Putting the Foundation First
Money makes the world go round … and just about everything else. Many organizations vying for a share of your attention and donation dollars, they’ve had to become a bit more creative. Over the years, those on the NACS Foundation board have found ways to grab your attention and your contributions.
CAMEX serves as an important waypoint in the Foundation’s fundraising year. Between the sale of flame pins, the oversized hats, and individual donations, the organization raised $4,405 at this year’s event held in Phoenix, AZ earlier this month. It’s a good start but a far cry from the amount needed to earn some special ink.
Montana State University bookstore’s Chad Schreier promised to get a tattoo if the Foundation raised $50,000 by its June meeting in downtown Cleveland. This isn’t Chad’s first foray into unique fundraising activities. In 2015, during a Leadership Institute meeting he and J. Bryson Baker decided to roll down a hill into a retention pond. Details are a bit light, but the rumor is that it started with a competition over the design of a paper airplane and then escalated to raising money to roll down the hill (sorry we can’t trace the evolution of that process).
This might just be where the "anything for the Foundation" call to action started. After completing the roll down the hill, Chad and Bryson got cleaned up in the restaurant bathroom. The Foundation came away with more than $9,600 over the four days of the meeting. We can neither confirm nor deny NACS was banned from that restaurant and there is now a sign posted to let diners know that they are not allowed in the pond.
Former industry executive Tom Hoffa was in town for a NACS Foundation Board meeting at the Cleveland Airport Marriott. A group of the Foundation Board Members gathered where Tom promised to do a headstand in the middle of the lobby if folks committed to donating to the NACS Foundation. The group picked up the gauntlet and threw in their cash. Tom got a little worried that security would be called on him, so he made an announcement so that others in the lobby would know why he was doing a headstand. This announcement so delighted members of one group that also happened to be in the lobby at the time (with no connection to NACS), they donated to the cause.
Like Schreier, Hoffa’s commitment to the cause led to a second activity. In 2016, Tom attended the NACS Foundation Phonathon—an event that brought the Foundation Board and a few other volunteers to the Oberlin, OH, office to spend the day calling vendors asking them to donate to the “Bring a Buyer to CAMEX” program or to commit goods and services to an annual online auction. This time, in exchange for personal donations, Tom was willing to wear lipstick. When his employees at Pearson heard about the challenge, they mounted a fundraising effort to stop it from happening because they didn't want to have to think about Tom in lipstick every time they had a meeting. Tom's employees raised more money than those who wanted to see Tom in lipstick.
There have been a few other interesting and unusual fundraising challenges over the years.
More than a decade ago, Steve Bartek completed the "Bartek Buzz" challenge, Steve spent several months growing out his hair before allowing it to be shaved off, on stage, during CAMEX. resero’s Chris Przybylski and VitalSource’s Cary Atkins jumped in a pool fully clothed. When the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs were in the 2016 World Series donors made pledges on behalf of their teams and raised $1,664.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, other NACS Foundation members are willing to try to raise that money and whether or not Chad will be sporting some new ink come June. If you’d like to ensure Chad gets that tattoo, please visit the NACS Foundation's giving page to donate to a good cause.
