Fundraising
Congratulations and welcome to the FOCUS Missions Team! We are honored to have you join us as a volunteer. Thank you for your heroic commitment to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Your decision has the potential to impact the lives of people across the world.
You should have already received an e-mail with instructions to submit the necessary documents to complete your application profile. Below you will find instructions for setting up your personal fundraising page, helpful hints for fundraising, and other information to help you fundraise for your trip.
First
Pray for the success of your mission. Our missions are not possible without God’s grace!
Second
Begin fundraising for your trip immediately! The fundraising handbook, which will aid you in all areas of fundraising, can be downloaded by clicking here-Fundraising Handbook 2012. A bible study on the spiritual basis for fundraising can be found here-Fundraising Concerns a Biblical Perspective. Please read this packet thoroughly and completely!
Receiving Donations
There are two ways donors may donate to your trip fund: Online Donation and Personal Check. Directions for processing both types of donations can be found below.
By Online Donation
1. You should have received an e-mail with a link to set up your “Personal Fundraising Page.” Any non-domestic trip will require that you Further information about the deposit can be found in the Fundraising Deadlines section below. There are instructions for setting up your Personal Page on the site. You can also check out a few sample Personal Fundraising Pages below to help guide you through creating yours.
*A sample personal page can be found in the photo gallery below.
*For another example of a Personal Fundraising Page click here.
2. After you have created your Personal Fundraising Page, you may direct your donors there in two different ways:
-Give your donors the URL of your Personal Page (ex. http://www.focusonline.org/site/TR?pg=fund&fr_id=1070&pxfid=1270 – this link will be customized to the URL of your Personal Page) YOU MAY WANT TO E-MAIL YOUR PERSONAL FUNDRAISING PAGE LINK TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND SHARE YOUR LINK ON FACEBOOK TO HELP YOU IN YOUR FUNDRAISING PROCESS!
-Have your donors go to the FOCUS Homepage (www.focus.org). Once they are at this site they can push the ‘Give Now’ button on the main page. Next, have them click the ‘Support a Missionary’ button. After they have pushed this button they can do a search for your name and donate to your fund. Recap: FOCUS Homepage -> Give Now -> Support a Missionary -> Search for your name -> click on your Personal Page link. *Screenshots of this progression can be found in the photo gallery below.
3. Once your donor is at your fund page, have them click the “Make a Donation” button. Here they can fill out their credit card and personal information. IF YOUR DONOR IS MAKING A ONE TIME GIFT THEY MUST CHOOSE THE GIFT OPTION “SPECIAL.”
4. You will be able to track who has made online donations to you through your Personal Page.
By Personal Check (via postal mail)
1. Have the donor make the check out to FOCUS. If it is not made out to FOCUS, their gift will not be tax deductible.
2. Your NAME and MISSIONARY ID NUMBER (which you received in an email) should be put on the memo line of the check.
3. The donor must send the check to you. You will send the check along with the Donor Support Record to FOCUS Headquarters by mail. If the donor sends the check directly to FOCUS it may not get credited to your fund. You will also e-mail a soft copy of the Donor Support Record to missions@focusonline.org. 4. After you receive a check, check it over for errors and make a scanned copy of it for accurate records. Send the check by mail to:
FOCUS
Attn: Missions
PO Box 18710
Golden, CO 80402
5. Keep a record of every donation you receive and who sent it. It is important to keep a record of all donors so when it is time to send out Thank you notes and post-mission newsletters, you have an accurate record of every donor who joined your mission support team.
*An example of a properly done check can be seen in the photo gallery below.
Fundraising Deadlines
Fundraising Deadlines will be given to you by your Mission Trip Director.
It is extremely important that you meet the sponsorship financial deadline dates for your Mission. The first $200 of sponsorship money you solicit will hold a “spot” for you on the Mission. The other deadlines, while aggressive, give us the needed funds to make payments as well as get the best prices we can for airfare and ground accommodations.
You will be withdrawn from the Mission if you do not meet the $200 sponsorship deadline or are unable to meet the first target sponsorship revenue goals by the date assigned by your trip director. If there is a problem with this, please contact your Mission Trip Director. Later on, as your sponsorship time progresses, it is still very crucial for you to meet your deadlines. If you miss deadlines you will need to discuss this with your trip director.
If at any time (after you have raised your $200 initial sponsorship money and any other sponsorship money required by a specific date), you find that you must withdraw, the first $200 and any airfare costs are not transferrable to another trip participant. The rest of the funds you have raised will remain in the trip account, as we are fundraising to send the whole group on the trip.
We want to serve you and support you in the challenge of raising your portion of the sponsorship funds. Please do not be afraid to ask ANY questions while discussing the fundraising process!
If you have carefully read all the instructions and still can’t find what you are looking for, email us at missions@focusonline.org or call 303-551-7404 during office hours.
