High-tech fund raising

Good naturedly locking someone up and then letting them go if they could "make bail" has been around some time. Still, it was interesting to see it wrapped in the high tech environment of the Internet with web pages set up for each "victim" and payments processed conveniently through credit cards under the auspices of Verisign.

My brother Mac is currently being "locked up" by the Spanish Fork, Utah branch of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. His bail has been set at $1,800 and judging from the response so far, I think he'll easily make that. His donation web site is at this address: https://www.mdaevent.org/ParticipantInfo.aspx?j=92678434-b3f4-4418-acb4-1f7ffdc5d652

I was also a little thrown by the list of donors available on the website. I'm not ashamed of a donation but I'm not doing it for the publicity either. Do I leave the checkmark on so that Mac will know we're thinking of him or take it off so that it will be a gift from the heart? I finally opted for doing nothing about the check mark which means our names go on the list.

And while I'm on the subject of fundraising, our Spanish instructor told the class last week that her husband had a policy of giving $10 to every agency requesting a donation from him. Some of us thought that was neat. Others thought it was a perfect way to get a stuffed mailbox. What do you think?