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Question: Looking for help to pay the cost of replacing a single wide mobile home Roof!
Answer:

Hi Brenda,
 
Thank you for visiting the Community Tool Box and Ask an Advisor. I understand you are looking for funds to replace a single-wide trailer roof. As you know, there are many ways to raise funds including writing grants, crowd funding (see Bernie Sander's campaign as the best example of this), and providing services for a fee (see the YMCA for example), just to name a few. To be clear, we don't actually provide funds directly to individuals for such a purpose, rather we provide resources which will show you how to raise funds yourself. I'm not sure how much you know about the Community Tool Box, but it is a free, on-line resource and public service for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change. It offers 300 sections and over 7,000 pages of tips and tools for taking action in communities from community assessment to planning, intervention, evaluation, advocacy, and so much more. Under continuous development since 1994, the Community Tool Box is widely used in teaching, training, and technical support. Currently, it is available in English, Spanish, and Arabic and has reached those working in over 230 countries around the world. The vision behind the Community Tool Box is that people - locally and globally - are better prepared to work together to change conditions that effect their lives. The mission of the Community Tool Box is to promote community health and development by connecting people, ideas, and resources. A primary function of the Community Tool Box is its how-to-do-it sections on various community topics ranging from leading groups to training volunteers and from evaluating programs to marketing new ideas. The emphasis in all sections is on practical guidance that community workers of all kinds can use in their daily activities.
 
So, that being said, if you would be interested in using our resources to secure your own funding, start on our home page, click on the "Learn A Skill" button (top of the page, left), click on the "Table of Contents" and scroll down to the section entitled "Generating, Managing, and Sustaining Financial Resources - Information on writing grants, preparing an annual budget, and planning for financial sustainability." The specific chapter is "Chapter 42 - Getting Grants and Financial Resources," "Section 4 - Applying for a Grant: The General Approach" and "Section 5 - Writing a Grant;" toolkit 14. Writing a Grant Application for Funding would also prove useful, again if you wanted to write a funding proposal (i.e., grant). Within these two sections and the toolkit you'll find practical guidance that will take you through the steps from A to Z!
 
As I mentioned, crowd funding may be a viable possibility for you. Crowd funding sites include Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Crowdrise, Quirky, Tilt, and GoFundMe. You can check out each one to determine whether it is suited to your cause; my best guess is that GoFundMe is the most likely crowd funding site for you because it is geared towards people who have immediate needs; the link is: https://www.gofundme.com/. I don't know where you live or the resources in your area, but you might also check with social services, the United Way, churches, Habitat for Humanity, and agencies or organizations that might be able to help you.
 
With that Brenda, I hope you've found our advise useful in some way. I sum, as mentioned the Community Tool Box does not provide direct access to funds, rather it provides resources to help you in seeking out and securing funding. You can also use GoFundMe to start a crowdsourcing campaign and seek out a social or human service agency in your area. Best of success to you, take care, be well, do good work.
 
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Question Date: ثلاثاء, 05/24/2016