Tips to Help Make a Difference
1. Recruit help. Encourage your friends, family members, youth group leaders, etc. to get involved in this important fundraising effort. Give them specific jobs and get them involved. Don’t try to do this alone.
2. Determine your potential. Think about your friends and family members. Think about your church home. Think about your community and local businesses. If they all felt as passionately as you do about helping these victims of oppression, what could they give? How could they help? What if everyone in your church gave $1? What if they gave $5? What if they gave $10?
3. Establish aggressive goals. Now that you know that you can help free a bonded slave approximately $500 and help rescue a girl enslaved in forced prostitution for approximately $1,000, set some aggressive goals – based upon your potential as determined in step two – for the numbers of victims you can rescue. For example, if you would like to help free two children from slavery and help rescue one girl from forced prostitution, you would raise $2,000. Some larger groups may set aggressive goals of raising $10,000, $20,000 or even $50,000. Just think of how many victims that could help rescue.
4. Develop a plan. If it were your friends or family members suffering under oppression, you would want to get them out and get them out IMMEDIATELY. Likewise, there are countless victims today who are just waiting to be rescued. Working with those you recruited to help, develop a plan for reaching your goal as quickly as possible. You might consider the following:
a) Giving a gift yourself. Our experience shows that it is much easier to ask other people for gifts of financial support when you have given a gift as well. Think about what moves you and motivates you to give, and communicate that to those you are asking to give.
b) Raising money from your friends and family members and fellow church members by asking them to give a gift to support your efforts. You should ask for a certain amount (i.e. give up a movie - $7 – to help free a child from slavery) to help you reach your goal.
c) Giving a talk about injustice and collecting a special offering at a mid-week church service or during Sunday School classes.
d) Conducting a special event such as a benefit concert, bake sale, etc.
5. Communicate. Through your study, you have learned that God is passionate about justice and He is calling us to embrace this passion and help His people. You have also heard the stories of many victims of oppression in our world. Clearly communicate these messages as you work to raise support so people can understand the need, the call and how their dollars will be invested to make a difference in our world for God’s kingdom.
6. Implement your plan. Make sure that you actually implement and follow your plan with a focus on specific goals, results and timelines.
7. Celebrate your successes. You are working hard to raise the vitally-needed funding to help rescue children from horrific situations. Without you, IJM would not be able to actually go and do the work of justice. Take some time along the way to celebrate what God has done through you. Because of your partnership, children will no longer toil for endless hours, weeks, months and years in slavery and they will no longer be raped in prisons of abuse and terror. You are making this possible. Share the joy of what your gifts and efforts will accomplish.
8. Send your gifts to IJM. Send your gifts to PO Box 58147, Washington, DC 20037. You should make your check payable to International Justice Mission and indicate that this money was raised through your youth group. The sooner we receive your support, the sooner we can invest it to conduct rescue operations. Include a note and pictures telling us your group’s story. Knowing that students are putting forth the time and effort to support the work of justice encourages IJM staff around the world. And, you might just see your youth group’s story on this website in the future!
9. Share your successes with others. Please contact IJM Student Ministries at IJM at justicemission@ijm.org and tell us what your youth group is doing so that we can share your good news with other youth groups. You can share your activities, events and results as others will learn from what you did and may be able to do something similar within their groups and churches.
10. Keep the communications going. IJM is committed to keeping you updated about what your dollars are doing and the results of your investment. We will post stories, pictures and updates about the lives that you have touched and the children that have been rescued as a result of your support. Share these with others so they can “meet” those that have been helped and share the joy of seeking justice and rescuing the oppressed. In addition, please visit our website at www.ijm.org on a regular basis to see what we are doing.
Click here to read success stories of youth groups just like yours who have raised money to free victims of oppression
For more information about additional educational resources we have and additional ways you or your group can participate in the work of justice, please click here.