Teaching Teenagers to Fundraise

Remember the post I did last February with the theme "Mom, you don't think like me." No? You can read it here.

I almost made the same mistake again when helping Elli set up her fundraising campaign. Only this time I didn't. I remembered that conversation and pitched my idea to Elli a little differently. In other words, I listened to her and didn't push my agenda quite as hard and wouldn't you know it - we have success!!

Last year I tried to break down the fundraising goal into logical increments which she could achieve by babysitting, fundraising, pet sitting, etc. I even had a spreadsheet. Horrors!

It was way too structured for her.

So even though I would prefer to know how many babysitting jobs I need to make the money her brain is not processing the project that way. It's much more fluid for her.

This year she is raising money to go on a 2-week trip to Costa Rica with a group called Cross Cultural Solutions. We've told her she has to raise half of the $4,000 she needs! Hopefully more. 'Cuz we're footing the bill for the rest and money doesn't grow on trees ya know. I'm kidding. I did not say that to her. We did have a long talk about why we're making her pay half though. I think it's important for her to be invested in this trip financially. It will make it even more special if she has raised most of the funds to pay for the trip.

Here are the 5 things I learned:

1. Brainstorm Ideas Together - I know, I know. Duh, right? Well, I didn't do that last year and it killed the project. So start by working together.

2. Select One or Two Ideas to Try - any more than that and it's overwhelming

3. Fundraise in Stages - set goals along the way so it feels doable

4. Help them Promote their Fundraising Campaign - your friends and contacts have more discretionary income than their friends do.

5. Celebrate the Victories - Elli created her own tracking chart so we can celebrate when she reaches milestones.

So far so good! She's at 32% of her goal and we still have many more months to finish.

If you would like to donate to her campaign click here> DONATE HERE

Thank you!!