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Requesting Donations

Forums: General Discussion
Created on: 03/30/10 11:08 PM Views: 1811 Replies: 4
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 11:08 PM

What is a tackful way to ask for donations to the website, yet keeping in mind we want to keep this site free to all classmates?

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 11:24 PM - Response #1

Look at my home page. I just put a little blurb in the corner on the bottom. I've been up a month and received $60 already. Hoping to get enough to pay for it so i can keep it AFTER the reunion in October.....lol

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 12:23 AM - Response #2

For us, it was easy. PROFOUND. Two of us started this site a year ago. People flocked from coast to coast, like flies. 30 years! We didnt ask for money. The site cost is extremely reasonable on an annual basis. We decided to pay out of pocket upfront. Low risk, good return. We didn't worry. It was worth the cost. It all came back to us tenfold. We never asked for help. We enticed with enthusiasm, motivating, and they came. When we had our reunion this past August, all we did was set out a big plastic jug with a ballon tied to it, for donations. We didnt have anything less than a 20 dollar bill. We were given over 1400.00 in one weekend, without asking. So, dont worry. Make them appreciate and love this site so much that it is paid for, for the next ten years. Now, we are obligated for the rest of our lives..lol. Just give them a reason to connect. Excite them and make them want to come back to your site. The money we recieved paid us back for our expenses. Since then, we have had 3 familys have extreme hardships-- and we dipped into the donation money to help fund those in need. Just do what your heart leads you to do and have faith. It will come.

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 4:47 AM - Response #3

I agree with Lori.

Just make it clear donations are voluntary and you'll be surprised at the response. I know I was!
It might take a little while, but once you've gained the trust, appreciation and respect of people you might not even have known, you'll find, as I did, that they'll want to keep the site going and, if things ever did get financially difficult, a message sent to all of them will be guarnteed to spark a positive response.

Most of us aren't in it for the money but Classmates see it as a way of showing appreciation for what you're doing.

Good luck.

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Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 6:58 PM - Response #4

I emailed the class on March 15, 2010 and as of March 31, we had received donations from 24 of the 198 registered members totaling just under $3,000.

Below is the text of the email I sent. You are welcome to modify it to fit your needs. You'll notice I specifically suggested donation amounts of $50 or $100.

Most donations were either $50 or $100; one was $250 and another was $1,000. We are posting the names of the donors on our Make A Donation page, but not the amount of the individual donations or the total donated. (My thinking is that some will think we have 'enough' and not make a donation.)

I've edited out the name and address of our treasurer. He was active in our class and has been successful in business. If we had elected a 'most likely to succeed', he would have won hands down. I think it was important to select a treasurer that was known and trusted by all.

A few other facts: we have about 500 living members in the class (so far 200 are registered.) We'll be doing our first mass mailing in about a week to the living class members.

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Subject: Class of 1961 Donation Request
Port Huron High School
Class Of 1961

Dear Classmate:

Plans for the 50th Reunion of the Class of 1961 scheduled for the weekend of July 15-17 in Port Huron are well underway. The Thomas Edison Inn has been selected as the location for the Saturday reception and dinner. Other events we are planning include a golf outing and luncheon, a river tour on the Huron Lady, a casual meet-up on Friday evening, a memorial service on Sunday morning and a picnic Sunday afternoon.

Early indications are that we should have an excellent turnout. Our registration at the website PortHuronHighSchool.info is approaching 200 and the class members indicating they plan to attend the reunion is approaching 150.

I'm emailing to ask if you would help us by making a donation now of $50 or $100 or whatever you feel comfortable giving. These funds will be used for deposits for the various venues and for promotional mailings and to extend our website contract through 2011.

[XXX] has agreed to be our Treasurer. You can mail your personal check to:

[Name]
[Address]


Include your email address on your check and [XXX] will confirm receipt by email. We'll add your name to our donor list -- unless you request anonymity.

If you can get us started with a donation of $50, $100, or more now, the Reunion Team would be very grateful. We have a post card mailing that should go out by the end of this month and we need to complete our $500 deposit with the Edison Inn.

You'll find more information about our donation program at the website: PortHuronHighSchool.info Click on "Make A Donation" on the left.

Thanks for your consideration and help,

John

John Chidester, Co-Chair 2011 50th Reunion Team
phhs.1961@gmail.com

http://www.porthuronhighschool.info

This message has been sent to you from phhs.1961@gmail.com. You can respond to this email by clicking Reply in your email reader. If you are unable to directly reply click here to create a new email.

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