#31: How a student at UMD raised $30,000 for Students Helping Honduras through letter writing-- with Melissa Frankenberry

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While studying at the University of Maryland, Melissa Frankenberry raised more than $30,000 for Students Helping Honduras. In this episode, she breaks down her process step-by-step and talks about facing her own fears when making the ask.

Show notes for Melissa Frankenberry

Melissa Frankenberry first heard about SHH at UMD’s First Look Fair where 500+ clubs on campus try to recruit members
She was actually looking for Habitat for Humanity and instead joined SHH!
She knew very little about Honduras
She remembers the upperclassmen members like Nahal, Kristin, Peter, Brandon
Melissa still remembers the first meeting still
She volunteered in Honduras four times while at UMD
Honduras was Melissa’s first exposure to a developing country
She worked at Balsamo village during her freshman and senior year
She worked hard selling grilled cheese in front of bars during weekends
Melissa used www.fundaround.com to create an online fundraising page
“It’s really scary asking people for money.”
The first thing she did was craft a long email message to her family and friends
She sent it out to her immediate circle
It wasn’t as bad as she had imagined
Her father’s business clients got involved and donated
She customized the messages of each letter to personalize them
Photos and videos were critical
At first she wrote it “straight from the heart” but it ended up being too long
She placed the link to her fundraising page at the very beginning of the letter and not at the end
The subject line of the emails was important. For example, saying Students Helping Honduras instead of SHH was helpful
Follow up phone calls and emails after each campaign was critical
There is a Fundaround “hack” that Melissa did. She used a photo collage for each of the photo boxes, to increase the number of total photos she could post!
Showing your passion is critical for fundraising success
“Don’t just half-ass on the fundraising.” -Melissa Frankenberry
“Don’t be afraid to ask for donations. People want to help.” -Melissa Frankenberry

58 episodes