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Ask Slashdot: College Club Fundraising On the Fly?

Posted by timothy on from the but-if-everyone-sold-their-plasma-for-a-year dept.

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."

25 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. ks by nblender · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've seen lots of this sort of stuff on kickstarter... I've seen it be successful.

    1. Re:ks by sandytaru · · Score: 2

      That was my first thought too. But to be successful, it needs to go viral. That's another order of magnitude in difficulty.

      --
      Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
    2. Re:ks by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      Going viral is exponentially difficult, literally like juggling eggs in variable gravity.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:ks by nblender · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The ham crowd is fairly well connected so news travels pretty quickly in that community and they like seeing this sort of thing.... Going viral is a reasonable possibility.

      $40k isn't that much money.

  2. Crypto currencies by ArcadeMan · · Score: 4, Funny

    Set up wallets to accept Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin donations.

    --
    Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
  3. Fundraising.. by keith7610 · · Score: 3, Informative

    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...

  4. Volunteers? by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 4, Informative

    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?
    1. Re:Volunteers? by tlhIngan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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.

      I think that's probably a good way to go - hams generally love to help others, especially other hams. And nothing's better than helping emergency preparedness either.

      Put the call out, and earmark some money for beer and pizza and stuff at the end and you may find that you'll have lots of help - not to pay for the transport, but to actually do it. And I'm sure lots of hams would love to have the chance to actually put up a tower or to learn how to put one up (a good skill to have).

      Heck, have workshops as well - turn this not into a "let's get a tower" event but into a whole community involvement and relations thing. After all, you'll get curious onlookers wondering what's going on. It's the perfect time to also do outreach and explain what ham radio is about, what they're good for, and why in an emergency it's good to know a few of 'em.

  5. Crowdsource by pvt_medic · · Score: 2

    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
  6. Call the Army by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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
    1. Re:Call the Army by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

      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.

      This seems like something clever enough to work.

      Barring that.. you could always try whoring yourself out. Literally and metaphorically.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    2. Re:Call the Army by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

      you could always try whoring yourself out.

      Damn. You beat me to it.

      Sell drugs.

    3. Re:Call the Army by EmagGeek · · Score: 2

      I assure you we are fully aware of the complexity of erecting this tower. It is not a simple job, and requires a very large crane. Most of the $30-40K expense we're ballparking is in the erection of the new base and assembly of the tower. At the very least a new in-base tube must be fabricated as the original is hopelessly captured in the original base.

      Here's a photo gallery of the construction of one of these monsters:

      http://www.qth.com/gallery3/nt...

  7. Re:Ask the university by sneakyimp · · Score: 3, Informative

    Call wealthy alumni. You could probably get a list from the alumni office.

  8. Alumnae Association by Spazmania · · Score: 2

    That's what it exists for: getting money for school activities.

    --
    Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
  9. Re:He Died by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

    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."
  10. If the student association can't pay, contact your by jmulvey · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  11. Does the GT club have a list of alumni members? by n4djs · · Score: 2

    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

  12. ARES == disaster prep by oneiros27 · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.
  13. Write a business plan by Ichijo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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.

    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.
  14. There is a ham radio tower mailing list by Ice+Station+Zebra · · Score: 2

    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

  15. The ARRL actually gives grants for this. by tlambert · · Score: 4, Informative

    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...

  16. Is the tower worth this much? by n7ytd · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:Is the tower worth this much? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh yes, this tower would be a bargain if it cost $50K to get here.

      I found this photo album on the web of a Bertha installation.

      http://www.qth.com/gallery3/nt...

  17. Naming rights - and a communications plan :-) by slincolne · · Score: 2
    Many businesses like to get their presence out there.

    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.