on 1/24/06 3:49 PM, wayback71 at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > There is another thing to remember about asking for ongoing support, > especially with > Purusha and MD. Part of this process for them involves writing letters and > emails to their > donors - giving inside and on the spot info about what is going on in the > TMO. It is > sweet and really involves the donor emotionally. However. this process means > that the > folks on Purusha and MD cannot be really honest about their own feelings. They > are pretty > much "forced" to give glowing, blissful reports so that their donors continue > to contribute. > Donations would dry up if the donor thought things weren't just great or > complained or > ever expressed misgivings. And the Purousha and MD people know that, even if > subconsciously. This cycle perpetuates itself.
When I was on Purusha, I really disliked raising money from donors, but I was pretty good at it. I was into Desktop Publishing and so I started publishing a newsletter which I called "News from Rick". It was sometimes 8 pages long, and I filled it with interesting stuff, some of which I wrote, some of which I picked up here and there. I had a bulk rate permit at the post office and a mailing list of over 250 people. A lot of people really liked it, told their friends, and I ended up with people on my list that I didn't even know. I didn't get large donations from any one person, although Dough Henning once gave me $500, but I got lots of small ones which added up to an amount sufficient to keep me on Purusha and provide spending money. But Bevan shut me down. He felt that since it looked so nice, it might be mistaken for an official Movement publication, and there was no telling what I might say in it. I considered putting a large picture of a fish on the front page, which would have distinguished it from any Movement publication I had ever seen, but I backed down and ended up publishing several plain vanilla, non-formatted editions before leaving Purusha. The reason I didn't like raising donations is that it altered my perception of people. It tainted my relationships with friends, and I couldn't walk into a room of movement people without scanning it for potential donors. I would have preferred that we started a bread baking or jelly making business like the Trappists and refrained from bugging people for money. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
