Caitlin Williams
How did you fundraise for your course?
I Baked cupcakes every week and sold them at school for $3, one of my teachers saw them and got me to bake about 50 for his baby shower. I also wrote a lot of letters explaining what I was trying to achieve and why and sent them to anyone I thought would be able to help. I was surprised at the amount of people that were willing to support me; all I needed to do was ask.
How did you start the process (what was the first step to starting your fundraising)?
Telling my friends and family about my goals and doing some research into what scholarships and grants are available for young people. My mum was extremely helpful and gave me lots of ideas, think about every possible avenue, for example, I contacted my mums clients who were business owners and they were willing to help, although sometimes I did have to plead my case!
What was the biggest challenge when fundraising and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge would have been the short amount of time in which I had to fundraise. I only had six weeks from the time I first saw the pamphlet to the date of the course start. I overcame this with the support of my mum and my determination to get to Outward Bound.
What advice can you give for people fundraising for their Outward Bound course?
Make sure that you keep people that give you money updated on your fundraising progress and send them a thank you letter afterwards or offer to help them out in some way. That way they know that their money went to a good cause and helped someone experience something awesome. It was helpful to keep a spreadsheet of everyone who helped out, how much they gave, their address’ and contact details just to organise the whole process.
