A member of the blog has sent me an email (and given me permission to cite it here) with an idea that may be attractive to some of you.  Or you might think it’s a bit crazy.  It involves giving people a chance to have dinner with me in exchange for a sizeable donation (which would go not to me but to the blog; every penny of it, then, would go to the charities the blog supports).    It could be fun, but for it to work it would have to raise some significant dosh.

At this point, I’m not interested in actually *doing* it.  I’m interested in knowing what you think.  Any ideas you have about it, comments, suggestions etc. would be welcome.  (For it to work, the dinner would almost certainly have to be on my home turf.)  Here’s what he says:

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So, on to my idea. You can take this and run with it, or tell me I’m nuts!  I know you have lots of members on the blog; many who are very grateful for your impact on their lives and who are grateful for what you are doing to help with the hungry and the homeless. I know you are always aiming to raise more and more to continue your fundraising efforts and are probably always thinking of innovative avenues to press forward in this endeavor.

Last year you offered an early copy (with the invitation to make comments and suggestions) of your upcoming new book for any member who donated a specified, one-time donation. I was thinking, what could you do this year to add that extra fundraising to boost the blog and all that is promotes?

I was hoping we could form an auction of some sort. You could set a reserve (hidden or not) and include 5 or 10 spots in this auction. The bidders who have the highest bids (as long as the total of those bids is your reserve), will participate in a meet and greet private group dinner with you in North Carolina (or a central city in the USA)!  It would be a great opportunity to talk nearly one-on-one with you, have a few days off, a great dinner and raise more money for your cause. I haven’t quite finalized the best format in my mind, but wanted to see if you would be willing to entertain an idea like this and ask the blog if they would want to do it?  I know there are logistics that would need to be worked out still, but I think it could be big!