I realize that some people will not choose to read through the whole story, but what I am providing is an inspirational story of fund raising done RIGHT, with good feeling exhibited by all.

http://chronicle.com/temp/email.php?id=lczebn9bz0swoqzeityxad2k0mfc8wv4

If that link does not work, go to the Chronicle of Higher Education at: http://chronicle.com/ and type in a search for "it takes a village" and you'll get there..... (excerpt below)

A campaign to raise $70-million for Juniata College came down to a six-pack of soda -- and John S. Hille's insistence that somebody else buy it.

Mr. Hille, vice president for advancement and marketing at this tiny liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, believes that asking somebody else to purchase the Pepsi -- a graduate who had never volunteered for the college -- was the first step toward a successful fund-raising effort at an institution with frayed connections to its alumni and limited resources to pay for a staff-driven campaign.

"We had broken links and had to reach out to people we didn't know," Mr. Hille says. "Who's going to say 'no' to bringing soda to a meeting or a party?"

It's a question he poses often, a metaphor for his effort to pull lapsed alumni back into the Juniata fold -- merely by asking for a small favor.

Mr. Hille and other Juniata leaders are betting that those small favors are investments that over time will evolve into large gifts. They call it "the six-pack principle" -- asking people to help for the first time, giving them a small but meaningful task, and letting them share in the responsibility and the success.

"After that, you raise that person to another level of volunteerism," Mr. Hille says. "Because they've had a successful experience, they're more likely to stay involved and do more."
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How wonderfully "grass roots" this is, and THIS is the way that USM Fundraising should be led.

We've bled dry the few big donors that have helped USM, we need more innovative methods to continue. We need leadership that is not "normal" but willing to try the unusual. This article is one example of the fact that One Size Does NOT Fit All and we need to try different methods.