Guide to Grassroots Fundraising

Welcome to our Grassroots Fundraising Guide. This guide is primarily intended for prospective The Youth Assembly (YA) participants around the world but is designed to be useful to other programs as well. Most of the author’s fundraising experience is within American communities, but many of the ideas in the guide may also be useful to international delegates and participants.

You likely heard about The Youth Assembly from your friends, networks, community organizations, government, or by searching on the internet yourself for exciting opportunities for global youth dialogue. You were thrilled when you discovered that The Youth Assembly was your chance for leadership training, friendship and network building, and instruction from leading voices in politics, economics, science, and social justice on the topic of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There was probably a moment, however, when you realized that the program wasn’t free, even for the most impressive participants, like yourself.

There was, perhaps, a sinking feeling in your stomach, and the thought, “It is impossible for me to go.” Hopefully, that was when you found the link our Grassroots Fundraising Guide!

The central message of the guide is this: it IS possible to fundraise your way to The Youth Assembly, and, in fact, it is critical that you do!

Each session of The Youth Assembly is designed to bring together a diverse group of passionate youth from around the world to discuss how the arts, culture, travel, and sports can unite youth in the Sustainable Development Goals. YOU are a key piece of that diversity and a critical voice in that discussion. So, best of luck and happy grassroots FUNdraising!