Any western WP'ers? Need help with nonprofit exhibit in SD

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westernwild
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29 Jul 2008, 9:35 am

As many of you know, I've been in the process of establishing a nonprofit organization that I hope will provide support, services and advocacy for adults with learning disabilities, AS/ASD and ADD/ADHD. I've posted some threads on here about it.

Since it's basically just me right now, I'm having some difficulty getting it off the ground, especially financially, but I'm getting there. Being in a very rural area (an Indian reservation, as a matter of fact) doesn't help all that much it getting it going, frankly.

However, I've taken my first big step and have signed up to have a nonprofit exhibit at this year's South Dakota Festival of Books in Sioux Falls, SD. I had to borrow from hubby to pay the fee, and I'm going to have to do the same to pay for the hotel and everything else for the weekend, but it will be more than worth it to get things going with this. It is Friday, September 19, and Saturday, September 20.

If there are any WP'ers in the area who'd like to help out, it'd be greatly appreciated. And you'd also help in explaining to people exactly what adults with these conditions deal with. I can do that, too, since I'm learning disabled with overlapping AS/ASD tendencies, but added experience would help.

I'm also going to have to start putting together informational materials for the exhibit table, so if anyone has any ideas on that, please feel free to let me know. One of the brochures I'd like to have is one describing our experiences as adults with these conditions, especially in matters relating to employment, legal situations and personal/social relationships. A major point to get across is the desperate need for support, services and advocacy for adults, since everyone associates these with children and teenagers and there's this notion that we automatically drop any of these conditions the moment we walk through the door of adulthood.

One of my goals is also to start and develop a website for the group, but that's farther down the road right now.

I'm on bedrest recovering from surgery right now, and will be for the next several weeks, so I have ample time to devote to this. If anyone wants to help in any way, please let me know.

I've also been talking with ASAN, Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, about a collaboration between our groups as we have many of the same goals; they approached me after reading about my starting this nonprofit. I'll keep you advised of the progress of that.


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demeus
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29 Jul 2008, 10:55 am

Sorry, although I am close by, hockey tickets go on sale that weekend and since a young lady I have my eye on is interested in hockey.......................



Nan
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29 Jul 2008, 11:24 am

Hi. Good choice going to a Festival of Books. You'll get people who are at least marginally literate there, and they're easier to talk to than people who are not very educated (no slam on those folks intended, it's just tougher to do outreach to them - requires more effort to overcome prejudice and mis-information, from my experience).

Having done some public outreach for a nonprofit, I'd suggest that you get some reading material together for these folks. If you have access to very simple flyers that discuss the various syndromes/conditions, print or obtain about 100 up and have them artfully (i.e., make them look nice on the table) arranged on a table. You probably don't want to put more than a dozen on the table at a time of any one kind, but be prepared to replenish what's there as people take them away. You can keep them in a bin under the table where they are not in the way.

If they don't provide one at the event, pick up a cheap card table at Goodwill or Salvation Army or borrow one. Buy a cheap tablecloth, something of a solid color, to place over any tables you use. You could use a twin-bed flat sheet if it's in good condition. Don't go for pink - that's "Breast Cancer" in the public's eye now. Stay away from black or neon colors (all sorts of subliminal messages sent with those, apparently). If you have to go with plain white, go with plain white. But avoid happy flowers or whatver - it's too visually disturbing and takes attention away from the flyers. If this is an "outside" event, remember to bring paperweights for the paper materials and clothespins to pin the tablecloth so it doesn't flap or blow away if it's breezy out that day. Keep the table simple. Maybe a small vase with few really pretty flowers, or a plain vase with one really pretty rose or sunflower or a daisey or something in it. Put the flyers next to that.

A thought:

If you have access to a photocopier that makes very good images, you might try to get photos of persons (famous persons) who had AS/ASD and ADD/ADHD and maybe put them in a binder. On the cover, put something like "Who has AS/ASD and ADD/ADHS?" Then on the first page inside put a very simplified list of the criteria for diagnosis - what it is that an ordinary (non-medical) person might recognize as "tell-tale" signs of them. Make sure the paper this is on does not allow anything to show through from behind. Then put in all the pictures (with a small notation in the corner as to who they are and why they're famous.

Alternately, you could have the binder laying on the table with a stand-up poster behind it with the words written in simple text (no gothic, nothing flowery, just plain type) in a font that's large enough to be seen from about 5 feet away that says simply "Who has AS/ASD" and "Who has ADD/ADHD?" (if you go with two binders). I've found that if you pique people's curiosity they'll stop and look, and then you can hand them a brochure. You'll want to avoid using famous living people unless they've come out and said that they have those issues - and don't assume they do because people suggest they might have them. You need to know for sure that the famous person has said publicly that they've got a diagnosis. Using the likeness of someone else without their permission is kind of "iffy", but for a "public person" such as an author, a movie star, etc., the rules are kind of different. As long as you're not taking donations or making any money, I think it would be ok - you're usually just prohibited from making money with someone else's likeness. (I'm not a lawyer, so take that advice with a grain of salt.) Since you're going to a bookseller faire, you might look specifically for photos of famous authors.

If you can't find photos, you might make lists of names, and put their accomplishments next to them. One per page. Something like that. People need to see that AS/ASD & ADD/ADHD diagnosis is not a death knell that will doom the person to less than a full life. Display in the same way you would have with the photos. Understated is often way more effective than having them plastered everywhere - especially at a book faire where there's going to be a lot of visual clutter. Keeping it simple will make it stand out.

If you can get handouts from service agencies in your region - agencies that provide assistance to parents and/or individuals with AS/ASD and ADD/ADHD you can have those available on the table as well. You'll want to place your "resource" materials to one side, and the book/poster to another if possible so people can be looking at the book while other people are browsing the pamphlets. Since you're out west where people travel great distances to get from place to place, you could assume that there will be people there from outside your immediate area. Try to get some information from state and national agencies, if you can. If you contact them now there's still time for them to ship you information and publicity materials.


As to the actual outreach part, this is what I'd do based on how I've done outreach in the past for my organization -

When people come up to the front of your table, you can smile and say hello. If they look at the brochures but don't say anything you can say "You're welcome to take any of these that you'd like." I wouldn't be real pushy about talking to them. Some people are very put-off by that - they tend to slap you into the "salesman" category subconsciously or something and you wont' get your message through if that happens. Be friendly, but don't try to "sell". (Your voice will also give out by the end of the day if you do too much talking.)

If people approach you and ask questions, you'll want to be prepared. I'd suggest sitting down ahead of time and making up a list of things you think they might ask; things like -

What is AS/ASD? (or ADD/ADHS)
How do you know you've got it? (Or your kid has it, etc.)
Is it curable?
Is it treatable?
Who can help me? (or my kid)
Does this mean my kid can't [fill in the blank here]?
Will my kid pass it on to his/her kids? Did I "give it to him/her"?
Things like that.

and then try to have some answers thought up ahead of time. After you've done one or two of these events, you'll start to know the questions you're going to get because you really do get asked the same things by a whole lot of people. If you can't think of what people might ask, check with the people around you. Ask them to do a "pretend" scenario with you - ask them to ask any questions they can think of about AS/ASD and ADD/ADHD. That will let you think of some good answers. You don't want to be fumbling around a lot when people at the event ask you something. If you haven't got an answer, you might pause thoughtfully, think for a moment, and then say "good question! I'm afraid I don't know." and then suggest some resources where they might find an answer. Never let someone go away from your table with an "I don't know" to a question - if you don't know, even if you have absolutely no clue how to answer, give them a pamphlet and say that perhaps someone in that organization (who gave you the materials) may be able to help them with their question.

If you do want to go on to become a full nonprofit later on, you'll want to go with IRS 501c3 status. You're not quite there yet, but you might want to research what's required for that at some point in the future. It will give you some legal protections and allow you to accept donations for educational purposes and give the donors a tax break. It can also get you entrance to some other public functions (fairs, etc.) that might not allow booths from the general public, no matter how well-intentioned. For now, if you accept donations, you need to let people know you're not a registered nonprofit, just a private citizen trying to make a difference. Have a small jar or envelope tucked away so you can keep any donations you do get in one place. Don't put that jar on the table - you are not a nonprofit yet and you're just there to provide information. If someone offers to give you money to help you with your expenses and you want to take it, remember to take it gracefully, with a "thank you so much! this will help with my ongoing expenses" or something. Sometimes just a "thank you" is enough. You'll have to judge. Don't go on about what anything has cost you (hotel, gas, etc.) unless someone specifically asks (that's considered "bad form").

And remember, if you only talk to ONE single person there, that's one person more than knew about AS/ASD ADD/ADHD the day before. Even if you have to do it one at a time, you're making a difference. That one person can pass the info along to a lot more people, and probably will, eventually. So it's like throwing a pebble in a pond, the ripples go a lot farther out than just where the pebble hit. Do not be disappointed if you don't give a lot of flyers out. Just by being there you're making people aware. And that's a first step.

Good luck with this!



Last edited by Nan on 29 Jul 2008, 11:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

Nan
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29 Jul 2008, 11:33 am

PS Bring a folding chair. There may not be one there and standing for hours isn't a lot of fun! If you have to leave your table, be sure to leave a little sign that says "back in 10 minutes) or whatever. Don't leave your purse or anything of value there when you are not there to watch it. Actually, if you can leave your purse and valuable locked up somewhere safe, that's even better. There are all kinds of people in the world, and some of them do cruise fairs looking for opportunities to line their own pockets at others' expense. :roll:

One last thought. Since you're going to a book faire this time -

On the stand-up poster, instead of putting "Who has AS/ASD?" You might put something like "Never judge a book by it's cover." and just use one stand-up poster, with one or two binders (depending if you wanted to separate the syndromes/conditions or keep them all together - I'd go with one binder) and on the binder go ahead and put "Who has AS/ASD?"....



Juniperberrygirl
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29 Jul 2008, 11:57 am

I've nothing to add but I just want to say good luck. :)



westernwild
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13 Aug 2008, 10:51 am

Ooops, I blew it on the date for the festival. It's Friday, Sept. 26, and Saturday, the 27, and not the 19th and 20th. If anyone nearby is available those dates, I'd sure appreciate any help you can offer!


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westernwild
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13 Aug 2008, 11:30 am

Nan wrote:
PS Bring a folding chair. There may not be one there and standing for hours isn't a lot of fun! If you have to leave your table, be sure to leave a little sign that says "back in 10 minutes) or whatever. Don't leave your purse or anything of value there when you are not there to watch it. Actually, if you can leave your purse and valuable locked up somewhere safe, that's even better. There are all kinds of people in the world, and some of them do cruise fairs looking for opportunities to line their own pockets at others' expense. :roll:

One last thought. Since you're going to a book faire this time -

On the stand-up poster, instead of putting "Who has AS/ASD?" You might put something like "Never judge a book by it's cover." and just use one stand-up poster, with one or two binders (depending if you wanted to separate the syndromes/conditions or keep them all together - I'd go with one binder) and on the binder go ahead and put "Who has AS/ASD?"....


Nan, that's a fantastic idea and your other suggestions are sure appreciated, too. I might post a thread here asking for any author/well-known people with learning disabilities/AS/ASD. I just have a standard computer, so I'll have to figure out how to get all of these brochures and informational material together. But I still have time to do it. If anyone wants to help with that, also, it'd sure be appreciated.


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westernwild
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21 Aug 2008, 5:21 pm

Any other suggestions on what informational and promotional materials I should be developing? This is starting from the ground up, so it's wide open as to what to develop and I think suggestions from those who are actually living it would be best. Being learning-disabled with overlapping AS/ASD tendencies, and having a teenage aspie son, I have a lot of ideas. But I'd like to hear some more suggestions from you guys as well.


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Life is not about waiting out storms, but learning to dance in the rain-Anonymous