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February 08, 2005
Fundraising
We were all asked to contribute ideas for fundraising at the January SNP AGM. After the tsunami relief appeals, the SNP may not rank so highly as a charity, so perhaps the SNP should concentrate on events designed to boost party membership and collect membership fees?
I have little knowledge of local venues. I don’t know about the particular interests of local people. I have no list of SNP-friendly local businesses etc. No doubt my ideas will be impractical for one reason or another, but here are two of them!
Callander/Doune is a scenic area in the centre of Scotland with good road and rail connections, broadband, and plenty of accommodation. To me that adds up to a conference centre, so my first idea to suggest a series of small weekend conferences or seminars to raise local awareness of the SNP, attract new members, and also contribute to developing policies.
Subjects such as global warming and nuclear energy, the viability of renewable energy, reforestation, reform of the NHS, media and information strategies for political parties, Scottish productivity, and modernizing Scottish education, might attract sufficient interest from non-governmental parties for them to take part without demanding fees, together with SNP politicians, and members of the public.
The John Muir Trust held a fundraising ‘Wild Land’ conference at Pitlochry on 21-23 October last year, charging members 60 pounds a day (conference only, no accommodation). Non-members were charged about 100 pounds. The John Muir Trust had the use of a 500-seat theatre. No doubt we couldn’t organize anything on such a large scale, but that might not be necessary.
My second suggestion would be to run a festival of political or Scottish films with an SNP slant. This is now easy to do with DVDs. The discs once collected could be loaned to other branches.
The Callander Youth Project (Summer Cinema Programme) have been doing something similar at McLaren High School. Last summer they showed 24 films. Film showings were also popular Democrat fundraising events last year in the States.
Posted by Simon Holledge at February 8, 2005 08:03 PM
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