Feedback Request Fundraising Ideas - What do you like and dislike?

[ThePhonMan]

What about some generic business cards that have the NWFA details on them?

Maybe you could set up a template with somebody like VistaPrint and members could buy-in to either a bulk order or if they would support alternate mailing addresses, order our own. They sell cards dirt cheap and it would establish a standard we could all use (but you'd want to make sure us riff-raff didn't edit the text).

I cary a few odd business cards in my wallet for people I've done business with that I'd be happy to promote. NWFA is easily one of the best values out there for our ilk and I meet lots of "gun nuts" that appreciate the heads up. I'd be happy to take 50-100 and see if I could give them out to folks I meet.

 

[Cogs]

This is definitely part of our overall plan, increasing our membership numbers. There are still so many gun owners who haven't heard about NWFA. I haven't said much about it, but a while back we setup unique referral links for everyone (found inside their settings). Once we can afford it I'd like to setup small referral contests for t-shirts, gift cards, etc.

Could we develop 'downloadable' business card? A template, located somewhere here on NWFA, that allows a supporting member to insert their name with referral link, download it and print on their own computer. A simple card. Not a credential of having any authority on behalf of NWFA's. Just a 'trading card'. It should be a light background; 1) to save ink and 2) to provide space for a handwritten note.

I have often engaged in conversation about a specific thread and wanted to hand them a card with a hand written note of where to find the topic we were discussing. Can't do that when the card is all black.

Bill

 

[Joe Link]

I like the idea of a raffle. I won a F/A in a raffle once.
How about raffling off a Tavor?
$20 per ticket...it worked for me once, maybe it will work again

That's not fair though, NWFA staff being excluded and all

Unfortunately we can't hold raffles due, due to the fact we don't have non-profit status. I sat down with a couple of attorneys last year to look into it, each quoted just under five figures between their fees and those of the government.

Still want to do it eventually, then we can hold the raffles. For now we have to include the alternate method of entry in each of the giveaways (no purchase/donation necessary).

 

[308]

See earlier in the thread - not an available option since NWFA isn't a non-profit.

I must be blind...still don't see it. The site I won the F/A from was definitely a for profit site.

 

[Cogs]

What about some generic business cards that have the NWFA details on them?

Maybe you could set up a template with somebody like VistaPrint and members could buy-in to either a bulk order or if they would support alternate mailing addresses, order our own. They sell cards dirt cheap and it would establish a standard we could all use (but you'd want to make sure us riff-raff didn't edit the text).

I cary a few odd business cards in my wallet for people I've done business with that I'd be happy to promote. NWFA is easily one of the best values out there for our ilk and I meet lots of "gun nuts" that appreciate the heads up. I'd be happy to take 50-100 and see if I could give them out to folks I meet.

Wow. Keen minds think alike! I think we both posted the same idea at the same time! Good thinking, 'ol Chap!

 

[etrain16]

I must be blind...still don't see it. The site I won the F/A from was definitely a for profit site.

Sorry, I was thinking this was the other thread Joe posted with the similar discussion. Several of us proposed a raffle, but Joe had already researched it and there are legal issues behind raffles. Turns out a lot of for-profit businesses are holding raffles illegally. That was news to me. I thought it would be a great idea to raffle off a gun for $10-$20 a ticket. Too bad the government has to make it complicated

 

[ThePhonMan]

Hey look! It is idiot proof now. Even I can use it.

Thanks Joe.

 

[Cogs]

Perhaps set $ amount and timeline. List some of the most important target purchases needed. Have a counter displayed, for all to see, that shows the growing total.

Give us something to 'shoot' for. Something we can all be enthused about while we visually follow the progress.

 

[Joe Link]

What about some generic business cards that have the NWFA details on them?

Maybe you could set up a template with somebody like VistaPrint and members could buy-in to either a bulk order or if they would support alternate mailing addresses, order our own. They sell cards dirt cheap and it would establish a standard we could all use (but you'd want to make sure us riff-raff didn't edit the text).

I cary a few odd business cards in my wallet for people I've done business with that I'd be happy to promote. NWFA is easily one of the best values out there for our ilk and I meet lots of "gun nuts" that appreciate the heads up. I'd be happy to take 50-100 and see if I could give them out to folks I meet.

Funny, @Cogs and I were just talking about that

We get them really cheap in bulk ($120/15,000 full color both sides shipped) so it makes more sense for us to distribute them (even after factoring in postage). We definitely need to get some coming and get them out to our members though. I'm going to move this up the priority list.

Could we develop 'downloadable' business card? A template, located somewhere here on NWFA, that allows a supporting member to insert their name with referral link, download it and print on their own computer. A simple card. Not a credential of having any authority on behalf of NWFA's. Just a 'trading card'. It should be a light background; 1) to save ink and 2) to provide space for a handwritten note.

I have often engaged in conversation about a specific thread and wanted to hand them a card with a hand written note of where to find the topic we were discussing. Can't do that when the card is all black.

Bill

Good idea Bill. Lets see if we can find something before we meet up next.

I must be blind...still don't see it. The site I won the F/A from was definitely a for profit site.

Sorry, I was thinking this was the other thread Joe posted with the similar discussion. Several of us proposed a raffle, but Joe had already researched it and there are legal issues behind raffles. Turns out a lot of for-profit businesses are holding raffles illegally. That was news to me. I thought it would be a great idea to raffle off a gun for $10-$20 a ticket. Too bad the government has to make it complicated

It's one of those things that's so widespread everyone thinks it's alright. I thought the same thing back in 2008 when I started NWFA. I just think we have too much to lose now to risk it, and it would certainly make us an easy target.

Hey look! It is idiot proof now. Even I can use it.

Thanks Joe.

View attachment 271578

Good to hear it worked well, thanks for the additional donation!

Perhaps set $ amount and timeline. List some of the most important target purchases needed. Have a counter displayed, for all to see, that shows the growing total.

Give us something to 'shoot' for. Something we can all be enthused about while we visually follow the progress.

I actually have a design to do exactly that, a target meter for each month. To be honest I just feel a little odd posting a meter when we don't have a 'specific goal'. Rather, we have a bunch of different expenses that really add up (about $4k/month for 2015). Advertising covers a portion of that, but I'm still not sure how people would feel trying to fill a several thousand dollar meter each month.

 

[Lilhigbee]

I've been trying to get something to hand out at our Carson show since April 2014. Work with me here.

 

[Joe Link]

I've been trying to get something to hand out at our Carson show since April 2014. Work with me here.

This is absolutely true. Once every six months or so I PM @Lilhigbee to make sure he's still interested, he says yes, I pack the box, then get busy and forget to send it

I think last time I actually made it to the post office, but used the wrong box and they wanted $22 or something ridiculous like that. I'll be sure to get some of the new ones to you fresh off the press

 

[DuneHopper]

Joe, have you ever thought of getting involved in lobbying ? I ask because in Oregon we need new blood that and people will in many cases be willing to support a cause.
NWFA is unique and a good site but there are a pile of gun forums, if yours was a cause it could survive much easier.
You already are a business filed in Salem? I am assuming pay taxes and with that you could sponsor your own lobbyist work. People think doing lobbying requires allot, in fact you have 90% of what is needed to start imagine this session 2016 a new blood in Salem might make Salem take notice with 100's of members saying they want a stand.
I know people respect you here Joe and if you made a solid stand in Salem I am sure others would follow. I am not hinting to replace OFF, but people in Salem need to see our youth wants the fight too. I am also sure you would not have to go at it alone with the huge amount of experts in the group. NWFA Could be NWFAA ( association ) being you are already established a easy move to being a non-profit and help others in training.

Sorry done business consulting along time and I see great promise and future in the above it could be an opportunity missed. Now more then ever would be a time to do it.

 

[Lilhigbee]

This is absolutely true. Once every six months or so I PM @Lilhigbee to make sure he's still interested, he says yes, I pack the box, then get busy and forget to send it

I think last time I actually made it to the post office, but used the wrong box and they wanted $22 or something ridiculous like that. I'll be sure to get some of the new ones to you fresh off the press

Our next show is February 6th. I'll look forward to a box by then!! Even an envelope-full would be a good start.

 

[IheartSig]

Joe,

You need to commercialize your brand, even only on a local / regional level. You could be making a decent little amount on silly things. Key chains, Stickers, Shirts etc. I'm sure you know that advertising is advertising and all. Id rock a NWFA.com sticker on my truck for example or sport a quality hoodie with a decent logo.

What about work parties or renting out certified members to safety / conceal carry classes etc?

OR ..... Ill think of something

 

[transittech]

I don't want to get involved in a lot of fundraising stuff, but like Sig, I would definitely buy a t-shirt or hoodie. Or a few.

 

[Mikej]

I wonder if it'd be worth the money to advertise to NW folks on AL (using geo and/or section targeting, if available). I image it'd bring along a bunch of riff-raff, but might be worth it?
Up for listening to other suggestions on spreading the word as well

Speaking of getting more people aware of NWFA, and advertising on AL and elsewhere......How bout getting an ad on ifish? Funny guy you say? There's been several people at ifish trying to sell a fire arm in their lame hunting classifieds buried in bunch of WTBs, shoes, tents and all manor of non-firearm related stuff, that I've messaged about NWFA. Most of them have never heard of it, and the ones that hadn't were glad to get the info. I was made aware of NWFA buy one of the good ones on ifish when I was trying to sell a gun there.

All Coast, http://www.allcoastmedia.com/contact.cfm is who sells advertising I imagine. Might be worth a call. Might get a little poetic justice from it if it worked out?

 

[Joe Link]

Our next show is February 6th. I'll look forward to a box by then!! Even an envelope-full would be a good start.

Great! Even if we don't have the new cards by then, I'll get the old cards out to you.

Joe,

You need to commercialize your brand, even only on a local / regional level. You could be making a decent little amount on silly things. Key chains, Stickers, Shirts etc. I'm sure you know that advertising is advertising and all. Id rock a NWFA.com sticker on my truck for example or sport a quality hoodie with a decent logo.

What about work parties or renting out certified members to safety / conceal carry classes etc?

OR ..... Ill think of something

I don't want to get involved in a lot of fundraising stuff, but like Sig, I would definitely buy a t-shirt or hoodie. Or a few.

We tried this before with the hats, t-shirts, and decals. Unfortunately it was a huge time commitment for what really ended up being a very small return. However, I think I know where I went wrong. I honestly didn't think anyone would buy a $5 decal, $25 t-shirt, a $40 hoodie, or a $30 hat, so I priced them low and offered free shipping. While it was a good way to get our name out, it really didn't raise any money, and took me away from activities that could. I posted an opinion poll to get some feedback back in April. The responses were so limited that I didn't go through with the hoodie order.

I'd really like to revisit this idea, I just need to make sure it's the best use of my very limited time

Speaking of getting more people aware of NWFA, and advertising on AL and elsewhere......How bout getting an ad on ifish? Funny guy you say? There's been several people at ifish trying to sell a fire arm in their lame hunting classifieds buried in bunch of WTBs, shoes, tents and all manor of non-firearm related stuff, that I've messaged about NWFA. Most of them have never heard of it, and the ones that hadn't were glad to get the info. I was made aware of NWFA buy one of the good ones on ifish when I was trying to sell a gun there.

All Coast, http://www.allcoastmedia.com/contact.cfm is who sells advertising I imagine. Might be worth a call. Might get a little poetic justice from it if it worked out?

Wow, I didn't know iFish sold to Vertical Scope. I believe that's the company that has tried to buy NWFA over the years. I wanted to advertise on iFish a few years back but they (Jennie) wouldn't let me. I'm actually permanently banned from there for talking about NWFA back in 2008

I'll see if I can get a quote from All Coast Media. Knowing Vertical Scope it's probably quite spendy, fingers crossed though!

Anyone know of any other sites local to the NW where we might look into advertising?

 

[etrain16]

We tried this before with the hats, t-shirts, and decals. Unfortunately it was a huge time commitment for what really ended up being a very small return. However, I think I know where I went wrong. I honestly didn't think anyone would buy a $5 decal, $25 t-shirt, a $40 hoodie, or a $30 hat, so I priced them low and offered free shipping. While it was a good way to get our name out, it really didn't raise any money, and took me away from activities that could. I posted an opinion poll to get some feedback back in April. The responses were so limited that I didn't go through with the hoodie order.

I'd really like to revisit this idea, I just need to make sure it's the best use of my very limited time

Have you looked at fundraising options on sites like CustomInk? As I understand it, you do a design, then people order directly from them - they only make the shirts you sell, and they handle the shipping, sending you the funds raised. And, no requirement for you to purchase or manage inventory that may or may not sell. It's worth digging in a bit further as I don't know many of the details. Here are two sites that do that, I think there are more. CustomInk does shirts for fundraising, not sure on hats or hoodies:

http://www.customink.com/booster

http://www.logosoftwear.com/charityfundraiser-tshirts.php

As far as I know, it does not require you to be a non-profit to use these services.

 

[Mikej]

Wow, I didn't know iFish sold to Vertical Scope. I believe that's the company that has tried to buy NWFA over the years. I wanted to advertise on iFish a few years back but they (Jennie) wouldn't let me. I'm actually permanently banned from there for talking about NWFA back in 2008

I'll see if I can get a quote from All Coast Media. Knowing Vertical Scope it's probably quite spendy, fingers crossed though!

Anyone know of any other sites local to the NW where we might look into advertising?

Id say there's a good chance the "The queen of all that is holy and good" still has a say in what ads go on the forum....But ya' never know? It would be cool to get a bunch more people on the hunting fishing forums here.

 

[Joe Link]

Have you looked at fundraising options on sites like CustomInk? As I understand it, you do a design, then people order directly from them - they only make the shirts you sell, and they handle the shipping, sending you the funds raised. And, no requirement for you to purchase or manage inventory that may or may not sell. It's worth digging in a bit further as I don't know many of the details. Here are two sites that do that, I think there are more. CustomInk does shirts for fundraising, not sure on hats or hoodies:

http://www.customink.com/booster

http://www.logosoftwear.com/charityfundraiser-tshirts.php

As far as I know, it does not require you to be a non-profit to use these services.

I've looked into this on CustomInk, Spreadshirt, and Cafe Press. It's nice that it's a low time commitment after the initial setup. The big downsides for me were the lack of quality control and that they take a huge chunk of profit out of every sale.

For a lower-end T-shirt sold at $20 plus shipping ($25 cost to the customer) we'd see about $2-$3 each. Done ourselves we could get a high quality t-shirt shipped to the customer for around $20 and still make $4-$5 each.

Volume is what we need to make it worth the while though. Maybe our plan should be to setup a shop and track sales for a while, then look into going back to the DIY model once sales reach a certain point that they'd be worth it. My concern with this option is that I imagine most people won't be making multiple purchases, especially if their initial purchase is of a lower quality than they expect.

Id say there's a good chance the "The queen of all that is holy and good" still has a say in what ads go on the forum....But ya' never know? It would be cool to get a bunch more people on the hunting fishing forums here.

Heh yeah, you never know. I'm thinking maybe not, since they no longer censor 'northwestfirearms.com'

I actually just looked into it through one of their ad networks. It's not exactly cheap but I think it'd be worth a test campaign at $50/month to see how well it works. I'll be looking into this more, as well as other sites which might be good for us.