I have come up with talk shows, from late night shows to morning shows to oprah/ellen degeneres type shows. The give money out alot.
Hello Cc and Forum Members,
Ellen DeGeneres sounds like a
really good possibility. I don't remember if these have also been mentioned yet -- "The Doctors" and "Dr. Oz" TV shows. The Doctors did a very brief talk about POIS a few months ago -- did not do it justice -- but I bet they would if you (the "collective" you) could suggest a US specialist to weigh in on the discussion for their show. I'm referring here to a volunteer among you willing to go public -- there must be
someone (like Observer and Animus) who is willing to take the plunge!
For companies to solicit in general, keep in mind men's cologne companies, men's clothing (i.e. Polo), and men's magazines.
And I want to suggest another avenue of potential fund raising -- Ebay. Sell your stuff!!! You'd be AMAZED what people will buy!!!
Also, I heard back from a group of rare disorder patients from NORD who raised their funds in
one year (raised more than the minimum!). This is significant in that their disorder (a very rare metabolic disorder) is extremely personal, terribly embarrassing, and completely life-altering (in a way similar to POIS). While not of a sexual nature, from my perspective as a life-altering condition, their's is truly miserable -- maybe even more miserable than POIS!
(As an aside, NORD recommended them for the TLC Mystery Diagnosis program after obtaining permission from their group's President. They were accepted and she did an outstanding job, telling a story of great emotional pain growing up with this condition, the ridicule, etc (there's no hiding this condition) -- and raised great awareness about it. If she can go public -- a few of you can also!).
Remember -- You are all part of the human family!!! Everyone has something!
Here's a copy and paste from their group President's email to me about how they raised their funds (they don't know about your POIS forums -- just know that there's a group with a highly personal medical condition (like their's) that could use some ideas for fund raising. So, here's what they did. (And it worked -- big time! Keep in mind, their disorder affects both men and women -- several men got on the fund-raising bandwagon!):
"Regarding our fund raising efforts -- Yes it was very difficult for us to approach others and ask for donations.
Some of the things we did includes:
-Printing our our flyers and mailing them out to potential donors-we bought those names online; (I will ask her about purchasing this list and get back to you all.)
-We relied A LOT on families and close friends;
-We had yard sales;
-We challenged each other to see who within our Foundation could raise the most funds. (Their Foundation is a fledgling group, just recently had a very simple, low-cost website put together. Since they're not an official non-profit yet, all checks were collected by them, made out to their NORD grant fund, and mailed to us by their members. Like you, they are located within the US and overseas);
-Lastly many of us made sacrifices, and donated what ever we could on a monthly basis.- I myself worked a second job and donated as much as I could to reach our goal.
Guys -- it can be done and you can do it. You've just got to summon the strength!
This is how real rare disease funding starts -- from funds collected by affected people who band together and storm the funding gates!!!!
I will get back to you about that list of potential donors that they purchased. I've heard this from other successful groups, FYI.
Just keep on going forward!!!
Stef