Who said they wanted to work on a fundraiser?

[briarrose]

My brain isn't quite functioning yet this morning and I don't have time to do a search so forgive this post. In fact this is the second time that I'm writing this because I lost my first one in it's entirety.

I can't remember who recently said they wanted to work on a fundraiser or I would have sent this directly to them.

I really think we should readdress the idea to get some of those rubber bracelets (like the livestrong ones.) I know that some people are allergic to the material but they can give their bracelets to family & friends to wear for them. I really think that this is a good way to spread the word about Dysautonomia.

My friend at work has Marfans and she brought a bunch of bracelets to work and many people in the department bought them and wore them for her. Also there was an article today about the different bracelets so while it's still a craze, I think that we should consider it, maybe take a vote.

Here is the article from the internet.

Wednesday July 06, 2005 4:00AM PT

Livestrong Bracelet

Remember Madonna's armful of black plastic bangles, circa "Lucky Star" in 1983? Those were hot. But not as hot as Lance's bright yellow bracelet. Believe it or not, the Tour de France champ bests the Material Girl at one fashion fad: The rubber wristband with a social message.

When Lance Armstrong introduced the "LiveStrong" silicone rubber bracelet as a way to display support and raise money for his cancer foundation, he kick-started a craze that has raced up the mountainous slopes of Buzz. Now you can't turn around in a middle school lunch line without spotting a rainbow of colors on most arms.

Some of the prettily colored wristbands are obvious: Pink bracelets signify breast cancer awareness, rainbow bracelets demonstrate gay pride, red-white-and-blue says patriotism. But it can get confusing once you wade into other, lesser-known colors -- Red "courage" bands stand for military families, black-and-white wristlets commemorate the dead -- and it's astonishing to see how quickly new ones spring up. We've seen an armful of searches on everything from "Yankees bracelets," to "Support Our Troops wristbands," to "Spurs wristbands," to "tsunami bracelets."

The multi-city Live 8 concerts over the weekend sparked new searches on the colorful fashion accessories, with "wristbands" (+102%) and "LiveStrong bracelets" (+110%) leading the pack. The consciousness-raising rock shows promoted the ONE and Make Poverty History campaigns, which have encouraged the wearing of -- guess what -- white rubber bracelets. Thousands of fans promptly turned to the Search box to look up "ONE wristbands" and "white band."

So, make like the kids and load your wrist with bangles in support of your favorite cause. If you're intrigued by a more spiritual route, you can always take a gander at one last popular search. In this case, Madonna may claim some credit: "Kabbalah bracelets" have been on the rise in Search.

[Roselover]

Briar,

I now I would buy one and sell them to family and friends. What other kind of help would you need. I could something that would be computer work as I have a laptop to use in my relciner.

Let me know,

Roselover

[Sunfish]

I think that Michelle's the one to "go through" in terms of anything official for fundraising...personally I would get a good number to both hand out & sell, but there are A LOT of issues that make any project of the sort more work than anyone would ever fathom up front. And amongst other things, there generally has to be a large amount of money shelled out by someone up front to get things going. I don't mean to be negative...just felt the need to say that things are so much easier said than done. I'd still be entirely behind this and/or other projects, but there are lots of logistics that many of us aren't able to do no matter how much we would like to...

:-)melissa

p.s. i am having a withdrawal from my wonderful DINET bracelet...i somehow lost it and cannot find it anywhere...it must have slipped off. i am SO sad as many asked me about it & it was such a great opportunity to "spread the news"...i actually had a lot of docs/nurses/other health people ask too as they had occassion to be looking at my arm/wrist. i know there are no more left but if anyone individually ordered extras and would be willing to sell one to me...i'd even give you a profit. i REALLY REALLY want my bracelet back...it was like my little support system that i always had at my disposal...sad but true. i know it's such a little thing but losing it really has me bummed & it's now been enough days that i don't think it's going to show up around the house:-( if anyone has a spare i'd be eternally grateful (PM or email me & you'll hear me scream with delight from wherever you are!)

[briarrose]

I would have went to Michelle but this is kind of a fact finding mission and in the past 6 months sometime there were a few people that said they would be willing to work on another fundraiser. I was really hoping to pass along the suggestion with good intentions

[Sunfish]

i know..i didn't mean to negate any of the good intentions at all...i totally know that's where you were/are coming from. my post was more just to put out the logistical aspect in general...not for you necessarily but just for folks in general as it is so easy to get excited without realizing the other stuff. i'm sorry if you thought i was saying anything against your post at all b/c that was not my intent. i actually said that i would be totally supportive of the bracelet project.

sorry,

:-)melissa

[MightyMouse]

actually, you really do need to go through Michelle... and we did some fact finding before we did the last fund raiser. Again, there is an issue of UP FRONT cash to buy the stock of silicone or latex bracelets; and the mandatory guidelines of the maker/seller/reseller regarding what constitutes a minimum order. As I'm the one who did all that leg work last year, I can tell you that we don't have that kind of cash to put out up front as this type of bracelet required a larger minimum purchase than the aluminum ones did--Granted, ultimately, the rubber/silicone type are cheaper per piece, but you have to order such a huge stock we were concerned that we didn't have the membership here yet to support enought sales--so we'd end up with a HUGE pile of bracelets for a long time before we made enough sales to meet the cost to have them made. I hope that my explanation was clear...I'm kind of sluggish in my thinking today.

No one has come forward offering us the physical resources to logistically manage a project from beginning to end, or at least enough of the process for Michelle or I to pass off a large portion, like all the ordertaking and shipping.

Commitment to a project is a mandatory prerequisite to ANY fundraiser we undertake. This is not to say we don't have volunteers who are willing to assist us in other ways: we do have those. However, we need someone who can consistently manage the details of a project of any magnitude. Most of our members are health impaired, and consistency in our daily abilities is at the heart of many of our major issues...

A fundraiser that involves the sale of items requires:

Deal with the research on types of items/pricing, ordering/bargaining for best price per item

Placing the order/confirming details/proofs, arranging for payment (via Michelle)

Create and update web info on the item (Michelle and I can help with this)

Link our web info to the online payment system(s) with which we're already members (again, we can help)

Respond to inquiries via email or phone,

Keep accurate financial records (expenses, incoming payments, postage fees, etc.),

Handle the packing and shipping in a timely and accurate manner,

Deal with shipping errors/lost mail issues/international shipping

Keep in contact with Michelle regarding the financial aspects and/or any issues

All of the above info needs to be monitored and documented in a format that can be summarized for Michelle, as she ultimately has to report all of this information on DINET's annual tax return. I can tell you that I did my best, but learned from what I did last year that I could have done better with how I logged purchases that added to the balance of our account versus logging withdrawals to cover payment for expenses (postage, info card printing costs, shipping supply costs). Michelle and I are learning as we go, although she's got more background with the fundraising end than I do.

Additionally, you need to clear a fundraiser through Michelle, because I know that most of your are not aware of the specifics that are already in motion behind the scenes for other fundraisers.

All that said, there is a fundraiser on the horizon, so please be patient while Michelle and I get everything rolling. Just because she and I aren't chatting with you all on the forum re: this topic doesn't mean it isn't happing. Michelle should really be your first stop on this issue, regardless of the type of fundraising Nina

Edited July 6, 2005 by MightyMouse

[briarrose]

Melissa

Sorry if I sounded gruff, wasn't meant that way at all I promise. The one problem with the internet is that people can get the wrong idea or intepret the wrong meaning based on words not said in the right way, that's kind of why I started off with the not awake comment yet

I probably didn't make myself clear enough either. Someone a few months ago had said that they were interested in doing a fundraiser and I just wanted to send them a few suggestions and offer doing some price researching if necessary.

Nina

Thank you very much for the well written explanation about everything that goes into a fund raiser. I am suprised to hear that the rubber bracelets are more expensive than the ones we originally got. All the information you gave about the work that goes into a fund-raiser really helps all of us I'm sure.

I think that article today kind of got me to thinking before I was completely awake but I was imagining in my brain, What a way to get the word out there.

I appreciate your time

[MightyMouse]

No problem.

Actually,if we sold all the bracelets, the rubber/silicone ones end up less expensive, with more $ coming to DINET in the end. But you have to order so many of them up front (like more than 1000--in fact the most reasonable cost per piece company required 5000 minimum ACK!!). So, with a quantity like that, even though the base price is small per bracelet, you must multiply that base times 1000, or 5000, and also add a one-time set-up fee (the cost for the maker to create the mold) which adds about 50$ to the base price. Now that total must be paid to the bracelet maker, along with shipping, before they give us a box of 5000 items to sell. That means that we had to put out a lot of cash to pay for this stuff, without yet having any incoming cash in the way of sales.

So, you can see, if the aluminum bracelet maker allows us to order as little as 200, even if slightly more $ per piece, our initial expense was survivable. I hope I'm making sense...I need food and am about to go heat my dinner and start my homework!

Nina

[goldicedance]

I can understand the volume of work involved in this project. I did a brief internet check and one company will sell 500 at $.82 each plus $250 mold fee--that would make each bracelet cost about $1.40 before you factor in the cost of shipping ($.75 - postage plus envelope), thus raising the cost to about $2.15. There is no charge for ground shipping. That's about $660. What would be the maximum price someone would pay for this bracelet? --$3.00? That would mean DINET would net about $425, assuming all bracelets sold and assuming there are no other charges.

I like the idea of a bracelet but given Nina's assessment of the amount of work involved, I am not sure we would be able to raise money from the sale of these bracelets to make a real financial donation to DINET.

Now, if we are talking about this project in terms of its ability to raise awareness without being a fund raiser and if we could get an idea of all POTSPLACE chatters how may they would commit to buy==that would be another story.

Now that I am retired, I do have time to devote to such a project.

[Sunfish]

briar -

not meaning to beat a dead horse into the ground, but i agree with you that tone is hard to "read" on the internet. i don't think (nor did i think) that either one of us meant anything but good in our posts...i'm just the type of person that tends to put everything out there...the good & the bad, etc...i do recall the posts/discussions from awhile back too...and i do wish (as i'm sure many of us do) that these sorts of things were easier to make happen &/or that our bodies & lives were such that we had more ability to make them happen, ya know? if only i had some harry potter like abilities...

nina -

thanks for the clear outline of what the steps are in terms of fundraising. i knew most of what you listed in a general sense but it's helpful to have it written out in an organized fashion...

:-)melissa