<p>Hello,
im a junior trying to do a program this summer.
I need $2000 for a summer program by early june (preferably may 28)
any tips on how to get started?
i live in a city— world headquarters of johnson&johnson, robert wood johnson university hospital, bristol-myers squibb…should i reach out to these bigger busineses (yes hospitals are businesses nowadays ) or stick with local things like mcdonalds, small family restaurants?</p>
<p>also how should i approach people/businesses? lol
should i come with a poster presentation? or should i just (e)mail businesses letters?</p>
<p>anyone else fund-raised before or have children who have?</p>
<p>also the program is a business program at a rather prestigious business school (Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan)</p>
<p>Some restaurant chains have fundraiser programs - student groups at our school have had successful fundraisers at Unos and Applebees as two examples (links are below). You might have more difficulty being an individual instead of a group, but it is worth a shot…</p>
<p>When she wanted to do a summer study abroad program while in middle school, she started a dog-walking business, but she did it for a year ahead of time (not a few weeks). She had several clients and kept it up for a few years after the trip.</p>
<p>The purpose of your fundraising isn’t clear. Are you participating in a walk/run or some other program that benefits a nonprofit/charitable organization? Or is this fundraising to support your individual participation in some program? It’s not likely that you’ll get support from businesses or foundations if it’s for some individual endeavor. Your best shot with that is to sent a letter to friends and relatives and people who know you and solicit funds. Make a persuasive argument and see what you get.</p>
<p>A number of years ago there was a girl on the news who wanted to attend an out of state school, it may have been Michigan. Her parents could not pay OOS tuition and she sent out hundreds of letters to businesses and corporations asking for money. I did the math at the time and she spent over $1,000 on postage alone. She did not get one thin dime from any of them and went to her state university. She was on the national news with her story.</p>
<p>Times have changed and the economy has also. Keep us posted on how this goes, I’m curious if businesses have changed.</p>
<p>Does this summer program at Ross offer reduced costs for financial need? I would contact them and explain your circumstances and see what they offer.</p>
<p>I think most companies like those you mention in post 1 can only give to official 501(c)(3) non profits. Private companies might legally be able to give away money, but why would they? When students try to “raise funds” it usually requires labor on their part - sales of goods or services, not donations. Who wants to donate to a stranger’s personal expenses?</p>
<p>Do you know any business with outdoors water spigot where you could set up a carwash? On a nice day here, a group of teens can raise about $100 an hour washing cars for a donation. A couple weekends might be all you need to earn the money.</p>
<p>If you are trying to raise money to go to one of those “leadership” seminar things to which students are ostensibly “nominated,” I would suggest that you save your money and do something else.</p>
<p>If you are determined to go, try working for the money. Babysit, do yard work, odd jobs, etc.</p>
<p>A friend’s son wanted to go to an expensive music camp, and raised the money by doing odd jobs. He and his mom e-mailed friends/acquaintances letting them know that he was available to do odd jobs, and would use the money for the music camp.</p>
<p>People are more likely to help you if they get something in return and if it seems that you’re willing to work for what you want. </p>
<p>Companies aren’t likely to help individuals like you. They’d rather use their limited resources for charitable donations to help large groups of people served by reputable nonprofits.</p>
<p>Fundraising or working to raise money takes time. It’s unlikely that you’ll hear back from any organizations quickly enough to help. I agree with other posters that companies aren’t likely to donate to one student wanting to do a summer program.</p>
<p>Instead, see if you can cut costs. I see from your other posts that you’ve been accepted to LEAD (congrats!). It looks like you’re on the hook for $700 for the program itself, plus travel between NJ and Michigan and some spending money. First thing is to see how cheaply you can get from home to the program. Check rates for going by bus or train. Look on craigslist to see if anyone is looking for someone to share a ride (and help pay for gas). Cut your spending money to the bone. </p>
<p>Next, see if there’s anything you own that you could sell on craigslist or ebay for quick cash. Do as much babysitting or dog walking or whatever else you can find to do in your area. Collect aluminum cans! Then look at how much you still have to cover. First, call the LEAD office and see if they can help cover any teeny bit of what’s left. Ask if a loan is possible. Ask your parents if you can have an early birthday present, or if they would be willing to loan you the money. </p>
<p>Most important thing: take this as a life lesson. You’ll be playing for much bigger stakes when it comes time to apply to and pay for college, and you won’t be able to manage it without reading the fine print and planning long in advance. That’s the obligatory parental lecture. :)</p>
<p>You’re basically trying to get people to just give you free money for some program you happen to want to go to. I don’t really see why anyone would give you any money for this unless they were family, etc. This isn’t what one typically conducts a ‘fundraiser’ for. Don’t expect to get much if anything by just asking people to give you free money.</p>
<p>Instead, you should work for it through a part time job, mowing lawns, babysitting, detailing cars, etc. Of course, it’s not likely you’ll be able to come up with $2000 in the next week and and a half that way - you should have started saving long ago. Another alternative might be to borrow the money from your parents or other family and pay them back within the next year through working jobs.</p>
<p>You might try a Garage Sale–ask family members for stuff to sell, advertise on Craigslist, put price tags on items. Sell chilled bottled water, too. You won’t raise all the money you need in one sale, but you can raise several hundred dollars.</p>
<p>thanks for the responses.
but yea i know its late but i seriously expected the program to send me a financial aid form when they sent the information packet… i waited about 3 weeks and when i received no info packet, they stated i was supposed to call early and ask for financial aid if i needed it By the time i called, all the funds were used -_-…i reread the FAQ and nowhere did it mention that an applicant must call if they needed financial aid-- i was sooooo upset be.c i then realized that the deadline was so close. i felt screwed over but i still want to attend.</p>
<p>i have family members who are pretty well off. hopefully they can help</p>
<p>You need to help yourself first, not just rely on your family. Trim your budget. Then raise some money on your own. It won’t be much, but it does give you some skin in the game. Only after you’ve done these two things can you go and ask people for help. This is also true in business, so it’s an appropriate lead-in to your summer. :)</p>
<p>If my kids or a young relative came to me with your situation, I’d be unwilling to offer them any help (which would be in the form of a loan, not a gift) unless I saw that they’d made some effort to make this possible. A teenager talking about how they’ve babysat and sold video games in order to pay for a wonderful program, but is now looking for loans to be paid off by whatever jobs I need done, is going to soften my heart (and purse strings). A teenager whining that they got screwed over, not so much.</p>
<p>“i was sooooo upset be.c i then realized that the deadline was so close. i felt screwed over but i still want to attend.”</p>
<p>I’d have a lot more empathy for you if your response was to get off your duff and do more than ask your well off relatives for money.</p>
<p>If I were them, I wouldn’t give you anything unless you had done something to help yourself beside begging. Just because they have money doesn’t mean they owe you.</p>
<p>Just because the program offers financial aid doesn’t mean you would have gotten what you needed even if you’d applied on time.</p>
<p>okay thanks.
i will definitely try some things on my own.
i did fundraisers before for my class through car washes etc etc but we only raised 500.0 after 2 months.
i ran to businesses and family members out of urgency…i was panicking. im calm now.
i will probably do my own work for the spending money.
thanks, and i hate that i came across of a little kid begging for money.</p>
) or stick with local things like mcdonalds, small family restaurants?</p>