Making the Case for Training Funds in Your Fundraising

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/er24ems/

Would donations towards training this year make your department, your members and your community response stronger? If so, consider a fundraising appeal earmarked for the a goal amount that will move your mission forward. 

The book To the Rescue: Stories From Healthcare Workers at the Scenes of Disasters, edited by Nancy Leigh Harless and Kerry-Ann Morris (Amazon Affiliate link) includes a brief story succinct description of the critical nature of training to today's fire and EMS departments:

 "In a crisis, with expectations changing constantly, how you adapt to your circumstances and the trust you have in your skill sets will ultimately determine your success or failure."

How might this point sound in your fundraising  appeal (which is where your focus should shift to your donor)?

Of course, the strongest appeals are personalized for each of your donors. 

Thank you for enabling your community to be as safe as possible with your support of DEPARTMENT NAME. You make our progress possible.

This year, we need to [Do a brief explanation of your training needs here. Do you have members who want to take the bridge course with the pending changes in EMS certifications in Iowa, as just one example?]

Your gift enables your fire/EMS  department to be as ready as we can be for whatever is at the other end of our pager call. Your support of our training needs makes it possible for us to do everything possible in response to each emergency.

Your gift supports:

[Give two or three examples here of gift amounts and what they support. For example, $X supports the cost of a X class, or a portion of the class if the amount is high. Work in, if you can, the amount of time a volunteer devotes to training each year.]

Your time and consideration of enabling your fire/EMS department members to be as prepared as possible for each pager call is truly appreciated!

What is working well for you on need-specific fundraising for your department? Share your experience below.