MUA believes that the money for our organizing and programs needs to come from our community.  When we rely too heavily on foundation or government support, we risk financial instability as well as having our priorities dictated by others.  For this reason, MUA has invested in building our grassroots fundraising program over the past 10 years.  MUA has offered two intensive grassroots fundraising trainings to our members, integrated fundraising skills workshops into all of our other leadership trainings, formed a member-led fundraising committee that meets monthly, offered internships to 5 members who have developed their skills and leadership in this area, and developed creative fundraising strategies that engage our donor community.

In 2014, MUA hired a graduate of our training and internship programs as our Grassroots Fundraising Coordinator who works with a committee of members to carry-out MUA’s fundraising program.  MUA reaches our fundraising goals through a series of activities to engage new and potential donors across the year included but not limited to:

•  Community events (dances, house parties, dinners, raffles)
• Outreach to local business for community sponsorships
• Inviting and recognizing our donors for their support and commitment at MUA graduations and celebrations
• Direct Mail Campaigns
• Social Media Campaigns
• Donor engagement via calls, letters, cards, meetings, and acknowledgements
• Encouraging and collecting Membership dues