Don't Let Money Come Between You and Urbana 03!

The Bottom Line: Fund-Raising for Urbana

Looking for ways to raise money to go to Urbana 03? We’ve put together some money-saving ideas for you to think about as you prepare for Urbana.

Guiding Values
Saving
Earning
Fund-Raising
Event Efforts
Ideas from Students
Scholarships
Resources
Giving

Guiding Values

PRAY. God will give you faith and peace. Ask for wisdom and for providential contacts in fundraising. Remember, ours is a God who rose from the dead. Ask for a miracle! Get your friends and church to pray for you.

PLAN. Make a list of realistic ways to earn, save, or raise the money. If you start right away, you can save the entire convention fee by putting away a manageable amount of money weekly. Calculate how much money you’ll need for the convention fee, for travel, and other costs.

PERSEVERE. Stick to your commitments. Work hard and be resilient. If one plan doesn’t work, reevaluate and try another. Continue to pursue God’s will for your financial situation.

SAY THANKS! Your supporters have made an investment in you. Thank each one personally. Report back to them about your experiences. Above all, don’t forget to thank the Maker (without God’s provision, you wouldn’t even be here).

Saving

Saving is an oft-neglected discipline; most of us would be shocked to see how much money we waste each day. If you put aside a few dollars a week, you should get the bulk of your cost together in time for the convention. Saving is generally a more fruitful way to pull money together than event-oriented fundraisers like car washes. Because it makes higher demands on your lifestyle than an event, saving is a hard discipline. But beyond piecing together a few hundred dollars, you will be developing better money management skills.

Where do you start?

1. Set down as a goal a reasonable amount to put aside in a week, write it down, and stick to it like glue.
2. Ask a trusted and responsible friend to demand progress updates from you.
3. Open a new bank account for your Urbana money, to keep yourself from spending.
4. Look over your daily spending patterns. How much money do you spend on fast food? Every time you pack a lunch, you’ll save two or three dollars. How much money do you spend on little food luxuries like snacks and candy? What about coffee? Making even minor cuts in these areas (besides being good for your body) could save several dollars a week.
5. What about your spontaneous spending habits? How often do you buy books or music? If you check out books from the library, rather than buying them, you’ll save fifteen dollars at a time. Try this little rule: for every CD you buy, you have to sell one. A system like that would really help you evaluate which purchases you really need.
6. What about entertainment? Movies and concerts can be expensive. There are a lot of things to do for free, and the savings add up very quickly.
7. What if you get off track? Don’t beat yourself up, but do what you can and try to return to your rhythm. Don’t try to catch up, just continue from where you are.
8. Be Encouraged! If breaking habits is hard for you, congratulations for trying! Remember that self-control is a fruit of the spirit. Pray for spiritual strength. You are doing more than saving for a convention; you are developing discipline.

Try implementing a savings plan! Here ’s a sample:

Costs:

What is this equal to in YOUR budget?

If you start saving on July 1, 2003:
(Savings from July 1 – Dec. 26, 2003)

So, what does it cost to go to Urbana 03?
26 meals out, 12 movies, 6 DVD’s, 6 CD’s and 3 pairs of jeans!
In 1 Corinthians 6:12, the Apostle Paul wrote: “’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by anything.” Talk to other Christians and ask them to pray for you. We are all in this together, and if any of us can learn how to serve God better with his or her resources, the better for the whole body of saints.

Earning

How do you earn several hundred dollars when you barely have time for school? The secret is to make use of structures you already have in place. However, be sure to have a thankful heart. The financial liberty we have is a great privilege in today's world. Unemployment, destitution, bonded labor and perpetual warfare affect billions of people around the world. We must never even take our part-time jobs for granted, but should focus on the bounty of Christ's blessings. We often grumble about going to jobs that seem like drudgery, but a job is a gift from His hands and an opportunity to worship Him.

If you have a part-time job, consider adding a couple hours per week as "Urbana hours." Over the course of a few months, you could put together the bulk of your convention costs.

Check out the Student Job Center on your campus. Often homeowners from the area will post requests for help moving boxes out of the basement, or raking the leaves in their yards. These projects can earn you thirty to fifty dollars for an evening.

Consider tutoring. Many students underestimate their academic skills and their marketability. Sometimes universities will pay for conversational partners for international students. What about tutoring local high school students? Many schools have money set aside for tutors for disadvantaged or at-risk kids. This could be a tremendous use of your time and a great way to learn about the heartbeat of your city. Call a local high school and ask if they have a bulletin board for posting tutoring services.

Pray! God will show you where to go, where not to go, and how to earn the money.

Tithe. In the end, any money you raise from jobs is God's blessing, more than the fruit of your own hand. Tithing is a physical demonstration of our faith that He is providing for our needs.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

— Malachi 3:10

Fund-raising

Fundraising is often confused with asking people for a handout. By committing to attending this convention, you are putting yourself in a position to learn about missions and the Kingdom of God. When people contribute to your Urbana funds, they are not helping out a poor student. They are sending a delegate or a whole team out to answer a calling. Often this step in the process is quite joyful and spiritually fruitful. As always, start with prayer and humility. You do not deserve these blessings, but they come freely from a God who loves his people.

Send out a letter to several people that you can trust to pray for you. Their prayers will strengthen you.

Call people and ask to meet with them to discuss your opportunity to attend Urbana. Explain Urbana 03 to them, and why you feel called to attend. Tell them all the things you are doing to raise the money and prayer support. You are asking them to contribute to a cause they believe in and to a delegate they trust. Ask for a dollar amount. Treat donors as people, not bank accounts. Your meeting is an opportunity to deepen or renew your relationship and to be as Christ to each other.

Follow up with your contacts. Consider sending out a postcard shortly before you depart (take the Christmas postal logjam into account) to remind them of your trip and to ask for their prayers. Personally thank them for their prayer and their support. Many of your donors would love to hear about your experience when you return.

Event Efforts

Event Efforts are one-time projects designed to rally community support for the cause. Events have great fundraising potential, but are often more labor intensive than people realize. The time cost as well as the up-front expenses must be considered. They are best for teams working together to raise money. In any case, event fundraising should compliment, rather than replace, your private savings efforts. At all of your events, be clear about your intentions. Explain what Urbana 03 is, why you want to go, and how you intend on pulling together the resources. You will likely run into several people who are familiar with the Urbana conventions and who may have gone to one in their college days.

Pray! The event is not about you, but about Jesus. It is a means of getting to Urbana. Pray that God would lead you, help you think creatively, and teach you. Ask for the Holy Spirit to fill your hearts with worship as you work.

Find out if your church has a budget for conventions such as Urbana and fill out an application. Hint: Do this early; many churches only go over their sponsoring budget once a year. Get your application in before the deadline.

Are you going to Urbana as a team, or individually? Group fundraisers are usually more fruitful than individual efforts. Plan as a team, taking stock of the skills and resources you have in the room.

Assess your target group: Are you working through your church, your chapter, or your neighborhood? Different constituencies will have different needs. What can your team offer that someone would be willing to pay for? Here are some ideas:

• Put on a free community service, like a car wash. Find sponsors willing to make a donation for each car washed by the group. Ten people could do 20-30 cars in an afternoon. If each person has five sponsors, each giving $1 per car washed, you could raise $1000-1500!
• Paint a house, rake leaves, plant flowers or weed gardens. Remember to do high quality work and finish your job (including the clean-up). You are not performing or entertaining, but serving. People rarely hire you to exploit cheap labor, but to give to your cause. Make an effort to be as Christ to them.
• Have a free potluck after church (with food you’ve cooked), and show the Urbana promo video(s). You can order the videos online at www.urbana.org/go/promotions. Have team members share why they feel called to go to the convention. Explain that you are asking for the congregation’s partnership in your efforts to get to Urbana. Do not make a plea for cash, but present Urbana as a worthy cause for your team to pursue.
• Put on a talent-show. Sell pastries, have friends perform their own songs, read their own poems, dance a performance piece, etc. Have an emcee explain the evening and show the promo video.
• Have a silent auction for artwork that students donate to the fund.
• Hold a rummage sale.

Thank all your donors! People give because they are excited about the convention, and they would love to hear how it went.

Tithe. Income is income, regardless of source, and God’s provision is worthy of our praise, regardless of the vehicle he uses.

Ideas From Students

How are students around the world raising the money for Urbana 03? Below you’ll find suggestions that have been submitted to the website. Has something worked for you? What hasn’t? Is your church or chapter predominately African-American? Rural? Share with us ideas and experiences from your efforts: e-mail to urbana03@ivcf.org, urbana03@ivcf.org, put 'paying for it - ideas' in the subject line.

An urbana.org viewer recently shared with us the following:

"I traveled to Peru as a missionary four years ago. To raise the money, I had my family, church body and friends donate things to me. This allowed them ownership in my ministry and helped enable me to go. We raised over $500 dollars in one day! Later, another friend went to India. We tried the same idea and she raised about $700+. Finally, less than a month ago, my husband and I along with couples in our young marrieds class raised money for a young missionary family in Hungary via the same method. For one Saturday, from 7am-12pm, we raised $945.67! It is an awesome way to create unity, to get rid of stuff you don't need or that is just clutter, and it is no monetary loss for anyone involved. Try it!"  —Malissa

Be creative, think out of the box!

Scholarships

Scholarships for the convention are available through InterVarsity staff. Students involved in an InterVarsity chapter on their campus should contact their staff worker or area director. Others should check here for InterVarsity staff near them.

No scholarships cover the entire convention fee, and the number of scholarships are limited. Scholarships should be a supplement to your other fundraising efforts, not a replacement for them.

Resources

There are many aids to fundraising, including books and articles. Do your homework, but never let research replace prayer or let reading replace actual work. Ask your pastor or InterVarsity staff member for ideas; they will understand the situation in your city. The books are merely tools.

BOOKS

50 Ways You Can Feed a Hungry World
Campolo, Tony & Aeschliman, Gordon
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1991

Although this book focuses on organizing campaigns for feeding the poor, the first section, lifestyle, lists several easy ways to move into less extravagant spending habits. It is very encouraging and will help you take inventory of your habits. After all, it is easier to cut waste than to raise new funds.

A Simply Beautiful Wedding
Kindig, Eileen Silva
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999

Yes, you read the title correctly. This is a book about weddings. However, it is deeply perceptive and challenging of our instinctive ideas about money and spending. It helps return the beauty to the words modesty and frugality and asks some questions you should grapple with, even if marriage is nowhere on the radar screen.

How to Spend Less & Enjoy it More
Larsen, Dale & Sandy
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1994

This little book lists 50 ideas for saving money, using existing resources efficiently, and for changing our attitudes about money. It’s a great reference guide to get things going.

Getting Sent: A Relational Approach to Support Raising
Sommer, Pete
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999

A how-to guide for fund-raising. Primarily designed for Christian workers raising a salary rather than for one-time project needs, but it’s small and easy to use. Probably more useful for those students incurring substantial travel costs to Urbana.

Rich Christians in an age of Hunger
Sider, Ronald J.
Word Books, 1997

This book is about developing a biblical view of money and financial resources. If you do not want to have your lifestyle or your values challenged, then do not go near this book. Sider explains the nature of global poverty and infrastructures that affect us all.

People Raising: A Practical Guide to Raising Support
Dillon, William P.
Moody Publishers, 1993

The goal of this book is to help the missionary, prospective missionary, and mission organization raise prayer and financial support…with as little effort as possible, in as short a time as possible, while solidifying friendships.

Giving

At Urbana 03, you will have the opportunity to give to various different missions efforts. We are wealthy and privileged to represent social classes of education and disposable income. Much of the church, however, lives in poverty. By giving we are making a sacrifice for the advance of Christ’s Kingdom. That indeed is a privilege. It is hardly a sacrifice if it costs nothing to us, but it is an act of faith that God will provide all we need.

Furthermore, giving is an act of obedience. God only demands our first fruits from us: one tenth. Tithing is an outward demonstration of our faith in Jesus’ provision for our physical needs. Many missionaries struggle with this issue: "My supporters meant for that money to go to the ministry I serve, so do I have a right to ‘forward’ it to another church?" These are questions that need serious consideration. However, many of us never seriously consider them - we move along, instinctively giving on occasion. “I can’t give right now,” we say, “because I have no income. After all, what is ten percent of zero?” In light of the variety of experiences and financial situations of students going to Urbana, it would be foolish to lay down sweeping statements and opinions about tithing. We must always be listening for the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and submit to his guidance. For some of us, that may involve restructuring our giving habits. Here are some ideas:

• If you have a job, budget the tithe. For example, if you make $7 per hour, tell yourself that you are making $6.30. When we earmark that first ten percent from the start, we have an easier time giving it.
• Practice giving anonymously. There are people around you - in your church, in your chapter - who are really hurting for help. Find a way to drop off cash or groceries without revealing yourself. The results are greatly rewarding! You’ll be glad you gave.
• Practice giving regularly. Find a missionary to give to. Even if it is only a few dollars a month, it will help you think of your money as God’s rather than yours.
• Go through your closet. Are there clothes that you, in all honesty, never wear? Give them to Goodwill, the YWCA, or the homeless shelter. What about your bookshelf?
• If it’s not significant, don’t ask for gas money when you’re driving people as a favor.
• Even if you don’t have a job, chances are you have some disposable income. Try matching in the offering plate what you spent on your own entertainment in the preceding week.
• Do you ever walk past a panhandler because you don’t want to feed an abusive habit? Consider giving spare change to a homeless shelter for every time you get asked on the street.
• Try to train yourself into the habit of hospitality. If you live in an apartment, have some freshmen from the dorms over for a decent meal. If you’re going to be in town over Thanksgiving, have some international students over.

Pray! Our natural human style is to hoard and steal. Ask God to lead you into a healthier attitude toward giving.

Smile! God loves a cheerful giver. If you are a grouch, that is a sign that you are giving out of guilt. Ask God for a pure heart in giving.

Our prayer is that your financial journey of coming to Urbana would be an arena where you can grow spiritually and see God provide for you in amazing ways.

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