We all know from experience, asking for money is hard. “Why not just save up money for my trip?”
We hear questions like this everyday from people preparing to go on the World Race. While there's nothing wrong with putting your own money toward missions, we'd like to present a different way of thinking about fundraising: it's not just about the money.
This isn't a vacation. This is Kingdom work! Support raising is about building up a team to join you in your mission to share Jesus with the world.
World Racers often say fundraising is the first step in their journey to deeper faith and trust in God's provision. Fundraising allows people, who may never be able to leave their local community, to bring the Gospel to the nations- through you! Through fundraising, you're also creating a vital network of prayer support throughout your journey. When you ask people to support your mission work you are inviting them to be a part of God's work to build His Kingdom. Read more about this here.
The funds you raise cover all practical costs for your Race, including meals, lodging, air, land, and sea travel, medical insurance, and ministry costs. This also covers administrative costs, set-up, coaching, leadership development, debriefs, Training Camp, and Project Searchlight (a week long debrief and conference one month after you return.)
You will not be alone in this journey. Once you are accepted, your Admissions Advisor will provide you with resources and instructions for fundraising and help coach you through the process. They will check in with you, help you with ideas, and hold you accountable to the responsibilities you have with fundraising.
My fundraising Journey was "easy" in that the Lord provided in abundance. It allowed me to see the Lord's goodness and faithfulness in His abundant provision for my trip.
Before applying, the only thing that was stopping me was the grand total with a big fat "FUNDRAISING." I was extremely intimidated but simply asked God "if this is something You want me to pursue, please make Fundraising fun for me." He answered this prayer and blew my expectations out of the water, not only did I actually have FUN fundraising gasp, but I also discovered so much creativity within myself through the process!
My fundraising journey has been so much more of a blessing than I ever expected. The Lord has shown me that it's about more than just asking for money; it's a chance to welcome people into what the Lord is doing in the world. When I realized this, I started to feeling blessed every time I encounter my supporters, and I truly think they consider it a blessing as well.
The best way to get someone to donate is to directly ask. We encourage you to build a team of supporters through personal connection and communication. We want you to share your vision and calling to this ministry and invite them to be a part of what God is going to do through you (and through them by partnering with you) on the World Race.
The first step in this is writing a support letter. After that, many World Racers put together creative fundraisers to help them get the necessary funds including:
Sharing your story will help you in your fundraising journey, consider these options to help spread your message:
Ask your Advisor for suggestions about other things people do and visit #wrfundraising on Instagram for more inspiration and encouragement.
Our Advisors will help you determine the best types of fundraisers for you and help you use them to create new opportunities to engage more people on a personal level.
As you begin this process, please review Adventures in Missions donation policies.
We recommend that you don’t start fundraising until you’ve been accepted. However, if you’re not there yet, there are some things that you can do.
Share with your network to let them know you are applying and ask them to pray with you through the process.
Pray for guidance and direction. Ask the Lord to start preparing your heart and the hearts of those who will be partners for the journey.
Fundraising can be intimidating. God has done the work, and we are partnering with him.
In the end, God will provide what you need for what He has called you to do. We can try to plan every aspect of the process, but ultimately, He wants us to step out in faith and rely on his provision. It’s greater than anything we could do. The World Race is a journey of learning to trust, and fundraising is just the beginning.
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