Re: [GSAS-board] Donation request letter 2009

>>for a raffle you need large numbers of people (and tickets)
for an auction you need people with lots of money
silent auctions won't bring in as much as Phil would

Thanks for the compliment, and you’re probably right – but we need to encourage club membership and support back to club members above all else. Throwing a big prize like this at the members will encourage those in attendance to sign up, I’d think (we signed up for the VAHC in order to buy their raffle tickets, it was pretty effective!)

Tickets there were $1 each, 6 for $5, 15 for $20 or some such, and they raised a LOT of money off those tickets. Consider that if I have to auction it off to the highest bidder, the bidding might not get that high, because that tank is a very specific shape and size, and will only appeal to a very specific buyer, so it most likely wouldn’t get THAT high of a bid. It kinda sucks that they didn’t just donate a regular 55gal or 70 gal or some such, because those tanks are much more common and the stands/hoods/etc for them are cheaper by far than the bits for that corner tank (which is probably why they donated it to us, they had it and couldn’t sell it!)

Maybe we could ask around the other FLFSs and see if they would be willing to donate the rest: one store might cough up the hood, the other the stand, the other some lights or filtration… That way we’d have a complete package to raffle off, increasing the number of tickets purchased.

As far as visiting other stores, I’m happy to do what I can, but you guys have to keep in mind that I am 22 miles from Blue Sierra (the closest store to me) and easily 40+ miles from all the others, like APFP and the like. It would be much MUCH easier on us all if I could get some help, especially from our board members on this list, in soliciting donations from the stores that are near YOU, instead of me having to spend an entire day slogging around myself to stores that I quite frankly don’t know. You guys visit these stores all the time, whereas I’ve never even been inside most of them and may never get to visit them. Paul asked what he could do to help, and I told him “visit Denny’s to hang a sign and ask for something”; he did, and look what happened! I need this kind of help from all of you, please. I know it’s sometimes difficult to walk in, introduce yourself, ask to hang a sign then ask for a donation, but I think you’d be surprised how willing most of these guys are to help us out – look at how many $5 pens we always have to hand out at meetings!

We’re less than three weeks out, the time to help me (and the club) is pretty much right now. Let me know what you come up with!

Phil