Re: the SS Catalina group's idea of trying to raise a million dollars one at a time. We used this donation box theme on CV 220 at the Shelburne Museum and raised a fair amount of money, though certainly not enough to make it run again. I'm thinking that if they had "Would you give a dollar to save this ship?" donation boxes at tourist sites around LA, they might do ok. Though Los Angeles has changed a lot since the Catalina last sailed, I suspect there is still interest in it, that TV and newspaper coverage could amplify. Considering a dollar won't even buy a cup of coffee today, it is not a lot to ask of people, and if the project fails, they are not out a lot either. The individual dollars could help leverage bigger funding as well. Even as a corroded hulk parked on land, the boat has interest, and should be saved.

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ryarger@rypn.org

Several good fundraising books I've read recently all have the same theme regarding this fundraising approach... falacious thinking. X dollars times a large donor base @ a dollar per rarely achieves a fundraiser's goal. The pros break it down by donor size. Their rule of thumb is that your largest donation will generally amount to about 10% of the total. They suggest assessing the total funding potential of a project is usually 10 times the largest donation. To determine how much you can resonably expect to raise, seek out your largest potential donor and see what they'll weigh in for. In the SS Catalina's case they would need to garner a single $100,000 to $150,000 donation to warrant reaching $1.5 million. Based on my own few occasions with fundraising involvement the 10% rule seems to work within 2-3%. A great book on the subject is- Fundraising: Hands-On Tactics for Non-Profit Groups By L. Peter Edles Call number: 658.152 EDL

wyld@sbcglobal.net

I would not expect that individual dollar donations would finance the whole project, but could be helpful, and would tap a donor base not normally pursued. In my experience, explanatory and emotionally moving illustrated signs and donation boxes that say "if XXXX people gave a dollar, this ________ could be saved" work well with the common tourist if placed conspicuously. The usual other fundraising methods work better with the obscenely wealthy and government agencies, of course.

ryarger@rypn.org