Mick, do please mark Jerry's opening post that this will be a moderated thread, before people misunderstand, OK?

------------------------

There has to be some fun or FRs get humdrum after the first time around. One idea for pledge drives is to avoid guilt and instead issue a challenge. A challenge not only as a total amount to be raised for that FR (fundraiser), but a challenge intrinsic to a theme for the FR itself. Like, a silly non-prize award (as Aine does for Song Challenges), named with some regard to the theme of the challenge.

And let's avoid FRs at tax time...

Say we did an early spring FR (before tax time) about monthly maintenance support, and a fall about for hardware (before Xmas shopping). One of the hardware "prizes" for example could be "The Burnt Motherboard Award" with the winner of that getting a photo of Max taking out a bad one or putting in a good one-- of course the photo would go in the Mudcat Photo section-- and the actual print of the photo would also be auctioned off with the winner photo-shopped in. All the "prize" photos could go into a Mudcat Calender, too, for more ongoing FR.

"Max's Sexy Bits" for a calendar title.

---------------------

Group challenges are fun, and members can PM like mad to sign up partners. Say it would be the spring one; a group could choose a month in which the group members have a lot of birthdays, and undertake to sponsor that month's expenses with a pledge made during the FR and to be fulfilled at the chosen month.

--------------------

Hockey was a big hit here with a faithful and pretty large group of hockey-fan members. I hereby challenge hockey lovers to join me in sponsoring JUNE 2006 expenses, since that is when some damn team will get the Stanley Cup. Let's celebrate the great season it was by making a group gift in the name of the Team that wins. (Or we can be The Loser's Group unless Edmonton actually carries off the win-- I HOPE!!!-- so it could also be called The Mudcat Grovelers (Edmonton is Peace's Team). I believe the hockey thread's original challenge was that those whose teams lose must publicly extol the virtues of the winning team. It's only right that it cost us, like a sick/twisted pool.

--------------------------

Another thing that helps raise funds is to let people know what their money buys-- "Your ten bucks keeps the Mudcat purring (or swimming) for XX minutes/hours." Or "Your ten bucks keeps the Mudcat Modem connected to YOU for XX minutes/hours/days."

--------------------------

My last offer for now is that if Hardi and I are still in this house for October, we can host a FR Brainsotrming meeting pre- or post-Getaway. Some pretty swift people have stopped here, and it would be a fun schmooze.

~Susan