Recruiting for the Raffle

2014 Rio Raffle

As a network-based organization, our friends, collaborators, partners and supporters are the lifeblood of what we do. Proof of this is that between 30% and 60% of Raffle entries in previous years were generated by our committed network amongst their own networks, friends, colleagues, and families.

As a thank you for your commitment and support in helping CatComm, we’ll give you an extra entry in the Raffle for every two tickets you generate. You don’t even have to buy a ticket yourself. If you recruit a friend or family member, they’ll be asked who recruited them when they make their payment and you’ll automatically get your free entry included. Bonus: The lead recruiter will be gifted 7 nights stay at the Santa Teresa B&B in Rio for themselves and/or friends, housing up to four for a week!

Recruiting Resources

We have devised a collection of resources to help you in your recruiting. There’s an open Flickr album with a selection of stunning photography of Rio. We’ve also devised a selection of emails you can send out to your address book. Or use our previous winners’ testimonials to show others what amazing experiences the winner can have.

Here’s a full list of available resources:

Hints and Tips for Successful Outreach

Tip #1 Establishing a goal for yourself is key to motivating friends to give: they see this is important to you and want to help you reach your goal! We suggest a goal of 10 tickets by December 11th.*

Tip #2 We’ve found that asking people you come into contact with as you go about your regular activities, or quickly messaging friends when you see them in chat, is by far the most effective and quickest way to success. A person-to-person request works best: people usually respond immediately and don’t put off their contribution when they feel you are asking THEM.

Tip #3 The deadline is December 11th.* There are a number of memorable dates that would make great opportunities for reaching out to friends for this year’s Raffle: Thanksgiving (Nov 27), Final day for Early Bird Tickets (Nov 30), Giving Tuesday and National Samba Day (Dec 2), and Human Rights Day (Dec 10).

Join our Facebook group and you’ll be kept in the loop about what’s going on, with updates on the totals, links to resources, and regular tips for our team of recruiters. Alternately, we can email you updates so just contact us if you prefer direct email communication.

Please drop us a line and let us know you’re helping spread the word, so we’ll keep our eyes out for donations made in your name!

*The original December 10th deadline was extended by 24 hours to December 11th because of an attack on our host during the afternoon and evening on December 9th that left this website down for 7 hours.

Share our 2014 Rio Raffle Video

Email Letter Templates

Email 1 – Short and sweet

Hi Jane,

I hope this email finds you well! I’m writing to ask for your support for a nonprofit organization [that I work with, collaborate with, have volunteered with – please personalize] whose mission I really support and for whom I have committed to raise $150 by December 10th. Catalytic Communities provides strategic visibility in Rio’s favelas to ensure their voice and rights during the city’s critical transformation.

I would really appreciate it if you would take a moment to donate $15 which not only helps me reach my goal, but gets you a chance to win a trip for two to Rio de Janeiro in 2015! The fundraiser I’m helping with is the organization’s annual Rio Raffle, and for each $15 donated you’ll get a chance to win a trip for 2 to Rio, with Bed & Breakfast and a bunch of goodies included. I’ve committed to selling 10 tickets.

Please click here to get your ticket and check out additional information from the org.

Do let me know if you have any questions. And thank you!!

Email 2 – More descriptive

Dear Jane,

I hope all is well with you. I’m reaching out in hope of your support of a raffle fundraiser for an organization (that I work with, collaborate with, volunteer with) called Catalytic Communities.

Their work in Rio de Janeiro provides strategic visibility for favela communities, which has been critical for ensuring just outcomes for these areas that have been traditionally marginalized. At this decisive moment in Rio’s transformation, CatComm’s efforts have led to some arbitrary evictions being stopped and others slowed or reduced, while also providing support for better negotiating platforms for residents.

Another one of CatComm’s initiatives is RioOnWatch – the only bilingual English/Portuguese news site reporting on favela perspectives in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics. Proceeds from this year’s raffle will guarantee and expand this vital initiative, including funding positions for local correspondents in Rio’s under-represented areas.

The fundraiser is the organization’s 5th Annual Rio Raffle – for $15 a ticket, the winner gets a chance for a trip for two to Rio de Janeiro! Flights, stay at a Bed and Breakfast in Santa Teresa or Ipanema, an educational favela visit and dinner with the organization and tickets to see Christ the Redeemer. A unique, authentic peak into one of the world’s most dynamic cities!

I’ve committed to selling 10 tickets. I hope I can count on you to contribute and help me reach my goal. Please click here to donate.

And do let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!!

Email 3 – Help me Reach my Goal!

Dear Jane,

I hope this email finds you well! I’m writing to tell you about an organization I have gotten to know and support over the last several years called Catalytic Communities–a nonprofit that provides strategic visibility in Rio’s favelas to ensure their voice and rights during the city’s critical transformation, work that has helped increase just outcomes for residents in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics to be held there.

They are now running their annual Rio Raffle, the organization’s largest annual campaign to maintain and expand their important efforts in Rio, and I’ve agreed to recruit 10 tickets. At $15 a pop, your ticket enters you in a raffle with a grand prize of a week-long trip for two to Rio de Janeiro to see the action and experience the city for yourself! Accommodation at a Bed and Breakfast in either Santa Teresa or a flat in Ipanema, along with other goodies, is also included.

If you can, all you have to do is click here to make your contribution and grab your chance at a trip for two to Rio, and help me reach my goal!

Also, please let me know that you’ve bought one, so they’ll know your ticket was referred by me and so it counts towards my fundraising goal.

Let me know if you have any questions. And thank you!!

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