How to donate and how to collect donations

Team,
you need to write letters to your family and friends in your own words about the trip. Here's a few example letters, I'll also be emailing them out to you to look at. Just be sure to talk about what we're going to be doing, which is giving help and love by building back homes. Ask for sponsorship for the trip and support all around with encouragement and prayer. Let people know that their donations can be a tax write off because Forward Edge is a non-profit organization. The letter show how to do that. Also, people can donate in whatever form of money they want to. The form I'll be attaching is for you individually to keep track of who donated to you. Also, to donate electronically (which is crazy easy) is at the forward edge international websit. On the front page on the right side there's a box that says "make a donation." Go there, and scroll down to the box that's for team fees. Click that and put the amount. Right below that is the team name and #. We're the Cameron Team, and we're #410. At the top you also contribution type and contribution method. After that it's all the donor's info and just follow the steps. Also, I'll put up a post soon on our Swamp Stomp party/fund raiser at Kells when it's sorted out! Good luck, and get ahold of me or Jerrad for anything!

Example Letters...
Please customize and change to your own personal words and settings!

Example letter from our organizer Jerrad Isch….


Current Date, 2007
Dear Friends & Family,
I am going to Moss Point, MS to volunteer my time to help repair & rebuild homes that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina and to restore hope to the people of the US Gulf Coast. Our trip is from July 21-28, 2007 and will be composed of people from all over the Portland/Seattle area.
Perhaps you would like to participate in this mission trip with me? I would appreciate your prayers and any financial help you can provide. The cost of my trip includes $425 for team fees and ($400-500?) for airfare to and from the destination. The team fees cover the cost of food, lodging, local transportation and building materials for the week of my trip.
If you would like to donate towards my mission trip, please make your check payable to Forward Edge International, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, but mail it to me at the address below by June 22nd. I will send all funds you donate to Forward Edge before my trip and you will then receive a receipt from them for your tax-deductible donation. (It greatly simplifies their paperwork load for me to mail all donations in together.) Please write “Team #410” on the check, but please do not put my name anywhere on the check. (Any excess donations beyond the cost of my trip will be used by Forward Edge for other worthy projects.)
Or you may contribute towards my trip online with your credit card or electronic check at www.forwardedge.org. Click on “Make a Donation.” Just remember to check the box for “Team Fees” at the bottom of the form and put my name and Team #410 in the box.
Thank you so much for participating in my life-changing mission trip!
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
(Your Address)
(Your Email)
(Your Phone Number)

PS: We are having a FUNdraiser on June 1st at Kell’s Irish Pub in Downtown Portland.
Let me know if you want to receive Forward Edge’s bi-monthly newsletters, etc.
(You may also choose not to receive mailings from Forward Edge, but you will still receive your tax-deductible receipt at the address you submit on your check).



Example letter actually used by Beth Mahan on our last trip….


Dear ,
I am going to Moss Point, Mississippi to volunteer my time to help repair homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. A group of friends and I have organized our trip for our spring break, March 17-24. We are organizing it through our school, Seattle University, and Forward Edge International. I am very enthusiastic about this trip and the opportunity to help people who have been devastated by the hurricane. There are many communities that are still in disarray, and Forward Edge is committed to helping those who need it most. We will be working with the elderly and poverty stricken who have not received any insurance money and do not have the resources to fix their problems. There is extensive water damage from the flooding so we will be putting our efforts into tearing up floors and cleaning out debris. In addition to working on homes, we will be showing our support to those who have survived this traumatic experience. Many people have been separated from loved ones and neighbors, on top of losing all of their belongings. They need all of the help they can get and I believe that it is extremely important to be a part of this rebuilding.
I would love your prayers and any financial help you can provide. The total cost of my trip is $800, including $400 for team fees and $400 for airfare to and from Mississippi. I am working with an amazing group of students and we are planning fundraisers around the Seattle University campus, however we are all individually doing our part to raise the money. If you can donate towards my mission trip I really appreciate it. You can contribute towards my trip online at www.forwardedge.org/ . On the right-hand side click on the box that says 'make a donation' and then check the box for "Team Fees". In that box include my name and team number 371. Or you may contribute towards my trip by mailing a check to me at the address below. Please make your check out to Forward Edge International , a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. I will send it to Forward Edge before my trip and you will then receive a receipt for your tax-deductible donation. (Please do not write my name anywhere on the check.) Any excess donations beyond the cost of my trip will be used by Forward Edge for other worthy projects.
We have our first deadline coming up on January 17th for part of the fee. If you are able to donate please do so today, because the sooner the better. I am grateful for any help you can give so that I can participate in this effort.
Thank you so much for your support! Sincerely,