Civil Air Patrol
Fund Raising
for
Civil Air Patrol Units
Dr. Skip Dotherow
Director of Development
CITIZENS SERVING COMMUNITIES
Development
In today’s economic climate, we must not
become reliant on the Government to take care
of our programs. We must step out and
become the masters of our destiny.
“Nothing is worth doing unless the
consequences may be serious” George
Bernard Shaw
CITIZENS SERVING COMMUNITIES
 When you are planning a function
and realize that you are going to
need external funds to make it
affordable; take some time to do a
little research on who will be the
most likely person, group, company
outside of CAP that would be most
likely to support this. The local
Community Bank may have a special
fund to support “Youth activities”;
Development
 What are the basic components of
raising money:
 Begin with a Mission Statement
 What is the long range plan for the
unit?
 What is the greatest need we have
today?
 Do we have an audience to tell our
story to?
Development
 One of the greatest disappointments
I face is when, after I tell them some
of the great things CAP does, is for
them to say CAP is one of the best
kept secrets around.
 Yes, I am asking you to “not keep a
secret”.
Development
 Tell the CAP story:
 One of the best things you can do is tell a friend
about your experiences with the Civil Air Patrol.
When you come back from a week long
encampment, you have many stories and
generally want to share them with friends. Why
not use those same stories to share with your
local car dealer whom you are asking for a
$500.00 gift to support a cadet activity so the
cadets will not have to come up with additional
funds. TELL YOUR STORY
Development
 Tie your story to the Long Range
Plan of CAP.
 75 years of service to our great
nation, from coastal defense to cyber
patriot, CAP has been an integral
part of our nation’s defense
infrastructure.
 Be sure to include what your unit has
done, for nation and most
importantly, the state
 One of the most important principles of
fund raising is to be specific in what you
are asking the prospect to give to. Tell
them why you are asking them to support
this; “We need additional funds so we can
put on this ______ at a cost that will allow
us to have 10 more cadets/seniors
participate than we otherwise will because
the cost to attend will be too high for many
of our members to attend.”
Arm yourself with a good story.
If you recall, I said I do not like to hear people tell me what a
well kept secret CAP is…well, I will wager that there are
people in your community who do not know much if anything
about your local squadron.. So….
Is there a company in town known for
their support of _______; is there an
individual who was a CAP member but
is no longer. Focus on Fit.
What about grant writing?
 Writing grants is not a hard thing to
do, it just takes time to do the
research on the company you are
writing to.
 There are several good free sources
for identifying companies and
foundations.
 The Foundation Center
79 Fifth Ave/16th Street
New York, NY 10003-3076
212 620 4230
 Foundationcenter.org.
 Also in Atlanta, Cleveland,
Washington DC
 San Francisco
 The Chronicle of Philanthropy
1255 Twenty-Third St. NW
Washington, DC 20037
 “ This is a request to the officers of
the XYZ foundation (or corporation)
for consideration of a $5,000.00 grant
to CAP SQ for the purpose of
_________________. The total cost of
this undertaking will be
$__________.
 In reviewing this proposal, the
officers of the foundation may wish
to note the following points:
 The following pages describe this
project and the impact it will have on
the lives of ___ young men and
women who live in :”
 Be sure to state the impact this will
have on the lives of the cadets, the
significance of CAP programs in
building character and citizenship.
 Some final thoughts on CAP fund
raising opportunities:
Before you try fund raising, you
must be actively engaged in
“FRIEND RAISING”.
Plan a time when you can invite
some of your prospects out to an
activity and see for themselves the
type of work you are doing.
 Everyone likes to see what is going
on.
 No matter what your unit activity is,
make sure you invite those who you
would like to ask for support from to
attend and become a part of the
activity.
 Estate Planning is the air that will
carry CAP forward.
 Change lives with one sentence
when you add a bequest to your will.
 The CAP website has the tools to
help you make decisions about your
squadron’s future.
Make a Lasting Commitment to Service
.
As life changes, so do your
priorities. Start with a plan that
makes sense for you and your
family Learn more about gift
planning and the many benefits of
different gift types.
Thank you for the opportunity to talk a little bit
about the raising of money for our units.






Please feel free to contact me:
Dr. James E. Dotherow
Director of Development
105 S Hansell St
Maxwell, AFB, AL 36112
334 953 7748 ext 225
Go forth and slay the dragon!