An Open Letter to the Community
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Email this pageDear AADB and WSDBC members and supporters:
The American Association of the Deaf-Blind (AADB) and Washington State Deaf-Blind Citizens (WSDBC) are writing this letter to share news regarding the next AADB national conference in Seattle.
First, we want to say that we know AADB conferences are in the hearts of many of you. It is in our hearts, too. Deaf-blind people need personal contact with other deaf-blind friends, colleagues, and supporters who cheer them along to overcome struggles and lead good lives despite being deaf-blind.
The AADB Board of Directors had their spring board meeting on May 1st and 2nd via a video relay service and conference call. During the meeting they received and reviewed a recommendation from the local host committee (WSDBC) asking the board to postpone having the AADB conference in Seattle from 2011 to 2013. In this letter, we will discuss the challenging issues of having an AADB conference.
From WSDBC:
Some situations occurred in the recent past that led to the decision to postpone. The University of Washington announced in the fall of 2007 that they would be having major renovations in 2011 during the dates we want to have AADB conference there. The renovations are scheduled to be completed in 2012. We were unable to find another university in the Seattle area that was available for one week in the summer of 2011 and was big enough for 1,000 people.
A hotel near the airport was in consideration for 2011; however, WSDBC still had to postpone the conference because not enough funds were raised in time for the 2011 conference. WSDBC has worked very hard to raise money for local committee conference planning activities in the last few years. So far, we have raised $10,000, but need $25,000. The recent difficulties with the economy has put a damper on our efforts to raise enough funds for 2011. We hope the economy improves soon so we can reach the $25,000 goal for 2013. We will continue to work hard in this effort as we really want to host the next AADB conference!
From AADB:
AADB applauds WSDBC for their hard work raising almost half the money needed for the local committee planning activities. Keep up the good work!
AADB also has been facing many challenges with fundraising, mainly to keep the organization alive. The U.S. economy is one challenge. But the biggest challenge is the giving habits of donors. They are well informed and careful where they donate their money. Today's donors tend to donate to organizations that help meet the needs of the greatest number of people. For example, they consider the environment, natural disasters, and children's causes some of the highest priorities. Conferences, on the other hand, meet the needs of less people. Therefore, support for conferences is one of the lowest priorities.
These issues have forced AADB to change its fund raising strategies. We now have to be creative in developing ways to fund our AADB conferences and other AADB activities such as advocating on behalf of the deaf-blind community on the national level. We need to show donors that AADB is doing good things for the national deaf-blind community year-round, besides a one-week conference every two years or so.
It costs AADB approximately $400,000 to host a one-week conference, of which $200,000 is used to cover the meals and lodging for more than 500 support service providers (SSPs) in exchange for their work helping over 300 deaf-blind delegates to access conference activities. AADB has not done any fundraising specifically for a conference. Consequently, we delay having conferences because we do not have sufficient funds to host them.
During the recent board meeting, the AADB board approved establishing an ad-hoc committee to research and investigates what can be done for the year of 2011: have a different event or find an alternative conference site; and develop different fundraising strategies for AADB's conferences.
The Chair of this committee is Mark Gasaway and committee members are Jeff Bohrman, Maricar Marquez, Jill Gaus, Dan Arabie, Tim Jackson, Anindya "Bapin" Bhattacharyya, and Mary Hale. AADB Office will work closely with this committee. Committee reports will be announced regularly in our "AADB Today" e-newsletter and on AADB's website to keep you informed of our progress towards the goals mentioned above.
Call for Action!
For us to have our AADB 2013 conference in Seattle, we need your help. Help us by making a donation earmarked "conference" to AADB or WSDBC. Encourage your family and friends to make a donation too. Below are instructions on how to make a donation to AADB or WSDBC.
Donate to AADB: You can choose to do this online at AADB's secured website, aadb.convio.net/donate. There is an option to donate automatically on a monthly basis.
Or you may send a check to:
AADB
8630 Fenton Street, Suite 121
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Encourage your family and friends to sign up for AADB's free newsletter, "AADB Today." Signing up is easy to do on our website: www.aadb.org.
Donate to WSDBC: Send check to
WSDBC
Attn: Bruce Visser, Treasurer
P.O. Box 2322
Seattle, WA 98111-2322
If you have ideas to share with the ad hoc committee, please contact Mark Gasaway, Chair, at Mark.Gasaway@comcast.net or through AADB at the contact information below.
Please contact AADB or WSDBC if you have any questions. Our contact information is below our signatures. Thank you for your support!
Sincerely yours,
Arthur Roehrig
President
AADB
8630 Fenton St., Ste. 121
Silver Spring, MD 20910
AADB-info@aadb.org
(301) 495-4402 TTY
(301) 495-4403 Voice
(301) 495-4404 Fax
(866) 761-5768 VP
www.aadb.org
Jackie Engler-Morris
Conference Bid Chairperson
WSDBC
P.O. Box 2322
Seattle, WA 98111-2322
(Call or email AADB to leave message for Jackie)
www.wsdbc.org