Ask Slashdot: College Club Fundraising On the Fly? 89
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."
Fundraising.. (Score:3, Informative)
Volunteers? (Score:5, 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.... [qsl.net]
Re:Ask the university (Score:4, Informative)
If the student association can't pay, contact your (Score:5, 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.
ARES == disaster prep (Score:4, Informative)
Check to see if there's an ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) [arrl.org] in your area [gaares.org].
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)
The ARRL actually gives grants for this. (Score:5, Informative)
The ARRL actually gives grants for this.
http://www.arrl.org/the-arrl-f... [arrl.org]
So does FEMA, including to schools.
https://www.citizencorps.fema.... [fema.gov]
Although getting involved in something statewide might be biting off more than you can chew.
http://www.emergencymgmt.com/s... [emergencymgmt.com]
Re:Is the tower worth this much? (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... [qth.com]