wits summer books FUNDRAISER TOOLKIT

This marks the 11th year that WITS will be building at-home and classroom libraries for Chicago Public Schools’ students and teachers. In that time, we have sent home over 65,000 books and put over 972,000 books in classrooms. This campaign is responsible for nearly 15% of the WITS overall budget needed to build at-home and classroom libraries as well as the programming that supports this initiative.

Fundraising can seem daunting, so please use this WITS Summer Books Toolkit to make your experience a little easier. The resources included in this Toolkit will help you achieve your fundraising goals. The Toolkit includes a to-do list, instructions to personalize your page, email and social media templates, as well as content and pictures to share with your network.
 
If you have any questions about navigating your fundraising page, please reach out to your team captain or Kellie Romany, Marketing Director at WITS: kellie@witschicago.org

TO-DO LIST

Things To Do ASAP

Join a fundraising team and customize your page.
- Share why you are supporting WITS. If you are a mentor, share your mentor experience. If you are a supporter of our mission, share what reading means to you and why you believe the WITS mission is important.
Compile your contact list.
- Keep in mind that you're not requesting money from your friends, family, and colleagues; instead, you're seeking their support in fostering in fostering proficient readers and important learning habits among CPS students at this critical age.
Make a WITS Summer Books fundraising plan.
- Research shows that people need to see a message seven times before it sinks in.
- Make sure to thank donors in a timely fashion.
Reach out to contacts with personalized emails.
- Put time on your calendar every 2-3 weeks to send an email to your contact list. In some cases, a text message may be appropriate as well.
- Ask the person directly. A personal request is more likely to result in donations than mass emails or social media posts. There is an email template below, or you can write your own.
- A lot of companies offer matching gifts, so remind your donors to check in with their employers. Here is a helpful tool to see what companies offer matching gifts.
Spread the word on social media.
- Use Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to excite donors about WITS Summer Books and direct them to your personal page. We've included sample language below.
- Thank your supporters by tagging them in social media posts and celebrating their gift.

4-6 Weeks Out

Circle back.
- Send out a reminder or two. We are all inundated with emails, and these requests easily fall to the bottom of a crowded inbox.
Post multiple times on social media.
- Include a new photo. Photos help put a personal face on your campaign.

Final 2 weeks

Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- Say thank you every time you receive a donation. If donors feel appreciated, they are more likely to give again.
- Send a wrap-up of the day thanking people for supporting you and reminding others they can still donate.

PERSONALIZING YOUR PAGE 

We cannot stress enough how important this is!

Every WITS Summer Books fundraiser has access to his or her own fundraising page through Donately. Your supporters will be donating to your page, which will contribute to your overall team goal. You will receive an email from Donately when someone has donated to your individual page. This email will contain the amount the person donated and a link to their email account so you can thank them.Take a few minutes to personalize your page before contacting your network.

Join a team

Joining your team

When you join a team, you will be prompted to enter the below items:

Personal Information
- First name, Last name, and Email.
Fundraiser Information
- Fundraiser Title
  - Make it recognizable by including your name, for example, [your name] for [team name].
Fundraiser Description
- Tell your friends and family more about WITS and why you’re involved
- Here is an example
  - Help me give 22,000 books to Chicago teachers and students by supporting WITS Summer Books!
    
    Part of the WITS mission is to enable teachers to build diverse classroom libraries and promote book ownership at home. Research proves that having books at home and in the classroom increases students' academic success, vocabulary development, and confidence.
    
    By supporting WITS Summer Books and giving books to Chicago teachers and students, you are playing a positive role in the lives of hundreds of students.
Fundraising goal
- We recommend $2,000.
Upload an image
- Include a photo of yourself.

EMAIL TEMPLATE

Copy and paste the below language to write your email.

Hello friends and family – I need your help!

I am raising money to support the students and teachers at [insert school name] Elementary School in Chicago. My team aims to raise $[insert dollar amount] to improve students' literacy skills by giving students books for their at-home libraries and teachers books for their classroom libraries.

All funds raised will support the purchase and distribution of over 22,000 books to teachers and students and support weekly literacy-based mentorship for hundreds of Chicago Public School students throughout the school year.

You can donate directly to my page here and learn more about [insert school name] Elementary.

WITS is the largest and most consistent provider of no-cost literacy-based mentorship to Chicago Public Schools. Each year they empower Chicago elementary students to discover themselves through reading while developing foundational literacy skills.

Your support has a direct impact on changing these statistics.

Only 26% of CPS students met or exceeded reading standards in 2023, down slightly from 2019. In a school district where 71% of students are from low-income families and 88% are minorities, CPS students are exponentially challenged in reaching their full potential.
The need is urgent, as 61% of low-income families have no age-appropriate children’s books at home.
82% of CPS elementary schools do not have a functioning library. Libraries are found in just 10% of classrooms in primarily Black schools and 21% in Latinx schools.

By supporting WITS Summer Books, you are playing a positive role in the lives of hundreds of students by supporting their literacy progress and building supportive adult relationships at this critical developmental age. Students who meet important literacy benchmarks by 3rd grade are more likely to graduate from high school, develop 21st century STEM skills, graduate from college, and obtain gainful employment. Your support today will impact the positive trajectory of our Chicago students.

Thank you for your support!

SOCIAL MEDIA TEMPLATES