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Ask Slashdot: College Club Fundraising On the Fly?
An anonymous reader writes "As luck would have it, I was video-attending the monthly meeting of my alma mater's amateur radio club last night and learned that a local Alumnus had passed, leaving a significant amount of equipment to the club, including a 'Big Bertha' tower that the club does not have a home for. This particular 'Big Bertha,' as it is called, is a 115 foot tall, self-supporting rotatable pole that can support an enormous number of antennae. There are thought to be only a small number of them in civilian use, and this was one of them. I also happen to be a member of the local University's amateur radio club, and our local meeting was right after the Georgia Tech meeting, so upon learning of the availability I immediately informed them that this tower could be had so long as they could support the logistics of moving the tower approximately 100 miles.
After discussing the logistics, and the fact that construction crews would be required on both sides, we came to the conclusion that a significant amount of money would be required, and that your typical intramural basketweaving team bake sale would not do the job. The use case for such a tower is not difficult to make with the University, or with local emergency services who would no doubt love to have space on such a tall tower in such a prime 'top of the hill' geographical location. Zoning will also not be an issue owing to the location having one other taller tower belonging to the college radio station, and a water tower on site. However, with most governments being cash-strapped and unlikely willing to contribute to the project, we need some more ideas on how to raise the needed funds.
So if you're a small University club, and need to raise $30-40K in a hurry, how do you do it? They are working on some small grants from local corporations, and also contacting the manufacturer to see if there is any goodwill there. But, many more ideas are needed. Thanks in advance."
After discussing the logistics, and the fact that construction crews would be required on both sides, we came to the conclusion that a significant amount of money would be required, and that your typical intramural basketweaving team bake sale would not do the job. The use case for such a tower is not difficult to make with the University, or with local emergency services who would no doubt love to have space on such a tall tower in such a prime 'top of the hill' geographical location. Zoning will also not be an issue owing to the location having one other taller tower belonging to the college radio station, and a water tower on site. However, with most governments being cash-strapped and unlikely willing to contribute to the project, we need some more ideas on how to raise the needed funds.
So if you're a small University club, and need to raise $30-40K in a hurry, how do you do it? They are working on some small grants from local corporations, and also contacting the manufacturer to see if there is any goodwill there. But, many more ideas are needed. Thanks in advance."
I've seen lots of this sort of stuff on kickstarter... I've seen it be successful.
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My college fraternity has a paypal donation account and they placed a donation widget on their website. I would create a donation page / small website describing your need and accept donations via paypal if you can. Kickstarter and other crowdfunding take a percentage but if you are a non-profit Paypal doesn't charge...
In a particular case like this, it may be possible for much of the transport work to be done by volunteers from the local ham community.
W2CXM's Force12 antenna was entirely put up by volunteers. This isn't exactly a small antenna - http://www.qsl.net/w2cxm/pics....
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Crowdsource, I am sure there are many Amateur Radio Operators out there and others who would be interested in supporting your efforts
30% Troll, 50% Underrated, 10% Interesting
Score:5, Troll
Definitely contact the ARRL and ask them how others have done it. Suggest Kickstarter. At the ARRL contact Dave, K1ZZ. He has to know how to do this!
Re-fi your home. Buy it. Move it. Own it. Rent space to all comers.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Try calling your local National Guard unit, see if you can talk them into using a CH-47 to move it for you as a training exercise. After all, the National Guard needs the training anyway, so give them something in the real world to practice on. Just emphasize that you need it for disaster preparedness.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
Call wealthy alumni. You could probably get a list from the alumni office.
That's what it exists for: getting money for school activities.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
Perhaps he passed English, unlike the submitter.
The euphemistic phrase for popping one's clogs is passing away.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
They sound like a harsh unforgiving bunch.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
You speak from experience?
There may be an endowment fund that this type of expense might already qualify under, they can help you identify if any such monies exist.
If not, try reaching out to alumni, but DO NOT DO THIS ON YOUR OWN. Work with your school's Alumni Relations group. Alumni Relations likely won't agree to start cold-calling random alumni for your pet project. So propose that Alumni Relations cross-references their alumni list with the Ham Radio callbook. Should be an easy database join (match by name and address). You'll get highly qualified hits that should result in excellent yields. And you can have meaningful conversations with Alumni that should help build/rebuild the alumni's connection with the school, even if they don't give.
This tower was probably between $150-250K when originally installed. This is not some wimpy guyed truss tower. It's a fully rotatable self-supporting pole - the entire pole rotates on ball bearings at its base. When they sold these new, part of that price included the engineering and installation owing to the necessary soil studies, structural evaluations, and so on.
It requires nearly 30 yards of concrete in the base, and weighs in at nearly 30,000lbs for the taller versions.
The thing is a monster that can handle 150 square feet of wind load, and still be self-supporting.
Even if it cost $75K it would be a bargain.
I would start with asking them for money... and the local GT hams... and the GT alumni at local ham clubs, of which there are many in the Atlanta area.
However, I think that this will prove to be a white elephant, IMO. I would think long and hard before accepting this gift, unless you can ID a buyer.
Advertising on QRZ.com at a steep discount off of list price may get some money for the club.
Make certain you actually have a plan on how and where to use, and plan on some expenses for the accessories that go with the tower if you actually try to implement it.
73, Dave N4DJS
Check to see if there's an ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) in your area.
They might have some useful contacts to get things moved, with the simple request that they be able to use your tower when there's an emergency. (I think they also like some inside space where they can set up their gear, but it doesn't have to be dedicated space ... they were looking at using our conference room 'til they determined that we didn't have good propagation from our town hall))
If they don't have the contacts, they might be able to help you raise funds ... like at their various hamfests or relay events. Cash might seem like the best thing to ask for, but in-kind donations go a hell of a lot further and can sometimes be easier to get ... it just requires having good contacts or lots of cold calls (trucking companies, crane companies, etc ... might also ask telecom companies)
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
While I agree that religious gullibility is a problem, there is no reason to be an ahole. We all knew what the submitter meant. You just wanted to cause a flamewar.
No, but I am sure they know the air units. Also many NG and AR units have large trucks, and lots of low ranking labor to help with the "grunt" work. Maybe they could help with the dismantling/transportation.
It's a fair question.. but, the radio station doesn't want anyone else on their tower, and it's not rotatable either, which means frequent climbing and off-air time for maintaining rotors on ham beams anyway. Having the entire tower rotate on its own is actually far simpler to maintain because working on the motor and bearings does not require climbing, or off time.
But the short of it is that they really just don't want anything to do with us or anyone else being on their tower.
It looks like you have two customers already. You could also put up some WiFi antennas and become a wireless ISP. So all you need now is to write a business plan and find investors or take out a loan.
Any sufficiently unpopular but cohesive argument is indistinguishable from trolling.
That you might be interested in. http://lists.contesting.com/ma...
Also, you might lookup the owner of this site: http://www.arraysolutions.com/... if you have any questions.
73
Reach out to your alumni with your fundraisers. Pull your roster of previous amateur radio club members and ask them for ideas on how to raise money for this.
If so, you might get them to watch the documentary Breaking Bad, for some money making ideas.
:)
If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
Downside to rotating the tower, of course, is that the whole thing has to move. No hard mounted directional side shows.
Also: What kind of foundation is required for this tower? That has to be a big cost.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
The ARRL actually gives grants for this.
http://www.arrl.org/the-arrl-f...
So does FEMA, including to schools.
https://www.citizencorps.fema....
Although getting involved in something statewide might be biting off more than you can chew.
http://www.emergencymgmt.com/s...
Call wealthy alumni. You could probably get a list from the alumni office.
A school like Georgia Tech would already have a finely tuned fundraising apparatus targeting 'wealthy alumni.'
It is highly unlikely the alumni office would provide this list to just anyone.
However, as a 'parent said, there may be funds available at the school.
I might be modded off-topic, since the question was not "Should we raise this money?" but "How do I raise this money?"
Two questions:
1) Is $30-$40k a good price for this tower?
2) If the tower weren't available for free, would your club spend this kind of money to install a tower like this?
Disassembling the tower isn't free, and purchasing a tower new wouldn't come with this expense, and could be done on your schedule. The right answer might be to decline the donation.
I'd suggest having an auction (with a sensible starting price) to name the tower, so that when it's on maps, and people talk about it they get the name for a set period (e.g. 10 years).
Also, this is a 'big' deal, so a communications plan to get the work out (and add value to the naming rights) would help push its value.
Having something about the 'Google Emergency Communications Tower' or some such stuff in the press would get eyeballs.
Nope. Common sense.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
Contact some/all of your local cel telcos.
Tell them you are leasing space for cel nodes and microwave on your tower. Tell them if they get in now, and pre-pay, they will get a guaranteed low rate for the first X years.
Bonus: After this lease period runs out, this turns into a revenue stream. Money for maintenance, perhaps even a little profit..?
Sorry erm fund raising well you could try kickstarter but you might need to go viral for success. I'd speak to some of the colleges senior staff and ask them for suggestions they probably know some of the better places to ask. Also look at local charitable associations and find out if any of them have links to any kind of military radio operators (You'd be surprised there are some that only accept army pay clerks).
But most of all pound the streets talk to the local Radio/TV Stations, local papers and don't forget the college's student papers.
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
My Alma Mater hits me up for donations constantly, with hype about how $SPORT team performed last year and the need for a new stadium. Oh, and some random feelgood BS about diversity and student culture and did I know they have classes, in the footnotes?
And I patiently respond to every such solicitation the same way, which boils down to "fuck $SPORT, I'll donate when you promise to put it toward actual academic endeavors". I don't think I alone feel that way, either (hell, just about everyone I associate with has told me they feel similarly). So here, you have a chance to make people like me put up or shut up.
TLDR: If I got a letter from my Uni asking for money for this project, you'd have a check on your desk by the end of the week.
If you are not already, fill out the paperwork to incorporate the club under 501(c)3 non-profit paperwork status.
Request grants from local and national businesses
Our club regularly receives such money in the $1000-$5000 range from local utilities, national cellular providers, large box discount chain stores and grocery stores
These types of businesses have ready-made grant requests - sometimes right on their websites They are looking to give their money away You do need to meet their criteria... usually to be a 501(c)3 not for profit and provide community service.
See the Pictures of the Flood of '08
Call wealthy alumni. You could probably get a list from the alumni office.
A school like Georgia Tech would already have a finely tuned fundraising apparatus targeting 'wealthy alumni.'
It is highly unlikely the alumni office would provide this list to just anyone.
However, as a 'parent said, there may be funds available at the school.
The alumni office shouldn't provide this list--it's intelligent to tightly control fundraising efforts, if they know their job; and having someone go off-script or divert a $50K donation from their general fund is a big deal. (Especially since their job is to build that fund and preserve those relationships).
You might be able to get a donation from alums you are aware of--successful entrepreneurs tend to make the biggest donations, but for $40K it would be worth contacting successful engineers and the like for a few thousand each. Their companies may have matching programs. But if you're an employee, figure out who to ask at the school about the politics.
Do what every college student does now a days, make porn!
Although the amateur radio club might not be a good pool to pull from.
Involves cats doing cute things, Nikola Tesla, and kickstarter.
Infinity money.
Hello everyone, thanks so much for all of your suggestions, especially the one to "call the Army!" We never would have thought of that.
It just so happens that the Major General at the local Army National Guard armory has a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from GT (just like I do), and the CWO5 is a Clemson graduate. So, there may actually be some goodwill, and some amazing publicity, to be had. We will definitely approach them as well as the media relations departments of both universities.
To answer some of the other questions I've seen throughout this thread:
1) Here is a photo album on the web documenting a Big Bertha installation. You can see that it is quite the monster: http://www.qth.com/gallery3/nt...
2) The concrete base is specified to be at least 8x8x12, which works out to nearly 30 yards of concrete, with the base tube for the tower immersed in it. We approximate that this weighs nearly 60 tons with the rebar and base tube.
3) The gentlemen who passed away was Navy Rear Admiral (ret.) and renowned architect Ted Levy. In addition to building some amazing buildings over the years, he served on the editorial board of the Naval Institute Press when they published Tom Clancy's first novel "Hunt for Red October."