Okay, the offers of photography, making ads and so forth are encouraging. How would be propose paying for newspaper space or air time? Spend money to make money? Start off with a small percentage of direct debit participants and use that to kick off the advertising?

Really, it has to be run by the club, they need to spend the money upfront and utilise the services on offer here, and they really need to manage the money. BUT it has to be a separate account with a transparent timeframe for usage, not something being poured into a bottomless pit.

If the club can't or won't do it, I'd still be prepared to pay into such a scheme but if it is driven by the online communities, we would have to have a few signatories.

It would mean talking to supporter groups, passing the word at games. Nobody can afford the printing costs of leaflets by themselves either but if everyone had the template and were prepared to print off 'x' amount each, it could still be done. Just a leaflet explaining what we are doing and maybe link to a separate web page with details on how to get involved/contact numbers etc.

Great ideas all and I'd love to chip in if it gets off the ground. A little simpler though, just borrowing on some of the great ideas in the thread:

How about we find some CFC champ (Sticks, Kenny Hunter, Jezza, Dominator, Kouta etc) and arrange a time/place, maybe the goalsquare at PP. Get KK down there with his camera and tripod and offer a nice glossy photo of you and your Carlton hero for $100.

Would cost the hero a bit of his time to pose with us numpties. Would get me a great photo for the wall of the study and might net the club some serious coin depending on how many internet tragics sign up.

Couldnt afford too much for advertising so how about an ad in 'inside Carlton' and the rest of us just bombard the online forums (CSC, TBV, BF and any others out there) with threads about it.

Nowhere near the massive $$$ being touted about the salary deductions, but 50 photos = $5k (less the cost of photo paper/developing etc). Maybe even have some 'value add' where for $150 you get it framed & signed.

Failing all of that how about we get Roman about it and lock the doors at PP. Charge folks $1K a ticket to see Sporn & Houlihan vs the Lions. Not the Brisbane variety, the actual african big cat kind. The whole Christians vs the Lions setup. Should be over pretty quickly and the club could only win out of the whole experience. The only folks I could see having an issue would be Messrs Houlihan & Sporn. (and maybe the police!!)

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"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?" Billy Connolly

Members have all different levels of involvement and some of them would think they are doing a huge service just buying a membership, which they are, when they really don't want to. So trying to get an extra $250 out of these people just won't happen.

The best idea would be to get together the 10 or 20 most wealthy supporters of Carlton and ask them to match dollar for dollar whatever funds the members can raise. So if on average each member threw in 40 bucks you'd have around $1 mil. You could give each of the 20 wealthy supporters a big write up in the Carlton magazine to boost their egos, it all helps.

The money should be spent SOLEY on getting primary school kids to the club, taking a polaroid photo of each of them sitting next to the 16 cups, letting them have a kick on the field and handing out a showbag including a three game junior pass to Carlton home games, a Carlton hat and jumper (I imagine you could get a lot of cheapo ones printed that would cost around 10 or 20 bucks each from somewhere). If $2 mil was raised, probably too hopefully, you could even pay someone $50k a year to do nothing but organise this.

Carlton God

All great ideas and it's all forward thinking.

Surely the club won't go for it.

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Writer for SuperCoach Paige www.scpaige.com.au
Twitter - @johnfeeney24

juicy

This is a slightly unrelated story but thought it is partially relevant.

My local Cellerbrations liquor store is run by a Carlton Supporter. About a month ago he put a piggy bank on his counter with a sign "money for Carlton" the piggy bank quickly filled up and he sent the money into Carlton. Some people were putting $10 in at a time. It actually got to the point whereby you couldn't fit anymore money in it.

It probably only raised a couple of hundred bucks but I thought it was indicative of the volume of Carlton supporters throughout Australia who would be willing to give up a few $$$

OK OK. If someone wants to put together a 1-pager on this and email it to me I'll send it on to the person at Carlton who supported Jarusa and others on bringing in the Blueseum - yes, a no brainer, but support was still required.

That person is also currently pushing another idea to the Board as we speak, one that came from the Carlton supporter base.

I'd be happy to forward somehting through if others can put it together.

M

No response to my email, even to say they got it. Disappointing really. It's not as though I am asking for something off the club, quite the opposite.

ODN they respond to emails on a weekly basis - they get a volunteer in on Tuesdays from memory to tryto answer them as nicely as possible. We dont have the staff to man the emails. You need a more direct route.

King William St??? great shop!!!

This is what I sent them molsey. If you want to print it out and forward it again, go for it.

To whom it may concern

I have posted the following on 3 unofficial Carlton online forums.

I was thinking today about how many members we have, how many fans we have nationwide.

Do you realise that if everybody who claimed to support the Blues paid $10 each, our debt would be clear?

How about the diehards? If each of the current 28k members paid $100 each, we would raise $2.8m and the wolves would be well and truly held at bay. Put in an extra $100 for 3 years running and we are back in the black.

That equates to $1.92 per week. Not much more than a can of coke each week. Seems easy doesn't it?

To wipe the whole debt in one year by splitting it amongst the 28k members we are looking at $250 each. $4.80 per week each.

If the Blues had a direct debit system where you they automatically took $4.80 out of our accounts each week for 12 months, how many of us would say 'NO!' Hardly any I would suggest.

If you flat out ask for $250 extra from each member, they would say 'NO' but if you do it smarter, it is not that difficult.

If not, even $100 per person in one lump sum through a paypal account would solve a 2/5ths of our problem instantaneously.

People are often looking at what they will get for their money. I say there is nothing more rewarding that peace of mind, not having this debt hanging over our heads, restored credibility for the supporters being able to take care of their own problems and not waiting for the AFL or someone like Richard Pratt and any associated strings attached.

Is this a goer?
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Now perhaps there is some issue with the club asking for money and not giving something in return unless they become a registered charity or something. Maybe there are tax issues involved, I'm not sure how it works. However it seems that the club or the supporters with some help from the club in setting it up, could be a bit more proactive here. There is nothing most of us would like more than to restore our pride and lay to rest the ghosts of the recent sad past.

These are the links from the sites I have posted this on if the club wants to follow the general sentiment out there.
http://www.theblueview.org/phpboard/vie ... hp?t=18973
http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=259135
http://www.talkingcarlton.com/phpBB2/vi ... 383#337383

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I've got a hunch our financial situation will improve fairly soon.

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There's so much I could say...

Are you serious? We'll be flat out trying to arrest the slide in members let alone ask for an extra $10. IMHO we'll struggle to hit 25,000 members next year given this disastrous year. It's the fifth year of crap that members have endured and I'm afraid many are less tolerant than you and I.

What the membership dept should do is not increase the membership costs and freeze them at this years level. Sell this big time. In addition reintroduce the "lay by" program we had a few years ago. Make no mistake petrol and interest rates will bite everyone hard, and our team is hardly providing a diversion.

How soon?

days?
weeks?
months?

_________________
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

dont forget bananas.

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Last edited by true_blue3 on Mon Sep 26, 1981 5:07 pm; edited 92 times in total

I am serious. The numbers I threw up are hypotheticals. I don't expect everyone will participate, just pointing out how easy it could be. I guess those that can afford $1.92 per week will have to make the decision about how much they have got out of the club in the past and how seriously they take our financial plight.

We've been hearing of this for months and I for one can't wait any longer.

Put me down for $100. Why should it just be left to a white knight when a legion of loyal contributers looks far more impressive.

By the way great work ODN.

Yes ODN...regardless of the outcome here...kudos to you for getting off your arse and attempting it.