Advice from Fundraising Superstars

It’s the most wonderful time of year… to fundraise!

Do you know about WorldStrides’ Gift of Education? Our most successful fundraising tool, this flexible resource lets you create customized e-cards, Facebook links or custom letters to reach out to family, friends, and people in your community to request the Gift of Education.

Just last year, over 3,000 trips utilized this tool with over 6,000 individual donations made! To make the most out of the Gift of Education this holiday season, we reached out to 200 students who were truly Gift of Education superstars, cumulatively raising $255,000 with the tool! We asked how they used the Gift of Education for their fundraising efforts and here is some of their advice.

E-Cards

Our e-cards are easily customizable, and we have a special template for the holidays! Use this feature to send an email to friends and family to request a donation, in lieu of a more traditional gift. Fill out their name and email, plus your information and we’ll do the rest! The recipients can quickly and easily make an online contribution directly to your account.

Our superstars recommend starting early and sending out an email to friends and family, then follow up with the other Gift of Education tools.

Share on Facebook

ALL the fundraising superstars we surveyed said they used our “Share on Facebook” tool, which is available for programs traveling to domestic destinations. One fundraiser said, “The Facebook link is a great way to get donations.”

Our superstars recommended sharing it frequently – some say they did it every day or weekly! One talented student even made it extra personal:

“My mom created a video of me singing a song that she changed the lyrics to, asking for donations and informing them about the trip. In the same post, we included the link provided to tell them where to go to donate,” she explained.

Fill out our quick form with your name, account, number and destination – you’ll get a shareable Facebook link to promote your trip. On Facebook this provides the opportunity for friends to share the post as one superstar said, “I posted it on Facebook so friends and family can help by donating or also sharing it with their friends”.

Mail a Letter

Use the holiday season to send a custom letter – like a holiday card! Download the letter template for your trip, customize with your information, print and send! Consider getting holiday themed stamps to make the letters seasonal. A few of these letters will go a long way! Take the advice of one of our superstars, “Ask anyone and everyone because you never know who might say yes!”

Looking for more fundraising tips? Learn about what other students did to help fund their trip here.

Article written by Emily Tourtillotte

Emily’s background is in digital marketing, and you can find her creating educational travel content for the blog and social media. When she is not working, she’s checking out fitness classes or trying the newest restaurants in Boston with friends.