FUNDRAISING

First and foremost please do not forget prayer. if the only reason you are hesitant about going is because of the money, remember to not put god in a box. continue to come to him daily in submission to his word and what he says about his provision and care to get us where he is calling us.

STEP 1 - Follow this link to watch all Fundraising Training videos

STEP 2 - READ THE GOD ASK

There’s an amazing book we recommend reading called “The God Ask”. We advocate for reading the whole thing but we understand if you don’t, so here are some major key points:

The Button - If you could press a button and be fully funded would you? The challenge of the book is to change our minds about support raising. To look at it as an essential support team. We need their prayers, encouragement, and accountability.
Giving is vertical, not horizontal - We are asking people to give to God’s mission and invest in his kingdom. We then are being blessed by the Lord with his provision for our vision.
Worthy to Receive - As the Levites served God the tithes of the people supported them and their families. Rasing support is biblical. You are worthy to receive wages from people for God's work. (Numbers18:20-21,31)
Calling Testimony Vision - Your calling and testimony should lead to your vision. What God has called you from and called you to should be connected to your missionary vision. Without vision, you won’t raise support. Steve asks, “How deeply do you feel about the ministry the Lord has called you to?… Unless you believe, deep in your soul that your vision is from God and is the most strategic thing you could do with your life, you will not experience much receptiveness from the potential donors you meet with.”
Biblical Vision of Support Raising - Support raising is Biblical. Paul did it. Jesus did it. Nehemiah did it. The Apostle Paul said, “The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” (1 Cor. 9:14) Embrace support raising not as a necessary evil but as a privilege. Those called to raise support are commissioned by God to mobilize people to join what God is doing.
Ask God… - Ultimately, God is the one who provides for His workers. Steve says, “The strength of my public support raising is directly tied to the strength of my private intercession with God.” Pray big prayers and trust God to provide in ways that we couldn’t imagine possible. Steve asks, “Are you going to believe him for big things or not?”
Ask others Directly - No other method comes close to the effectiveness of asking people directly face-to-face. It takes bravery, it takes work, it takes preparation, but it produces results. The more personal the approach the more powerful.

STEP 3 - GET YOUR LIST

Now, what is a “list”? We find that the hardest part of fundraising is getting started, and one of the easiest ways is to have a list of people to reach out to. This is a brainstorm — jot down every person you could think of who you would want to invite into supporting your trip. Typically your list will be around 50-100 people, if it’s not that’s okay, get with a parent or a friend to help you go over your list and add any more people!

Ex: Aunts, Uncles, Small Group leaders, Youth/Young Adults Pastors, Coaches, Teachers, Neighbors, etc.

STEP 4 - SEND OUT SUPPORT LETTERS & make phone calls and/or appointments

Support Letters: After coming up with that list, send a support letter letting them know what you will be doing and telling them that you need their financial and prayer support. We highly recommend personalizing your letters with a handwritten note and sending them via mail to show your intentionality.

Phone Calls and/or Appointments: With technology advancing it’s easy to get caught in the cycle of just communicating by text or non-verbal communication. Sometimes, asking someone to partner with you in fundraising can be more impactful and meaningful if you set up a phone call appointment or even a face-to-face appointment to ask for support. It not only displays courtesy and respect but also shows how much you value and care about the mission behind what you are doing and why you are doing it. Furthermore, it allows you to answer any follow-up questions people might have about why you might need their support in helping you get to Africa, and about the mission in general. And lastly, you can gain more Prayer Warriors on your team. Even if someone is not willing to help financially, it is a beautiful gift and opportunity from the Lord to ask them to pray for you during your time in Africa.

STEP 5 - SET UP MONTHLY GOALS*

We’ve set up a Fundraising Plan Estimator to help you navigate fundraising (This is a google sheet that will automatically copy to your account when selected). Fundraising can seem daunting but once broken down into obtainable goals it makes support raising, that much easier.

The dates in the Fundraising Plan Estimator are all changeable to your exact trip. Typically we find that people sign up to a trip 7 months in advance, adjust your Estimator to your own timeline.

Africa Freedom Mission has two primary funding goals for all of the trips. They are as follows:

$1,800 of your funding is required before AFM will book your airfare. We book airfare in February/March for Summer teams and September/October for Winter Teams.

100% of funding is required 2 weeks before your travel date.

***Africa Freedom Mission is responsible for purchasing all international airline tickets. AFM prohibits team members from shopping for and purchasing their own international airfare.

Any international airfare purchased outside of AFM, will NOT be reimbursed.***

STEP 6 - FUNDRAISING IDEAS

A couple of things team members have done in the past are:

Selling Shirts: For some of you more creative and organized people, selling shirts could also be an option for you! However, AFM does not partner with you in that. This would be your sole responsibility to keep track of the order and sales on your own. Many of our team members through AFM have loved this idea and had some tremendous success, selling through Instagram, Facebook, and even speaking at their local church!
Adopt a Box: One way that we’ve seen team members raise a good bit of support in a short amount of time is through Adopt-A-Box. You can sign up for web services that will manage it for you or you can do it yourself. You create a grid like the one below and ask people if they would consider adopting a box. When they adopt a box, they then donate that amount and agree to pray for you for your trip to Africa. We recommend updating and reposting the box regularly on your social media platforms until you have all of the boxes adopted. Flights with AFM can typically be covered with a 60-square adopt-a-box grid. A typical 2-week trip with AFM can be covered with a 90-square adopt-a-box grid. Please feel free to download the images below to use for your social media campaigns!