2. How to use this book
So you’ve decided to help us raise funds for Room to Read? Fantastic! But you’re
not sure how to do it? No worries – we’ve done the hard work for you – the
answers are all here. BUT, if you have an idea, as this is not an exhaustive list, we
look forward to your suggestions!
This book is packed full of fundraising, awareness-raising and event ideas. Some
of them you’ll have heard before, others are new or maybe even a little crazy. But
we hope that they’ll inspire you to take action to help Room to Read bring
education to developing countries.
Once you’ve held your event or fundraiser, make sure to share your story with us –
so we can inspire others to follow in your footsteps.
Thank you for your support of Room to Read – it is greatly appreciated.
2
3. Become a champion for children’s literacy and
gender equality in education.
Hosting a fundraiser is a great place to start!!
Whether you’re running a race, organizing a
teambuilding activity for your office, or raising a glass
to literacy, you can change the life of a child and
generations to come.
3
4. 4
First,
set a goal
Do you want to send a girl go to school for a year, or maybe ten girls for ten
years? Or perhaps you’d like to fund a library in Nepal, Cambodia , South
Africa or Zambia?
Whatever your goal, remember that every dollar helps. Here are some key
figures to set you on your way to helping us raise funds for Room to Read…..
5. 5
$1
= one new book in the hands of a child
$2,500
= 10 years of Girls’ Education
$250
= one year of Girls’ Education
$100
= school uniforms for 16 girls
$25
= books to fill a library shelf
$50
= a bicycle for a girl to get to school
6. 6
Not enough? Try this!
PROJECT SPONSORSHIP:
Establish a Classroom Library in Asia $5,000
Establish a Classroom Library in Africa $20,000
Construct a Library in Asia $20,000
Construct a Library in Africa $40,000
8. 8
Donate your
birthday
This has to be the easiest fundraiser ever, but it can have huge results. How
does it work? That’s easy…
• Set up a fundraising page at – create a fundraising page online at
www.roomtoread.org/FriendsAskingFriends
• Now, listen carefully - this is the important part– explain to your friends and
family that this year you’d rather not receive birthday gifts; rather, you’d like
them to make a donation to Room to Read to the same value as they would
have spent on your gift
• Take the lead by donating your salary for the day
• Go viral - share your actions on Facebook and Twitter
• Be creative – donate your engagement, wedding or even Christmas!
9. 9
Give up to Give Back!
We all have things we’d like to give up – why not
give it up in the name of literacy? Just ask your
friends to sponsor you.
Here are some things we think you might like to give
up for a while:
• Drinking
• Smoking
• Chocolate
• Desserts
• Television
• Facebook
• Shaving (see Beards for Books later on)
• Coffee
• We’re sure you can think of more!
create a fundraising page
online at
www.roomtoread.org/Friend
sAskingFriends
to help you easily
manage the donations
that are sure to come
piling in
10. 10
Money
for jam Pull out your grandmother’s old recipes
and make some scrumptious jam or
chutney.
Bottle it into special jars, wrap them
beautifully and sell the packages to your
friends and family.
Market your wares before upcoming
festivities such as Christmas or
Mothers’ Day to maximize your sales.
Claire sold 300 jars
of home-made jam
and chutney,
and raised $800 – that’s
800 new children’s books
11. 11
Trivia
Night
Trivia nights are a fun way
to spend an evening with
friends and raise funds at
the same time.
Think of your own
questions or find a ready-
made quiz on the internet.
Mix it up a little by including
some games.
Ask local businesses for
donations for raffle or
auction prizes.
Cameron raised $2,000
by asking his friends
tricky questions and
pitting them against one
another. That was
enough for eight girls to
go to school for a year!
12. 12
Movie Night
Many cinemas have charity packages, where they
give discounted rates for groups. Find out what your
local cinema has on offer.
Invite your friends to join you for a favorite movie, or
the new blockbuster. Get as many people to come as
you can, and charge them an entry fee. Hold a raffle
or auction to raise extra funds.
13. 13
Dining for
Dollars
You can do it in style by
booking and paying for
the restaurant and
catering, inviting a large
group of friends and then
charging an entry fee; or
you can go low-key by
having a quiet dinner at
home and asking guests
to make a donation.
Talk passionately about
Room to Read, and why
it’s important to you, to
inspire guests to make
extra donations on the
night.
Julia held a dinner party
for a milestone birthday
and raised $16,000
towards her goal of
building a library in
Zambia.
14. 14
Book
Swap
If you love books, this one’s for you.
Simply invite some friends over and ask them to bring a favorite
book. Ask them to write a note explaining why they liked it so much.
Ask everyone to make a donation to Room to Read, and then swap
books.
What could be easier?
Jan, Jess and Anja raised
$270 - another year of
Girls’ Education – just by
combining two of their
favorite things: books
and Room to Read
15. 15
Beers for Books is a very
popular concept all over the
Room to Read world –
hmmm, we wonder why?!
The basic idea is you find a
cool bar and ask them to
donate $1 for every drink
sold on a specific night. You
invite your friends, they
invite their friends, and
everyone has a great night.
Every single dollar raised
funds a high quality local
language book. Beers
For Books
Check out the
Beers for Books
website at:
www.beersforbooks.org
16. 16
Beer not your thing? Easy – just swap the beer for champagne!
Find a cool bar willing to donate $1 for every drink sold and you’re
on your way to raising money for literacy.
Sounds like a bubbly good idea to us…
Cocktails for a Cause
or
Bubbles for Books
17. 17
Beards for
Books
Yes, that’s right Beards for Books! If beer and bubbles don’t do it for
you, maybe a beard will!
Victor grew a beard for fun while on holiday in Vietnam. When he
returned, friends encouraged him to keep it. He agreed but only on
the condition they donated to Room to Read.
Room to Read
supporters Victor, Chris
and Sop raised money
simply by growing
beards!
How cool is that?
18. 18
Garage
Sale
Is your stuff holding you hostage? Ready to
break free? Want to invest in literacy and
education at the same time?
Then hold a garage sale, and donate all the
proceeds to Room to Read. Invite your
neighbors to do the same and turn it into a
community event.
Hold your own or join in
the Garage Sale Trail.
19. 19
Host
a theme
party
Pick your favorite
theme, throw a party
and invite your
friends.
Charge an entry fee,
get everyone dressed
up and then party on!
Amy held a Mexican Day
of the Dead party,
invited all her friends
and raised $1600 – six
more years of Girls’
Education
20. 20
Play Scrabble
Peter loves to play Scrabble. He wanted to raise some money for Room to
Read but didn’t want to organize a big event.
He got talking to another Room to Read supporter, who said that the best
way to organise a fundraiser or awareness-raiser is to center it around
things you already do in your own life.
The light bulb went on, and Peter immediately went home and started to
plan his Scrabble tournament. He invited everyone from his Scrabble
community, and raised $720 in the process – enough for over 100 new
school uniforms!
21. 21
Get active
These days you can get your friends and family to sponsor you to do almost
anything. Here are some ideas:
• Running a marathon
• Join our Cowtown Yak Pak running team
• Undertaking an endurance event
• Skydiving
• Swimming
• Walking
• Dancing
• Bowling for Books !
Don’t fancy the active lifestyle? How about these ideas:
• Shaving your head
• Growing a beard
create a fundraising page online at
www.roomtoread.org/FriendsAskingFriends
22. 22
Lattes for Literacy
gather your friends for a coffee
morning, bring your mothers and
daughters, add in a book swap or
something else that’s fun, and share
your passion for girls’ education.
23. 23
Casual Day at Work or School
Collect donations at work on
casual days. Also a popular
campaign for schools!
24. 24
Campaigns
We have plenty of campaigns on the go – pick the one that appeals to you and organise
your fundraiser around it.
In 2013 we’ll be focusing on:
• International Book Giving Day - February
• International Women’s Day - March
• Book Week - May
• International Literacy Day – September 8
• Booktober – September/October
• International Day of the Girl – October 11
Know of another one? Tell us about it!
25. 25
Tips
and
tricks
• Make sure your venue is the right size – you want to create atmosphere but
still have room to move
• You may incur some expenses, such as a room rental fee, so factor this into
your financial plan
• Learn how to talk passionately about Room to Read (come to our workshop
on this) and speak at your event – this inspires others to follow your lead and
take action
• Checkout our Independent Events Kit for more info
• http://www.roomtoread.org/MyCampaign
• Ask us for our handy How to write a Press Release kit so you can get some
publicity
Here are some handy hints, given to us by the
lovely people who’ve already held events for
us:
• Approach local businesses and ask them to
sponsor your event, or donate some goods or
services as prizes
26. 26
‘Friend’raisers
Not quite ready to ask for donations? Not a problem!
It’s just as important to share the news about Room to Read. So, host a ‘friend’raising
event to raise awareness.
The goal of a friendraiser is to give people information about Room to Read
and let them know how they can get involved. Sharing one of the short videos
from YouTube is a great way to show the work RtR does to improve the lives
of millions of children (see http://www.youtube.com/user/Roomtoread) .
27. 27
All your fundraising efforts support the
DFW Room to Read chapter and we want
to support you! By filling out an event form, we will
be able to assist in advertising your event via our
social media networks.
Email form to dallas@roomtoread.org
And remember, all the funds raised via your event
and the DFW chapter go directly to Room to Read!
World Change Starts with Educated Children
28. 28
Thank you for your support of Room to Read – it is greatly appreciated.
World Change Starts with Educated Children.
®
