[niteowl22]

Our team does a letter writing campaign every fall to raise funds. I write up the letters, using school letterhead, and have 2 different letters. One letter is for previous sponsors, and I thank them for their donation and include how much they gave us, or what they gave us and then request a donation for the program to continue. The second letter is one used to send to potential sponsors and to give to students to take home to their parents to turn in to their places of employment. Mentors have also taken these letters to their places of employment.

I also include a form to be returned with donations that has the amount given and contact information. My original list of businesses was one I found on the chamber of commerce site for my area. Some companies donate to us every year, some do not. My philosophy is pennies make dollars, so small donations are just as important as large donations.

Our team does have a presentation that can be used to visit area businesses, but that has not been used as much as it should have been this past year. We also take any brochures with information with us when we work at events in the community.

We also invite all sponsors to our annual awards banquet and all who donate $100 or more are given a plaque which the team makes that includes a team photo. This year, I also sent out invitations to the regional the week before the event, and included school administration, the school board and all sponsors.