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Laurie
We have both grants and private donors to help sponsor memberships.  
Identifying families can be tricky, but mostly we work through local 
services that provide resources for families (parent resource groups, 
the county, etc.).  We often just make the info available at such places 
for families to take advantage of them if they would like to.  We also 
provide free family day passes to these groups to pass out with the 
other info they provide families... once they visit we can talk to them 
and offer a discounted or free membership paid for by our grants.  
Usually the criteria of "families with food stamps" is the thing we look 
for when talking with various agencies...  We also work with agencies 
who provide housing for low income families (we have a university here, 
so a large market of such families) and provide free day passes to all 
of them to introduce them to our Center.  It takes a lot of community 
work and contacts, and though we don't always get a large return in 
regards those families converting day passes into family memberships, 
the goodwill nature of it deepens our connection to the community, 
providing long term relationships and an awareness that our Center is 
truly part of the community.
Mark

>We have a prospective donor who has expressed interest in sponsoring
>memberships for families from her town or area of the state who would
>not be able to afford them.  We feel this is a great idea and would like
>start planning a program that allows for this, with the hope that other
>donors will do the same throughout their towns. 
>
>Has anyone managed a program such as this?  Any suggestions on how to go
>about organizing it?  How do you identify needy families to receive the
>memberships?  Any pitfalls to be aware of?
>

-- 

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre 
minds."  Albert Einstein

 

Mark Goddard - [log in to unmask]

Palouse Discovery Science Center

2371 NE Hopkins Ct., Pullman, WA  99163

http://www.palousescience.org

509-332-6869 (W)

 

20172  State Route 194, Pullman, WA  99163

[log in to unmask]

509-432-5230 (C) 509-338-9042 (H)


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