3rd Annual U2 Mailing List Amnesty International Fundraiser FAQ


Heidi Dutton ([email protected])
Thu, 23 Jul 1998 05:53:55 -0400


It's that time of year again! WIRE's Amnesty International membership will
expire next month. So I have officially kicked off this year's Amnesty
International Fundraiser! I'm calling it the 'U2 Mailing List' Fundraiser,
because I am opening it to all lists! (WIRE, EXIT, ONE, etc, etc...)

Donations are being accepted NOW! :-)

I again will set no minimum donation amount, just like past fundraisers.
(the idea is not that we all contribute tons of money each, but that the
sum is greater than the parts! You are contributing to a $1000.00 -- plus
group donation, we work as a team, etc...) I will set a date deadline, not
a dollar amount, as a goal. Just like past fundraisers, every dollar
received will be accounted for daily as I receive it in the mail, and at
the end in a public tally. For this reason, some people have opted for
"code names", so that they would know that I am accounting for their money,
but they were still able to keep their privacy if they wished.

As in past years, I will accept cash, checks drawn on US funds, or money
orders drawn on US funds. Most people opted to send cash (wrapped up well),
especially those outside the USA. I usually receive donations from 12 or so
countries. If you prefer sending a money order (drawn on US funds), that
would be fine! As I did for past fundraisers, I will handle all of the
conversion of foreign currency to US dollars, if you prefer not to (in
Europe, it can be expensive to buy a money order or convert cash to US
dollars- and that is extra money that could be going to Amnesty
International!) all you will need to do is put the funds of your choice
into the mail!

My goal, as for all past fundraisers, will be to make it as easy for you to
contribute as possible. And the other crucial thing is that I insist on a
procedure that mandates full public disclosure of all money collected. This
way, you will never need to worry about what is going on with your money.

*FAQ*

"How should I send this money?"

I will accept cash, or checks or money orders drawn on US funds. My bank
will not take money orders or checks NOT drawn on US funds, and I will have
to send your donation back to you if you send it like that. For our friends
outside the US wanting to donate, don't worry about currency conversion --
I can do that for you! Many people have sent cash, without incident --
PLEASE, if you opt for cash, just wrap it in a few pieces of paper so that
it is not visible outside the envelope. Please make checks and money orders
out in MY name (Heidi Dutton), you will see the reason at the end of this
post. BE SURE to include your return address, in case your donation must be
sent back to you!

"Where should we send it?"

Heidi Dutton
189 Summer Street
Plantsville, CT 06479

I will post daily to the list stating what donations I receive in the mail
-- to let you know your money arrived safely. I will post a NAME with the
amount recieved, so if you want to stay anonymous, you MUST tell me what
CODE NAME you want me to use. Just put that on a slip of paper in with your
donation. If I do not get a code name from you, I will use your real name!�
This is important- the final public tally will also have the name you give
me.

"How long will this thing run?"

Last time WIRE donated $1074....I want to beat that! And with 3+ lists and
over 4000 people, I think we can. I'm giving this fundraiser a month and a
half, until around 8/31. This is a bit longer than past fundraisers, with
the specific intention of beating $1074.00.� PLUS -- if we get over $1000,
we can have 2 or 3 people represent us again at the AI Media Spotlight
Awards dinner in NYC in September!

AI Media Spotlight Awards Dinner Information

The Second Annual Amnesty International USA Media Spotlight Awards
Dinner... (recognizing courageous media coverage of human rights violations
and triumphs)

Host - Patrick Stewart

To honor: ABC News Prime Time Live, Muhammad Ali, The Boston Globe, Kenneth
Cole, Christiane Amanpour, Emerge Magazine, Richard Gere, Melissa Mathison
and Public Radio International

Monday, September 28, 1998
Pier Sixty at the Chelsea Piers
New York City

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of
Human Rights

"How will the donation take place?"

While we are collecting the money, I will notify Amnesty International that
we are planning to donate again this year. Our contact was Jeff Zick in the
NYC office. If he is still there, he will remember us from the other
fundraisers -- he will be most familiar with my requirements. What do I
require? I require that when I send AI our money, AI will send a post to
this list stating exactly how much I sent them, the check number, and the
date they receive it. Then, from the daily public tallies, to the final
public tally, to AI, you yourself can do the math and see that AI got every
penny we collected. I will send AI *one* check, so they only have to
mention one� check number in their "receipt" to WIRE. It will be less of a
hassle for them to comply with my requirement. And, it is imperative that
they do comply- so you can have the peace of mind of being sure AI got all
funds.

"Why can't you just email me privately when you get my money?"
  
I do this for your protection and mine! I post it publicly, so that I have
"witnesses" that I said I received your donation. Often during these
fundraisers, I will get email saying, "Did you get my money? I sent it to
you 2 weeks ago, and it was cash, so I'm concerned - I don't read WIRE..."

Well, in this case, I say, "Yes, I received it, look in (specific date) of
the archives for the public post I sent mentioning it." And all is well. If
I posted it only to private email, it defeats the whole system (and this
system works well- best not to mess with it!) of accountability, everything
being out in the open, and having everyone know what is going on at all
times (and being able to cover my ass! :))

"Why should I send YOU money? How do I know that you will do what you say
you will?"

If anyone have any questions about my credibility or reputation for doing 3
past fundraisers for WIRE, I do very much encourage you to ASK past
contributors (most of them are still here on WIRE) PLEASE do post to WIRE
asking about me -- I want you to do this. You will find that all
fundraisers went off perfectly, and that I can prove without a doubt where
the money ended up. You will find that Amnesty International is a cause
near and dear to my heart, and that I take these fundraisers VERY
seriously. I also take extremely seriously the trust that people put in me,
when they send me their hard earned money. PLEASE do ask about me, I want
you to, if you have any doubt.

**SPECIAL DRAWING**

Everyone who donates at least $1.00 (or the equivalent) will be entered in
a drawing to win a really great prize! I will give away a brand spanking
new, unread bubble-wrapped copy of the book "A Conspiracy of Hope" to the
person whose name is drawn! (I bought 2 copies last year- plan ahead, I
always say!) This is a great prize because it's not something that you can
just walk into the bookstore and buy!

**GIVEAWAY**

Everyone who donates $1.00 or equivalent will receive an Amnesty
International bumper sticker. It's the black and yellow one, I have a ton
of these left over from last year! Get yours!

**AUCTION**

We have some items to auction off for the fundraiser.� Every penny raised
from the sale of these goes to Amnesty International, so bid high and bid
often! :) Last year, we auctioned off a POPmart Dublin tour shirt -- we
made $125.00 from that shirt alone! These auctions are great for
fundraising! Our fundraiser items are listed on eBay -- here are the items
that are running until Sunday 7/26.�

ItemDonorThe Fly 7" single
Angel of Harlem CD single
Live Magazine (May '97)
Rolling Stone Magazine (May 29, 1997)
Propaganda #27 w/ poster intact
Las Vegas PopMart Pro Shot Video
The Fly Australian CD single

ABOUT THE AUCTION

I will pay all listing fees to eBay out of my own pocket. Here's what's
happening:

�I am putting in the title of each of our items " to benefit AI" so you
know which ones are ours. If you've never done eBay, all you have to do its
put "U2" in the little "search" box, and it will list all the U2 stuff that
anyone is offering. Ours mention "to benefit AI" in the title, and direct
people to this fundraiser web page in the description. You can also search
by seller - I'm the listed seller. Our items are listed under my email
address, which is at the bottom of this page.

�Minimum bid listed is the present high bid I have so far- that high bid
still wins if nobody bids higher at eBay, I am keeping track of the last
high bids I have here.

�Items will be listed for 7 days. eBay does email you when you've been
outbid. Bidding ends after 7 days.

�I am putting our items in the "private auction" category -- you can bid in
privacy, and nobody else knows who the high bidder is. Only the seller and
the high bidder are contacted after the auction.

�Go to eBAY to register as a bidder - it will cost you nothing to register,
and you can read all about how ebay does things while you're there; it's
very easy to bid on items! Some say it's TOO easy!

If you have any questions that I have not answered, please email me. Within
the last 3 years, U2 mailing lists members as a group have donated
approximately $1300.00 to Amnesty International!

Questions? Need more information? Email me!

 Heidi

Donate to Amnesty International NOW - Ask me how! The 3rd Annual U2
Mailing List Amnesty International Fundraiser is happening!! All U2 fans
are invited to participate - open to WIRE, EXIT, ONE, etc! Click here for
more information! - http://www.potomac.com/deseree/ai/Default.htm



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