DC: Call for donations sent; please help to spread this further!
maymay
In light of Nikolas's recent venue acquisition[0] for KinkForAll
Washington DC, and the need for raising several hundred dollars in 5
days, I've composed the following email bulletin and have sent it to
everyone who signed up for KFADC on the event wiki homepage.[1]
Please consider using this as a template for an email to send to your
friends and contacts, as well as sending it along to any mailing lists
you belong to that would appreciate information about a sexuality
education event like KinkForAll.
---- MESSAGE BELOW ----
> Hi there!
>
> You're receiving this email because you indicated your interest in
> participating in the serendipitous ad-hoc unconference about the
> convergence of sexuality with the rest of life, KinkForAll
> Washington DC, on our wiki homepage.
>
> There's GREAT NEWS to report! Thanks to Nikolas's hard work,
> KinkForAll DC has obtained a fantastic venue with three nice rooms
> and even a cafeteria. There's only one catch: we only have 5 days to
> raise the missing $532 to secure payment or we'll be forced to
> forfeit and start the weeks-long reservation process again. :(
>
> Please consider making a donation in any amount you wish to ensure
> KinkForAll DC happens by clicking the link below:
>
> https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7567712
>
> Even $5 goes an unbelievably long way when everyone chips in. :)
>
> With your help, KinkForAll Washington DC is going to be fantastic!
>
> It's also going to be *completely free* and open to everyone. Anyone
> with the desire to learn or with something to contribute is welcome
> and invited to join. If you are comfortable (or want to feel
> comfortable) being yourself in a public space, then this event is
> for you.
>
> Past KinkForAll events have been held in New York City and Boston,
> producing a plethora of invaluable free information in the form of
> multimedia sexuality presentations, discussions, and workshops
> uploaded to the Internet.
>
> To learn more about KinkForAll in 10 seconds or less, visit:
> http://kinkforall.pbworks.com/KinkForAll
>
> To donate to KinkForAll Washington DC, visit:
> https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7567712
>
> To get detailed directions, event information, and watch just a few
> exciting videos from past KinkForAll events, visit:
> http://wiki.kinkforall.org/KinkForAllWashingtonDC
>
> I'm so looking forward to meeting you at KinkForAll Washington DC
> soon. But first, we need to get the word out!
>
> Please forward this email to any and all friends, email lists,
> organizations, or other bulletins that you think would be interested
> in this free, public, sexuality and education advocacy event. Cross-
> post this message to your blog. Print it out and put it on the
> billboards of local cafés. Whatever you think you can do to help,
> please do it!
>
> And if you're unsure or want more guidance, come join our public
> mailing list at
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall
>
> where dozens of past event participants are constantly discussing
> how to make the event better, and are collaborating on things like
> flyers, buttons, web site banners, and other shared resources.
>
> Thank you so much for spreading the word about KinkForAll Washington
> DC, and thank you even more donating!
>
> Cheers,
> -maymay
> Blog: http://maybemaimed.com
> Community: http://KinkForAll.org
> Volunteering: http://ConversioVirium.org/author/maymay
---- MESSAGE ABOVE ----
For what it's worth, we don't have to raise too much money, and if
worst comes to worst I'm capable of fronting the needed money (just
barely, anyway) on the condition that efforts to get donations or
other funding sources do not cease, since I really can't afford to be
out $500+ for very long….
Another option for raising funds is obtaining sponsorships such as was
done for (the first) KinkForAll New York City. Sponsorships can be a
great way to build both marketing and financial momentum, *but they
are very tricky* and should be approached with an extremely critical
eye regardless of how purely positive the sponsorship appears to be.
There's a bunch of information about sponsorships on the wiki.[2]
Please have a read through it if you're up for trying to find sponsors
for KinkForAll Washington DC.
It's super exciting to see this happening the way it is and I think
that if NYC and Boston were any indication, our community can totally
pull this off. On that note, if you're IN Washington DC and want to
help out, I'm certain Nikolas would appreciate the help, so please
speak up.
Cheers,
-maymay
Blog: http://maybemaimed.com
Community: http://KinkForAll.org
Volunteering: http://ConversioVirium.org/author/maymay
EXTERNAL REFERENCES:
[0] http://groups.google.com/group/kinkforall/browse_thread/thread/a108c633a91e566e
[1] http://wiki.kinkforall.org/KinkForAllWashingtonDC
[2] http://wiki.kinkforall.org/Sponsors
Sarah Taub
maymay
> Hi maymay --
>
> I'm so glad that there is a venue for KFA DC, and I look forward to
> participating, publicizing, and possibly more!
>
Hi Sarah,
I'm happy you're glad! I am too. In fact, I'm thrilled!
> Is the fundraising call clearly necessary, with $850 in donations
> already being held by British Lucky Paul? Would it make sense to
> wait to hear from him about those funds?
>
> warm wishes, Sarah
I'm not sure what you would define as necessary, but it's clear that
time is of the essence. Regardless of whether the funds British Lucky
Paul holds will make it in time, a call for donations can't possibly
hurt, can it? :) Better safe than sorry, better we do too much than
not enough, I think. (And besides, if we end up with a surplus like we
did for the first KinkForAll New York City, we can use it to seed
funds for a second KinkForAll Washington DC, just like we did for
KFANYC2.)
Nikolas Coukouma
...
> Is the fundraising call clearly necessary, with $850 in donations already
> being held by British Lucky Paul? Would it make sense to wait to hear from
> him about those funds?
I actually sent him an e-mail first, as soon as I got the confirmation
(from my BlackBerry) on Monday at about noon. Given that two days have
already past, and the lack of action in the past (I've inquired about
the funds before), I'm feeling less than hopeful about British Lucky
Paul coming through.
If we get those funds, then I think we'd have a hefty surplus for this
event. In the case of KFA NYC, there was small surplus from the first
event that was applied to the second. I'd think it make sense to do
the same here, or return a percentage of everyone's donations. (I'll
be thrilled if I have to think about this more :) )
Cheers,
-Nikolas
Sarah Taub
----- Original Message -----From: Nikolas Coukouma
Chris !
> Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:48:39 -0400
> Subject: [KinkForAll] Re: DC: Call for donations sent; please help to spread this further!
> From: at...@atrus.org
> To: kinkf...@googlegroups.com
Nikolas Coukouma
...
> I do think that we shouldn't write off the donation by Lucky Paul. I'll
> give him a ring and see what's up...
Thanks for doing so!
-Nikolas