1. No category

OXFORD INTERNATIONAL
MODEL UNITED NATIONS
12TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
7TH – 9TH NOVEMBER 2014
A GUIDE TO FUNDRAISING
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
Dear OxIMUN Delegate or Advisor,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Oxford International Model United Nations Conference 2014
which will take place from 7th-9th November under the theme ‗Local Problems, Global Solutions‘.
Disparity in income distribution is a challenge throughout the developing and developed world and the
OxIMUN secretariat has further increased its commitment to diversity, outreach and accessibility with
the aim to allow outstanding delegates to attend our conference, regardless of their financial means.
As part of this effort, I am pleased to share with you this guide to fundraising. As you begin planning
and preparing for OxIMUN, I hope that it will be a useful companion to ensuring finance is not a
worry when participating. Please do take the time to read through it, but bear in mind that the
suggestions offered here are neither definitive nor exhaustive.
In this guide you will find: details concerning conference related expenses, recommendations on how to
raise money through grants, sponsorships and donations, a suggested time-line for your fundraising
activities as well as information on OxIMUN‘s Diversity Scholarship Scheme
(www.oximun.org/finance).
Thank you again for you interest in OxIMUN and best of luck for your fundraising endeavours. I very
much hope that they prove successful and I am looking forward to meeting you in Oxford this
November. Feel free to contact me with any queries, ideas or suggestions.
Rohan Arora
Under-Secretary-General for Finance
Oxford International Model United Nations
[email protected]
2
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
CONFERENCE EXPENSES ................. 4
Conference Fees................................ 4
Travel Costs ....................................... 4
Visas.................................................... 5
Accommodation ............................... 5
Meals................................................... 5
II. FUND RAISING................................... 6
A - Who to Contact .......................... 6
B - Soliciting Donations ................... 7
C - Fundraising Projects .................. 8
D - Publicity .................................... 11
III. APPLYING FOR AN OXIMUN DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
IV. YOUR OXIMUN FUND RAISING TIMELINE
12
13
V. CONCLUSION ................................... 13
3
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
I.
CONFERENCE EXPENSES
The first thing that you should be doing when
you start planning your participation at
OxIMUN is to compile a budget summarising
your expected costs. Having a well-researched
and comprehensive budget as early as possible
will aid you in your fundraising efforts and preempt pre-conference stress, allowing you to
focus on more important tasks in the days leading up to OxIMUN.
Your main expenses will be your conference fees, travel costs (including visas), accommodation and meals.
Conference Fees
There are two types of fees at OxIMUN, delegate fees and social packs. Delegate fees cover
all the conference-related expenses such as
venue hire, stationary, guest speakers, etc. This
fee is compulsory and must be paid by all delegates. Social packs cover a range of conferencerelated social activities such as a dinner in one
of Oxford‘s ancient College halls, a delegate
ball, club nights and a post-conference cocktail
party. They are optional, although such great
value that the vast majority of delegates decide
to purchase one.
Before Saturday, 9th August 2014, OxIMUN
charges the following early-bird fees:



Delegate Fee: £42
Social Pack: £32
Package (delegate fee & social pack): £67
If you decide to pay after this date, the following standard fees apply:


Delegate Fee: £46
Social Pack: £36

Package (delegate fee & social pack): £71
The deadline for payments is on Monday,
22nd September 2014. Delegates paying after
this deadline will not be accepted.
Travel Costs
Depending on where you come from, travel
costs will be the biggest contribution to your
overall travel costs.
If you are planning to travel by plane,
search engine sites are useful tools for comparing prices and finding the cheapest, most convenient flights. Within Europe, there are plenty
of low-cost airlines available. Make sure you
book early, as this may save costs significantly.
Depending on your route, early-morning
flights, late-night flights or stopovers may reduce costs further. Also, do not forget to check
different airlines‘ websites directly, as search
engines may sometimes miss special offers.
Please check whether your offers stated include
airport and fuel taxes.
There are frequent trains and buses from
all UK airports as well as major UK cities to
Oxford. Note that the booking system for UK
trains and buses may differ from that of your
home country. In particular, train and bus fares
are often cheaper, the earlier you book them, so
do plan your trip ahead. Useful sites are:




www.nationalrail.co.uk
www.nationalexpress.co.uk
www.megabus.com
www.oxfordtube.com (fast bus service
from London to Oxford)
Oxford itself is quite small, so you will be able
to walk between your accommodation (provid4
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
ing it is fairly central), conference and social
venues and the city centre.
More information can be found on our
website: http://www.oximun.org/travel.
Visas
Please be aware of the requirements to enter
the United Kingdom, as set out by the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office. More information
can be found on (www.oximun.org/visas) and
(www.ukvisas.gov.uk).
Accommodation
You have the opportunity to book your accommodation through OxIMUN at the time of
application. The Oxford Youth Hostel Association has been booked out by the Secretariat
for the duration of the conference. Those venues have the capacity to accommodate just over
half of OxIMUN guests, so we urge delegates
to book early to avoid disappointment.
Located next to Oxford Train station,
roughly 5 minutes walk from Gloucester Green
Coach Station and a 10-15 minute walk from
the conference venues, we are confident that
these hostels will provide delegates with comfortable accommodation for the duration of
their stay in Oxford.
Included in the cost delegates will enjoy
the additional benefits of a buffet breakfast,
reading and meeting rooms – perfect for early
morning resolution writing! All rooms are ensuite and may be single rooms, twin rooms or
dormitories for 4 or 6 people. We will try to
allocate rooms so that delegations can stay together but some people may need to share
rooms with delegates from other universities.
All delegates staying at the Oxford YHA will be
provided with a bed, duvet and pillow.
Photographs and further information
about Oxford's YHA may be found through
these links.
If you would prefer to find other Accommodation, and do not wish to book
through the OxIMUN Secretariat please refer
to the Oxford City website.
Meals
A Meal in Oxford costs anything between £3 (a
typical student option) and £20+. We recommend you budget for at least three meals per
day (included in your social pack is the dinner
for Saturday night). The OxIMUN secretariat
will be negotiating special discounts and compile a list of suggested establishments around
the different conference venues.
5
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
II. FUND RAISING
Now that you have an idea of how much money you need, the next step is to find out how to
get it.
A. Who to Contact
Your University
Your university should be your first port of call.
Many universities have grants that they provide
for student organizations or individuals, and
some may even be able to meet almost all of
your financial need.
Before contacting any officials, make sure
your MUN team is an officially registered student organisation in good standing. Enlist the
support of your faculty advisor and any team
members with experience in seeking grants or
with connections in any of the school departments. Approach your student governing body,
your student activities office, your Development Office your Political Science, International Relations, Economics or Humanities departments, and finally, your university administration.
Your university may also have specific research institutions whom you may contact for
both grants and research help. If you are coming from abroad, a UK-focused department or
even an English department may help sponsor
your trip to Oxford. Depending on your country assignment, you can also contact departments which study that country‘s region or
issues of interest.
Your Community, Foundations, UN agencies, NGO’s and Government Agencies
In addition to being a great source of funding,
your university can also be a great source of
information and can refer you to what other
organizations you can try to contact. Some other types of organizations that your delegation
should approach are UN agencies, community
clubs, foundations, non-profit organisations,
government agencies and businesses.
The United Nations has agencies and offices in almost every country of the world. In
addition there are partner organizations such as
the World Federation of United Nations Associations that work closely with the Organization. When seeking funds for your participation
in OxIMUN, you can approach local offices
and agencies and set up meetings with UN staff
on the ground to discuss your request.
For delegations coming from abroad,
government agencies can be a valuable source
of support. Agencies like your Foreign Affairs,
Education, Defence, or Domestic Ministries
may be able to support your MUN program as
a youth project that promotes awareness of
foreign cultures, international affairs, and public
policy. Also get in touch with your country or
state‘s United Nations Association (UNA) for
possible sponsorship or at least further referrals
(locate your nearest UNA on www.wfuna.org).
Community groups such as Rotary Clubs,
Lion Clubs, and Kiwanis Clubs have a strong
history of supporting MUN programs. Seek out
chapters of these groups in your local area and
see if they can sponsor you.
Large foundations and non-profit organisations can also be a valuable source of assistance, so long as your MUN program fits within their area of work. Look for organisations
that support education, civil society, international studies, or youth involvement in government or international relations. Be aware
that many larger foundations do not accept
unsolicited grants, and take care to look up any
established grant procedures you will need to
follow. As you research foundations and nonprofit organisations, pay attention to who their
sponsor or partner organizations are — you
can approach them for help as well. For a com6
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
plete list of NGOs registered with the United
Nations, please visit
http://esango.un.org/civilsociety/.
As you approach these organizations, in
addition to explaining why you want to come to
OxIMUN, what you would gain from the experience, and how much their support would
help, clearly describe how your MUN participation is relevant to their field of work and
aligned with their organizational mission. You
can also offer to provide them with a report or
a presentation about your experiences after the
conference.
Corporate Sponsorships
Local, regional, and national businesses are
other possible sources of sponsorship. Many
businesses will have strong commitments to
education and youth programs and will be happy to contribute towards your MUN experience. Local companies are often also happy to
support local MUN teams. Even if businesses
are unable to provide cash donations, they may
often be able to donate food, gift certificates,
services or products which can then be used in
your organized fundraisers.
As you contact companies, try to identify
and pitch the benefits they stand to gain from
being your sponsor. Typically, the best thing
you can offer them is good publicity and you
can help promote their business by acknowledging them as your official sponsor, grant
them exposure on team merchandise or publications, and mentioning them in any publicity
efforts your team may have.
Be sure to check with your university
about any college-wide policies on soliciting
corporate sponsorships or external grants.
There may be guidelines or previously established procedures for obtaining such donations.
Individuals
As you compile your list of sources, don‘t forget to include individuals who may be able to
either donate money or connect you with other
potential donors. Consult your university‘s Careers Service or Development Office for a list
of alumni involved in international affairs. Contact your MUN team‘s alumni. You may even
try writing to family, friends, and neighbours.
B. Soliciting Donations
1. Compile Contacts List
Plan to contact as many people as you can!
Once you have compiled a list of organizations
and individuals you would like to reach, try to
make each sponsorship appeal personal and
targeted at the recipient. Look within your
team and each member‘s family and networks
for personal connections to school administrators, community clubs, foundations, non-profit
organisations, government agencies, and businesses.
Having someone to advocate for your
program from within an organization will dramatically improve your chances of getting
sponsored. If that is not possible, at least determine who the right contact person within
each organization is and contact this person
directly. If you are seeking funds as a team,
make sure your solicitation process is well coordinated and organized, and never have multiple people calling the same organizations for
the same requests.
2. Prepare your Package
You should send everyone personalized letters
introducing yourself, your team and OxIMUN,
why you would like to participate in OxIMUN,
what you expect to gain from the experience,
and how their support would help. If applicable, also discuss your past MUN experiences
7
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
and successes. Include in your letter specifically
a detailed breakdown of how much money you
require and how much you hope to fundraise.
Depending on whom you are contacting, it may
also help to ask for specific amounts of money.
Have distinct letter templates for businesses and non-profit organisations and personalise each letter to increase your chances of
success. For businesses, promote the benefits
of what the company has to gain from sponsoring your trip. For other organisations, discuss
how MUN, and OxIMUN in particular, fits
with their work and mission.
The OxIMUN secretariat is happy to
send you a personalised invitation letter once
you have been accepted as a delegate or chair
which you can include in your package (email
[email protected]). Furthermore, it would
be good to include a reference or support letter
from a college official and your bank details or
a self-addressed envelope to facilitate their donation. Also include any publicity your team has
received (such as newspaper articles and school
news letter encouragement) in your mailings.
be your responsibility to see each donation
through. Every phone call helps.
Try to gain something from each contact.
Ideally this will be grants, but if people are unable to directly donate see if there might be
some other way for them to help you, whether
through other donations or additional referrals.
If someone in an organization says they do not
have the authority to make the donation, find
out who does and how to contact them.
3. Contact your Sponsors and Be Persistent!
Once you have sent your mailing package (or
email) to potential sponsors, allow enough time
for the package to arrive, and then call them to
confirm that they have received it. Make sure
you prepared and know what you are going to
say. Introduce yourself, and ask to speak with
your contact (or the person in charge of donations if you do not have a specific name).
When you speak to your contact, introduce yourself, remind them of the letter, summarize for them its contents, and then ask if
they might be able to help. Perhaps offer to call
back in a few days to give them some more
time to think. It is essential to follow up! Your
potential sponsors are likely very busy, so it will
In addition to soliciting sponsorships, you
should also expect to do a number of fundraising projects to help you raise money on your
own. Any fundraising projects should always be
tailored to your community, your school, and
your target audience. It would help to also consider what kinds of projects have worked for
you or other local organizations in the past.
Your fundraising success will depend mainly on
your creativity and your persistence!
For all of the suggestions that follow, remember that publicity and sales are absolutely
crucial. While there are many different substantive projects that you can use to fundraise, the
financial success on any of them will largely
depend on how many people you can reach and
how much you sell.
4. Show Gratitude
Thank your sponsors after each donation and,
after the conference, get back in touch with
each of them to let them know how you did.
Prepare a presentation to give or a newsletter
and pictures you can send them. Share your
experience and build a sustainable relationship
with each donor. You will want to build a base
of sponsors whom you can approach again in
the future. If it seems possible, your delegation
could host a thank you dinner for individual
sponsors and organization representatives.
C. Fundraising Projects
8
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
When organizing fundraising events, be
sure to publicize them as widely as possible
through press releases, posters, email lists, and
word of mouth. This will increase the success
both of your events and your team‘s public
presence. Building a strong public presence will
also make it easier for you to solicit donations,
as potential sponsors will have a better idea of
who you are and how committed you are to
attending OxIMUN.
Walk-a-Thon, Run-a-Thon, Swim-a-Thon
You can organise a sports event (marathon,
triathlon,...), trying to obtain sponsorship for
each kilometre or mile you or your team members run, swim, cycle etc. Possible donors include all of the above mentioned, although asking individuals you know personally for a small
contribution for your effort may prove most
successful. You can potentially increase your
success by donating parts of your proceeds to
charity and keeping the rest to attend
OxIMUN. Entrance Fees, direct donations,
food and drink sales at the event can increase
your revenue additionally.
‘Rent-a-Delegate’
Offer your services to people within your
community for a small donation and publicise
this scheme widely. Anything you can do that
other people need help with works, whether
this is lawn-mowing, helping out at a local
business, or tutoring school children. It may be
better to ask those you wish to help what they
need help with rather than offering your own
service ideas. Again, this may prove more successful if you commit to donating a portion of
your proceeds to charity.
Discount Cards
You can try selling students and other members
of the community discount cards which will get
them special deals or discounts at local stores.
To make this idea work, you will need to find
local businesses that are willing to work with
you in providing those deals and discounts.
Local businesses usually support such ventures
as ways of promoting their business and their
products. Your only cost is that of printing the
discount cards, which can be on simple card
stock or custom-ordered business cards. On
each card, be sure to include the name of each
of the participating stores, the terms of each
deal, the name of your MUN team, and the
selling price of each card. Make your cards distinctive so that other students cannot just try to
make their own copies.
Raffles
A raffle is a popular and relatively easy to organise fundraiser, just make sure you consult
your local gambling regulation to check whether raffles are legal in your area. The first step is
finding and securing prizes for which people
will be willing to gamble a small amount of
money. These should be relatively valuable
prizes with widespread appeal and you would
ideally get these prizes at no cost, as donations
from either individuals or companies. The
hardest part of running a raffle will be selling
tickets. Make sure as many people as possible
are involved in selling tickets and offer some
sort of incentive for your top salespeople. You
can design the raffle tickets yourselves or buy
pre-made ones, but be sure that every time
someone buys a ticket you retain a copy of the
ticket with their full contact information.
Silent Auction
A silent auction is another fun and straightforward way to raise money. The first step to organising your silent auction is gathering all the
items you plan to auction off. Your aim should
be to offer one or two grand prizes and many
smaller prizes, like movie tickets and dinner
9
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
vouchers at local restaurants. Ask for gift certificates from local companies, hotels or spas. See
if a well-known professor at your university
would be willing to host dinner for the winning
bidder. Other prizes could include technology
gadgets, sports tickets or DVDs. If you are
feeling artistic, your team could create or decorate its own products. Be creative in coming up
with items. Unique prizes usually get higher
prices than things people could buy at the store.
Even combining and packaging otherwise ordinary items in creative and eye-catching ways
can increase their value considerably.
At your auction, set all your items about
the auction room in an attractive manner and
provide interesting descriptions of each item.
Place items in locations that will enhance their
visibility and salient characteristics, and make
sure to feature your most important items
prominently. Place a bidding sheet by each item
with a minimum bid for each object, the minimum possible bidding increment, and space for
people to place their bid. As people arrive, have
them register their names and contact information with you and assign each costumer an
identification number. This number is what
they should put down with each of their bids. If
you wish, you may charge individuals an entry
fee that can then be applied towards any of
their purchases. Before you start your auction,
make sure you have a specified end time for
your silent auction and plan for how to clear
your items. For instance, you can request that
all bidders stay after the bidding period is over
and then go through your items declaring and
collecting the winning bids one by one.
Parties, Concerts, and Other Events
Other fund raising evens you can hold are movie nights, concerts, and club nights. Movie
nights are usually easy to organize as they con-
sist primarily of holding a special movie showing and charging for admission.
Concerts can quite a bit more work but
much more fun. The first steps to planning are
to find a good venue and good light and sound
systems you can use. The next step will be finding artists who can perform for you. Selecting
performers well is crucial as your roster will
make or break your concert. Always try to bring
in one or two well-known performers who will
help you draw a crowd. Then you can try to
find popular local artists who will then bring
their own following, or at least plenty of family
and friends.
Club nights can also be great moneymakers. Talk to a local club owner and see
whether you can get a portion of the club‘s
entrance fees for one night in return for publicizing the event on campus and bringing them
significant business. Many clubs will also provide you with queue-jump tickets which you
can sell at a profit. If you are not sure that your
MUN team can draw that many people to a
club on its own, think about partnering with
another campus organization to host the event
together. Be conscious of each club‘s minimum
age restrictions.
With all of these events, do not overlook
opportunities to gain more revenues by soliciting event sponsors and by selling food and
drinks.
Sales
Sales can be a very reliable way to fundraise on
any campus and you have much room for creativity. When at all possible, try to sell items
which you can either make yourself or which
you can sell on commission. You risk losing
money if you buy many items in advance and
then don‘t manage to sell them.
10
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
Here are some ideas of what has worked before:
 Compile stress relief packages for students
during exam periods. These could include
stress-relieving food (such as chocolate),
stress balls, relaxing facemasks, or anything
else you like.
 Sell coffee outside morning classes to help
keep students awake.
 Gather donations from local families and
host a garage or yard sale.
 Host a traditional bake sale or food sale at
your university. This often works best in
combination with another event such as a
silent auction or a car wash.
 Partner with a business to sell their products for a share of the profit. Many businesses have formal programs where students can sell their goods in exchange for a
commission. Even if a company has no
specific programme in place, they might
still be interested in selling their products
through you if you present them with a
good proposal.
For even more ideas, simply search the web for
―fundraisers‖ or ―creative fundraising ideas.‖
Think carefully and creatively about what your
team can offer your school or local community.
D. Publicity
Publicity will be a useful tool to improve your
success in both sponsorship solicitation and
fundraising through events. Donors will be
much more likely to help you if they already
know who you are and what you are doing.
School and community members are more likely to come to your events if your organization
sounds familiar. It is crucial to publicize your
team and OxIMUN in your university and
community. This is especially important if
Model UN is not well known where you are
from. As soon as you have been accepted to
OxIMUN, draft a press release for distribution
to your campus and community newspapers.
Organisation is critical in drafting your
press release. Have a catchy and informative
title, and use your opening paragraph to summarize who you are, what you will be doing at
OxIMUN, why it is important, and when you
will be going. You can add detail in subsequent
paragraphs, but put the most important information in the beginning of the release to catch
your audience‘s attention. Do not forget to
mention that you or your team needs financial
assistance and publicize your sponsors and
fundraising projects. Include contact information and ways in which people can help you.
11
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
III. APPLYING FOR AN OXIMUN DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP
If you have exhausted all other fundraising possibilities and still have a budget shortfall, you
may consider applying for one of the OxIMUN
Diversity Scholarships. Committed to make the
OxIMUN experience as accessible and diverse
as possible, we have allocated a substantial
amount of our finances to this newly established scholarship scheme.
Diversity Scholarships will be granted according to the following selection criteria:





Demonstrated need
Demonstrated fundraising efforts
MUN excellence
Enthusiasm for OxIMUN and the conference‘s theme
Geographical and cultural diversity
You may complete the first part of the application during the general delegation application
procedure. Applications are open until 25th
May 2014. Should you be offered a delegate
place at the conference you will have to complete the section about application evidence and
submit this according to the guidelines latest by
the 30th June 2014.
Remember to keep records of all your
written requests for aid and relevant correspondence with university institutions, grantgiving bodies, and other potential sponsors. We
will be asking for copies of these and documentation of any fundraising efforts and events. I
look forward to reading and reviewing your
applications. More information can be found
on www.oximun.org/finance.
12
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
IV. YOUR OXIMUN FUND RAISING TIMELINE
Now that you have a clear idea of everything
that might be involved in your fundraising efforts, you should take the time to create a timeline for everything you will be doing between
now and OxIMUN. Detail your plans for your
publicity efforts, your sponsorship solicitation
process, and your fundraising event planning as
well as when you expect to book transportation
tickets, hotel rooms, etc. A timeline will be a
great aid for staying well organised and well
prepared. Be conscious of how you space out
your various fundraising events and make sure
you continuously update your timeline as new
events and circumstances arise. Most importantly, start now, as significant effort and
time is involved. The more time you have, the
higher will be the chances of success. As much
as possible, you should be contacting potential
sponsors and making solicitations right after
you have been accepted and holding fundraising events shortly after. Here is a timeline template:
May:
V. CONCLUSION
We would like to thank Harvard National Model United Nations (www.hnmun.org) for their
advice in compiling this guide. We sincerely
hope that it will prove helpful and that your
fundraising efforts will be successful. If you
have any queries, suggestions or ideas for improvement, please do not hesitate to contact
me at [email protected].
We at OxIMUN wish you best of luck and
hope to see you in November!
Notification of successful application to an OxIMUN position
Early Jun: Research your expenses, get an
overview of your budget, compile
list of potential sponsors and sponsorship package, brainstorm about
potential fundraising opportunities
and events, send out press release
Jun/Jul:
Send out packages, contact sponsors and organisations, follow up,
follow up, follow up, and hold your
fund-raising events
13
O XFORD I NTERNATIONAL
M ODEL U N ITED N ATIONS
Oxford International Model United Nations
[email protected]
www.oximun.org
14