Folks, We need to talk money!

Brian has hinted a few times recently that OCF has got to increase reciepts. Personally I think he has been too SUBTLE and too POLITE.

In order for this site to take care of business and in order to grow and to do more work on education and prevention, CASH is needed. I know I know it is a pain for people get hit up for money but deep down we also ALL KNOW it has to happen. I think we can have fun doing it.

So I want us to talk up about ways to raise funds. I'm going to request that ONLY talk about fundraising be posted here.

Some thoughts I have had would be neighborhood canvassing, organizing local walks, and of course digging deep into our PERSONAL stash.

Think about how much you have gained in terms of peace of mind, comfort, and savings in extra trips to the psychiatrist.

There is a lot of talent here amongst us.
Now lets FIRE UP AND MOVE OUT!

hi, I have no spiffy ideas for fund-raising,butIwould enjoy implementing someone else's!This site has kept me sane when anxiety was chewing up my insides,and given me a head's up on what to expect from my neck dissection(which I seem to be recovering from slowly but surely)and later on what will happen with rad/chemo.I'm so grateful for the support here and want to help the cause as it were.I know my church and family would get behind a fund-raiser as i talk about this site(and pray,too)all the time!So give me an idea-i'll run with it,have 4 more weeks before radiation starts,and my hubby and kids will help after i get into that! Sue(Susanlaura1)

I have a fun d raising idea -why doesn't everyone just send Brian $50.00 right now - no fuss, no muss! While you're at it, buy a few t shirts and other goodies.

that's a good start!i'm glad to do that,but was looking for something a little more involved,more lucrative,and someting that could help bring awareness of this form of cancer.I never heard of this until I was told i had it. Sue

Excellent thoughts both of you! And Sue I like your BIG ideas! I'm going to work on creating a format for local fundraisers like churches and civic groups. Don't wait for me how ever. If you have an idea, go for it.

I imaging if I simply asked my family and friends for $20 bucks they would probably be happy to give that amount....lets see 5 friends thats $100 bucks and if I'm not mistaken we have 750 people signed up as forum members....I think if they all have 5 friends thats a cool $75,000.00 which would go a long way to up grade computer equipment and get things rolling. (If I become a really nice guy I might get another 10 friends) :p

Collectively just think of how many people we know!

Lets keep the fire going on this!!!!

PS for those of you who want to get started you can pay with a credit card and it is tax deductable!!

PPS. hey some of you with creative minds how about some slogans for promo literature...like: "Give a little to OCF, the neck you save could be your own" (I'am truly sorry about my sense of humor)

I think the idea about asking friends and family is a great idea for money, but it would be even more helpful if they had a paper to read about OCF and how it helps people. Maybe Mark or Brian, you could posts something that we can print out and show them. Maybe it could include the address for OCF so that they may mail a check directly to the Foundation, instead of intrusting it to us. Or, we could post it at our jobs (those of us who work) and people their could commit to supporting a fellow coworker, by donating even $5. I just think that if I was contributing to a cause, I would like to read alittle more about it, even though I trust that the money would be going to good use!
Thanks for your consideration.
Desiree'

Excellent comments Desiree, I'm getting more details to answer you. Stay tuned, I'll post more soon!

Thanks

Dear All,

I have been part of a large fundraiser in the past and would be more than honored if I could be of some help. I can tell you what I ran up against and hopefully give ideas on how to bypass them.

Mandi

Desiree and everybody,

I have volunteered myself to start a fundraising initiative for The Oral Cancer Foundation. I have been in touch with Brian Hill and he has given me the go-ahead to explore the possibilities of how we can build a grass roots contribution effort for OCF, within the confines of some important ground rules which I'll touch on in a moment.

First a bit of history and information is in order. Please read the

Mark-
You really went out of your way to get all of this done and that is excellent, and very much appreciated. I believe that the idea of people contributing with personal or business checks is an excellent idea, and opens up a new window for me. Both my mother and father-in-law own their own companies and I am sure would love to make a contribution. For companies that do contribute a certain amount, I wonder if it would be more enticing to them to have their name on a "Contributors" page on this site. They would be recognized for their donation, and have their company name on the web. Just an idea, as I know my in-laws would contribute to this cause because it is important to me. But other businesses may like the idea of having their name on this site, as well as all over the world.
Secondly, I would be very happy to look up that information about my state for you. What is it exactly that we should be looking up? How NJ (or any state) mandates cash donations? Let me know ASAP, and I will get working on it. CA is a big one you should look into, because I notice alot of people on this site are from there. Please e-mail me so that I may be of assistance to you, should you need help. Don't try to do this alone!
Desiree'
P.S. I go to the Surgical Oncologist tommorrow and will let you all know his opinion on my base of the tounge lymphoma!