[Imc-supervisors] Fundraising for AmeriCorps

[Nicole Pion]

Hi everyone,
It's time to think about fundraising for the AmeriCorps.  I know that you
all are already committed to making this program fruitful in a number of
ways, but I'll need some support on the fundraising front, too...especially
now that we have some great applicants to interview!

So, are there individuals amongst you who would be able to assist me in this
effort?  Or, can you suggest people from your project who could help?  This
doesn't have to be a huge commitment.  I've arranged to have a training
session with Laura Huth and Beth Simpson (Beth is offering her time in-kind!
and we will pay Laura at a discounted rate) of do good consulting, ideally
the first week of September.  Joy and I will be participating, but this is a
superb opportunity to get non-profit fundraising skills from pros.  PLEASE
LET ME KNOW ASAP IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.  We have room for 2 people in
addition to Joy and me.  I'd love to have more people in the room to benefit
from their knowledge.

I also received an email from a leader on my AmeriCorps project suggesting
the following fundraising idea that I think could work well for us.  In our
case, this might have a bit of a different structure, but it's something
that I'd be more than happy to facilitate or host at the IMC:

"Have your board members host house parties.  This works well in media
organizations.  The host invites 10 or so people over for dinner with an
invitation that is clear about giving expectations.  Have the ED and a
producer attend.  During dessert, show a video about the organization that
clearly demonstrates why it is important.  Have a conversation with the
dinner guests about why local media is important.  Make an ask.  They should
all have their checkbooks with them based on the invite, but have a simple
pledge form ready.   These can make $1000 to $5000 in a night with no
organizational expense."

In our case, it might make more sense to have different working groups host
these and talk about the impact their projects have had in the
community...it's really exciting and I plan to do the bulk of the work here,
I just need support from all the different groups.   This is a great way to
help cover the cost associated  with the AmeriCorps volunteers.

Please let me know your thoughts and who you think would be able to
contribute to these important efforts.

Thanks,

Nicole



-- 
Nicole Pion
Outreach and Development Adviser
AmeriCorps CTC VISTA
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
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