I hate to be the one to do this, but I’m tired of seeing all these half-hearted efforts fail miserably without a peep being said about them.

I’m talking about these ‘campus fund raisers’ for people halfway around the world that don’t amount to more than a couple hundred dollars sent to some pop-up corporation claiming to help the latest victims of yet another inconceivable tragedy. It is sad that some Asian country was hit with a tsunami, I’m sorry to hear about a mud slide in Northern Africa, or an earthquake in India. It’s all really moving.

But sitting two students at a desk in a hallway nonchalantly selling cocoa or asking for canned goods isn’t really going to amount to much.

There are moe than 5,000 students on campus and only being able to raise a few hundred dollars is utterly ridiculous.

First of all, know your market. These are college kids on the go to and from class. A small cup of hot cocoa or one brownie doesn’t go very far on an empty stomach.

Have a picnic or a raffle or sell something worth buying. Get out in the Oval and be seen. If people see a crowd gathering they will want to know why and join in. Ta-da, you have set up a market in an already existing high traffic area.

Another hint would be to get other organizations involved. I’m sure that every club has it’s very own field of expertise. But there is too much unsuccessful competition on campus. Competition is great when two groups are going head to head and both are doing well at it. But organizations on campus seem to think that ‘our club will raise more money than that club will, so at least we have that.’ But no one is raising anything significant enough to talk about.

I know, I’m on the paper. I’d probably be one of the first to know when some organization kicks down the office door and demands that their ‘noble gesture’ be publicized.

So this silent competition is not getting anywhere. Go out and socialize. Network with other clubs and have support rallies together. Don’t rely on the small pool of volunteers one department has to offer. See what other clubs are interested in the cause.

Most of all, ‘Put your back into it.’ Don’t choose some cause that no one in the club really cares about just for something to do. Choose a cause that everyone is passionate about and be more aggressive about soliciting money. People like to give, it makes them feel good. Especially if it is something that they can see a change in. Show people what a difference they are making. And they will be more apt to give again.

And finally, don’t be afraid to raise money for something local. Take pictures of the people that these contributions are affecting and maybe, just maybe, we’ll realize that just because some catastrophe happened on the other side of the world doesn’t mean we don’t still have neighbors in serious need of a helping hand.