It’s almost time for our 13^th Month Annual Appeal, and many chapters are already getting geared up and pumped up!  There are many ways that you can bring your chapter members together to support DFW while having some fun along the way.

Chapter Fundraisers
Last year, we raised close to $38,000 from more than 50 chapter fundraisers.  If your chapter is considering a fundraiser for the 13^th Month Annual Appeal, be sure to check out our Chapter Fundraising Guidelines and complete the online Fundraiser Approval Form before you get started.

Don’t feel like you have to come up with a new and original fundraising idea.  There are lots of simple, tried and true fundraisers that our chapters have done over the years. Here are just a few:

• Community Shopping Events at Ten Thousand Villages – Contact your local store about having a fun night of shopping, with a percentage of sales being donated to DFW. If you don’t have a Ten Thousand Villages store in your community, try approaching another local vendor that supports women and girls.

• Yard/Consignment Sales– Yard sales, consignment sales, clothing exchanges or “white elephant” sales can be very successful fundraisers. These can be done on a small scale at one home, or a larger event in partnership with another organization.

• BeadforLife Marketplace – Last year, at least 15 of our chapters partnered with BeadforLife, a former DFW grantee, to host a marketplace at one of their chapter meetings. Funds raised helped women in Uganda with 20% of sales donated to DFW’s 13^th Month annual appeal. Visit here for more information.

• Whole Foods – Our Elkins Park, PA chapter has partnered with its local Whole Foods store on several fundraisers, including a community dinner and “Nickels for Nonprofits”. Contact your local store to see what you can do in your area.

• Movie screenings – There have been some great films in recent years about the challenges facing women and girls (e.g. He Named Me Malala, Girl Rising, I am a Girl). Several of our chapters have organized special screenings in their community as fundraisers for DFW.

• Arts and crafts sale/market – This is a great idea if your chapter is crafty but, if not, you can reach out to local artists. The CA, San Jose-2 chapter has held several successful craft markets over the years.

• Holiday gift wrapping – Many local malls or stores have a program that allows nonprofits to raise funds by doing gift wrapping for their customers. The Grand Rapids, MI chapter did this at its local Barnes and Noble – check out your local Barnes and Noble to see if they offer this.

If a fundraiser is not your bag, there are other ways for you and your chapter to support our annual appeal:

• – Demonstrate your support by making your own donation to the campaign early on and then asking your members to contribute as well.

• – Designate a “13th Month Champion” for your chapter – someone who can talk about the 13th Month at each meeting and encourage member participation.

• – Ask your members to sign up for monthly recurring donations to ensure DFW has a stable source of income year-round. Make it easy by having copies of the Automatic Withdrawal Form to hand out at meetings.

• – Encourage your members to use our Amazon affiliates link when they make Amazon purchases. DFW receives anywhere from 5-10 percent of your purchase price when you buy through this link. (Please note: this is not the same as Amazon Smile, which returns a smaller donation to DFW.)

• – Encourage your members to check out our cause marketing partners for their holiday shopping.

Whatever your chapter chooses to do, tell us all about it by emailing media@togetherwomenrise.org, and if you decide to do a fundraiser, be sure to complete the Fundraiser Approval Form well ahead of time.