******* TOTO Challenge #3 ******* Fundraise for Project TOTO

Below is ActionAid’s third and final challenge to the Project TOTO nominee shortlist. Nominees have until Friday, 29 January 2010 to complete this challenge.

Instructions:

Raise funds to help establish the next outreach blog

This challenge is not just about testing your creativity, network of influence and social media skills, it is also a practical necessity.

ActionAid has set a target of $10,000 if we are to make the next blog outpost a reality. This includes the costs of sending our next outreach blogger on a training mission to one our program countries which will include training local staff and partner organisations and equipping that outpost with appropriate technology.

Supporters of Project TOTO have already generously donated over $1,300 to the project. But more is needed.

Your mission is to fill the gap by using your passion and social media skills to fundraise for Project TOTO.

How you go about this is completely up to you. We’d love to see some creative fundraising and use of social media, but if you think a sausage sizzle will work better, go for it.

If you need a little help getting those creative juices flowing, check out some fundraising ideas from ActionAid in the UK: http://actionaid.org.uk/index.asp?page_id=100053

The funds raised will help make social media history, by supporting ActionAid’s outreach blogger program. The program aims to develop the capacity of poor communities by teaching them new communication skills and giving them a new medium through which to discuss, learn about and claim their rights.

Challenge #3 will be judged based on the following criteria:

- Funds raised: first and foremost, this challenge will be judged based on how much money each nominee has raised by Friday, 29 January 2010.

- Creativity: a secondary criteria is how creative the nominee was in their fundraising. In particular, the judges will be looking out for innovative use of social media for fundraising purposes that could be scaled up for use in the charity sector more generally.

How to collect donations:

You are free to collect donations using any mechanism you like. For simplicity, however, ActionAid has already created an EveryDay Hero account for Project TOTO: (http://www.everydayhero.com.au/event/totochallenge)

You can quickly create your own Project TOTO fundraising page on EveryDay Hero here: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/project_toto

If you chose to use another system for collecting donations, please let ActionAid know so we can ensure we track donations and make the process as simple as possible.

Remember, donations over $2 are tax deductible if you follow the appropriate procedure. Once you have decided on your fundraising approach, please contact ActionAid for advice on wording and legal requirements to ensure supporters receive their tax deductible receipt.

Important note:

Participation in this challenge or the amount of funds raised in no way guarantees that you will be chosen as the next Project TOTO blogger as this is about fundraising for Project TOTO as opposed to any individual person. Therefore, your fundraising material must not suggest you will definitely be chosen as the next outreach blogger. This is important to ensure donations are tax deductible.

Once all costs for Project TOTO are covered, surplus funds will be used to contribute to ActionAid’s work.