Looking for new ideas on how to get the funds | Guest Lounge | Forum

I would look strongly to California as soon as the non-profit status is granted.  I don't have a lot of research right at hand, but it seems to be the largest state with the most active pro-foreskin groups.  Any chance of celebrity interest wouldn't hurt either.  I don't want to jump too far ahead, but advertising in lower cost publications like alternative weekly papers (like The Chronicle in Austin, or The Stranger in Seattle) could get the foregen brand in people's minds and start them thinking more deeply about what circumcision is really about.  As mentioned, some smart advertising could pay off many times over.

When you think about it, relative to the wealth in this country (even in slow economic times), even $500,000 is not a lot of money for some people.  Support from people like those in this forum is so important, but I have a feeling that if we are smart and present ourselves as a serious organization, we may find that it only takes a handful of high income donors (maybe even just one or two) to get the research proposals underway.  As Mr. Aiello mentioned in his recent interview, foregen has the potential to provide not only great help for circumcised men, but also the opportunity to attract wealth and market demand as the general tide in the U.S. turns more and more away from circumcision.

I really like most of Guile's ideas, I think we should try these things!

Great job with the progress bar!  This should make a big difference.

Keep up the good work. I just became a memeber.

John Schildman said:

Can you set up reoccurring payments for smaller amounts? I’m one of the guys on a fixed income, but I get
a check 26 times a year. I think if you had a way people like me could donate
you could get some more support. If you could set up payments as low as 5 or 10
dollars at a time, you could get 130 to 260 a year, which is a bit more than
the 50 to become a supporter.

The more options the more support you can get…. I would be in line to sign up!

I would love to be a supporter!

I'm not sure on this, but I think the subscription via paypal is linked into how Foregen know's who has paid the $50 supporters fee.  From something I was looking at unrelated to Foregen, I know that paypal charges different fees for each transaction so they would collect more money if they just charge once rather than having multiple transactions.

If this couldn't be setup for whatever reason, people can always donate additional amounts over and above the $50 if they wish. Personally, I'd rather see people save their money up and subscribe for $50 to get full access to the site rather than make multiple donations which may or may not be over $50.

I'm of the opinion that we should have small moneybombs to raise funds for strategic advertising placement.  While the billboard in CA looked great (thanks to everybody involved), it's not really focusing on our target audience, namely males (to a lesser extent females) who are aware of their deficiency and want to change it.  

The advertising strategy should be two-fold: 1) advertising via Google Adwords; and 2) advertising with targeted magazines that have readership totals exceeding 15,000.  

With reference to the former point, if I type in "foreskin replacement" in Google, Foregen is not in the top 10 results and therefore goes unseen.  Same for "foreskin restoration".  We should allocate some money in the budget for Google Adwords so that once people do stumble upon this crazy concept of regrowing foreskin, Google will quickly lead them to this site (many times people come across something and then google it afterwards).

With regards to the latter point, I have the Writer's Market 2010 Edition listing thousands of specialty and niche magazines, including circulation and subscription numbers. We should gather a list of the best magazines to target small (or full-page) ads.  I can think of a couple off the top of my head: Men's Health; Mother Earth News; Out (many gay men are interested in restoration); etc.  Upon finding out what an ad will cost (after heavily negotiating the price), we can have a small moneybomb here to raise the funds, thereby preserving the current money raised.  

Using the power of Google and placing strategic advertisements is in my opinion the best way to get the message out, which will lead to more money being raised and get us closer to realizing our dream.  

I appreciate feedback on my ideas.

-Dan