Letters from the SCD support group: Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 21:56:12 -0500 Hi All I have been reading the messages lately that have been about a not for profit and the associated fund raising. I want to share with you some of my thoughts having been involved with trying to get the word out about diet and the associated improvements for the last 12 years. It is certainly not an easy path. In our local support group, we have had over the years several people successfully use the SCD and go into remission. This has not led to a very great interest in the dietary approach. The members know that it works but the majority prefer medications and operations. I know that this does not seem to make sense but it appears to be the way it is. Several years ago, I asked Elaine Gottschall permission to put up a web site on the internet on her behalf. I have funded this out of my own pocket. I had the web site professionally designed and did my best to represent Elaine, the book, and the diet in a first class manner. Some of you in this group have recommended to buy the book through Amazon instead of through my web site. Remember that Amazon is losing money. My web site only sells one title so the likelyhood of my web site being profitable is not good. My wife and I committed to this as a way of giving back to society. I feel so blessed in being able to come out of my illness and lead a normal life again. We have been subsidizing this activity for over 3 years now. We started by selling the book. We have since added two audio tapes and a video tape. We also added the feature that orders can be placed on line using MC or Visa. I had to pay to have the web site modified and had to pay the bank for their software as well as a portion of each sale goes to them now. One thing that I have observed over time is the interest among the converted in recipes. I have wanted to add a recipe book to my web site for some time. I have quoted the project and it has been too costly for me to finance. I have been saving for this venture for 3 years and I am nearly in position financially to fund such a project. Do we have sales. The answer is yes. Are we making anything at it. The answer is no. If we had to pay someone the minimum wage to keep it going we would have a financial problem but we donate our time so we are ok for now. Are we glad we are doing this. The answer is yes!!!! It is hard to measure the number of people that have been helped. We just have faith that people are being helped and it is the right thing to do. Elaine has said many times that the diet is the work of a master and she will not chage one word. She has always held to a very high standard, one which I greatly respect. Now for some comments related to potential not for profit and fund raising activity. 1. I do not favor soliciting funds from companies. I believe the not for profit should be independent of such influences. 2. I would never do anything that does not recieve Elaine's full
blessing. 3. A not for profit would need to be structured and organized with a leadership. It should have a charter with clear goals and objectives. 4. When I investigated setting up my web site as a not for profit it was a bit more expensive and would fall under more regulations. As a result, I am set up as a for profit business to keep my costs down. Since I have generally been losing money, taxes have not been a problem. 5. There is no easy way to get money rolling in. If money is collected, how would it be used? Who would control it? 6. I think it should be assumed that the time and labor needed for several years would have to be donated. 7. In business we talk of problems the size of an elephant. We
cannot overcome the elephant instantly but in pieces over time. We are
making progress!
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