[Foundation-l] Fundraising ideas - bursting the bubble

[Erik Moeller]

On 6/12/06, daniwo59 at aol.com <daniwo59 at aol.com> wrote:
> 1 Are we allowed to solicit funds anywhere? Not quite as simple as you may
> think.

I remember that we've had those discussions before about the
fundraising page and the way it should be worded. In recent fund
drives, however, we've become more aggressive, with a personal appeal
from Jimmy, slogans like "Help empower the world", and so on. We still
have a disclaimer that this does not constitute a solicitation, but is
that sufficient? Are we currently registered in any U.S. state other
than Florida for solicitation of funds? If not, would such a
registration make sense?

> 2 What is the cost of a direct mailing? Try multiplying postage costs by 1000s,
> add printing costs, then add hourly rates. We can either do the mailing in-house
> (at which point you must consider whether it is worth paying my salary to have
> me stuff envelopes) or a service (which adds to the costs).

How about trying to decentralize the "licking envelopes" part? Allow a
large number of reasonably trusted volunteers to send "thank you"
notes (add some legal disclaimer about the sender not being a
Wikimedia employee etc. if necessary). Compensate them for postage,
but not for time. I'm not sure this is a viable model, but it may be
worth trying out.

> 3 Are there any mails that we are required to send by law? Yes

That's a good point. How good are we presently at complying with these
regulations, e.g. notifying people who make >$200 donations outside
regular fund drives? Does the applicable law already allow for the use
of digitally signed e-mails, or do we have to send snail mail?

Erik