welcome aboard to the - fistula foundation · women suffering from fistula who are treated at the...
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One woman at a time. That is how we fight fistula. By restoring health and dignity to one. One woman with the will to survive. She is still waiting.
WELCOME ABOARD TO THE
CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
VOLUNTEER AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
DEDICATED TO RAISING AWARENESS OF AND FUNDING FOR FISTULA
PREVENTION, TREATMENT AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE.
www.fistulafoundation.org PHOTO CREDITS:
Many thanks to Paula Allen / V-Day, Fistula Foundation Board member Larry William, MD, our dedicated partner Women and Health
Alliance International and our esteemed colleague Ruth C. Kennedy of Abraham’s Oasis and our grantees for so kindly providing photos
featured in this document.
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Table of Contents
Welcome Aboard ................................................................................................................4
Your Role .............................................................................................................................5
Your Team at the Foundation ..........................................................................................7
Event Ideas ..........................................................................................................................8
Getting Started ...................................................................................................................9
Frequently Asked Questions ...........................................................................................10
Tips for Hosting a Film Screening Event ......................................................................12
Special Promotional Items ...............................................................................................15
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Photo credit: Paula Allen / V-Day
"Just about the worst thing that can happen to a teenage girl
in this world is to develop an obstetric fistula that leaves her
trickling bodily wastes and shunned by everyone around her."
Nicholas D. Kristof
Pulitzer Prize Winner, New York Times Columnist
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WELCOME ABOARD!
We’re so glad you’ve made the personal decision to help us as a volunteer ambassador. We
hope you’ll find we’re a great team to work with, and that our cause is a very satisfying one to
be involved with.
You may not know this, but having you serve as a volunteer ambassador is so valuable and
helpful to our charity. We’re a small team at the Fistula Foundation – only five staff. Your
service as a volunteer is precious to us. Collectively, our Circle volunteers do so much to raise
awareness and donations in their local communities, around the world. Over and over,
throughout the year, our team is helping committed people like you who are taking time to
serve as volunteers. We see volunteers organizing small events (and a few larger ones.)
Donations come in as a result. People learn more about obstetric fistula. And that will all be
because of you. The collective results are BIG. So, don’t underestimate the power of what you
will be doing. It will absolutely be making an impact.
We’re so proud of our inspiring donors and volunteer ambassadors. We warmly invite you to
visit our website to read in-depth stories about these incredible champions.
Visit: http://www.fistulafoundation.org/whatyoucando/champions.html
Also, in each newsletter issue, we profile at least one volunteer ambassador and donor. Their
stories will inspire and uplift you.
Visit: http://www.fistulafoundation.org/pressroom/newsletters/
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YOUR ROLE
By serving as a Circle of Friends volunteer ambassador, you are making the personal decision
to be a champion of obstetric fistula. How? Bring YOUR circle of friends together and make a
difference. And why not have fun while you're at it? It's that simple.
We keep this program simple for lots of reasons. There’s genius in the simplicity. Why?
Because our champions are motivated by all kinds of reasons. A book. A conversation with a
friend. A documentary film. All of these things. And something even more powerful – an
inner voice that whispers, ‚This is tragic. I have to do something.‛ And that something will
be different for each person. As a Circle volunteer, you will be the captain of your own ship in
terms of your plans. You decide what to do, how much, when and for how long, and to whom
you’ll target your outreach. You are welcome to serve for any length of time that suits you.
Our role at the Foundation is mainly to offer you materials and ideas, upon your request. And
we are the place to send donations. We recommend you point people to our website for the
latest and most detailed information about obstetric fistula and how we’re helping.
Each Circle volunteer must agree and confirm they have read and understood our volunteer
ambassador policies. This helps us work together as a team.
WRITTEN MATERIALS
The Fistula Foundation grants you the right to use the Foundation’s name, trademark and
select copyrighted materials for the exclusive purpose of holding a fundraising campaign on
behalf of the Fistula Foundation. If you plan to prepare your own written or website
promotion or informational materials, you must provide copies of the proposed materials to
the Fistula Foundation for review at least seven [7] days before your publishing deadline.
LIMIT ON LIABILITY
The Fistula Foundation deeply appreciates your support. Please note that the Fistula
Foundation is not sponsoring, supporting or endorsing your fundraising efforts, financially or
otherwise. Because the Fistula Foundation has no control or supervision of your activity, the
Fistula Foundation shall have no obligation to you or anyone acting with you in sponsoring
your event or efforts.
RECORDKEEPING AND RECEIPTS
You agree to provide the Fistula Foundation with the amount of each contribution received
and the name and contact information, of each contributor wishing to receive a tax receipt for
their donation. (Note: The Fistula Foundation does not share this information with any other
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organization. We are especially respectful of privacy. Our privacy policy is available on our
website.)
All contributions shall be delivered to the Foundation within seven (7) days of receipt.
Deliver to:
The Fistula Foundation
1900 The Alameda, Suite 500
San Jose, CA 95126
Upon receipt of the donations and written information described above, the Fistula
Foundation will send a thank you letter/tax receipt to each donor. And going forward, donors
receive regular updates about how we’re helping (newsletters, e-mails) unless they expressly
tell us they’d prefer not to.
The majority of our volunteers encourage their friends to donate online to the Fistula
Foundation. Or they collect donation checks made payable to The Fistula Foundation during
their event, and send them to us clipped together with a cover note. Please do not collect cash
donations or send cash donations to us in the mail. It just isn’t safe.
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YOUR TEAM AT THE FOUNDATION
Primarily, you’ll be communicating with the Development Director and Carol at the
Foundation.
POSITION VACANT
Development Director
Consider the Development Director a great sounding
board. Have an idea but not sure how to make it
happen? Curious to learn more about one place where
we’re helping in particular? Have a policy question?
Connect with the Development Director.
CAROL BRILL
Office Manager /
Administrative Assistant
Carol handles gifts processing and acknowledgements
to your donors. Send all your donation checks to Carol
with a cover note. If your efforts will be longer term
and you’d like to know the total result of your efforts,
inform Carol and also your friends donating. Make
sure donors mention your name or the name of your
event. As Carol is recording gifts, she’ll make note and
then can prepare a results report for you.
We sincerely appreciate your partnership and volunteer service. You’ll always be responded
to personally, and so will your donors. Please do keep in mind that we’re a small team of only
5 staff at the Fistula Foundation. With nearly 8,700 donors in 2010 and grantee projects in
numerous countries throughout Africa and Asia, we’re busy all the time! Also, you should
know that we’re exceptionally frugal in everything we do. And we tend to focus on simple
solutions, especially working with Circle volunteer ambassadors. You’re always welcome to
do something extra special on your own, for your Circle projects. Please do!
CONTACT INFORMATION:
The Fistula Foundation, 1900 The Alameda, Suite 500, San Jose CA 95126
email: [email protected] | tel: 408-249-9596 | fax: 408-244-7328
website: www.fistulafoundation.org | tax ID: 77-0547201
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EVENT IDEAS
Not sure what kind of fundraiser to hold? We've put together a list of ideas for you. Choose
from the list below or plan an event of your own!
Most popular:
HOST A "WALK TO BEAUTIFUL" SCREENING PARTY
The film ‚A Walk to Beautiful‛ film won the coveted ‚Best Documentary‛ award from the
International Documentary Association and movingly follows the journey of five Ethiopian
women suffering from fistula who are treated at the Hamlin Fistula Hospitals in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. If you enjoy being a host/hostess, this is a perfect choice for you. You can choose to
show a screening at your home for a handful of friends or host a community screening
through your school, church, club or association, and have a discussion of the film afterwards.
You can choose to show the full-length film or a 10-minute DVD featuring highlights from the
film. For more details, check out our additional handout titled ‚Tips for Hosting a Film
Screening Event.‛
GROUP SPONSORSHIP
Join forces with other members of your
book club, women's group, investment
club, etc. to sponsor the surgery of one
woman (or two or three...).
BUSINESSES & SHOPS
Inspire your customers by making a
donation to the Fistula Foundation. In
thanks for contributing, we’ll be proud to
offer you a personalized certificate which
you can display in your lobby for all your
customers to see.
SCHOOL EVENTS
Throughout the school year, hundreds of
students are organizing creative, successful
projects to help raise awareness and
donations. Recent successful events
include student-teacher basketball
tournaments, spaghetti dinners, and selling
t-shirts with inspiring logos designed by
students. AN EVENING OUT
Mix good works and good fun. Connect
with a local restaurant or neighborhood
hangout and encourage them to donate a
portion of that evening's proceeds to the
cause. Invite your friends and family to join
you and you will help generate business for
the restaurant while raising funds to restore
health and dignity to women suffering
from fistula.
LETTER CIRCLE
Write a personal note or e-mail to friends
and family about how you were personally
inspired to help women with fistula (e.g.
"Let’s join forces to help our sisters! If
everyone who receives this email pledges
$15, we can raise $450 to fund one woman’s
obstetric fistula surgery.")
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GETTING STARTED
We recommend starting off with a simple affair such as a small gathering. You could give a
short talk about the topic, perhaps tell a story about one patient who was helped, and (most
importantly) why this matters to you personally.
To choose one patient’s story to share, visit
http://www.fistulafoundation.org/whatisfistula/ows.html
If having materials on hand to give out is important to you, let us know. We can arrange to
send you an e-file of some handouts that you could print out and make available for your
guests. We can also arrange to send you a special packet of materials including some recent
newsletters and donation reply slips and return envelopes, for those friends who prefer to
donate by mail. Or, you could make something up yourself such as a handmade bookmark
gift to thank your guests for coming to your event. Most of our volunteers keep it very
personal and modest.
SET A GOAL
Most of our volunteers set a personal goal of raising $450 US dollars or more. You could do
the same. Inform your friends that donations of any amount are greatly appreciated, and all
donations you make can be pooled together to help pay for one woman’s obstetric fistula
surgery, which is $450 US dollars.
PLAN YOUR REMARKS
Share your own personal perspective and why this matters to you. Perhaps compare one
obstetric fistula patient’s story to your own experiences, or those of a loved one. We
encourage you to browse our website (www.fistulafoundation.org). We offer everything there
you could wish for — patient stories, our latest newsletter and annual report, and (especially
helpful for you) answers to frequently asked questions about the work we do and how
donations are helping.
MEET YOUR GOAL
As host, you may wish to offer that you intend to make a personal donation to guarantee that
by the end of your event or efforts you all reach this goal together. Or, you can tap someone
else such as another guest attending your event or a friend or local business to make this offer.
And as a result, thanks to everyone doing this together, one woman’s life will be changed
forever. In thanks, the Fistula Foundation will proudly present to you a special personalized
Love-A-Sister certificate to celebrate your donation. You could frame this and share it with
your friends. Or you could ask us to send you an e-copy of the certificate to e-mail to your
friends. Either way works great.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How long does my commitment last?
You are welcome to serve for any length of time that suits you.
I’m interested in doing a few events but if my circumstances change, I may not be able to. Is that okay?
Absolutely fine.
How can I receive updates as to how the particular projects are progressing once I’m involved?
If you aren’t receiving our newsletters already, we encourage you to take a moment now to
visit our website and sign-up online to receive updates about how we’re helping. You’ll then
receive quarterly newsletters by mail and periodic ‚breaking news‛ e-mail updates.
To sign-up now, visit: http://www.fistulafoundation.org/cust/mailinglist
I’m thinking of organizing an art exhibition and donating a portion of sales to the Fistula Foundation. How will that work in terms of tax deductibility?
One option is to make a charitable donation to the Fistula Foundation from your business
following your event. If you want your donors to receive a tax receipt from the Fistula
Foundation, things need to be handled differently. And you’ll need to keep records of what
was purchased by whom and the fair market value of the goods they received. In these cases,
if a donor receives something in return for their donation, either goods or services, then the
value of that has to be deducted, i.e., I donate $500 but get a photo worth $100 then only $400
of my donation is tax deductible. If this doesn’t make sense, please contact Anne Ferguson at
the Fistula Foundation ([email protected].) She can provide you a more detailed
explanation and coordinate arrangements with you beforehand.
I’m thinking of organizing a “fundraising dinner,” and encourage donations for the Fistula Foundation at the same time. Any suggestions?
Most of our volunteers organize small events that have little to no event costs. These
volunteers are simply covering these modest expenses based on their personal plans out of
their own pockets. This is important to all of us and especially our volunteers. We all want as
much money as possible to help women needing obstetric fistula surgery treatment.
Are you thinking of something different? Perhaps you’d like to have a gathering in which
each invitee is asked to pay $50 ($25 of this total will pay for dinner expenses.) If so, the
wording of your invitation matters. Best to show your invitations to the Fistula Foundation
staff beforehand.
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If you want your donors to receive a tax receipt from the Fistula Foundation, you’ll need to
keep records of what was purchased by whom and the fair market value of the goods they
received. In these cases, if a donor receives something in return for their donation, either
goods or services, then the value of that has to be deducted, i.e., I donate $50 but get a dinner
worth $25 then only $25 of my donation is tax deductible. If this doesn’t make sense, please
contact Anne Ferguson at the Fistula Foundation ([email protected].) She can
provide you a more detailed explanation and coordinate arrangements with you beforehand.
Because the Fistula Foundation is based in the U.S. and I am in London (Australia, Japan, etc.), how might this affect donations and tax-deductibility?
Donations to the Fistula Foundation are tax-deductible only in the U.S. Because our work is
international and we are the largest private charitable organization supporting fistula
treatment globally, many individuals from all over the world are choosing to donate to us and
serve as volunteers.
As a non-US volunteer, we recommend you and your friends donate to us online.
To donate online, visit: http://www.fistulafoundation.org
On our online charitable donations web page, you have the option of donating via PayPal.
During this process, your online donation will be converted from your currency into US
Dollars.
You and your friends are also welcome to make donations in the form of a check in your local
currency, and mail this to the Fistula Foundation. At the time we deposit these check
donations, they will be converted into US Dollar currency.
Please do not collect cash donations, or send cash donations to us in the mail.
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TIPS FOR HOSTING A FILM SCREENING EVENT
Hosting a film screening is a terrific choice. The following are a few ideas for planning yours.
Choose from the ideas below, or add your own personal touches. The overall plans are similar
for both types of screenings (a screening at your home or as a community event through your
school, church or club, etc.)
INVITE YOUR GUESTS
Four weeks in advance, via e-mail.
One week in advance, send a reminder again via e-mail.
If yours will be a community event, do you think your organization could mention it in their
next newsletter or on their website event calendar? It is worth a try. Also, most local
newsletters offer free community event listings. To do so, it usually is a matter of sending a
quick e-mail or completing an online form.
DECIDE ON YOUR EVENT’S PROGRAM
Your event will be a hit if it reflects your personality and style. Here is a typical run through
for a screening held at someone’s home in the evening for about 15 to 20 guests.
Guests start arriving at about 6:30pm. (Set a start time that is convenient for your guests.)
Near the entrance, have a table set-up with some Fistula Foundation information, donation
forms and perhaps nametags and pens. If your guests will be meeting each other for the
first time, encourage they put on a nametag.
Allow about 30 minutes or so at the start for your guests to socialize.
After most guests have arrived, welcome everyone and make a few brief personal remarks.
Play the film.
Discuss the film. (20 minutes is usually sufficient.)
Conclude by thanking everyone for coming and suggesting they take some of the Fistula
Foundation’s materials as they leave. And if it is your wish to encourage your guests
consider making a personal donation, mention to your guests that donation forms are also
available and offer to collect these as your guests are leaving.
MAKE A FEW ARRANGEMENTS IN ADVANCE
First, alert us of your plans.
If you have not yet done so already, we will ask you to formally become a Circle of Friends
volunteer ambassador. We’ll send you a quick e-mail and ask you to reply ‚yes‛ to
confirm you understand your role and responsibilities.
Decide if you’d like to have some materials from the Foundation on hand. We can offer
you some recent newsletters, annual reports and gift slips for making donations.
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Then, ask us to ship these materials to you in time for your event.
Make plans to get the film in time for your event.
Test the film DVD on your home equipment to make sure it works fine. DECIDE WHICH TYPE OF FILM SCREENING YOU WANT TO OFFER (LONG OR SHORT)
As an official Circle of Friends volunteer ambassador, you will have permission to present the
film for a non-commercial screening (to help educate and inspire supporters, and generate
larger audiences.) You have two options: 1) show the full-length film, or 2) show a 10-
minute DVD featuring highlights from the film. If you choose to show the full-length film,
please arrange to either purchase your own personal copy, borrow a copy from your local
library or from Netflix (if you have an account.) There is a 54-minute version, which has run
on public television, or an 85-minute feature-length version. You may also watch the film for
free anytime on PBS Nova’s website. For more details or to order your own personal copy of
the film, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/a-walk-to-beautiful.html. The Fistula
Foundation can offer you a 10-minute DVD featuring highlights from the film. If you would
like one, let us know.
PLAN YOUR REMARKS
We encourage you to browse our website (www.fistulafoundation.org). We offer everything
there you could wish for – patient stories, our latest newsletter and annual report, and
(especially helpful for you), answers to frequently asked questions about the work we do and
how donations are helping.
Your guests will be most impressed if you speak personally and from the heart. Don’t worry
about becoming an expert on this topic. As host, you might want to say:
How you first learned about obstetric fistula, and why it matters to you
Compare one fistula patient’s story to your own personal experience, or those of a loved
one.
Mention 1-2 statistics to compare / contrast your personal experience to that of the fistula
patient you described. For example: you delivered your baby in a hospital vs the fistula
patient who delivered her baby at home. Your doctor was there with a team of trained
staff vs the fistula patient who had no trained medical person to help her.
SET A FUNDRAISING GOAL
If it would appeal to you and your guests, make a special announcement that donations of any
amount are greatly appreciated, and that all donations you raise can be pooled together to pay
for one surgery, which is $450 US dollars. As host, you may wish to offer that you intend to
make a personal donation tonight to help guarantee that by the end of the evening you will all
reach this goal together. Or, you can tap someone else such as another guest attending that
night to make this offer. In thanks for your donation, you may also want to share that the
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Fistula Foundation will be proud to present you all a personalized certificate to celebrate your
donation.
BE PREPARED TO HELP WITH YOUR GUESTS’ DONATIONS
The majority of our volunteers encourage their friends to donate online to the Fistula
Foundation after your event, at their convenience. If it matters to you to know how much in
total donations were received, alert us in advance so we know to track them. AND instruct
your guests to mention your event name when they donate online. Some hosts have a laptop
set-up at their event so their guests can step over, take a moment to donate online right then
and there, and be done.
If you prefer, collect donation checks at your event made payable to The Fistula Foundation.
Afterwards, send them to us clipped together with a cover note. Please do not collect cash
donations or send cash donations to us in the mail. It just isn’t safe.
Mail all contributions you collected with a cover note to the Fistula Foundation within seven
(7) days of receipt.
Deliver to: The Fistula Foundation, 1900 The Alameda, Suite 500, San Jose, CA 95126
Upon receipt of these donations, the Fistula Foundation will send a thank you letter/tax receipt
to each donor. And going forward, donors receive regular updates about how we’re helping
(newsletters, e-mails) unless they expressly tell us they’d prefer not to.
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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
The following items are available (in limited supplies) upon request for Circle of Friends volunteer
ambassadors. You are welcome to ask to receive one or more of these items. And you may use them as
you see fit. We hope they will add a special touch to your upcoming event and/or activities.
Music:
Circle volunteer ambassador Rachael Bair presented a very successful Circle event in her local
community during the summer of 2011. To support her efforts, her sister Sarah Bair and friend Ben
Randall, composed the song ‚Knitting Hands.‛ They were inspired to create this beautiful song after
watching the documentary film ‚A Walk to Beautiful.‛
Eleanor Dubinsky is an accomplished artist/performer and Fistula Foundation
supporter. In addition to supporting the work we do as a donor, she offers
complimentary copies of her latest music CDs to Circle volunteer ambassadors, upon
request.
During the summer of 2011, Eleanor shared with us why she supports what we do. ‚I
was particularly struck by how fistula embodies the global problem of what women, and
people, face as a result of being born a ‘have not,’ as opposed to being a ‘have’ in our world. I am
impressed by the integrity of how the organization is managed and also by the amount of work the
Foundation does given how small it is – a staff of only four people! I look forward to continuing to
support this organization financially and creatively, and to feeling proud to be associated with it.‛
For more about Eleanor and to hear her music, go to www.eleanordubinsky.com.
Marie-France MacDonald is an accomplished composer/artist/performer and longtime
Fistula Foundation supporter. In addition to supporting our work as a donor, she
offers complimentary copies of her song ‚You Are Not Alone.‛ Marie-France shared
with us in 2008 that she was inspired to create this original, very moving composition
after seeing Dr. Catherine Hamlin and hearing the story of her work on The Oprah
Winfrey Show. Marie-France says she was "overwhelmed with profound joy and
sorrow simultaneously and said 'Dear God, what do you want me to do?'" She shares
that she received her answer at the keys of her piano. (Note: the song we offer to you was recorded by
Steve Friedman at the West Roxbury, Massachusetts Open Mike performance on May 28, 2011.)
For more about Marie-France MacDonald and her creative endeavors to restore women’s dignity
through art, go to http://www.dignityproductions.com/
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Jewelry and Accessory Items:
These pins were handcrafted by a fistula patient who received treatment at
the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. The bead colors match the Ethiopian
flag. Red symbolizes power. Yellow symbolizes the church, peace, natural
wealth and love. Green symbolizes the land and hope.
IDEA: Offer this pin to each of your donors with your personal thanks.
These bracelets feature the words ‚Fistula
Foundation‛ and ‚Tesfa Ineste‛ in Amharic
(the most common language in Ethiopia)
which means ‚Give Them Hope.‛
IDEA: Set out a bowl of these bracelets as a gift for your guests.
Hanne Ingerslev from Denmark is a talented artist and Fistula Foundation supporter. In
addition to supporting the work we do as a donor, she offers complimentary jewelry
items such as these examples. The necklace (below left) is inspired by the Fistula
Foundation logo. The earrings (below center) are for pierced ears and approximately one
inch in size. Hanne also designs a variety of other items (below right) -- all crafted using
a material called ‚friendly plastic‛ which has been tested and is absolutely nontoxic.
IDEA: Request to have one necklace. During your event, make a special announcement to share a
little background and let everyone know that it will be offered to one donor as a special thank you.
The Fistula Foundation is deeply grateful to these artists for their generosity.