Peggy Kelland
NYS Program Vice President

Here are some suggestions for funding any project that serves your community and advances AAUW's mission, prepared by Carolyn Donovan, North Shore (L.I.) Branch.

Set income types, such as:

• In-Kind Donations: space, insurance, publicity, flyers, copying, website, mailings, posters, meeting rooms, sound system, computer resources
• Services: speakers, students, college athletes, guidance students, entertainment groups, artists, graphic designers, swing dancers, computer expertise
• Donations: food, door prizes, items for goodie bags, thank you gifts for facilitators and girls on committee, U. S. Dept. Health (Girl Power posters and diaries), sports items
• Media Sponsors: newspapers, radio, t.v., websites such as Girlzone and Cybergrrl
• Cash: keep need to minimum, then add a wish list

Define Your Strategies

Letter writing, phone calling, tapping a broad circle of organizations, asking close-in friends, having a "sponsor-a-girl" program, funding a specific activity, donating profits from sales, having a fishbowl at branch meeting or asking for matching gifts are all great ways to raise money.

Generating the Dollars

Identify sources of funding through telephone books, groups members belong to and branch has worked with previously, women's business listings, AAUW networking tips and diversity lists, College/University members. Here are some ideas:

• Your coalition members and branches
• Corporations: (Contact the AAUW Educational Foundation about major gifts) Boston Market, Bell Atlantic, UPS, Big Banks, Estee Lauder, Weight Watchers, Lemon Tree, McDonald's, Coca Cola, Citicorp Traveler's Checks, Kinko's, Garret Aviation, Citibank NA, European American Bank, Paine Webber
• Local Foundations: Bank Foundations, funds for women and girls, community foundations
• Community Sponsors: PTA, teachers groups, bagel stores, ZONTA, Catholic Charities, League of Women Voters, Rotary, lunch Rotary, hospital, community club, youth bureau, your branch's bank, members' banks, YM-YWCA, travel bureaus, PEO Sisterhood, local sporting goods stores, Planned Parenthood, Puerto Rican Women, 100 Black Women, Society of Women Engineers, Girl Scouts
• Friends and Individuals: people who give money to people
• Registrations Fees (if you charge the girls, then plan on scholarships)

How To Contact Funding Source

• Personal Approach: Have workers volunteer to contact sources where that have done business, friends of a friend , to reduce effort use personal cover letters on a standard letter produced centrally, follow-up with phone calls
• Have Professional Looking Material: create a special Summit letterhead; attractive, accurate and specific information; reader friendly spacing with clear crisp text; graphic showing how money is being raised.
• Tell Them What You're Offering: relate materials to the goals of the donor and the summit's goals, suggest levels of participation (friend, sponsor, angel); offer publicity, newspaper coverage and photo opportunities: emphasize good feeling of sponsoring a girl

Avoiding Problems and Pitfalls

• Get Started Last Week: large companies have funding cycles
• Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up: remind committee members to contact their friends and keep on calling
• Use fax and e-mail where appropriate
• Find out if donations are truly tax-deductible
• Don't give a supporter publicity until you have the money!

Note - AAUW NYS has funding for special projects of up to $100.  Applications are available here.