[FARC] Fund Raiser Possibility

[Bob Moroney]

So now that the 2009 Father's Day Hamfest won't be happening, how can 
the Frederick Amateur Radio Club replace the revenue that the Hamfest 
provided?  (It should be said that it wasn't always a lot, but as far as 
I know, the FARC always ended up with at least a few hundred dollars 
more than the Hamfest cost to put on.) 
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Here's one possibility for us to consider:
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Each year the Volunteer Frederick organization sponsors an event called 
the "Big Sweep".  On an appointed day (this year it's Saturday, April 
25th) teams of volunteers fan out around Frederick County to help clean 
up roadsides, illegal dump sites and other littered eyesores in our area. 
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You might be saying, "That's cool, but where does the revenue come in?". 
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It works a bit like a walkathon.  The Frederick Amateur Radio Club would 
form a team to participate in the Big Sweep.  We would then solicit 
donations from supporters, be they friends, family, neighbors, local 
businesses, etc., in support of our Big Sweep cleanup efforts.
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All participating non-profit organizations (that's us) get to keep a 
minimum of 75% of the donations received.  The organization with the 
highest donation amount gets to keep 90%.  (For the record, that's a 
significantly better rate of return than the Hamfest provided in recent 
years.)  
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The remaining contributions go toward defraying expenses for the event, 
which include things such as event promotion, participant training, a 
kick-off breakfast on Big Sweep day, safety vests, trash bags, etc., 
etc.   And, of course the all-important tee shirt for participants. 
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Can we (FARC) pull together a team to participate?  It seems do-able.  
After all, we had 40+ volunteers helping at our 2008 Hamfest!  The Big 
Sweep is certainly a worthy effort in and of itself, and it could be an 
opportunity to add a bit of cash flow in support of our FARC scholarship 
and other activities. 
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If you're interested in helping out on 5/25, please let me know as soon 
as you can.  We would need to register with the Volunteer Frederick 
folks by March 20th to participate.
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Information on the Big Sweep is on the web at http://www.thebigsweep.org/ .
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73, Bob K9CMR