Ideas to get to $12 mil: start brainstorming!

[cujothekitten]

If we are to make 3 million by the end of the quarter and 12 by December we need a bunch of new ideas. Here are some ideas some of us have come up with. Continue to add your ideas and lets get on this.

When we rent booths sell items but also have a web accessible laptop handy for on site donations. It's better for them to donate in front of you than promising to when they get home...

Every rally should now have web accessible laptops there and the people attending should be reminded to donate on the spot. If you have a rally with 500 people that's a lot of extra money being pulled in. With internet access it is easier for them to donate as well.

Door to do campaigning should also mention donations. Let them know there is a contest for donations and we are trying to reach a goal.

Anyone else got some ideas to add?

[born2drv]

We need to come up with a collection of 10-15 different fliers, all targeted to people of different trades....

small business owners
teachers
medical professionals
... etc

and when we meet people we give them a flyer based on their trade! we go to the financial district, the jewelry district, the hospitals, etc and seek them out!

we give our kids fliers and tell them to give one to all their teachers!

go to ever mom and pop shop in your local town and give them the small business flyer, etc, etc...


we need to put the information right in front of the people's face and explain to them how it will DIRECTLY BENEFIT their lives and this economy.

and we need to urge them to donate ANYTHING... even $5.

[FreedomLover]

Let everyone you come in contact with know about this ambitious drive. Even if they're soft RP supporters, they may be more inclined to donate if they know it's apart of such an immense undertaking

[cujothekitten]

I also wanted to remind everyone that December is going to be a tough month for fundraising. People are going to be spending money on Christmas so we need some really top notch plans.

[Zydeco]

IDEA: my birthday is in November and I'm asking everyone who would get me a present to donate to the campaign instead.

And I'm doing the same with Christmas!

Who else has some great ideas???

[mavtek]

I already put mine up, individual competition, door to door, email by email.

[Johnnybags]

IDEA: my birthday is in November and I'm asking everyone who would get me a present to donate to the campaign instead.

And I'm doing the same with Christmas!

Who else has some great ideas???

for Christmas, maybe they'll get interested while they donate for me. We could all EBAY and item and send the proceeds direct to Paul. People may not have ready cash but everyone has something decent to get rid of.

[TechnoGuyRob]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=20412

:-)

[synthetic]

Keep doing what we're doing. As the message spreads the support gets larger and more dollars can be raised.

[Zydeco]

eBaying items is a great idea.

[Stealth4]

I say instead of focusing on mass efforts (let the campaign, meetups do that), we focus on people we know. pick 10 people. You know them, you know what issues concern them the most. Gradually introduce them to Ron Paul, the constitution, limited government, free market, etc. Get them syched up. Then when they say to you how do I get involved, ask them to donate $50.

Mass coverage is good, but we need to work on getting more stauch supporters, people we know and can count on. If each of us just gets 3-5 more supporters this qtr that is huge.

I got 3 last qtr. One of them is now heavily involved.

my .02

[cujothekitten]

bump

[LibertyEagle]

We need to come up with a collection of 10-15 different fliers, all targeted to people of different trades....

small business owners
teachers
medical professionals
... etc

and when we meet people we give them a flyer based on their trade! we go to the financial district, the jewelry district, the hospitals, etc and seek them out!

we give our kids fliers and tell them to give one to all their teachers!

go to ever mom and pop shop in your local town and give them the small business flyer, etc, etc...


we need to put the information right in front of the people's face and explain to them how it will DIRECTLY BENEFIT their lives and this economy.

and we need to urge them to donate ANYTHING... even $5.

I think this idea has merit. Hit people where they live. Make it personal. That is what will get their attention.

What does everyone else think? If you like it, how can we get this done?

Note: I'm hoping that we won't need as many as 15, because it's going to be hard for people to keep track of all of them. I would imagine some of them can be merged together.

[wolv275]

How about a petition to get 48,000 volunteers to recruit 4+ people each as you count for 1, or 5+ if you are maxed and contribute $50 each.

48k * 5 = (240k) * $50 = 12mill ?

the formula could be adjusted, with $50 being the minimum but i think this could work much easier than trying to do it all ourselves, we need new contributors and im sure we all know at least 5 people that we can convince and sell the message of freedom.

[Brock Landers]

I'm thinking a focus on the economic aspect could be very effective.

Figure out mathematically how "Investing In Ron Paul" is the best financial decision an american can make.

Maybe.....


Figure out how lowering inflation by 5-8 %-age points (conservatively, I think),
Cutting out 25-30% of the average person's yearly expense in the form of tax payments (there's 10,000 or so already)
Ends up SAVING somone tens of thousands of dollars EACH YEAR (conservatively)

........How could you NOT invest $50 in such a cause? The cost of taking a family of 4 out to the movies for one night (conservatively)......



Something like that. Anyone want to work up a flier we can tape all over the place? Or does anyone have any other ideas related to the financial benefits of Ron Paul in office?

[torchbearer]

If we are to make 3 million by the end of the quarter and 12 by December we need a bunch of new ideas. Here are some ideas some of us have come up with. Continue to add your ideas and lets get on this.

When we rent booths sell items but also have a web accessible laptop handy for on site donations. It's better for them to donate in front of you than promising to when they get home...

Every rally should now have web accessible laptops there and the people attending should be reminded to donate on the spot. If you have a rally with 500 people that's a lot of extra money being pulled in. With internet access it is easier for them to donate as well.

Door to do campaigning should also mention donations. Let them know there is a contest for donations and we are trying to reach a goal.

Anyone else got some ideas to add?

Cujo, If my campaign doesn't reach its financial goals by the end of the year, I will be donating my warchest to Ron Paul. That should help a lot.

[cujothekitten]

For web based fundraising:
Has anyone started sending out bulletins on myspace/facebook yet? Also put a donate link on your page if you haven't already.

Can some of the youtubers start making videos telling people to donate? If you guys start doing this make a youtube donation thread so we can find them all for rating and commenting.

If you post on other forums/blogs be sure to really push donations now. Put a link in your sig for forums.

[FunkBuddha]

We need to come up with a collection of 10-15 different fliers, all targeted to people of different trades....

small business owners
teachers
medical professionals
... etc

and when we meet people we give them a flyer based on their trade! we go to the financial district, the jewelry district, the hospitals, etc and seek them out!

we give our kids fliers and tell them to give one to all their teachers!

go to ever mom and pop shop in your local town and give them the small business flyer, etc, etc...


we need to put the information right in front of the people's face and explain to them how it will DIRECTLY BENEFIT their lives and this economy.

and we need to urge them to donate ANYTHING... even $5.


I like this idea... business owners are the most likely to be sympathetic AND contribute. We need to get an inventory of what flyers we have and what flyers we need.

I can take a few days off of work to visit some local businesses.

[katao]

How do other big candidates do it? BUNDLING.

To do it right we only need 2 things from HQ: a means to add our own project codes for donations, and a means to query donations made for a project code

Then, we can create a web site where we all sign up and pledge to get xxx dollars of donations. (with real time tracking, recognition for levels of success e.g. $500 = freedom fighter, $1000 = xxx, $100,000 = Founding Father, etc.).

We could also coordinate our own competitions any way we like without any effort from HQ. All we need are those two simple things.

[allyinoh]

I think this idea has merit. Hit people where they live. Make it personal. That is what will get their attention.

What does everyone else think? If you like it, how can we get this done?

Note: I'm hoping that we won't need as many as 15, because it's going to be hard for people to keep track of all of them. I would imagine some of them can be merged together.

I think it's a great idea for each person in their area to go to small businesses, offices, etc and find out what's important to THEM that way we know how to target those people and get them on the wagon.

I also wanted to say an idea I had but I'm not sure how it would work or how willing people will be to do it.

I thought about what if each one of us holds a "get to gether" at our houses for our friends who are not on the wagon and basically be like a q and a?

What do you guys think about the idea or can you give me some input on it. Like a Ron Paul party... kinda.

[cujothekitten]

Cujo, If my campaign doesn't reach its financial goals by the end of the year, I will be donating my warchest to Ron Paul. That should help a lot.

Woa really? That's awesome!

[happyphilter]

sell drugs?

[ItsTime]

Cujo, If my campaign doesn't reach its financial goals by the end of the year, I will be donating my warchest to Ron Paul. That should help a lot.

Thats stand up, and I am sure we will help you rebuild it.

[alicegardener]

Since the schools don't teach the constitution or it's why's and wherefore's, RP supporters, home schoolers, and other may appreciate and BUY a boardgame with related questions.

If anyone with the necessary skills would design such a game with the help of experts on the constitution and it's history. Part of the profits could be pledged to the RP campaign.

[constituent]

please understand that the campaign is leagues ahead of the perception
out there... what does this mean?

Shoot for 100 million dollars and you will tell the serious donors
that Dr. Paul is serious.

Everyone will laugh at him: free press

Everyone will mock him: ok, we win when they do that

What if he doesn't make it: everyone will laugh at him, free press

Shoot for 100 million... when people w/ it got it, what's another zero?
I'm being serious about that, b/c that's how many people feel about it.

If you ask for 10 though, many people who are sitting on the fence will
still say: "naaaaaaah.... that's not enough, he can't win with that"

and on that day, the ministry wins the battle for that mind.

[born2drv]

I like this idea... business owners are the most likely to be sympathetic AND contribute. We need to get an inventory of what flyers we have and what flyers we need.

I can take a few days off of work to visit some local businesses.

let's start a new thread, and brainstorm one flyer at a time.... we should start with small business owners..... someone else make the thread please, i'm leaving now and won't have computer access for a day or so, I'll start with a few points:

1) No more corporate welfare. Big businesses like oil companies and corn/grain producers get subsidies from the government when they don't need it but small business don't get anything.

2) Eliminate the IRS and income tax. Let business owners operate as sole proprietorship without worrying about how they're going to declare their taxes and if they're going to get audited by the IRS. Ron Paul would reduce spending by 30% to 1997 levels and completely eliminate all personal income tax.

3) Huge surge in consumer spending that would come with reduced spending and tax cuts. Once income tax is eliminated, people would have their WHOLE PAYCHECK to pay for goods and services which would boost business in all industries.

4) Major welfare reform - we should encourage people to work hard and earn a living, not sit at home and collect a check from the government. If they need help to get back on their feet we can help them. But after a certain point we have to stop people who take advantage of the system and say enough is enough. and elminate the heavily abused and damaging welfare state.

etc, etc.... I know you guys can come up with more points! Someone please champion this. Thanks guys, I gotta go but I'll be back tomorrow!

[torchbearer]

Thats stand up, and I am sure we will help you rebuild it.

I know I can count on you guys... 99% of my donations have come from Ron Paul supporters... I know, to make a serious run for congress, I will need a good bit of money.. like $250,000. My initial goal was $10,000, by the end of the year... but fundraising is hard to do locally since most people live in poverty in my area and can't afford to donate. But, After we get Ron Paul elected president... in 2010, I will be making a major push to get to congress assuming that I don't get a major flow of donations in the next few months.

[Cowlesy]

I know cats will screech, but don't look at the big picture here.

In business, a lot of people become ovewhelmed when they look at the end goal. It is daunting.

Compartmentalize goals. Let's hit the 1 month goal FIRST. THIS should be priority #1.

A lot of us are maxed out, and a lot of those who can't max out don't have a warchest to burn. What does this mean?

The absolute #1 goal should be to recruit new donors by collecting more votes. If we can get someone to pledge a vote for Ron Paul, we'll have a much higher likelihood of getting them to sign-on to the campaign and become a donor.

I really think the only way this goal gets met is by a heavy recruiting drive. Whether it's door-to-door, flying banners, inserts in newspapers, standing in the rain with a sign, Tax Free Tips Acts---we need to recruit new folks. Those who are maxed can help grassroots efforts with either time or "other".

This can ABSOLUTELY get done. It HAS to get done. It WILL get done with all of you behind it.

[fez2008]

For web based fundraising:
Has anyone started sending out bulletins on myspace/facebook yet? Also put a donate link on your page if you haven't already.

Can some of the youtubers start making videos telling people to donate? If you guys start doing this make a youtube donation thread so we can find them all for rating and commenting.

If you post on other forums/blogs be sure to really push donations now. Put a link in your sig for forums.

We had a project in the last week to contact all RP friends on myspace (finished only about one third due to lack of volunteers) which surely helped.

myspace friends of RP can still be helpful - if all 60k of them donate 20 dollars per month it will be 4mil right there..

That being said, the only way to get to the 12mil is to recruit new voters...

[stalcottsmith]

This will allow people to budget $50/wk or $25/wk or $200 per month or whatever and make it automatic, rather than do one-time donations as they feel inspired.

This will also give visibility into fundraising weeks or months down the road.

[stalcottsmith]

Start with a $500k/week target, then increase it as we surpass it regularly.

[katao]

This will allow people to budget $50/wk or $25/wk or $200 per month or whatever and make it automatic, rather than do one-time donations as they feel inspired.

This will also give visibility into fundraising weeks or months down the road.

Oooh! That idea, my friend, has legs.

[Rich333]

When we rent booths sell items but also have a web accessible laptop handy for on site donations. It's better for them to donate in front of you than promising to when they get home...

Every rally should now have web accessible laptops there and the people attending should be reminded to donate on the spot. If you have a rally with 500 people that's a lot of extra money being pulled in. With internet access it is easier for them to donate as well.
The problem there is security. You'd either need to use a cellphone and a dialup service, or a secure wifi hotspot (encrypted... user authentication isn't enough). Even with a cellphone and dialup, security would be an issue because calls can be intercepted.

[briatx]

Here's my idea: Help hotlines for Ron Paul.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=21926

eg: Live Tech Support for Ron Paul, Dating Advice for Ron Paul, Car Repair/Hot Rod Tips for Ron Paul. Finance, Legal, whatever as long as people are QUALIFIED and will donate time.

I'd say Tax advice, but Tax season will probably be too late for the primaries.

[tekkierich]

Here in Maryland we are having a Crabs for Paul Fundraiser on the 20th.

http://ronpaul.meetup.com/214/calendar/6466458/

Our goal is $5000. Minimum donation is $100.

[FreedomLover]

This will allow people to budget $50/wk or $25/wk or $200 per month or whatever and make it automatic, rather than do one-time donations as they feel inspired.

This will also give visibility into fundraising weeks or months down the road.

Does it save any money at all to do 2,300 in one fell swoop than to do a weekly donation of 50$ ?

Im not sure how these transaction fees work through paypal...

[thomaspaine23]

eBaying items is a great idea.

I suggest a tagline on all ebay items :

"Haul4Paul"

That way supporters who have already maxed out can find like minded people
with junk to sell....

[cujothekitten]

Sky writers (airplanes that write in the sky with smoke)

A very large rally in late October (in Iowa or NH)... one where we get as many people to come from out of town as possible. The rally will have a small hayride, trick or treating (for the kids), speeches by as many famous people as we can get, and maybe a small concert with a known artist.

Rent one of these things for city rallies that are at night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwB52C65I3w
On top of that talk to some guys at Graffiti Research Lab and see if they can do some stuff for you

[Ninja Homer]

The problem there is security. You'd either need to use a cellphone and a dialup service, or a secure wifi hotspot (encrypted... user authentication isn't enough). Even with a cellphone and dialup, security would be an issue because calls can be intercepted.

That's not true... As long as there's a secure certificate, you can usually trust it. That means it's encrypted on both ends, so even if it was intercepted somewhere in between, they couldn't do anything with the data because it looks like gobblygook.

https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate is encrypted and safe. You can click on the icons on the bottom to verify.

[cujothekitten]

The problem there is security. You'd either need to use a cellphone and a dialup service, or a secure wifi hotspot (encrypted... user authentication isn't enough). Even with a cellphone and dialup, security would be an issue because calls can be intercepted.

Is this rich from IC database?

[Santana28]

the ebay idea is great, but for people who don't have the time to sit around running online auctions all day - keep in mind that in a lot of areas there are ebay businesses where you just drop your junk off, and they sell it for you, and they keep a percentage or charge a fee to run the auctions for you. But you still end up with money. Would be a great way to clean out the house and get rid of stuff you don't need or aren't using :)

ALSO - Craigslist and newspaper ads often have FREE ITEM listings. Simply go pick up these things, sell them, and donate the cash.

TV TV TV ads are the way to go. And we don't need to be doing sappy feel-good ads that the campaign might do - we need to do the hardcore ads the campaign WON'T do. We need to start targeting Democratic voters who are still convinced the Democrats want to end the war, in time for them to register Republican ;)

Disbursing DVDs... even just making them on your own and handing them out to friends. Taking them to old folk's homes and VFWs and Doctor's offices.

Donating blood? LOL... i just might... i'm not sure they still pay you for it though...

[katao]

TV TV TV ads are the way to go. And we don't need to be doing sappy feel-good ads that the campaign might do - we need to do the hardcore ads the campaign WON'T do. We need to start targeting Democratic voters who are still convinced the Democrats want to end the war, in time for them to register Republican

Very tricky to pull off without alienating Republican voters too. Possible, just tricky.



Disbursing DVDs... even just making them on your own and handing them out to friends. Taking them to old folk's homes and VFWs and Doctor's offices.

Awesome ideas. Old Folks have another benefit - they vote! and lots have spare money! It needs to be a very conservative DVD, like the "A Man For All Seasons" video.[/quote]

[Rich333]

That's not true... As long as there's a secure certificate, you can usually trust it. That means it's encrypted on both ends, so even if it was intercepted somewhere in between, they couldn't do anything with the data because it looks like gobblygook.
You need to already have the certificate on your computer against which you can verify the other side's public key. Otherwise you're still open to man-in-the-middle attacks.

[Rich333]

Is this rich from IC database?
Yep. :)

By the way, check your PMs over there. I think when we moved to the new server some of the preference settings got fubar'd, so you'll have to turn PM popup notifications on again if you want them.