I didn’t know what to do for this project and it took me weeks to figure something out. Then I started thinking about the things I like or hobbies that I had but nothing really came to mind. But then the summer came up, and everyone knows how much I love the summer and being down the shore. Then from that I started thinking about my moms friend who always talks about the school that he teaches at. He always mentioned that the kids that he teaches have nothing and some of them are even homeless. So once I had that in my head, my mind started racing about all the possibilities for things that I can do to help this kids in some way. I had never did anything with a fundraiser and I’m not the person to speak up or be loud. But I talked to my friends and my mom and they helped me out and encouraged me to do so. So, I had to take the time to get ready to raise my voice and say something. I had to look up different kind of drives and what different materials I would need to raise. But once I did that the ball started rolling and I started my Capstone.

These are pictures from when I went to drop off the gifts from my first drive, the clothes that I collected and also the kids wrote me thank you notes.

Bibliography:

• 1. "Fundraising Tips." Fundraising Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.

This source will be really helpful for me with the whole fundraising aspect, basically my whole project.. Fundraising plays a huge part in my project so this source will give me so many ideas. This website has over 15 very different ideas for ways to get the word out. The great thing about this website is it doesn’t just have what to do, it explains effective ways to do so. So, thanks to this website I can get the word out over than using just the advisory memo. Everytime I’m stuck on getting a new idea I will just check this website so I can get more creative and make it effective.

• 2. "Change Vs charity." Edge Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.

This website is different from the first one because it doesn’t help me with ideas about fundraising but it explains how to keep the change going. Originally I just thought I would ask other students at the end of my presentation if anyone would want to do it next year. But this might not be as effective in the long run. I need to make all the students feel the same thing I felt when I heard about these kids so that they want to continue it on and on, year after year. Start small and then work up to make the most change possible. Thanks to this website I’m now thinking about adding pictures of the kids so everyone watching can hear their stories.

• 3. "The Need for Warm Coats." One Warm Coat. N.p., 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.

This website is an organization that is collecting jackets from all over. Even though they are all the way in California, where it’s warm all the time, they are still very effective. One thing that I learned from this website was the statistics of kids who need the jackets. Also, there is quotes from people who are apart of this website. Hearing what it did for the people who needed them and the people who helped them might change someones mind. These statistics will help me when presenting my findings because I didn’t realize how many kids need them. Hopefully these statistics will stick in at least one viewer's head in order for some of these needs to be met.

• 4. Wendroff, Alan L. "The Master Event Timetable (METT)." Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraising. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. 23-29. Print.

In this chapter it was explaining The Master Event Timetable. I wish I would have known about this in the beginning of this process. This table will make me more organized for the next drives coming up, when I should make advisory memos and it will help me plan my presentation so that I won’t be cramming at the last second. I will never been trying to think of what is going to happen next. I’ve never thought about sending any thank you letters or saying a sincere thank you, but in this chapter that is one of the sections in the table. So, I got the idea that maybe I should include the pictures of the kids and write a thank you on a blog so all of those who donated can see the impact they made in everyones life.

• 5. CraigslistFoundations. "Top Ten Fundraising Tips." YouTube. YouTube, 12 Aug. 2011. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

This source refers back to a book called ‘Nonprofit Management 101’. I didn’t know about this book until after I watched this video. They covered a lot of the tips from the book but I’m going to go back and check out all the other tips. They mentioned a man by the name of Hank Rosso, and I’ve never heard of him before watching this video. He was referred to as the ‘Godfather of credentialed, respected, professional nonprofit employees.’ So this source was helpful in giving me more sources instead of actual tips like the other sources I have found.  I learned that there is a book all about Hank Rosso’s tips, ‘Hank Rosso's Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising”.  So just from this one source, I found two more books full of tips that people from all over the world use.  

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• 6. Bray, Ilona M. "How to Keep the Givers Giving." Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits : Real-world Strategies That Work. N.p.: n.p., 2005. 1-16. Print.

This chapter has five important subchapters and four of them are going to be very helpful. They are ‘Thank Your Supporters’, ‘Communicate Your Essential Message’, ‘Invite Supporters to Get More Involved’ and ‘Analyze Your Donor Base.’ Thanking the supporters is a major aspect that comes along with this protect and almost every source I found has said to do this. This website however gives me a clear example on what to write and what it should look like. I have been a little inconsistent with my advisory memos and they give a section for how often to mail your supporters, so I now have reminders set so I can send in my memos. These were two of the really important steps in this chapter.

• 7. "Fundraising Detective." 'Fundraising Detective' N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.

I thought it would be nice to read from a blogpost, and see how this tips helped the person who wrote the blog post. Not only did they share their tips, but they posted ten different types of links for me. One that looked like it could be really helpful when I’m looking for feedback before starting a new drive was ‘Clairification’. I checked out the website and the woman who runs it has advice plastered all over the site. Just some of the advice she gave to other nonprofit organizers was helpful to me. Even if it was just a little motivation to not be afraid and just go for it. She also offers coaching and consulting and good pointers for when presenting. This way I know my powerpoint will be the best it can be.

• 8. Reid, Ann. "Capstone Help!" Personal interview. 17 Dec. 2013.

I was telling Ann all about my capstone. I told her that I was able to put the word through the memo, but that I was nervous. She suggested putting the word out on social networks and telling everyone in school face to face to make a more effective announcement. After my first drive with the toys I went to her and told her how it went and that one of the little girls went crazy over the books. I asked her her opinion on a book drive and she thought it was brilliant and she encouraged me to do that for the next one. She has been so helpful and she always gives me her honest feedback which is really helpful.  

• 9. Nesbitt, Sara. "What Ideas Do You Have?" Personal interview. 13 Oct. 2013.

Before I even got the first drive started I went to Sara hopeless and confused. Sara was very helpful because she made a list for me with all of the things that I was interested in. Charity work wasn’t even on my mind, Sara remembered a story I told her about a homeless man and she was the one who suggested charity for my capstone. Once she said this both of our minds started racing and I told her about my mentor and where he teaches and how all of the kids are unfortunate and she thought that was an excellent idea. If it wasn’t for Sara I wouldn’t have this as my capstone and I wouldn’t of made a difference in all of those kids lives.

• 10. "MEND Poverty." MEND Poverty. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

This website had five simple steps that got right to the point on how to have a successful drive. When I first got started I was on the website constantly to make sure that my first drive would be as successful as possible. I never did it before so I was really nervous that there wasn’t going to be enough toys and if I was going to be annoying by constantly reminding people to bring things in. But their second rules says exactly the opposite, don’t be shy to remind people to bring in what you’re asking for and just think of the final product. Every time I got nervous I just thought of the kids and how much they want the toys so that made me push through.