of your event. Basically, the traditional fundraising letter is inserted here, which details the mission, who/what/when/where & asks recipients for donations and prayers. You can customize this page by adding pictures, videos & links (more on that). 3.Invite Your Friends - Click on the "Invite People" tab, and all of your friends will pop up. Click on the people you wish to send, add a personal message, and hit SEND. That's it.

5. Link for Credit Card Donations via PayPal: If you do not have a Paypal account, you can set one up for free on their site here. here If you know someone who has a Paypal account, that you trust, you simply need the email address to which their Paypal is linked for insert into your "Event Details" section for a link to Chipin.com (more on that later), which is a free Fundraising Widget site.Chipin.com FBCW has a Paypal account for donations, but the the link appears to be broken at this time. The only "downside" I see as a parent to using FBCW's Paypal is that you/your student have no way of monitoring the contributions & who sent them (which is fun!), and for sending thank- you notes to Contributors.

6. Chipin.com - how does it work? Chipin.comChipin.com is a free, easy to use site that allows friends/family to contribute to Mission trips using a credit/debit card. Research has shown that giving people a quick, easy way to donate to your cause yields more results. 62% of the population pay bills online. Many don't even have paper checks anymore. You can set a goal/time frame and there is a cool "counter" graphic to show you how much has been raised/# of contributors. You can customize your Chipin as much as you want, upload pics, write updates, etc. Contributors names/email address & amt. given are viewable by you only (which are exportable to your email server), but Contributors can leave "comments" which is great! Funds go immediately into the Paypal & check can be written to FBCW.

7. Other Tips & Miscellaneous Stuff: Get your student involved. Have them invite their friends & and both of you ask your friends to ask their friends to send out invites. Remember, this is not just about asking for money...you are asking for PRAYERS as well. So people that cannot contribute are not embarrassed because they have committed to praying for you by "attending" your event. This makes everyone feel INCLUSIVE in your Mission. Update your event page frequently & make comments to comments left by your friends. Post a link to the event page on your FB Wall & ask friends to do the same. You can "share" both the invite page & the chipin widget on ANY website, including email. Write handwritten thank you notes to contributors or take it all the way cyber, by emailing a customizable free e-card (google it...there are thousands of sites for this).