I have an exceptionally innovative affinity-based fund-raising idea for non-profit organizations; however there is a start-up fee of $500 per organization. I want to know how to ask philanthropists, ie: Bill Gates, the Moores, Oprah, etc. for the money to finance these start-up fees for the organizations, so that the non-profit organizations can initiate the program and take advantage of this fund-raisng avenue. It is designed to generate funds on a 24/7/365 basis through their website from their current and future supporters. The non-profits are not asking their supporters for one dime that their supporters aren't currently spending on their vacation and business travel, and/or entertainment. There are no additional advertisement, employee salary, awareness/educational materials or volunteer hours for the non-profit organizations. This program is self-supporting and the non-profits have the benefit of a marketing specialist to help fulfill all of those needs for them. Unfortunately, I am not independently wealthy or I would pay all of the start-up fees for every organization just so that they can get up and going and raising literally thousands of extra dollars in funds for their causes. My heart is for the third world countries and their children. In April of this year, I sold everything that I owned (except for my computer and car) and donated the money to a non-profit organization that helps former child soldiers in Uganda, Africa. After the sale and disbursement of funds, I still wanted to do more, so I started thinking about and researching ways to help non-profit organizations raise more money. I came upon the perfect solution, but like I said, there is a start-up fee of $500 per organization that I cannot pay myself. I need to know the best, correct and most effective way to solicit money from philanthropists for these start-up fees for the non-profit organizations. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

Not to be mean, but someone would be more likely to help you if they could read your font. It gives me a headache! :)

No, I'm serious, its really hard to read. No one is going to take the time to squint and strain their eyes to read that! Its much easier with just normal font.

Here is one article that may be helpful to you, if not I'm sorry : Why is it hard to ask for money? — Social Edge (http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/funding/why-is-it-hard-to-ask-for-money/)

I will keep researching and get back to you if I find anything :)

Here is another : TallSkinnyKiwi: How To Ask Foundations for Money (http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2006/07/how_to_ask_foun.html)

They both give you methods of proposing your cause, the one I posted in this comment is actually better :)

I have an exceptionally innovative affinity-based fund-raising idea for non-profit organizations; however there is a start-up fee of $500 per organization. I want to know how to ask philanthropists, ie: Bill Gates, the Moores, Oprah, etc. for the money to finance these start-up fees for the organizations, so that the non-profit organizations can initiate the program and take advantage of this fund-raisng avenue. It is designed to generate funds on a 24/7/365 basis through their website from their current and future supporters. The non-profits are not asking their supporters for one dime that their supporters aren't currently spending on their vacation and business travel, and/or entertainment. There are no additional advertisement, employee salary, awareness/educational materials or volunteer hours for the non-profit organizations. This program is self-supporting and the non-profits have the benefit of a marketing specialist to help fulfill all of those needs for them. Unfortunately, I am not independently wealthy or I would pay all of the start-up fees for each and every organization just so that they can get up and going and raising literally thousands of extra dollars in funds for their causes. My heart is for the third world countries and their children. In April of this year, I sold everything that I owned (except for my computer and car) and donated the money to a non-profit organization that helps former child soldiers in Uganda, Africa. After the sale and disbursement of funds, I still wanted to do more, so I started thinking about and researching ways to help non-profit organizations raise more money. I came upon the perfect solution, but like I said, there is a start-up fee of $500 per organization that I cannot pay myself. I need to know the best, correct and most effective way to solicit money from philanthropists for these start-up fees for the non-profit organizations. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!
Well me and you are in the same boat but mine mit be a littlle more bad I don't have lights water or gas and can't get know help from my local areas so I tried this also but I don't know how to work this system like by apply for somyhing well if you can help e-mail me back if you know some one who can help I lost my job with 3 children too [email protected]

well me and you are in the same boat but mine mit be a littlle more bad i dont have lights water or gas and can't get know help from my local areas so i tryed this also but i dont know how to work this system like by apply for somyhing well if you can help e-mail me back if you know some one who can help i lost my job with 3 childen too [email protected]

Have you checked your state and county websites? They usually have assistance for people in this situation :)

well me and you are in the same boat

Actually you are not even close to the same boat as the OP. His question was how to contact philanthropies to offer them an idea for fund raising. Your question is about getting funds to live on. You need to talk to your local social services agency.

I have an exceptionally innovative affinity-based fund-raising idea for non-profit organizations; however there is a start-up fee of $500 per organization. I want to know how to ask philanthropists, ie: Bill Gates, the Moores, Oprah, etc. for the money to finance these start-up fees for the organizations, so that the non-profit organizations can initiate the program and take advantage of this fund-raisng avenue.

OK. YOU don't ask the Gates, Moores, Oprah for anything. You need to approach the lower tier organizations that need to constantly generate funds and constantly do fund raising with your idea. If they feel it has merit, they will know where to get the funds to buy in.

You need a professional grant writer or someone who is familiar with applying for grants. My sister did it for years and I have encouraged her to freelance, but she isn't interested.

I am not clear on what the $500 is for. My sister worked for an organization that worked with the blind and she applied for grants from 10k to .5 mil and no application fee was necessary.

Can you elaborate on what exactly the $500 per organization is used for?

ScottGem agrees: the font looks standard to me so I suspect it was changed. But your point is well taken, if the post is hard to read either due to font, color, language or grammar, people won't respond.

Thank you. She was using a weird font, plus bold, and all of the words seemed to just flow together. I couldn't even tell what she was trying to say :)

The $500 Start-up Fee Is One That Would Be Required From Non-profit Organizations To Set Up Their Private Label Booking Engine Site & Link, So That Their Supporters Can Book Vacations, Entertainment & Sporting Event Tickets And Send Flowers Through The Non-profit's Site. The Start-up Fee Is Required From The Non-profits By The Travel Agency And Is Non-negotiable, But Once That Fee Is Paid, The Site Is Set Up, And Their Members Use The Site, The Non-profit Receives 40% Of The Travel Commission. Currently, Anyone Using Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Etc. Are Paying A 5%commission Fee That Is Automatically Included In The Final Price Of What They Have Booked. If Non-profits Use This Affinity Travel Program, They Receive 40% Of The 5% Commission That Is Automatically Included In The Cost Of Booking On-line. The Non-profit That I Would Like To Start Would Be To Give The Non-profits The Original Start-up Fee For Their Sites, So They Are Not Having To Budget These Costs, And Would Be More Likely To Initiate The Program To Help Their Organizations. And To Answer What Is Most Likely The Next Obvious Question, What Do I Get Out Of It? I Get 10% Of The Remaining 60% Of The 5% Commission Fee. For This 10%, I Manage The Account For The Non-profit So That They Do Not Need Employee Or Volunteer Hours For Management Of The Site. The Travel Agency Receives 30% And The Remaining 20% Goes To Advertising & Marketing The Booking Engine For The Non-profit, So That They Do Not Have That Expense Or Use Of Valuable Employee Or Volunteer Time Either. It's A Remarkable Program, And Yes, Money Is Being Made By Persons That Are For Profit, But The Biggest Percentage (60% Total) Is Going To The Not For Profit Organization, Compared To On-line Booking Through The Sites Previously Mentioned Where 100% Is Going To For Profit Companies. It Is A Unique Division Of The Travel Company That I Work For (commission Only, No Salary Or Hourly Wage) To Do Their Part In "giving Back". I Had My Choice Of This Division Or The Totally For Profit Sector Where My Commissions Are Much More And I Chose This One Purely From Good Intentions And Will Give Every Dime I Earn Over $2,000 Per Month (the Bare Minimum I Can Support 2 Children On) Away To The Non-profit Organizations That I Support, Which Are: Invisible Children, World Vision, Resolve Uganda & Save Darfur. I Don't Think That I Can Afford To Pay A Professional Grant Writer, But I Do Appreciate The Information, And Will Check Into It Further To Assess The Feasability. I'd Be Foolish If I Didn't Ask... Would Your Sister Be Interested In Writing Any Grants For This Cause On A Volunteer Basis, Or Possibly Even A Very Delayed Payment Basis With My Agreeing To Pay Her First And Foremost From My 10% Commission Once I Am Able To Encourage Non-profits To Try The Program And Actually Receive A Commission?

Sorry, but IMO that model will never fly.

Hard to read and reminds of emails I delete daily.

OK. YOU don't ask the Gates, Moores, Oprah for anything. You need to approach the lower tier organizations that need to constantly generate funds and constantly do fund raising with your idea. If they feel it has merit, they will know where to get the funds to buy in.

yes, your reply was helpful. That is how i initially approached the situation, but non-profits are very leary of using their much-needed funds for new & untried methods of fund-raising – especially those that are struggling for funds. That is the reason i have been trying to think of alternative methods of supplying the start-up fees for the non-profits. Once it is set up they can track the funds generated from this program to assess its value to their organization. It is also non-contractual, so if it does not produce results, they are not committed to continuing with it. It’s just such a new affinity program and the percentages of funds generated for the non-profits are considerably higher than those of other, established affinity programs (ie: credit cards where 5% or lower go to non-profit or red phones & other merchandise where a low, established dollar amount per sale go to the non-profit) that it sounds too good to be true and worth taking the chance on to the non-profits. Or at least i’m assuming that is the stubling block that i am currently running into. They are just saying “NO THANKS” right off the bat, withhout even looking into it. If i ask why, they say they don’t have the funds or manpower to manage the program. If i tell them they don’t need any manpower, that’s what i’m for, they resort back to saying they don’t have the funds. I know that non-profits are continually looking for avenues to raise additional funds, but the start-up fees of this program appear to be the deterrant. Thanks for your first suggestion, but in light of this lengthy response, do you have any other suggestions as to what i can do to overcome this particular problem?

Hard to read and reminds of emails I delete daily.

Sorry, that's how it came out when i typed it in proper grammatical format. I can barely read it myself when looking at it now, and do not know why it came out like that, any suggestions?

Well you can drop the all caps to start.

I think they are saying no thanks, because it doesn't fit in with their traditional forms of fund raising. Basically what you seem to be doing is having charities front for Affinity Travel. You do this in the hope that people will use Affinity Travel to book their trips and events because it gets to support a charity. But most non profits, don't want to have such an affiliation.

So I agree with emland, the model just won't fly.

Sorry, but IMO that model will never fly.

What "MODEL" are you referring to? The explanation of the non-profit i want to start to help other non-profits? Or the structure of the affinity travel program?

The later

I think they are saying no thanks, because it doesn't fit in with their traditional forms of fund raising. Basically what you seem to be doing is having charities front for Affinity Travel. You do this in the hope that people will use Affinity Travel to book their trips and events because it gets to support a charity. But most non profits, don't want to have such an affiliation.

So I agree with emland, the model just won't fly.

I agree with your point, to a point. That is the basis of all affinity based programs currently in use such as the credit cards and the red phones and other merchandise being marketed as red. These programs are offered in the hope of getting people to buy or use their products to support a charity. That's what an affinity based program is, and non-profits do use these programs. This is not any different other than a larger percentage goes back to the non-profit.

I'm not saying that non profits don't use such tecniques, but many don't like to use it and rarely do they have to pay to use it. Usually the affinity marketer offers the non profit money for the use of their branding.

And PLEASE take the caps lock key off.

Well you can drop the all caps to start.

I'll do that. Thanks. Just do not understand why the other all cap posts came out correctly. But, thanks anyway.

I'm not saying that non profits don't use such tecniques, but many don't like to use it and rarely do they have to pay to use it. Usually the affinity marketer offers the non profit money for the use of their branding.

And PLEASE take the caps lock key off.

Okay, the caps are off. Sorry. And, that is correct. They do offer them money, in the percentage of what they receive per sale with the credit cards, and in the form of $8.50 per phone sold, and $2.50 per bluetooth headset sold with the red phone products. This offers the same feature only with 40% of the travel commission going to the non-profit, instead of 100% going to for-profit travel booking engines - the same basic principal as all affinity-based fundraisers. Am I missing your point, because I truly see no other difference between this program and the others - except the initial start-up fee. I am certain there is no start-up fee for the red products, but believe there is an initial start-up fee with the credit cards. Plus, nobody but the non-profit knows where the travel is being booked through. As far as the supporters are concerned, they are booking it through the non-profit they support. The booking engine is custom designed for the non-profit with their logo and information - not the travel agency's. They have a separate division for the for profit sector. I still feel as though I'm completely missing what you are saying.

the later

I appreciate your response and would like your feedback as to why it won't fly. Are you in concordance with the reasons given in the other response? If so, what am I missing that is so obvious to both of you, but not to me?

The reasons I don't think this will work are:

1. Those individuals visiting the non-profits sites aren't doing so with the intent of booking travel. They may take note of the ad, but when it comes down to securing the reservations they will most likely take the traditional route.

2. When a traveler has the inevitable bad trip experience, they aren't going to blame the travel agency on the website, they are going to blame the non-profit. They are not going to want to deal with an angry traveler whose Bahamamian vacation was ruined by non-stop rain.

3. Non-profits with websites can add affiliations to their websites and earn commissions from their visitors WITHOUT paying a dime. Here is my company website Mail Depot Home Page (http://www.maildepot1.com/) The animated ads that you see in the middle portion of page don't cost me a cent, but any visitor that clicks through and buys something - the company gets a commission (after a base amount is reached.)

4. and lastly, the websites I have Googled look a lot like this one Affinity Travel (http://www.affinitytravel.com/) I would not feel confident in booking with this site - it just doesn't look professional and legitimate to me.

The reasons I don't think this will work are:

1. Those individuals visiting the non-profits sites aren't doing so with the intent of booking travel. They may take note of the ad, but when it comes down to securing the reservations they will most likely take the traditional route.

2. When a traveler has the inevitable bad trip experience, they aren't going to blame the travel agency on the website, they are going to blame the non-profit. They are not going to want to deal with an angry traveler whose Bahamamian vacation was ruined by non-stop rain.

3. Non-profits with websites can add affiliations to their websites and earn commissions from their visitors WITHOUT paying a dime. Here is my company website Mail Depot Home Page (http://www.maildepot1.com/) The animated ads that you see in the middle portion of page don't cost me a cent, but any visitor that clicks through and buys something - the company gets a commission (after a base amount is reached.)

4. and lastly, the websites I have Googled look a lot like this one


url=http://www.affinitytravel.com/]Affinity Travel[/url] I would not feel confident in booking with this site - it just doesn't look professional and legitimate to me.

Thank you! I appreciate your honest feedback. In response to #1: There is no ad on the website of the non-profit. The advertising is provided by the travel agency, designed by the non-profit and marketed to the non-profit's supporters in whatever way the non-profit designates, ie: newsletters, e-mails, informational brochures, etc. - the non-profits know their supporters better than the travel agency and know what marketing plan will work best for them. The only thing on the non-profit's site is the link to the booking engine, which they are informed is there through the marketing plan if they so choose to use it to support their cause. It is marketed as an additional service - an alternative for them to donate to their cause without having to do anything they weren't already planning to do, and with no additional donations requested.

#2. The travel agency provides one million in insurance to the non-profit for exactly those occasions at no additional cost to the non-profit, and the supporters are informed prior to taking their trip not to contact the non-profit, but the travel agency in case of such an event. That's what my 10% is for - to handle these situations if and when they arise. Also, the airline, hotel, car rental company, cruise line, etc. all have liability insurance as well, and occasions of which you mentioned are not what usually causes unhappy travelers - it is the instances that occur in specific areas of travel, ie: lost luggage, mishap upon a cruise ship, robbery of a hotel room, breakdown of a rental car, etc. where the incident is most likely taken up with the service provider.

I especially appreciate the information you provided in #3! I am definitely going to check into the travel agency being able to do something of the same sort for the non-profits as far as the non-profits not paying anything up front, but receiving their commissions after the base amount of the start-up fees are met.

Thanks so much! I greatly appreciate the time you have taken in helping me with my dilemma!