Over the past few years, I have done a fair bit of
fundraising. After my freshman year of college, I went on a short term missions
trip through RP Missions to Larnaca, Cyprus, where I worked with a youth group
for three weeks. When I graduated, I helped organize and participated in “Geneva
Across America,” an eight-week bicycle journey across the United States. The
purpose of the trip (in addition to the sheer awesomeness of biking across the
country) was to raise funds to endow an annual scholarship at my alma mater.
After raising my $3,500 for Geneva Across America, I figured I was done with
fundraising. I had graduated and was off to a “real” job…
…At a non-profit organization. One of my projects at the camp and conference center required additional funds, so welcome back to the world of fundraising! I
sent letters, made phone calls, and thought that that would be the last time. And
now here I am, making plans to go to Uganda for a year.
I have calculated a budget of $14,000. This amount covers
the stateside expenses of inoculations, airfare, visa, supplies, etc. cost of
living in Uganda for a year, and (also important) the various expenses of
returning to the states, e.g. recovering from malaria, taxes, preparing for what’s
next, etc. To me, $14,000 sounds like a pretty significant amount of money.
$3,500 is the largest sum I have had to raise before, and that was only a
quarter of my goal this time. There are certainly times when I feel
overwhelmed. At other times, the “Oh boy, that’s a lot of money” translates
into the very useful realization that I need to get a move on and simply ask
people to partner with me. Ultimately, I know that if God wants me to go to
Uganda, He will provide the way to get me there.
I don’t think I know anyone who actually likes asking people for money. However,
I do know a handful of people to do it on a regular basis. I would like to
mention two people in particular from whom I have gleaned advice and
encouragement in this department.
First, Patrick M., the Executive Director of the camp and
conference center where I work. In my mind, Pat represents the organized,
strategic side of fundraising. Now, to be clear, I like organization and
strategy as a rule. But when it came to fundraising, I had never drawn up a
plan for any of my fundraising endeavors. Ready, fire, aim, I think is an
appropriate description. Oh, and then fire again as needed. However, when I
started fundraising for my intern project, Pat introduced me to the idea of
tackling fundraising with a plan: how many people are you going to ask? How much
are you asking for from so and so? If they give $10 for ten months, that’s
$100. True, plans don’t automatically raise funds, but they do make the job
seem more manageable.
The other person who has helped me is Jim A. with whom I
biked across the country. Jim is an asker. I can't tell you how many times I heard Jim say, “Just ask.” One day when we were biking across Utah, we
arrived at our campsite for the day only to discover that the Recreation Area had,
due to several years of drought, become something of a desert wasteland. It was
105o Fahrenheit with a blazing sun and a breeze that made me think
of an oven door opening two feet from my face. Our campsite had no shelter or
shade, and the restrooms had no showers. I was reluctantly preparing myself for
a miserably hot weekend, but Jim went and asked about the available
trailer-style cabins. Through his generosity, we spent the weekend in air
conditioning. Until one of the trailer’s air conditioning unit stopped working.
At which point, Jim again asked for and received a third trailer free of
charge.
There were several times on the trip where I was looking
at maps, trying to figure out where to go, and Jim simply flagged down a
passing vehicle and asked for directions. “Just ask.” After all, the worst
thing that will happen is absolutely nothing.
Even though I just wrote “Just ask,” I find myself reluctant
to end this post by asking for money. Is it pride? Fear? All of the above? Or
none of the above? I suppose that is worth figuring out, but I won’t do it here. I will
simply end by saying that if you are willing, I would greatly appreciate your
support. The best way for me to receive
donations is through the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Checks should be
payable to the OPC with “Fiona Smith Support – Uganda M.A.” in
the memo line (very important!), and
mailed to
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
607 N. Easton Rd., Bldg. E
Willow Grove, PA 19090-2539
Attn: Linda Posthuma
