Great Fundraising Pitch

The Obama campaign set a new standard for email communication with donors and friends. Although the following isn’t quite as high-tech as their mailings, I thought it was a very compelling pitch. It came from a friend of mine from summer camp asking for support for a fundraising project her son’s second grade class is taking on. Sounds like a good cause too.

Dear Friends -

Recently, my son Hieu's second grade class decided that they wanted to fundraise for a cause. After looking at several ideas, they decided they wanted to do something for children in the region of Viet Nam where Hieu was adopted. I was very excited to hear about this, and started immediately to look for something that they could do. I discovered The Library of Vietnam Project, a 501(c)3 organization that has already built a number of libraries in different provinces in Viet Nam. I spoke with Chuck Theusch, the founder of the organization, about the class project, and then introduced him to Elizabeth, Hieu's teacher, so they could work out the details.

Currently, Vietnam does not have a public library system, something that we take for granted here in the US. The cost of building a small library in Vietnam can be as little as $7000-$8000. It is possible that Hieu's class alone could raise enough to build a library in Bac Giang province, where Hieu was born! Any additional funds raised would go towards buying books and supplies for the library, or could be used to buy books for a school for the blind nearby.

I am really thrilled to be involved with this project. It gently opens the door to some very constructive discussion about how adoptions happen, and how different life choices can be if you live in a place with limited opportunities. Through their connection with Hieu, the kids will learn so much about building connections with people far away.

If you are interested in learning more about the organization, you can go to the website: http://libraryofvietnam.com/


And here is a short but inspiring video about the work being done to build a library system in Vietnam: http://vimeo.com/2885217


Here is an interesting article about Chuck Theusch, the founder of the Library of Vietnam Project: http://www.military.com/forums/0,15240,101701,00.html

The class has settled on a read-a-thon to raise money. They will keep track of their daily reading starting March 23 and will read for 50 days. Hieu and his classmates will raise money by collecting pledges of dollar amounts for each hour they read. I am guessing that, between school and home reading, Hieu will probably do about 40-50 hours of reading in that time. If you would like to help Hieu to raise money with his class, please let us know what you would like to pledge per hour that he reads. If you like, you can also name a maximum amount that you would like to pledge.

Thank you so much for reading this letter. Please let me know if you have any questions. And feel free to forward this to anyone you know who might be interested in helping out.

On behalf of Hieu and his 2nd Grade class,
Vicky