Here we are with only a couple of days left in our fundraising drive, and we are
better than 50% of the way to our goal. Not bad, all things considered. Many
thanks to our contributors who have gotten us this far, we are grateful for
every dollar. Here is our latest video from hang gliding in the Florida Keys
near Islamorada; we can't help but think our new location will be a smashing
success. https://vimeo.com/43630899.
Anybody who has ever been in business or even a business class for more than an
hour knows that every day, businesses are faced with critical funding needs for
such things as expansion, purchases of equipment or other assets such as real
estate, repairs, hiring, even everyday operational expenses. As any business
class will teach you, there are dozens of ways of obtaining these funds.
Conventional bank loans, unconventional financing from angel investors or
venture capitalists, credit cards, sales of existing assets, special promotions,
IPO's, bake sales, it's all fair game. The latest trend, made more favorable in
light of today's tightened credit and financial uncertainty, is crowd funding. A
little money from a lot of people can raise considerable sums. This provides an
opportunity to ask for help from friends, family, and complete strangers without
imposing a large indebtedness to anyone. Why, even the Oz Report relies on crowd
funding with the annual Tin Cup. Check out some of the other campaigns on
Indiegogo, it is amazing the things people are raising large sums of money for.
We at Paradise Hang Gliding, Inc. are facing a critical funding need, and we
could sure use your help. We are not asking for charity. We have created perks
for every contribution level which are the equivalent of our past Groupon
offers, which sold in large numbers. The drawback to Groupon is that they take
half of your already steeply discounted rate. Even with upselling, no-shows, and
others coming along at full price, it can be a tough way to make money.
Essentially, we are using the crowd funding model to offer substantial discounts
for advance bookings of tandem flights and other charters, without giving half
of it away. You can contribute anything from $10 to $600 (or any other amount
you desire, actually). If each one of my Facebook "friends" were to contribute
$10, we would have enough capital to make a difference. That is less than
popcorn and a coke at the movies these days.
Speaking of Facebook, does anybody really believe that they needed to raise
money with an IPO? Or was it just billionaires wanting to add more billions to
their pile? In stark contrast, we need the funding, and are humbly asking for
your help. We appreciate your support, and hope to see you above the legendary
waters of the Florida Keys.
