You have registered for your trip to Africa and now you have to start fundraising. We want to help you out with several tips from our team and other volunteers that have found fun and unique ways for fundraising.

The Fundraising Letter

No mission trip fundraising project is complete without the fundraising letter. Not only is this a perfect time to tell others what you are doing, but it also helps raise awareness of the issues facing the children you are going to serve in Africa. The effective fundraising letter will include your reason for volunteering to serve in Africa as well as the an expression of your desire for your friends and family to join you by donating to make your trip possible. Start by making a list of your friends and family with mailing addresses. While email can be used, the personal appeal of receiving a letter in the mail is more effective. So mail as many as you can and rely on email when you don't have a postal mailing address.

Next, write your letter. We have provided a template here to help you get started. But don't send it just as it is. Personalize it so you can express your true passion for serving in Africa.

Now just drop by the post office and mail your letters. We have done all we can to make this an easy process for your donors. They simply go to www.heartforafrica.org, click on donate and complete the funding form including your personal participant code. That's it. All donations to Heart for Africa are fully tax deductible.

Host a H.O.W. Home Jewelry Party

H.O.W is an acronym for Helping Orphans and Widows. The question of “how can we make a difference in the lives of orphans and widows in distress in Africa?” is answered by this exciting “for profit” business uniting women in America with women in Africa.

H.O.W. Inc., a “for profit” company, is designed to actively support African women who are learning crafts to support themselves and to pay for their children’s or grandchildren’s food, clothing and education. By coming along side these women and encouraging them we can stop them from prostituting themselves or their children to raise money for food, clothes and education.

H.O.W Home Parties have been designed to provide a guaranteed market for the crafts that the African women make. By hosting a H.O.W Home Party, you can help contribute to the widows and orphans well being in Malawi, Swaziland and Kenya.

All African crafts are purchased at fair market value so that the women doing the work immediately receive funds. All profit from the sale of these goods in America goes back to specific projects in Africa such as building Children’s Homes, training, micro-finance loans and other projects directed at orphans and women in need. If you are a registered volunteer planning to join Heart for Africa on a scheduled service trip, you may choose to use 30% of your profits to help fund your trip.

For more information on hosting a H.O.W. Home Party, please contact how@heartforafrica.org.