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Hey AZ Family!
I am here to ask for help. I don’t normally do this, so I am out of my element.
Ashley Nandrasy just got her FIRST invite to a WPBA Pro Tournament!!
However, she does not have the funds to go. I am reaching out to our AZB friends to see if we can get her there!
She would need $500 entry, $125 dues, and hotel expenses. So, about $1,200 total. She is currently in Texas and can easily drive to the U.S. Open In Norman, Oklahoma so it’s great she wont need flight expenses.
She needs to let the WPBA know, though, by NOON tomorrow (Thursday, July 22) or she has to pass on her first invite.
If you can help in anyway, I and her friends would greatly appreciate this (she doesn’t know I am doing this ). My paypal is (email removed to avoid spam issues).
If we happen to raise the $1,200, I will let you all know asap and then give her the cash. If we do not raise enough for her to go, I will refund all monies collected tomorrow afternoon.
I can’t not give this a try. I’m all about people reaching their dreams.

Sincerely,
Melinda (akaTrigger)
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The post was made the afternoon of 7/21 and by 7/22 Melinda raised the required $1200, giving Ashley the opportunity to play in the US Open. So the question is why was it so easy for Melinda to raise this money so quickly?  How did Melinda manage to catch lightning in a bottle?

To understand how this happened, you need to look at both the text of the post as well as the poster and the recipient. First, let’s look at the text. The title of the post was “Help Needed for Fellow AZer to Get to Her First Pro Event”. Rather than saying something like “Ashley needs a sponsor” the like, she personalized the post in a way that spoke to the readers. Melinda doesn’t mention Ashley’s name in the title, but rather refers to her as a “Fellow AZer”, making sure the reader understands that this is someone within the AZ Billiards community that needs help. She doesn’t spell out what that help is in the title of the post and by doing so, gets more people to click and read to understand what type of help the fellow AZer needs.

Once the reader opens the post, they are given a brief rundown of the situation – Ashley Nandrasy, a poster on AZ Billiards had been invited to play in the US Open, but can’t afford to make the trip.  Ashley however, is not the poster.  The poster was Melinda Bailey, one of the most tenured and frequent posters on AZ Billiards.  The request is purely emotionally driven, focusing on helping Ashley achieve her goals and dreams, giving the reader the clear message that this is a one time situation.  The slant is very “Make A Wish” and humanizing rather than simply saying “pro player XX is looking for a sponsor for YY event”.

Even with the personal tone of the post, it sh0uld not have been this easy to raise $1200.  So why did so many people pony up the dough?  Here’s what we’ve already discussed:

• The poster is a trusted and respected member of the community
• The recipient is a member of the community
• This was positioned as a one time request
• The request was personal in tone
• The request used emotional points like “goals” and “dreams”

Even with all of this, a request of this nature would more often than not get shot down.  So what other factors have we not looked at?

• The poster stated she would return all monies if the target goal was not reached
• The recipient is fairly new to both the game and the community
• The recipient is both extremely personable and extremely attractive
• The recipient was not the one asking for money
• It was extremely clear how appreciated these funds would be

What is worth noting is that once the goal was reached, Melinda let everyone know and told everyone to not donate additional funds. There was a fundraising goal, the goal was met and the fundraiser ended. In addition, Ashley and Melinda provided a “value add” to their donors by creating a series of video blogs recounting their experiences at the US Open.

This extra touch was extremely savvy for a couple of reasons.  First, it solidifies both Ashley and Melinda as quality, character people that want to give something back to the people who were generous enough to fund Ashley’s trip.  Additionally, it functions as a promotional vehicle for Ashley in the event she wants to take the path of being a sponsored pro.

By making these videos, Ashley shows that she’s willing to do more than just play pool, which is a huge factor when it comes to sponsors deciding whether or not they will pony up for a player.

That’s all.  Just felt like writing something moderately constructive this morning.  Oh and in other news, Ga Young Kim won the US Open taking down Karen Corr.