Financial support-raising is the biggest fear that people have about
going on the World Race. Thankfully, the Adventures In Mission (AIM)
staff makes the process as painless and easy as possible.
The following are some commonly-asked questions about support-raising:
What is support raising?
Support-raising is the process of getting financial support so that you can go on the mission trip of your choice.
Sometimes,
it’s easier for support raising to be understood as ministry
partnering, because it’s not just about getting the finances to go on
your mission trip. We want to empower your donors in the ministry, as
well, whether through giving, prayer, or hands-on service.
Where does the money I raise go?
The money that you raise for the World Race goes to a variety of places. It covers the cost of:
Meals
Lodging
Air, land, and sea travel
Administrative costs
Set-up costs
Coaching costs
Debriefing costs
Training camp costs
There are some costs that you must cover on your own. These include:
Medical Insurance
Vaccinations
Travel to training
Travel to the start point
Return travel home from a major U.S. city at the end of the Race.
Aside
from personal spending money, you can raise additional funds on top of
the basic cost of the trip to help cover some of the extra expenses.
How do I raise the financial support I need?
There are a lot of different ways to raise support: public fundraisers,
outreach events, freewill offerings, phone calls, emails, support
letters, blogs, prayer cards, social networking – you name it. You will
use all kinds of methods to raise support and probably even stumble
across some new and inventive ones, as well.
Whatever you do, do not
buy into the lie that raising money is impossible. Remember, you’re not
just raising financial support; you’re also pulling people into the
ministry to serve alongside of you.
Who will help me raise support for my mission trip?
AIM has support-raising coaches on staff to help you through the
process. We do not leave you to do this on your own. We regularly check
in with you as you’re raising support to hold you accountable and
encourage you in attaining your final goal. We’re here to help, equip,
and serve you so that you can make an impact on the world for the
kingdom of God.
Is it hard to raise support?
Sometimes, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with all of the money that you
have to raise, but the process doesn’t need to be stressful. Raising
financial support isn’t as hard as most people make it out to be. In
fact, support can come in pretty quickly. For example, listen to Ian
Schumann, a World Racer from the 2008 October squad, tell about his own
experience with support raising:
I
entered the World Race squad way late, I hardly have a home church, and
my extended family is Jewish, so they didn’t want to help me out.
Fund-raising seemed impractical, nearly impossible.
Two
weeks before the launch date, the deadline was suddenly upon me to get
$6900 cash in my support account! I had been slow, but now it was
crunch time.
So, with a lot of prayer and trust, I
scribbled out a blog entitled “Call for help,” detailing where I was at
and making it very clear that if somebody didn’t start giving soon, I
would lose my chance to go on this trip.
I only had
$1200 collected at this point. Well, that was late on a Thursday night.
By Friday at 2:00pm, about 14 hours later, I had broken the $6900
threshold. By the following Monday, I was at $10,000! It was nothing
short of miraculous.
I will never again doubt that God provides.
The Lord is always faithful in providing for His children – never doubt it for a minute!
