[Cash-and-caring] Did you mean what you said?

[Everett Gavel]

Hi Paul, and all,

Well, since I mentioned it, and can't seem to find 
it too easily in the Google search I just did, 
I'll share it one more time. But I've gotta say, 
being 12 years later now, some of my ideas below 
embarrass me that I suggested them. But, it is 
what it is, and my past is my past. I'd like to 
think I've mellowed out some, and maybe, just 
maybe, have a little more sense these days. Time 
will tell. Here is the list, which I'd rather edit 
and change a few things, but will give it to you 
as is. Maybe there are a few ideas that can 
inspire others.



70 Ways to Raise Money for Convention
By Everett Gavel
11/1/2003


As many of you know, getting to a national 
convention is well worth the time and effort it 
takes.  For many, the convention is a life 
changing experience.  Each year, however, I hear a 
lot of people talk about not being able to afford 
to go to the National Convention. For this reason 
I have compiled a list of ideas that will help you 
raise the money you need to get there.  Many of 
the ideas are aimed at students, but whether you 
are a student or not, at least a couple of ideas 
in the 70 suggestions below can help you get to 
convention.  So here we go:

1. Design a Web site to solicit donations.
2. Give up junk food and put the money in the 
bank.
3. Sell tapes and CD's you no longer listen to.
4. Go to one less concert and bank the savings.
5. Offer to clean an elderly neighbor's yard or do 
other chores for a donation.
6. Have a Kool-Aid or bake sale in your dorm.
7. Start a massage service for your friends-for a 
donation.
8. Offer to clean the trash out of the rooms in 
your dorm-for a donation.
9. Deny yourself something and save the money.
10. Shop for clothes at the Salvation Army, used 
clothing store, or consignment shop, and bank the 
savings.
11. Offer to read stories to kids at a local 
library for a donation. This can also help the 
kids learn a bit about Braille.  You could pass 
out the NFB Braille Alphabet cards at the end of 
each reading session.
12. Work overtime.
13. At the end of the day, collect loose change 
from parents, siblings, or roommates.
14. Walk where you need to go and save gas money 
or cab and bus fares.
15. Postpone dating until after the convention. 
Bank the savings!
16. Make a bet with someone that you know you'll 
win.
17. Go on cheap dates and save the extra money for 
the upcoming convention.  Taco Bell by 
candlelight?  Why Not!
18. Enter your pet in a "Stupid Pet Tricks" 
contest.
19. Enter yourself in a "Stupid Human Tricks" 
contest.
20.  Wear a sign that says, "I'm a poor college 
student going to a conference that will train me 
in techniques to take over the world," and keep a 
donation can nearby.
21.  Raise a cow or hog and sell it at the state 
fair.
22.  Get a pair of parakeets or lovebirds, & Raise 
birds to sell back to the petshops.  Or if you 
like fish more, try it with guppies or some other 
fast-breeding fish.  Or maybe hamsters are your 
preference.  Inquire with the petshops about the 
various earning possibilities first.
23.  Clean a dorm-mate's room for a donation.
24.  Ask your roommates to stop drinking beer for 
a month and donate the cash to your "Rule the 
World" fund, otherwise known as your convention 
fund. Admittedly, with this one, it might be 
easier to press coal into diamonds, but if you're 
serious about getting to the next convention, it's 
worth a try.
25.  Offer to walk your professor's dog each week 
for a small donation.  Try a neighbor's dog, if 
you aren't in school.
26.  Sing for weddings, parties, or special 
events.
27.  Invent, build, or create something-and sell 
it.
28.  Recycle newspapers, glass, and aluminum cans 
for cash.
29.  Walk through the neighborhoods around campus 
and offer to cut people's grass for a donation. 
Or ask if they have any chores that they need 
done.  How about sanding down the front porch so 
it can be repainted?  Think up some other ideas.
30.  Sell candy door-to-door. This will prepare 
you for convention, too.
31.  Set up a lemonade stand in the student center 
lobby.  A beer stand sounds more profitable, I 
know, but I recommend sticking with lemonade or 
maybe coffee or Gatorade-no licensing 
complications.
32.  Take a metal detector to the beach and look 
for loose change.
33.  Quit using shampoo, deodorant, and perfume; 
stop shaving; and bank the savings.  This may not 
work well though, since you'll soon have to use 
the money to rent an apartment off-campus, because 
your dorm buddies won't want you around after 
awhile.
34.  Have your grandma teach you how to sew or 
cook and sell your services.  If you already know 
how, ask her anyway, and get some of her secret 
recipes.  All grandmas have some great recipes! 
Or ask if she'll donate some time to quilt you a 
raffle-prize to help you raise money.  A big comfy 
throw in your school colors might go over great at 
your school.
35.  Sell anything you don't use anymore.
36.  Ask your friends to skip a meal and 
contribute the money to your fund (10 people @ $5 
= $50).
37.  Talk to your high school teachers about 
making a donation.
38.  Offer to iron your friends' clothes for a 
donation.
39.  Host a Learn-to-Swing-dance party and charge 
$7 a person.  Talk with a local dance school & 
find a willing teacher to help you by teaching 
your event's participants that night.
40.  Buy a few six-packs of soda pop and sell the 
cans for $1.50.  Invest in or borrow a cooler to 
keep liquids hot or cold, depending on what you 
offer. You may be amazed at the response you get 
sitting on a bench at a busy intersection of the 
campus on a hot summer day with soda or Gatorade, 
or cold winter morning with coffee.
41.  Give three of your friends $5.00. Ask them to 
invest it using their talents--and perhaps some of 
the ideas in this list--over the next three months 
to multiply the money.
42.  Talk to your parents about an early birthday 
present.
43.  Ask your friends to give you money for your 
upcoming birthday instead of going partying or 
giving you a present.
44.  Don't get a haircut until after convention 
and bank the savings.  If you feel that you 
definitely need one, ask a family member to give 
you a trim.
45.  If you buy lottery tickets, contribute 45% of 
any winnings to your 2004 convention fund.
46.  Find babysitting opportunities.
47.  Burn a CD and sell copies to your pals.
48.  Ask your church for help with a fundraiser. 
After all, attending a convention better equips 
one to be a leader in the community. You might 
even find some church members interested in 
attending the convention and learning more about 
blindness.  At the least, you are likely to have 
an opportunity to provide a report to the church 
when you come back, giving them the highlights and 
helping to shape their perceptions of blindness.
49.  Host a garage sale in your dorm and ask folks 
to donate their junk.
50.  Set aside money each week or month toward the 
next convention,e.g, $10 a week. Be frugal.  Do 
this throughout the year.
51.  Go to the cheap theater and save the 
difference.  Paying $2 for a movie that's been out 
a couple of months is not hard to do.  After all, 
it's still the same movie that was headlining not 
too long before. Why pay $8 or $10?  Have 
patience, and bank the difference!
52.  Give up drinking soda pop for six months and 
bank the savings.
53.  Buy generic products and bank the savings.
54.  Don't wash clothes and save your laundry 
money, but please do your laundry before coming to 
the convention!
55.  Look for loose change in pay phones and 
vending machines.
56.  Host a kissing booth in the student 
center...$2 a smooch.
57.  Skip going somewhere for spring break, and 
save the money for the upcoming convention.
58.  Offer to cater a romantic evening for your 
friends for a donation.
59.  Sing the national anthem at a local sporting 
event for a fee.
60.  Wash your neighbor's car--for cash.
61.  Sit in the cheap seats at a concert instead 
of the better ones, and bank the savings.  Or 
offer to take a couple of friends to a concert 
they want to go to, and bring them into the first 
few rows, which is always where the disabled 
sections are.  This can work well on quick-selling 
concerts where your friends might not be able to 
get anything but nosebleed seats anyway.  Take 
them with you, and they can pay for their own 
tickets plus make a donation to your 2004 
convention Fund.
62.  Don't chew gum, and save the money.
63.  Ask your dad or grandpa to give up his golf 
money one time for a convention-fund donation.
64.  Ask your mom or grandma to donate a portion 
of her bingo winnings in one month to your 
convention-fund. Let's start calling it a 
leadership development fund, because that's what 
it is, after all.  Going to convention instills 
confidence & knowledge, sometimes without your 
even realizing its depth. The LDF title might help 
get a more positive response & larger donations, 
too.
65.  Contact famous people for a donation to your 
leadership development fund.  Names & addresses 
can be found in library books dedicated to the 
subject, but many can also be found online.
66.  Enter a contest to win a cash prize.  Yes, 
you may get junk mail both by snail-mail & by 
e-mail after signing up, but you might also win.
67.  Sell your old textbooks.
68.  Offer to be a tutor on campus.
69.  Don't buy any tapes, CD's, DVD's, or MP 3's 
until after convention, and bank the savings.

And finally, why not just Have a good 
old-fashioned neighborhood barbecue, or pig roast? 
Kill it and grill it, as they say-all for a small 
donation, it's the American way!  Or just have a 
family gathering in your backyard.  Either way, $5 
per head for a neighborhood party or good-size 
gathering of family and friends will most likely 
bring in a few bucks.  It's all for a good 
cause--your rule-the-world, I mean, your 
Leadership-Development Fund, right?

Okay, you just read 70 different ways to help you 
get to the next convention.  I am going to start 
putting some of these ideas to use myself, now 
that I've got them all down in writing.  So I'll 
see you on June 29, the first day of convention in 
2004, right?  No excuses now!   Go for it!   Lead 
the way!  Seize the day!



----- Original Message ----- 
Greetings,
I am curious if I can get a copy of the 77 ways to 
fund raise. I am the second vice President for the 
state of Florida but also the president of the 
student division. Anything will help. Thanks