Buy a Nancy Gershman Photo Collage As a Group
Sometimes the cost of a Dreamscape is too much for one person. That’s what friends and family fund-busting is all about: pooling resources so that you can spend less and buy as a group. Think about it:
Are you the family and friends of someone who’d really feel better with a Dreamscape? Nothing is more heartening than the Giftee finding out that you took the time to rally everybody to chip in and help buy them a Dreamscape.
Are you the person wishing for a Dreamscape? You’d be surprised how incredibly relieved friends and family are when you go ahead and tell them that you’d like a Dreamscape for this year’s birthday or anniversary.
Do you have a fabulous Dreamscape concept for somebody’s gift, but know you’ll need help funding it? Ask around and see who else wants to go in on a gift with you for The Person Who Has Everything … but a Dreamscape.
Fund-bust with 
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That’s right: create a donate “button” right on your Facebook timeline, your blog or website. There’s no setup or monthly charges; contributors pay no fee and the minimum contribution is $5! At the end of the day, all contributions accrue in your PayPal account. (There’s only a 5% fee per transaction once you reach your goal. Fee schedule)
Start with a motivational title and then tell the story of how much your friend or family member is craving a “Nancy Gershman storytelling photo collage.” If it’s for healing, tell them how that works. Then personalize the app by selecting a color theme and upload any image on this website to give everyone a solid understanding of what they’re funding.
ON FACEBOOK: PayPal’s Fundrazr app is a terrific way to get everybody donating money right through your Facebook news feed. Get the FundRazr app now
ON YOUR BLOG OR WEBSITE: PayPal has a cool “giving widget” you can place directly on your website or blog. Create a PayPal giving widget
Peggy Sweeney’s Fund-busting Tips
Peggy Sweeney is Founder and President of The Sweeney Alliance. She’s a bereavement educator and editor of the Journeys Through Grief Newsletter. Below, she explains why throwing a party to raise funds for a good cause is the feel-good thing to do:
“One hundred and twenty percent of the bereaved are bursting to talk about the son or daughter, mother or father, soulmate or BFF they lost. There are exceptions – such as a child who’s died by suicide or AIDs – when parents may be less likely to want to talk about their child. But more often than not, they are looking for a vehicle that makes it feel natural, yes, spontaneous to open up a conversation about their loved one.”
So, here’s how I’d go about a fund-busting party if (as in this case) you were the bereaved:
HOW TO ASK FOR SOMETHING YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT. If you come from a really loving family, everybody will want to know what they can do to help. Now you can tell them, This is how. I really would like this artist Nancy Gershman to make me a Healing Dreamscape.
Tell them how meaningful the Healing Dreamscape will be for you. How it will finally give you something you can physically touch and hold, talk to each day, which sits in your home or office or even in your wallet. (Nancy makes credit card-sized Dreamscapes, too!)
THROW A FUND-BUSTING PARTY. Put one person in charge of throwing a fundraising party. Write a letter that says, We’re throwing a family fundraiser to raise money for So-and-So’s Healing Dreamscape by memory artist Nancy Gershman. Then print a page from Art For Your Sake’s Healing Gallery that you think comes closest to the kind of Dreamscape you want me to make.
Remind everyone that a Dreamscape for you will be healing for everybody. Why? Because everyone who contributes to your Healing Dreamscape will get a copy of their own to keep! (It’s digital after all, so it’s easily replicated.)
SEND OUT INVITATIONS. Have the person in charge of throwing your party write at the top of your invitation what the Healing Dreamscape is for. Something like, For Remembering Craig (or) A Healing Gift Remembering Craig.
DECORATE WITH BELONGINGS. Decorate a table with all your Loved One’s favorite things. A creativity gene runs through every grieving family. We’ve seen memorial services decorated with everything from personal artwork to fly fishing equipment. And you might even want to give away those special belongings at the end of the party to someone who shyly (or not so shyly) asks for them.
Set up a pretty little donation jar in the middle of the table. Everyone can come by and slip some money or checks into the jar. (White envelopes are intimidating because they tend to look like they are concealing big checks inside. )
Let me know how everything turns out. Happy to advise … just call me.