School-sponsored media programs affiliated with MIPA may create SponsorMe fundraising campaigns to help pay for costs associated with participating in MIPA programs or attending MIPA activities. All funds raised are paid directly to the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in East Lansing. SponsorMe campaigns for media programs must be requested by the adviser.
Individual Students: Learn how you can create your own SponsorMe campaign
MIPA holds these funds to be used by the designated media program toward MIPA activities during the school year. These activities include, but not limited to, event registration fees, contest fees, honor cords, membership fees and other MIPA activities.
Unspent funds may be held over to be used in future years as long as the school-sponsored media program 1) remains active as a class or extracurricular club and 2) remains a member of MIPA. MIPA reserves the right to use funds raised via SponsorMe on any purpose consistent with its mission if a media program is unable to maintain these requirements.
The adviser of a media program may designate on which MIPA activities raised funds are spent. Funds raised via SponsorMe must be spent on MIPA activities; funds may not be spent on any goods, services or activities outside of MIPA. MIPA reserves the right to apply SponsorMe funds toward any bill left unpaid by the media program at the end of the fiscal year.
How to start your media program’s campaign
- The program adviser should register as a Fundraiser on the SponsorMe site. Only fundraisers approved by MIPA can create a campaign.
- Once you have an approved Fundraiser account, log in to SponsorMe.
- Find the My Campaigns menu item and click it. Then click the +Campaign button.
- Complete the Campaign form. You will need to:
- Set a campaign title. This should include your name and provide a purpose for the campaign: “Fundraiser for the School Times”
- Write a short description for your campaign: “Help the School Times participate in MIPA workshops, conferences and contests”
- Tell us about your program. This is so potential donors can learn more about you and what you hope to do. Share some highlights about your programs and the kind of work your student journalists do. Do not include any personal information in your description, as this is published for everyone on the Internet to see!
- Upload a photo. This image will help donors find your campaign. Use a photo says something about your program. Horizontal photos work best. Try to find the original, high-resolution version of a photo – not one pulled from social media. Be cautious about using photos that show faces of minors without having the right permissions from your school.
- OPTIONAL: Create a video to include with your campaign. A video can be a great way for you to share your goals and ask for financial help. Keep your video to 2 minutes or shorter. Upload your video to a video service such as YouTube or Vimeo and submit the URL on the campaign form. Make sure your video is set to public.
- Select “Support a Student Media Program” as the Category for your campaign. Leave the Sub-Category and Tags fields blank.
- Set a deadline for your campaign. Your deadline can be at any time during the school year. (You should create a new campaign each school year.)
- Click the Next button access the Goal area.
- Set a campaign goal for how much money you want to raise. Choose “Raised Amount” for the Goal Type and set your Target Goal.
- When the donation is reached, set the campaign to “Auto close.”
- For the Suggested Optoins field, we recommend $25, $50, and $100, as those are common donation amounts.
- Check the “Allow custom donation amount field.” Do not set a minimum or maximum amount. For the minimum amount, choose $5. For the maximum, choose the amount you inputted into your Target Goal.
- Click Next to advance to Options. Write a short Donation Confirmation Message to thank your contributors. Here’s an example you can edit and use: “Thank you for contributing to our campaign! Your contribution will help our program participate in conferences, contests and workshops during the next year.”
- Submit your campaign for approval. We’ll review your campaign before publishing it on the SponsorMe site. You’ll receive a notification when that happens.
- Once your campaign is posted on SponsorMe, start to tell colleagues, friends, family, neighbors and others about it! Use social media to raise awareness about your campaign. The more people you can tell about your SponsorMe campaign, the more likely you are to meet your fundraising goal! Here are six ways you can ensure the success of your campaign. Also, learn about how you can qualify for matching funds.
- The form you’ve just filled out creates your SponsorMe campaign – it does not actually spend any money you raise. Make purchases from MIPA as you normally would via our ecommerce system. If you have SponsorMe funds to spend, select “Purchase Order/Request an Invoice” as the payment type upon checkout and leave a note in your order about applying SponsorMe funds.
- The MIPA office will apply the funds you raise on SponsorMe to the applicable MIPA activity.
- What happens to money raised via SponsorMe if it’s not spent by the end of the school year?
Funds donated for use by a specific school program may be held over to be used in future years as long as the program meets the requirements set forth above.
Please let us know if you have any questions!
Ready to get started? Apply to be a fundraiser.
Already a fundraiser? Log into your account to create a campaign.