Thank you for your interest in hosting a fundraiser to benefit the Village Banking Campaign! It is because of faithful supporters like you that we are able to make a permanent impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty, each and every day. We are, above all, grateful and thankful for your dedication to our work.

We know that your time is valuable, so we are providing materials that we think should prove helpful as you plan an educational, entertaining and successful fundraising event. Please note that none of these materials are required for a successful event; they are simply designed to assist you with your planning and implementation.

How to Plan Your Successful Fundraising Event:

• Step 1
  One month – two weeks prior
  
  
• Step 2
  One week prior
  
  
• Step 3
  Day of the Event
  
  
• Step 4
  One day to one week after event
  

Step 1
One month – two weeks prior

Invite friends and family – Send out invitations and/or evites with date and time of the event plus a date by which you’d like them to RSVP. Encourage them to invite others who are interested in FINCA, microfinance, or international poverty alleviation.

Step 2
One week prior

• Make follow-up calls – Make a personal call to those guests whom you’ve not heard from, encouraging them to join you.
• Prepare a short presentation – Using our video resources, talking pointsand your own experiences, prepare a short presentation to share with your guests. If you’ve been to the field and have photos or mementos from your visit, you might consider displaying these, or including them in your presentation.
• Sample event schedule –
  • Guests arrive, mingle and look at displayed photos, materials, etc.
  • Host welcomes guests and shares his/her/their reasons for supporting FINCA International and the Village Banking Campaign.
  • Host or guest speaker gives brief talk about FINCA, using the talking points provided, if preferred, or write your own, and introducing the video resources or power point presentation.
  • Watch video/deliver presentation with photo slideshow.
  • Opportunity for question and answer session.
  • Circulate sign-up sheet for more information and distribute necessary materials for guests to make donations if they haven’t yet.

Step 3
Day of the Event

• Set-up – If you choose to use electronic visuals, make sure you have a television or computer and projector screen on which to play the slideshow or DVD. Remember to also have on hand your printed Talking Points and/or Presentation, and a sign-in sheet for guests to get more information.
• Provide guests with FINCA materials – Either display or distribute FINCA brochures and donation envelopes to guests.
• Send donations to FINCA – Following the event, please mail donations/checks/credit card authorization forms, along with a list of contributors, addresses and the amount of each enclosed gift, to the below address. Please use this contribution form for each donation. We will enter the information into our data collection system to ensure that each contributor receives a letter acknowledging the donation which can be used for tax purposes.
  You can also encourage your guests to make online donations at: FINCA.kintera.org/donation
  
  FINCA International, Inc.
  PO BOX 98048
  Washington, DC 20090-8048
  
  
• Feedback – When you submit your donations, also include a completed Feedback form or submit your feedback online.

Step 4
One day to one week after event

• Thank guests for participating – Thank guests for their participation and acknowledge any contribution they may have made (click here to use the online Thank you template). Encourage them to continue to learn more about Village Banking and microfinance by inviting them to visit FINCA’s website www.FINCA.org
• Photos – Don’t forget to send us photos of your event! Please send to Diane.Jones@FINCA.org.

Thank you for your support and commitment to empowering hope for the world’s poor. By inspiring and inviting others to join you in promoting a proven, effective solution to poverty, you are actively helping FINCA reaching its goal of operating 100,000 Village Banks and serving one million clients.

* If you have any questions or need help contact Anita Yankova at anita.yankova@FINCA.org  or call her at 202.682.1510