Community fundraising

Every day, people are taking a stand for others in need, and they partner with Mercy Corps to do so. Millions of dollars are raised and millions of lives improved because of fundraising efforts driven by individuals and groups all around the world.

And now it's even easier to start a movement in your own community. Our redesigned online personal fundraising pages help you raise funds and awareness for the issues you care about — and where Mercy Corps is making a difference.

Fady created an online fundraising page to celebrate his birthday. Photo: Courtesy of Fady Masoud

You have the ability to choose where to fundraise for, such as the Horn of Africa or simply to send funds where they are needed most. Pages are easy to set up, designed to share with friends and family, and collect donations in a quick, streamlined interface. It's a place to bring your community together around a single goal, and everyone can watch the progress you're all making together.

In fact, fundraising pages are a great way to commemorate birthdays, weddings and other special occasions. Our friend Fady Masoud created a fundraising page for his birthday, saying it was "one of the simplest pages to set up — clear, concise and asks for relevant information only! It took me about 5 minutes." Check out Fady's page.

To get started and create your own fundraising page, visit the Fundraise for us section and and click "Get started." Your fundraising page can move Mercy Corps forward in our mission to save and improve lives in the world's toughest places.

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On Mondays, the Costello's Travel Caffé donates 5% of their sales to Mercy Corps' work around the world. Photo: Melissa Uppendahl/Mercy Corps

The Caffé offers a global gathering place in Portland. Photo: Courtesy of Costello's Travel Caffé

Tucked away in northeast Portland, Costello’s Travel Caffé brings a bit of global color to the often rainy Northwest — and makes a big difference for families in need around the world.

In 2010, this family-owned European-style caffé decided that annual fundraisers were not enough — they wanted to do more. So they created “Mercy Corps Mondays,” where 5% of that day’s sales are donated to Mercy Corps. Over the last two years, Costello’s has raised over $7,000 for our work in some of the world’s toughest places.

“We wanted to start off the week by doing something good, and hopefully inspire customers to do the same,” explained co-owner Chris Costello.

The Costello family has always focused on the element of their business on giving back. “I believe that it is important for business owners to sacrifice a little and give to those in need,” said Chris. “We can go with a little less to help alleviate poverty.”

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Forward Fredy Montero, from Campo de la Cruz, on the field with Seattle Sounders teammates. Photo: Courtesy of the Seattle Sounders

After unprecedented rains broke the levee, homes in Campo de la Cruz were flooded to the rooftops for months. Photo: Courtesy of Fredy Montero

Fredy helped raise more than $33,000 for Mercy Corps' relief efforts in his hometown. Photo: Courtesy of Fredy Montero

With the combination of a broken levee and a rainy season that brought four times the average rainfall, the flooding in Colombia in 2010 reached far and wide. In the southern part of the Atlántico department on the Caribbean coast, Campo de la Cruz was completely submerged under water. And Fredy Montero, the star forward on the Seattle Sounders MLS team, felt the call to help his hometown from the Pacific Northwest.

Montero was born in Campo de la Cruz and learned to play soccer in the streets. When the residents were evacuated, including some of his relatives, Fredy took action. He worked with the Seattle Sounders and their fans, the Emerald City Supporters, to raise more than $33,000 for Mercy Corps’ emergency response programs in the region.

Campo de la Cruz, like other municipalities in the area, was flooded to the rooftops for three months. When the water finally receded and residents began returning home, Mercy Corps was there to help.

Mercy Corps had started working in the region in mid-2010, months before the rains began, so we were able to respond quickly. We brought humanitarian aid to those living in refugee tent villages along the highways and started youth programs to help children deal with the immediate trauma of losing their homes and living in temporary shelters.

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An all-day food fair at a Portland-area school in 2009 raised more than $2,000 for survivors of the 2009 earthquake in Indonesia.

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Members of the Culture Club display the check they sent to Mercy Corps.

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On September 30, Doerre Intermediate School in Spring, Texas, held a staff-versus-student charity volleyball game that raised $1,200 to benefit Mercy Corps' efforts to fight hunger in the Horn of Africa.

The Doerre Culture Club decided to raise money for the Horn of Africa after discussing during a pizza party that children were starving in Somalia, according to school officials. The Culture Club is a group of 60 students that meets monthly to learn about other countries and pay respect to their school's cultural diversity.

The club members were struck by the disparity between the pizza party they were having and the desperate situation of families and children in Somalia. The club decided to raise money for Mercy Corps after researching the crisis on CNN.com and learning that Mercy Corps has helped more than a million people in the region survive.

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Sophia Mangalee, one of the riders supporting Mercy Corps in the Mongol Derby. Photo: courtesy of Sophia Mangalee

There are people who enjoy riding horses in gentle pastures or along valley creeks, and there are some who prefer to really feel their saddle. Fortunately for all those rough-riders, there is an adventure which challenges them to train like they've never trained before. Fortunately for Mercy Corps, this journey is also a fundraising opportunity!

The Adventurists' Mongol Derby is a horse race that stretches 1,000 kilometers across, of all places, the steppes of Mongolia.

On August 2, 2011 not only are Derby participants beginning the grueling 10-day ride, they are also changing one partially-tamed Mongolian horse for another every 40 kilometers. Every year, only about 20 people are ready to take on such a challenge, as well as the additional responsibility of fundraising £1000 (about US$1,630) for a good cause.

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In just a few days, a mighty adventure begins. The starting line is in London, and the finish line in Mongolia — approximately six weeks away. To make their way, participating teams are crossing vast expanses of deserts, mountains and steppes in tiny cars built for local shopping errands.

Mongol Rally participants will be racing across Europe and Asia toward Mongolia's stunning vistas. Some teams are raising money to help Mercy Corps' programs in Mongolia, many of which help herding families in the vast Gobi Desert. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

The Adventurists' Mongol Rally is not for the faint of heart — in fact, visit the website and you'll see it described as "the world's best generator of chaos." Though some might be ready to sign the dotted line with just the above teaser, it should be known that 2011 Mongol Ralliers are doing more than driving an ill-suited car into the ground. These teams are also raising money for charity.

This year, Mercy Corps is fortunate to have been selected as the recipient of many Ralliers' fundraising efforts. We are using contributions to bolster our programs taking place in Mongolia right now, including economic development for rural businesses and veterinary services to traditional herders. Read more about our work in Mongolia here and here.

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What does it take to start a movement? Mercy Corps is fortunate to have a large base of passionate supporters who rally their communities to support people facing natural disasters, civil conflict, poverty and oppression around the world.

Taiko drumming troupe Taiko Ren's energetic performance brought tears to the eyes of some attendees. Photo: Mary Tam/Mercy Corps

Every once in a while there is a catalyst that not only motivates the immediate community, but manages to stimulate a larger movement, transcending both physical and social boundaries. Such a movement has been initiated by Pixar employee Daisuke (Dice) Tsutsumi and Artists Help Japan (AHJ), a grassroots effort to help affected communities in Japan.

It began with a desire to help the earthquake and tsunami survivors in Japan. Dice was already a Mercy Corps donor and knew that we were partnering with the Japanese non-governmental organization Peace Winds. It became a host of events — both in the U.S. and overseas — reflecting a collaborative effort to support relief and recovery in Japan. So far, AHJ events have raised over $45,000 for Mercy Corps and Peace Winds!

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Moments after news broke of the January 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, NRG Energy’s corporate inbox was flooded with requests from concerned employees: “How can we help? What is NRG going to do? How can I give?”

Needing to respond quickly, NRG did fast research through the Clinton Global Initiative to find a partner organization that could bring immediate relief to Haiti. They chose us — Mercy Corps — for our proven ability to mobilize quickly and bring emergency relief with an eye to longer-term development efforts.

Some of the NRG team stands holding the Haitian flag. Photo: courtesy of NRG

In less than five days, NRG had set up a page for Haiti on their corporate giving website to receive donations. In addition to the online drive, employees conducted fundraising “spinoff” events — such as sandwich sales and walks — to help raise even more. NRG employees knew that every penny raised would make an even bigger impact because of the Company’s unique triple match program.

CEO David Crane’s idea to do a Company triple match was inspired by employee fundraising for victims of Hurricane Katrina and it is something they’ve repeated for every emergency response they’ve fundraised for. The result? $63,720 for Mercy Corps’ humanitarian efforts in Haiti.

As a corporation, NRG has a strong philanthropic bent and its employees are especially generous with their time and money. In the past five years, NRG has provided millions of dollars to organizations and charities that have a direct impact on the lives of people in communities where NRG does business. According to NRG, these group giving efforts are “an extremely unifying activity” — and besides, it’s just the “right thing to do.”

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