Looking for some advise on fundraising

[NobleCynic]

Let me first and foremost state that I am not looking for donations. What I am trying to do is still in the most basic planning stages.

What I'm looking to do is put an initiative on the ballot here in Nevada. Payday loan companies and title loan companies are ... well for lack of better term ... raping the citizens of Nevada. The highest interest rate I have seen thus far was 7300% APR. I kid you not. The industry average is around 600%. The purpose of the ballot would be to put them out of business, specifically by reinstating a usury cap.

I worked as intern in the 2005 session of the state legislature on a bill to try and curb some of these abuses, but the only long term solution is a usury cap. But, the banking industry is so afraid of unintended consequences of reinstating a usury cap that they lobby against any measure that would put a serious dent in these loan sharks. Not because the banks are protecting payday loan companies, but because they are afraid that a poorly worded statute that would put payday loan companies out of business would also put them in jeopardy. And this is Nevada, so in the legislature, of which the Senate is still Republican, one has to deal with an extremely pro-business environment. Long story short, it isn't likely that a usury cap will be reinstated. Meaning the only route left is to run an initiative.

The problem is it takes a significant amount of funding to run a state wide initiative campaign. Getting roughly 60000 signatures is no small task. Printing costs, notary costs, and personnel costs add up. I'm figuring to get it on the ballot, $50,000 minimum is what I need raise. And that's assuming I can gather a mostly volunteer workforce.

Ideas I have so far include going around to the local churches, mainly to ask the pastors to talk to their congregations and perhaps get a volunteer core. I was thinking of asking the local teachers union for help. They usually have an initiative or two each election cycle, and they may be willing to circulate this one at the same time. For funding, the only place I can think of off hand is the state bar association. Pay day loan civil suits are now somewhere around 40% of the case load in our civil and small claims courts, so they're not to happy with the current situation either. Beyond that, I am looking for ideas on how to raise money.

I'm all ears. I want to work out exactly how to do this in as much detail as possible before I even go about actually setting it in motion, as the moment the industry catches wind of an initiative, they'll start the counter campaign. Any and all ideas are welcome.

And one last time just to be perfectly clear. I am not soliciting any donations. I am just looking for advice.

[Liberty Belle]

1. Have a variety of fundraising events and methods.

Houseparties, yard sales, and an email fundraising campaign circulated through progressive groups for starters.

Send out press releases on your activities and include a website link, phone number, snail mail and email addresses for readers or viewers who wish to donate money or volunteer. Ask your local press club for a list of media contacts in your area, or find a sympathetic PR person willing to share their list.

[NobleCynic]

2. The E-mail campaign is a good idea

But the houseparties and yard sales may be difficult. Usury caps and lending practices isn't exactly the most sexy topic in politics, getting people really jazzed up about it might be difficult. Every little bit helps though, so I'll definitely tak it to consideration. Nevada is a small enough state, that it may be a viable option. In terms of cost, initiative campaigns are relatively cheap here.

Thanks for the input.