by Charles S.P. Hodge
As the calendar moved on toward early March, I had been considering how I might pitch my annual appeal in “The Braille Forum” to persuade more people to become life members of ACB. A recent colloquy which I had with Janis Stanger from Utah on ACB-L gave me some inspiration. That conversation focused on the success the NFB has had in getting its members to make monthly contributions directly from their payroll checks. Janis Stanger opined that she would be willing to make such a voluntary contribution to ACB of let’s say $20 per month, but that she had never been asked to make such a commitment, and she did not know or believe that ACB had such a monthly installment donation program.
I wrote back and told Janis that I believed that Jim Olsen, ACB’s chief financial officer, would be happy to work with her to accommodate her wishes to make a monthly installment contribution directly to ACB. I also mentioned to Janis that for a commitment of less than $20 per month — about $17 per month to be exact — she could meet the requirement of five annual installments of $200 per year to become a paid-up life member of ACB. That’s right, for a contribution of 55 cents per day — the cost of one 12-ounce can of soda — you too over five years could become an ACB life member, what a deal! Please think about this idea. Those of you who decide to take me up on it need to contact Jim Olsen in our Minneapolis office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central time at (800) 866-3242. Olsen will work with any interested member in order to tailor an automatic monthly giving plan to your wishes and financial condition.