Everything You Need to Know About Menu For Hope III

Frequently Asked Questions about Menu for Hope III. This post will make far more sense on Monday morning. Please bear with me until then. Thank you.



What is the Menu for Hope?

Menu for Hope is an annual online Fundraising campaign hosted by food bloggers all over the world. Now in its third year, Menu for Hope was created by Pim Techamuanvivit. Food bloggers donate wonderful prizes in the hope that their readers will buy $10 raffle tickets to try and win one or more of the goodies on offer.

How much does a Raffle ticket cost?
A ticket costs $10 per entry, with funds going to the United Nations World FOod Programme. You can enter as many times as you like, specifying the prize code for the item you want to win with each entry.

Where does the money go?

This year we are raising money for the United Nations World Food Programme. You can read more about this charity at their website.

What are all those UW letters and numbers about?

This year, to help with our automated raffle winner-picking software, we have assigned each prize with a four-digit code. Here on the West coast USA, all of the prizes start with a UW. Please make sure you use the code that matches the prize you are bidding for when you visit the First Giving site to make your donation.

Some of those links don't seem to have a prize, why?
I prepared the links in advance of the launch and I am just linking to the home pages of the people who have pledged a prize. They have agreed to post the details of their prizes at some time on Monday December 11th. At the end of the day, once everyone's posts are up and running, I will replace the home page links with permalinks to the actual prize announcement posts

So, how do I bid on a Prize?

Here's what you should do...

1. Go to the First Giving donation page.

2. Make a donation, each $10 will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize or prizes you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. Do tell us how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code -for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for UW01 and 3 for UW02.

3. If your company matches your charity donation, please remember to check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

5. Check back on Chez Pim on January 15 when we announce the result of the raffle. (The drawing will be done electronically. Our friend the code wizard Derrick at Obsession with Food is responsible for the wicked application that will do the job.)

When does the bidding end?

The bidding ends at 6pm PST on Friday December 22nd 2006


When will the winners be announced

The winners will be announced at Chez Pim On January 15th and I hope to put a list of the US West Coast prizes up here at Becks & Posh too.

Your game is driving me crazy. Is there somewhere I can go to see all of the prizes in list form?

Well, you're no fun, are you? I thought I was being creative.

For those who prefer a more conventional approach, the organiser, Pim, will have the entire global list of Menu For Hope prizes on her blog.
Meanwhile, here at Becks & Posh we will be featuring all of the fabulous US West Coast prizes in more detail throughout the campaign which lasts until December 22nd. We also hope to add another prize or two during the campaign, so keep checking back with us.

Will my prize be shipped to me?
I asked my West Coast Sponsors to specify any shipping restrictions, so the information should be in their prize announcement post. If there is no restriction stated, then the assumption is that worldwide shipping is included. Some of the heavier and perishable items do have shipping restrictions so please make sure to check if you are unclear.


How long do I have to make up my mind about which of all these amazing prizes I should bid for?
Bidding closes on December 22nd, 6pm PST, so make sure you decide before then.

Is there any way I can donate a prize too?

Unless you have already contacted me and I have already assigned you a code number, I will no longer be accepting any new prizes on the US West Coast. The prize pool is currently oversaturated and the support we currently need instead is for people to buy tickets, especially for the less popular prizes. The biggest help now will come from people who can spread the word about the campaign to anyone who might not yet know about it and encourage people to buy tickets. Friends, familys, colleagues, work message boards, online forums and blogs are ways to spread the message. Thank you for your continued support.

If you are not situated in Pacific Coast USA, please contact the host who represnts your region instead:

# East Coast USA –Adam, the Amateur Gourmet - adrober at mac.com
# The rest of the US -Kalyn, Kalyn's Kitchen -kalynskitchen@comcast.net
# UK/Europe -David Lebovitz- davidlebovitz@hotmail.com
# Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand (Helen of Grab Your Fork - grabyourfork at yahoo.com.au)
# South America (Cooking Diva - pty_cooking_diva at yahoo.com)
# Canada (Jasmine at the Cardamom Addict - cardamomaddict at gmail.com).

What about your regular Becks & Posh Blog Posts between now and December 22nd?

There won't be any for the next couple of weeks whilst I concentrate on promoting this good cause instead. I will try to include some archive links at the bottom of my posts, for those of you who get tired of looking at all the wonderful prizes. (How could you?)

Can I claim tax back when I make my donation?
Since this is a global event, with entries from many different countries, we suggest you contact a tax advisor in your own country to find out the answer to this question.

Where can I read about prizes from areas outside the West Coast USA?
Aside from the West Coast Prizes being promoted here at Becks & Posh check out the following:
US East Coast: The Amateur Gourmet
US (the rest): Kalyn's Kitchen
Canada: Cardamom Addict
Europe and UK: Davidlebovitz.com 
Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand: Grab Your Fork
And last but not least, our special wine blog host: Vinography

I don't live on the West Coast, can I still bid for these prizes?
There is nothing to stop you, except some of the prizes require pick up in a certain area and others have shipping restrictions. Please check with each individual prize sponsor for more details.

Menu for hope 3 | Menu for hope III

Everything You Need to Know About Menu For Hope III