100 Friends Project

Sample Letter for Fundraising
by Judy Wolf

This sample fundraising letter accompanies an article and sidebar featured in my Adventurous Life newsletter. This letter is purely an example -- intended to help people wanting to follow in the footsteps of Marc Gold and his 100 Friends Project. Links within the letter are included to help you research and fill in details of your own.

Dear Friend,

You are receiving this letter because you are one of the people in my life I feel might be most interested in learning about my new project. I am planning a trip to Cambodia [SUBSTITUTE THE COUNTRY YOU'RE PLANNING TO VISIT], and while I’m there, hope to not only take in the sights, smells and sounds (as travelers do), but to also make a difference in the lives of some of the people I meet.

As you may or may not know, [Cambodia’s] average annual income was [$280 in 2002]. While there are plenty of good nonprofits out there doing amazing work (Doctors Without Borders, OxFam, CARE, Poverty Fighters, to name only a few), they can’t reach everyone in need.

As a traveler with a social conscience, I’d like to follow in the footprints of Marc Gold and the 100 Friends Project... and take the idea of people-helping-people one step further.

I want to carry my community spirit with me while traveling. My goal is to connect with small local organizations and people who aren’t always reached by the efforts of large agencies, and give money directly to them. With your help, I want my trip to be more than just a sightseeing venture -- I want to make a difference in the lives of the people I meet.

While in Cambodia, I’ll seek out and donate to worthy individuals and organizations (I’ve done lots of research and already have contacts with small, non-governmental agencies doing good work over there) and help them in whatever way I can. We may not be able to help a million people, or even a thousand people -- but we can help a dozen, or 50, or -- who knows? -- maybe 100.

I’ll pay all my own travel expenses, which means that every dollar you donate will go directly to benefit people in need. Please don’t feel at all pressured to participate -- you probably already give generously of your time and money, and I sincerely mean this as an opportunity, NOT a guilt trip! Please feel free to give as much or as little as you can -- considering the average annual income, even a dollar can make a difference and will be much appreciated by whoever receives it.

I’ve set up a Paypal account [INCLUDE A LINK DIRECTLY TO YOUR ACCOUNT] so you can easily give money online (simply set up your own account if you don't already have one), or you can drop a check in the mail to me at [YOUR ADDRESS]. For everyone who donates, I’ll automatically keep you posted of my adventures and encounters, share what I learn along the way, and provide a complete report of where the money is distributed and to what purpose. And for those of you who choose not to donate at this time, please feel free to drop me a line and let me know if you’d like to be included in these updates. I’ll gladly add you to my e-mail list.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in participating by adding a donation, please feel free to forward this message on to them -- of course, please only send it to people you know personally and think might be genuinely interested in learning about such a project. Thanks mightily for your kind thoughts and generous hearts.

Peace,
[your signature]

P.S. If you’d like to do this sort of thing yourself on your next travels, there’s a handy “how to” reference guide at www.judywolf.com/resources/100friends_tips-n-hints.html. (This link also includes resources for finding organizations to connect with in countries around the world if you prefer to arrange to volunteer while abroad.)

Go back to the article or sidebar.

Copyright (c) 2004 Judy Wolf

About the Author:
Judy Wolf (www.judywolf.com) is a world traveler, freelance writer, speaker, and whitewater kayak instructor. She's taken numerous, extended solo journeys around the world, traveling by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, elephant, and bicycle to over 30 countries on five continents. She currently lives in upstate New York with her husband and border collie, where she's working on a book-length travel narrative about her most recent adventures…that is, when she's not plunging off waterfalls or entertaining the dog.

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