Was just thinking about all the times I've gone to an event, and they had a couple tables with a wide variety of items that could be won. I'd buy a number of tickets, then I could select the items I'd be interested in winning and put any number of tickets in a box in front of that item. That way, I got to place my ticket against items I was interested in. With that in mind, we could do a digital online version of that concept:
*Contact every detector manufacturer, see if they'd be willing to donate a detector, maybe a few. If not, would they be willing to donate a pinpointer, finds pouch, or whatever accessories they offer. Or maybe they'd be willing to donate a detector they're discontinuing and get a nice write-off.
*Contact all of the forums' sponsors, detector dealers, see if they'd be willing to donate for promotional value. They might not be in a position to donate a detector, like a manufacturer, but they might be able to donate accessories.
*Contact Scoop makers, ask if they'd be willing to donate a scoop.
*Contact shaft makers, i.e., Anderson, Steve's, etc., see if they'd be willing to donate a shaft, but set it up so that the person who won was able to have Anderson, Steve's, or other company, make them a shaft for their specific detector.
*Contact smaller "one-man shops" who make products/accessories for metal detecting. They might be willing to donate some of their products to get more visibility in our community & promote their products.
*There's a guy who makes high-quality expandable lanyards, he's a Vet, I bet he would be interested.
*And so on, probably more ideas that others would come up with.
The idea here is that in today's economy, it's difficult for people to part with $ when making just a straight donation. They might donate $5 as a token, but if there's an opportunity for them to win something they'd like to have, they might spend $50. It's much easier to part with $ if they have a chance to get something they want. People spend money every week on Lottery tickets, scratch off's, etc., because they have a chance to win, but they wouldn't take that same amount of money and just donate it to the State.
Some members might be in need of a new detector, so they'd buy tickets in hopes of winning one. I'd like a new scoop, so I'd buy tickets to put against a chance to win one. I could use a new shaft for my Sovereign, so I'd put some tickets against winning a new shaft, and so on. Having a wide variety of detecting items gives each member an opportunity to purchase tickets to try to win something they're interested in having, so IMHO, that would lead to a much greater number of tickets sold.
Terry, I realize this would be a major effort, and I wouldn't expect you would be able to handle by yourself. But as a Veteran myself, and now retired, I have time to help. I have a career background in recruiting, sales, marketing, writing, and for the last 6+ years, I was recruiting separating military & Veterans for DOD & Federal contracts for the Air Force, Army, Navy. I was laid off back in March, so hence my early retirement, so I'm not in the same financial position I was just 6 months ago. But while I now can't personally be a big help financially, I can use my experience and talents to help you raise far larger amounts of $ than I could ever be able to donate myself. I'm sure there's other retired Veteran's and/or members in the forum that would have some time to assist as well.
. God Bless You, and God Bless Our Veterans! - Terry Soloman
