RE: Some Wisdom From Dr Wise

Weissman, Peter (PWeissman(AT)Richter.ca)
Wed, 14 Oct 1998 11:38:53 -0400

Hi, it's Peter from Toronto. Gunny, sorry I couldn't get to you about
this earlier. Anyhow, you may recall that I ran a charity golf
tournament this summer and raised $40,000 for spinal cord injury
research. I found it was easy to find a neuroscience research institute
that would use the proceeds for funding neuroscience research (and
therefore, cover all neuro problems) by contacting the large "teaching
hospitals" in Toronto. It turned out that the Toronto Hospital had a
$21,000,000 campaign on to raise money for neuroscience research. With
the name of a well respected researcher (Dr Charles Tator), the Toronto
Hospital name, Christopher Reeve's written "thank you", golf at a nice
course and a group of people to canvass sponsors, we were able to raise
the funds. We actually raised over $100,000 but after paying the costs
of the tournament, we were left with $40,000.

You may find you have success if you can give the donors something in
addition to the donation receipt (like a round of golf ,or a tour of
the research facility receiving the funds or just a presentation by the
researchers about what the research is doing). If you can combine this
type of acknowledgment with supporting research at an institution people
in your area will know about, I think you'll have more success than
establishing a Nation Wide foundation. Perhaps our support group
members can marshall some forces in their particular regions to start
this type of fundraising.

I'll be doing this tournament again for 1999 in the Toronto area.

Regards:
Peter
> ----------
> From: JHarper33(AT)aol.com[SMTP:JHarper33(AT)aol.com]
> Sent: October 08, 1998 5:21 PM
> To: Gunny0011(AT)aol.com
> Cc: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
> Subject: Re: Some Wisdom From Dr Wise
>
> In a message dated 10/8/98 4:06:19 PM EST, Gunny0011 writes:
>
> > Barb;
> > I've already done this. I contacted my Congressman at least
> six months
> > ago, and even posted what he said. I got a reply back from Jim
> saying he
> > contacted the NIH, and because of the letter I wrote, was succesful
> in
> > getting more money alloted for research on TM, and other Spinal Cord
>
> > Dysfunctions. I asked, when I first got on here a year ago for
> everyone to
> > contact their Congressman and no one did. Phil (Photo505) was the
> only one
> > who responded. He talekd to Senator Byrd from West Virginia who
> collabotared
> > with My Congressman, and got soemthing done. It is never too late to
> do it
> > again. Jim has all the information I sent him on record. If you want
> to
> > contact him, he's on the internet. Congressman James A. Traficant
> Jr.
> >
> >
>
> > Gunny
>
> I remember reading your letter to your congressman on the list some
> time ago.
> Others may have written to theirs also, but may not have mentioned it
> or
> posted it to the list. Did you write to him just about obtaining more
> money
> for research? What I mentioned in my note earlier and what I was
> referring to
> in my last note was somehow bringing all these different groups of
> neurological illnesses and injuries together under one umbrella --
> something
> like the American Cancer Society is the "umbrella group" for all
> different
> kinds of cancers and treatments and research, maybe a neurological
> society
> could be created that would encompass different neurological problems.
> Dr.
> Wise had said this was one of the problems with obtaining funds for
> research
> -- all these different little groups competing with each other.
> Research on
> any spinal problems spills over and helps the others, so if we came
> together
> with groups dealing with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis,
> ALS, and
> the whole host of other neurological problems, we'd help each other
> instead of
> competing against each other, and probably have more name recognition
> as well
> as lobbying power with Congress. And Congress isn't the only place to
> obtain
> funds -- things like the Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day telethon help
> also.
>
> Barbara H.
>