Jobarra
11-07-2007, 10:37 AM
Well, just read the idea about the Weekend of Liberty and I love it. As I was reading through the thread, I had an idea of what could be done by local meetup groups in SUPPORT of Dec 16th. I've seen this idea brought up by others time and again as a way that they are personally getting donation money for Ron Paul.
So, for Dec 15th, what if Meetup groups got together for... Group Yard Sales for Ron Paul.
The positives I see here:
1) The group itself gets together and each person controls their own sales. Due to this, any money raised is still THAT person's money, and not a group effort which might run into fundraising laws. That person can donate what they raise(up to the $2300 max) on Dec 16th.
2) Meetup groups are already good at making signs, so signs to the yard sale would be great.
3) At the yard sale itself could be some of the largest Ron Paul signs as well as flyers and of course signs about the fundraising effort on Dec 16th. All of the meetup members could talk about Ron Paul with the people who come to the yard sale and also explain steps on how to donate to his campaign. Maybe even a flyer printed up to hand out to explain briefly what we are doing this for and the steps of how to donate online OR call in. WE are all fairly net-literate, but the people we are striving to get to donate might not be.
4) By driving people to the yard sale with the intent of 'good deals' we reinforce the message that Ron Paul is a good deal and his supporters have the American spirit of entreprenuerism(not sure if that's a word :P ) By selling our personal items, we also reinforce that this is an independent effort, not just nameless donors. It shows strong support for a candidate if you are willing to sale your possessions to support them.
5) By driving people to the yard sale and having Ron Paul signs in one spot on PRIVATE property, no ordinances about advertising political candidates on public property are broken if there are any. Only yard sale signs are put up(if they're legal as well) and the Ron Paul signs are on private property which I'm hoping doesn't break any ordinances anywhere in America.
6) Most yard sales I see around here are done in the morning, so if that is done, then a natural after event for a yard sale could be a march somewhere or just a day of standing on the sidewalk with Ron Paul signs and signs about the donation on Dec 16th. Any other event ideas could also be done later in the day after lunch.
7) For a minimal fee, the yard sale could be advertised in the paper. I would recommend just saying it's a yard sale as I'm not sure Ron Paul yard sale is within campaign laws? I don't want to give the other campaigns real ammunition for any types of attacks on Ron Paul's campaign.
8) I imagine one thing that could be done while selling things to people is to remind them of the good deal they are getting. Then somehow impress upon them that maybe donating a few dollars(to the RP website, not to the group. Again, don't want to go against the campaign finance laws) after getting such a good deal is still a better deal than what they would have paid for the item full price? That might be a bit too much.
I think this would be a very positive event that would not only get more donations for Ron Paul from people who are currently donating, but also get more people to donate and more importantly support him. I don't have much stuff for a yard sale, but I do have about 200 DVDs(even if they're sold for only $1 a piece, that's $200 more. I'm sure I can sell them for at least $3) that I will gladly sacrifice for a chance at a better future :)
Edit to add number 9:
9) Oops, forgot about this. People could call in to the local news station and invite them out for the Ron Paul yard sale. I think alot of local news media LOVE grassroots stuff, especially yard sales/bake sales for a cause :) Just that reporting alone could lead to doubling or tripling donations :)
So, for Dec 15th, what if Meetup groups got together for... Group Yard Sales for Ron Paul.
The positives I see here:
1) The group itself gets together and each person controls their own sales. Due to this, any money raised is still THAT person's money, and not a group effort which might run into fundraising laws. That person can donate what they raise(up to the $2300 max) on Dec 16th.
2) Meetup groups are already good at making signs, so signs to the yard sale would be great.
3) At the yard sale itself could be some of the largest Ron Paul signs as well as flyers and of course signs about the fundraising effort on Dec 16th. All of the meetup members could talk about Ron Paul with the people who come to the yard sale and also explain steps on how to donate to his campaign. Maybe even a flyer printed up to hand out to explain briefly what we are doing this for and the steps of how to donate online OR call in. WE are all fairly net-literate, but the people we are striving to get to donate might not be.
4) By driving people to the yard sale with the intent of 'good deals' we reinforce the message that Ron Paul is a good deal and his supporters have the American spirit of entreprenuerism(not sure if that's a word :P ) By selling our personal items, we also reinforce that this is an independent effort, not just nameless donors. It shows strong support for a candidate if you are willing to sale your possessions to support them.
5) By driving people to the yard sale and having Ron Paul signs in one spot on PRIVATE property, no ordinances about advertising political candidates on public property are broken if there are any. Only yard sale signs are put up(if they're legal as well) and the Ron Paul signs are on private property which I'm hoping doesn't break any ordinances anywhere in America.
6) Most yard sales I see around here are done in the morning, so if that is done, then a natural after event for a yard sale could be a march somewhere or just a day of standing on the sidewalk with Ron Paul signs and signs about the donation on Dec 16th. Any other event ideas could also be done later in the day after lunch.
7) For a minimal fee, the yard sale could be advertised in the paper. I would recommend just saying it's a yard sale as I'm not sure Ron Paul yard sale is within campaign laws? I don't want to give the other campaigns real ammunition for any types of attacks on Ron Paul's campaign.
8) I imagine one thing that could be done while selling things to people is to remind them of the good deal they are getting. Then somehow impress upon them that maybe donating a few dollars(to the RP website, not to the group. Again, don't want to go against the campaign finance laws) after getting such a good deal is still a better deal than what they would have paid for the item full price? That might be a bit too much.
I think this would be a very positive event that would not only get more donations for Ron Paul from people who are currently donating, but also get more people to donate and more importantly support him. I don't have much stuff for a yard sale, but I do have about 200 DVDs(even if they're sold for only $1 a piece, that's $200 more. I'm sure I can sell them for at least $3) that I will gladly sacrifice for a chance at a better future :)
Edit to add number 9:
9) Oops, forgot about this. People could call in to the local news station and invite them out for the Ron Paul yard sale. I think alot of local news media LOVE grassroots stuff, especially yard sales/bake sales for a cause :) Just that reporting alone could lead to doubling or tripling donations :)