[Ohio-talk] "The Drive for 75" Campaign Overview and Goals

[Smith, JW]

Dear NFB of Ohio Family, Friends and Colleagues,

I wanted to give you a general overview of my campaign plan to raise funds to support the attendance of our members to the 75th Convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Orlando next year (Drive for 75). The plan will focus on the 5 major cities in our state, specifically Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo. We will try to have one major event in each of these 5 cities in conjunction with smaller events and what I call "beneath the radar" fundraising activities. The plan calls for our efforts to be directed at Cincinnati in the month of January, Dayton in February, Columbus in March, Toledo in April and wrapping up in Cleveland in May. As we establish events in these areas during these times, I will let you know about them and I will be in consultation with Chapter Presidents seeking their support and input. While you may not be on the committee, if you have significant contacts in any of these 5 major cities that you think we should be contacting in terms of our fundraising efforts, please don't hesitate to contact me. Please understand once again that much of this campaign will happen without much involvement from you because I know that most of you are already stretched to the limits. I am very pleased that we are starting the campaign with a nice amount already in the coffers and throughout this entire process I encourage you to make contributions and to encourage others. For example, I will be sending out my own personal letter to friends and family seeking their support for this endeavor. Please feel free to join me in doing the same and as I said before, I will keep you updated each week in terms of our progress and letting you know how you can help. Please encourage people to send their contributions to P.O. Box 82055 Columbus, OH 43202. Tell them to make their checks out to the NFB of Ohio and to put the "Drive for 75 Campaign" in the memo line. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or helpful suggestions as we go forward from here.

Jw