Writing to Fund Social Action/Social Change/Community Service

Alison Hynd, Andrea Walsh

Individuals and organizations often struggle with the issue of how best to raise funds for social action and community service projects on campus and in the community. The ability to craft different appeals – such as grant proposals, crowdsourcing appeals and donation letters – is key to successful fundraising. Each fundraising genre employs different rhetorical strategies. Writing effective grant proposals means understanding how to read a “Request for Proposals” (RFP), use local data to advocate for your program, construct a budget and follow a common format so that reviewers can easily read your proposal. Crowdsourcing appeals and donation letters vary in form, and may appeal more to emotion than grant proposals. Understanding the distinctions between these genres is key to achieving success as a fundraising writer.

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Limited to 25 participants

This workshop reviews different types of fundraising writing, such as grant proposals, crowdsourcing approaches and donation appeal letters. We will distribute a list of relevant local and MIT grant opportunities and examples of effective proposals and review common crowdsourcing approaches. We will discuss things to consider before putting pen to paper to ensure your plans are a good match for community needs.  In addition, we will provide time for participants to work on fundraising plans for their own projects. Bring a laptop and ideas for projects to fund!

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center
Contact: Andrea Walsh, aswalsh@mit.edu