Dear Co-Counselor,
United to End Racism is currently fundraising to sustain and expand UER efforts to reach people with our work to end racism. Our next major effort will be sending a delegation of Co-Counselors to the Sixth Annual Conference on White Privilege, in Pella, Iowa, in April of 2005. UER will be presenting workshops and leading support groups on topics such as "Healing from the Damage Done by Racism," "The Intersection of Racism/White Privilege and Sexism," "The Role of White People in Ending Racism," and "Internalized Racism." We sent a delegation of fifteen co-counselors to this conference last year and were very successful in introducing the tools of UER and RC to many people. We will use this as another opportunity to reach outside the RC Community with the work of UER and RC and to move the RC Communities forward in our work on ending racism.
Our first major fundraising project (to send a UER delegation to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban in 2001) was very successful. We raised enough money to send 55 RCers to Durban and seed new RC communities in eight countries.
Some of the key fundraising/going public activities that were successful:
The majority of the money raised for the WCAR was through direct solicitation.
- Personal letters to friends and family describing our project. Check our sample letters, which are similar to one successfully used to raise money for Durban.
- Wide world UER events where the basic theory and practice of RC and our work on eliminating racism were introduced. Examples of some of these activities included:
- day-long going public workshops (or series of workshops) or evening gather-ins on different topics: eliminating racism, internalized oppression, the role of white people, etc., including an introduction to RC, panels, demonstrations, mini sessions (see the videotape Reaching New People with Our Work to End Racism for examples of how UER delegates conducted wide-world workshops on ending racism in Durban)
- a conference on ending racism sponsored by one or more RC communities (possibly in collaboration with other wide-world organizations working to end racism)
- listening projects, tables at wide-world events: rallies, marches, etc. (a going public, not fundraising activity)
- concerts by local musicians who are committed to this project and who donated their performances to UER, and where information about UER and it's activities were presented
- informal in-home dinners or house parties for friends serving food, or potlucks where people brought dishes that reflect their cultural heritage.
- block parties (similar to house parties), family nights, game nights, talent shows, cultural-sharing, etc, used as an opportunity to communicate about UER and RC theory
These events included various combinations of: talks about UER and RC, mini sessions, cultural heritage sharing, and sales of pamphlets, audio/video tapes, posters, pins, and UER t-shirts.
For any fundraising event organizers need to figure out how much money to charge in order to cover basic expenses of running the event and to raise money for UER. We recommend that you set a flat fee or use a sliding scale, with a minimum amount high enough to cover costs and raise money.
Fundraising activities have been most successful when they are carried out by a group of Co-Counselors that formed for that purposed, with a designated leader and specifically defined goals and strategies, and who use the group to discharge on their own distresses about money, going public with RC, work on racism, building personal relationships, as well as on directly soliciting money.
These going public/fundraising activities go better when we remember to keep the focus on building personal relationships. It helps to work on our money distresses in sessions, support groups, workshops, and to work on any embarrassments or other feelings that get in the way of our presenting RC/UER theory in a relaxed, confident, natural way.
Fundraising activities NOT TO ENGAGE IN:
- Asking RC leaders to donate their fees, or increasing the cost of any RC event with part of the proceeds going to fundraising (any RC Community member is, of course, welcome to donate to UER)
- Auctions of services donated by Co-Counselors, where tickets are sold within the RC community
- Selling t-shirts or other items at RC classes or workshops, other than the UER items produced for the WCAR
List of UER materials and their prices:
We have these UER materials to sell:
- PAMPHLETS:
Working Together To End Racism, ($2)
United to End Racism and the United Nations World Conference Against Racism: Durban, South Africa, August 2001 ($3)
- AUDIO CASSETTE:
The Role of White People in Ending Racism, by Tim Jackins ($10)
- VIDEOTAPES, available in NTSC, PAL, or SECAM (L) format. ($25 each):
United to End Racism in Durban
Reaching New People with our Work to End Racism
The Role of White People in Ending Racism
The Ending of Racism
- POSTERS:
Chicano Liberation, multicolor six-figure design, Asian Peoples ($10)
- UER pins ($10.50)
- T-SHIRTS in L, XL, XXL, XXXL sizes (very limited quantities; sorry, no more S or M available) with the same multicolor six-figure design we had on the original batch, but this time the full text of the WCAR poster is also on the shirt ($15)
*You can buy printed materials (pamphlets, posters) at the same discount as for RC literature: 20% for 10 or more of the same item; 40% for 20 or more. Checks for pamphlets, audio cassettes, and videotapes should be made out to Rational Island Publishers; checks for posters, pins, and t-shirts should be made out to the Re-evaluation Foundation.
Check the UER web site frequently for new information.
I encourage you to write up your fundraising successes and post them on the UER list. I'd like to hear any ideas, questions, or comments you have about going public or fundraising.
Love,
Ellie Putnam
Ellieput@w-link.net
206-284-0311 (or 206-328-5006)