I've noticed a few threads moaning about traitors out to get "The Menace", how much players get paid, how troubled our club is etc and how we should all unite behind the cause, give up our hard earned yada yada yada.

How about some ideas for the club to raise the $$$ instead of going cap in hand to AFL?

I suggested to one of the social club members that the club "sells" a brick in a wall at the club. "donations" (not another raffle for the love of all things blue) of $100 or $200 (pick a number, i doubt it really matters) get the donors name on the brick. call the wall the people that re-built the club or something.

i figure 30,000 members and supporters (more to come out of the closet) @ $200 equals (counting fingers and toes) a decent bloody start.

any thoughts/comments/high fives at such a brooliant idea?

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i'll think of something funny to say later.

Its already been done.

We had the Heroes campaign and there are plaques on the backs of many of the seasts in the Legends Stand that people donated money for.

You're going back to the same people for money again, with the same ideas.

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"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

trophy for the shortest lived thread?

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i'll think of something funny to say later.

There's been worse.

I'm just canning your idea....hopefully others will have something more positive to contribute.

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"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

no wukka's. happy to take one for the team. hahaha

actually, you mentioned going back to the same people. while unfortunate, surely they are the ones most likely to care enough about dipping in to save the club?

who else would be inclined to dig us out?

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i'll think of something funny to say later.

Just called the club to sign up my two little ones. Best thing we can do is buy memberships for the next generation. It only cost $42 per child and you get a pack with birthday card, stickers etc.

If you have kids/grand kids/nephews/nieces purchase one of these for our future. If they can't see us win, at least they can get excited about the other little things that go with footy.

I also spend 15-20 minutes with the 3yo on my knee looking through all the players on the website. Give them nick names and pump em up. The 3-8 year olds will be teenagers when these young guns are at their peak .

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end of message

not that I have come up with any better ideas, but this one is not quite right. We can only go to the well so many times & it would be unfair to expect people to come to the party in light of recent events.

The only fund raising ideas I have would be, instead of this pledge thing, is to actually sell long term memberships. Perhaps a choice of 5 or 10 year - I would think that it would inject a large amount of cash into the club and members would get something for their money.

Only other thought I had is to sell a 'place in Carlton history' - donate $5 or maybe $10+? for your name to be listed in the Carlton end of year report/yearbook. Doesn't sound like much but in 20 - 30 years time when we are looking back on the bad days we could show our kids how we dipped in when required.

Thoughts - anyone?

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

You need to target those who didn't donate last time, for whatever reason.

The ones who did last time may be unwilling to do so again as firstly they've already given and secondly the club is still in financial trouble. They may be asking themselves how many times they're able to give.

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"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

i don't think we'll get "newbies" to fork out. i suspect it will come down to hard core supporters to save their own club.

ideas of paying for long term memberships up front are great to get rid of the current problem, but what happens to club revenue in years 2 to 10?

we need better band aids!

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i'll think of something funny to say later.

The real danger of this approach is that you are effectively spending future revenues today. If you did this and weren't able to significantly increase membership in the same period then all you are doing is delaying and magnifying the problem.

No one with a financial background would do this in a cash flow negative business, the directors really expose themselves to criminal charges on the basis that they were selling future services in an organisation that was technically insolvent.

Something big is coming up, you will see soon.

Steve I see what you are saying, but what if we made a special membership and limited it to, say, 1600 people (hundred for each flag). Would be able to raise over $500,000 for the short term. One would hope that in a few years time we will be stronger on and off the field - otherwise we probably will be sunning ourselves at Cararra

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Between our dreams and actions lies this world

I think this thread is fantastic. When we actually come up with a sustainable membership idea though where does it go?

I would have thought the the highly remunerated marketing division of the CFC would be coming up with a raft of ideas to try and generate future incomes for the club given its current position.

I also think that "Selling" anything to a limited market will result in limited benefits (and I include this group of very astute supportes as being limited in size and scope).


The key is to grow the market that we can sell to rather than try to sell more things to the same people.

How many of you own a membership, beanie, hat, scarf, set of ties, shits, shorts all bearing the CFC logo? You can only take that so far.

Not saying I have the solution, just saying that the club is covering too much old ground. As they say, you can only go to the well so many times before it is dry.

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Are Draft Picks A Fair Reward for Poor Performance?

We have some valuable yet under utilized assets at Carlton, for example;

What would you be prepared to pay for a framed signed photo of you and Sticks with the 1995 premiership cup? Or for any other of our premiership cups with our living premiership captains?

These trophies sit in cabinets and should be used to for marketing purposes to generate much needed cash

the trophies is a good idea...but can we get replica mini ones?

I'ld love sixteen on the mantle for when smartarse friends come over (oh yess and have the results on it also....asd I want to make sure the Pies/Dons ones are front and centre!)

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

Did anybody see the story on last night's news about Melbourne looking to play a game in China and develop an overseas market there. Looking to get overseas corporates onboard, generate a little overseas interest, have the full backing of the AFL who love to see the brand pushed overseas etc. I thought it was a bloody great idea.

That is the kind of thing we need to do, not go round to the same old people and rattle the tin again. This is why the world will pass us by. We will be out selling bricks on the social club wall (no offence to whoever's idea that was) whilst other clubs are wheeling and dealing with corporates in the world's largest emerging economy.

Let's head off to somewhere where we have some kind of affinity or contact and strike up some kind of mutually beneficial deal. How about a game in Denmark, apparently there's an amateur comp over there. Princess Mary loves the blues, expat community, european contacts. Or there's the old Dart, no shortage of Aussies and business links there, how about we leverage off the popularity of the Brothers O'hAilpin and do some marketing in Ireland. Apparently ireland is one of the world's fastest growing economies. Set up some kind of scheme to leverage off a bit of interest where we dont have to compete with 15 other clubs for any AFL interest. It's not like the Irish dont know about AFL.

Are there sporting clubs overseas that we could sign up mutually beneficial cross marketing deals with, maybe even share training info, maybe offer access to each other's membership databases, maybe offer a way in for each other to penetrate home country markets.

Failing all of that, if we got 10,000 members to sign up for medical experiments on behalf of the club what would that earn us???

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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

now we're talking kids!

all these tools available to the club, all being wasted, gathering dust (i include former captains hahaha).

good point, what happens when someone comes up with such a cracking money spinner? who do we yell at to take it to the club?

anyone? anyone?

bueller?

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i'll think of something funny to say later.

ONLY but Carlton merchandise from either the carlton shops at Princes Park or Faraday ST, or on game days the Official Carlton shop stall which is outside gate 3 or 5, but will have the Carlton Shop Girls in there. All the money from these shops go to Carlton, any others ones, Carlton only get a percentage.

hmmmmm mdeical experiments you say.................

like the ones that freaked everyone out in the UK earlier this year?

ok, i'm in. but nothing that has "may turn into a collingwood supporter" as a side effect.

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i'll think of something funny to say later.

I agree with global thinking, but think you need to be careful not to develop an idea or concept that the AFL takes or has an opportunity to take control over. Lets face it, the AFL will screw Carlton like Rex screws a beautician (except at least Rex left some coin)

Global sponsorship - or localised sponsorship from a global company.

Or invite the Macquarie Bank on board - lets face it if they can turn Carlton around, I would let them manage my money.

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Are Draft Picks A Fair Reward for Poor Performance?