My First Fundraising Campaign
- Adam Minahan
- Apr 14
- 3 min read
Recently, I wrote a grant for my village to construct two accessibility ramps at the city hall and the culture center. Additionally, the project includes educational activities for village leaders, professionals, and youth on accessibility and rights for people with disabilities. Peace Corps approved the project with a budget of $10,283, but only committed to a donation of $2500 after the first two weeks of fundraising (as is customary for every Peace Corps Partnership Program project). The local community also committed to funding 25% of the project, leaving me with the task of fundraising the remaining $5212. With zero experience in fundraising I crafted a fundraising plan and produced the following materials.
First, a personal story about what the project means to me:
Merry Christmas from me and my host mother, doamna Tamara.
At 69 years old, doamna Tamara works in the yard from sunrise to sunset year-round. Her husband died a few months before I came, and she applied for a Peace Corps Volunteer so she would have someone to talk to. More than that, I think, she wanted someone to take care of.
I tell her, “I’ll cook my own meals and gather my own firewood,” but when she knows I’m coming home, the fridge is full and the wood is burning. Doamna Tamara’s care is non-negotiable.
I think about the impact our project to build two access ramps and organize educational activities on accessibility would have on her. She already moves with difficulty, and she’s legally blind in one eye due to complications from COVID.
She says,
“We go to the culture house for public meetings and enjoy different cultural festivals. We need to go to the mayor’s office to pay our bills.
“Life can be lonely, and if we can go to these events, we can see our friends, so a ramp is necessary to allow us access, to live a happy, social life.”
I remember when a government official came to the village to speak about new policies that would affect the community. Doamna Tamara dissented on one such policy -- and loudly.
She’s never afraid to speak her mind, and is one of the fiercest voices in the community while others stay silent.
What would such public meetings be without such a woman? Who would speak up for those too timid to voice their concerns?
So when I think about doamna Tamara getting older and losing the ability to safely and independently access public institutions, I think of a village losing an essential advocate.
“My legs no longer work well. The other day, when I went to the market, I could barely get back onto the sidewalk because there was no curb ramp. It’s only going to get worse for me.”
My counterpart, Victor Zama, has recently been struggling with the road construction company to add curb ramps to the sidewalks they are currently constructing. He wants this project to create accessibility advocates among young people, so that when they see such things happening, they speak up -- just like doamna Tamara speaks up for what she believes.
The two accessibility ramps are just the start. Evaluations and educational activities lay the groundwork for sustainable change.
This project is the culmination of my two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and the goal of every Volunteer is to leave something durable and sustainable behind.
I want my host mother to enjoy the rest of her life to the fullest, participating in cultural and social events and never worrying about conquering the steps of the mayor’s office due to the pain in her legs.
That’s what I want my Christmas gift for her to be. I want her care to be negotiable after all, with me returning it in kind. I invite you to join me in contributing to it.
You can donate here: xxx
Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
Next, I produced a video speaking with three potential beneficiaries of the project as well as the village's social worker:
Then I did a video where I explained the original plan for the ramps:
Here's an Instagram post I made as fundraising progressed (created from a Canva template):
Finally, for the local fundraising to get village contributions, I created this announcement from a Canva template and we posted it around village institutions with a donation box:
