GSA Fundraising

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Here are some guidelines to follow and cool ideas to use when fundraising for your GSA. If your club has other good tips or ideas for raising money, let us know!

Become familiar with your school's system for financing student organizations. How do clubs set up bank accounts? Where will donations go? Who will donation checks be made out to? Who has the power to sign checks? Talk to other student leaders at your school, your advisor, and an administrator to get ideas and advice.
Explore the funding avenues at your school. Ask your advisor, or meet with the Dean of Students/Activities director to see if there are ways your club can get access to school funds or resources (such as photocopying and mailing).
Have GSA members do individual fundraising among relatives, family friends, co-workers, etc. See the back of this sheet for a sample donation request letter and a script to use when asking for money over the phone.
Engage in fundraising as a club activity.
- Have a bake sale or car wash - it's not very original, but it usually works. Or add your own twist - instead of selling just cookies, sell cookies with rainbow chocolate chips.
- Sponsor a play, concert, or other cultural event to benefit your GSA. You might also consider donating part of the proceeds to a community organization or charity. A few years ago, Drake High School in Marin teamed up with their school's Drama Department to put on a play that dealt with issues of homophobia and stereotyping in a school setting. The play ran for four nights to sold out audiences, and raised lots of money for the Drake GSA and the GSA Network.
- Get a local business to help you raise money by donating a portion of their profits (from a given block of time) to your GSA. Lynbrook High School in San Jose did this at Ben & Jerry's one evening. For every customer that mentioned the Lynbrook GSA that night, the club got a percentage of the money. If you'd like to set up a fundraiser at a Ben & Jerry's near you, contact the company at 310.546.1717.
Look into community grantmaking programs. The following organizations/foundations have funding available for youth-initiated projects, and some have funded GSAs before:
Youth Initiated Projects (Youth Leadership Institute) - San Francisco, several grant cycles per year, call 415.397.2256 for more information.
Youth Grants Board (Youth Leadership Institute) - Marin County, two or three grant cycles per year, call 415.455.1676 for more information
Youth Grants for Youth Action (Community Health Academy) - Oakland, grants awarded often, call 510.436.3681 for more information.
Youth in Philanthropy (Community Foundation Silicon Valley) - Santa Clara County, several grant cycles per year, call 408.278.2200 for more information.
Youth Grantmaking Program (Community Foundation Santa Cruz) - Santa Cruz County, call 831.477.0800 for more information.
These are some things to keep in mind when applying for grants: (This advice comes from Julie Dean of the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, an organization that has funded GSAs.)
- Be SPECIFIC about what you plan to do with the grant - what activities your group will do and how you will spend the money (research your budget and make it realistic!).
- Be clear WHY you want to do the project described in your grant. For example, how will the project benefit your group? benefit your school? benefit others in the community? What is the effect your project will have? It is important to describe the activities you will do, but also explain why your group wants to do the project and why it is important.
- Be YOURSELF. Don't try so hard to make your application sound "professional" that it doesn't sound like anything you would ever say. The people reviewing your application will usually be more impressed if you keep it real than by big words.
- Be THOROUGH. Always double-check that you included all the information requested, whether it is filling in a form, writing on a separate sheet, or attaching a list, budget, or other info. When you are providing a phone number/address for a contact person, it is usually helpful to indicate if it is a youth or an adult, and to provide contact info for one of each.

Asking for Donations

Sample Phone-Call Script:

Hi, May I please speak with ___________________? Hi, this is ________________ calling. I wanted to talk to you about an organization I'm involved with at school, do you have a few minutes?

I'm a member of a student-run club at my school called the _______________ [Name of your GSA]. We work to fight homophobia and anti-gay harassment in our school by educating our peers about sexual orientation issues and providing a safe space for queer youth and their allies.

Some of the projects and events we've sponsored in the past include: ________________. This year, we'd like to ________________ [Examples: "Increase our visibility around school with posters," "Facilitate a teacher training about confronting homophobia in the classroom." Be specific about what kinds of programs your GSA is working on - make it clear to them what sorts of things their money will go toward.] We also have weekly meetings at school, where folks come to hang out, have a snack, plan events, and talk about issues in their lives.

I'm calling to ask if you'd like to become a supporter of the ________________ [Name of your GSA] by making a $40* donation to our club. [pause and give them time to think - let them answer before you say anything] * Note: Ask for an amount that you think is appropriate.

If Yes:
Great! Do you have a pen? You should make your check payable to: ________________. You can send the check to: ________________.
[Thank them.]
[In a few days, call them to see if they've had a chance to mail the check yet.]

If Maybe/Unsure: [If they can't afford the amount, ask if they would be able to donate half now and half next month. If they can't do that, ask them if they would like to make a smaller donation. Don't give up right away!]
[If they want to know more about the GSA, try to answer any questions they have and offer to send them GSA-related materials if you have any.]

If No: [Thank them for their time and move on to the next person. You can't win 'em all. You should expect as many as half of the people you ask to say no, that's normal. People have many reasons for saying no, don't assume it's personal.]

Sample letter:

Dear _____________,

For the past ____ months, I have been involved with a student-run club at my school called the ________________ Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). We work to fight homophobia and anti-gay harassment in our school by educating our peers about sexual orientation issues and providing a safe space for LGBTQ (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/questioning) youth and their allies. I am writing to ask you to donate $40 [or other appropriate amount] to this organization to help make some of our upcoming projects possible.

Homophobia and harassment toward LGBTQ youth (and those who are perceived to be LGBTQ) is a very real problem in schools. In the Bay Area, violence against queer youth in schools has doubled in recent years. In many schools, students hear words or phrases such as "faggot" and "that's so gay" multiple times per day in the classroom. [You may want to give specific examples from your school - If you've done a school survey, offer statistics from the results.] ________________ [Name of your GSA] was started to help make our school safer for LGBTQ students, teachers, staff by educating the school community about homophobia and sexual orientation issues.

I joined my school's GSA becauseÉ [talk about why you got involved and what you've learned/how it has helped you]

We can't continue this important work without the support of individuals who really believe in what we're doing to fight homophobia in our school and make it safer.

Thank you,

P.S. If you have other questions about the ________________ GSA, please call me at: ___________________.

NOTE: If you send a letter, it is very important to do follow-up phone calls about a week later. This will increase your success in getting donations.

For more information or for hard copies of our resource sheets, contact GSA Network:

Statewide Office: 1550 Bryant St, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94103, ph: 415.552.4229, fax: 415.552.4729
Central Valley Regional Office: 928 N. Van Ness Ave., Fresno, CA 93728, ph: 559.268.2780, f: 559.268.2786
Southern California Regional Office: 605 W. Olympic Blvd, Suite 610, Los Angeles, CA 90015, ph: 213.534.7162, f: 213.553.1833