Friday, November 14, 2008

“Raffle and Skills Contest”- A solution to present US Financial Crisis

Steven Kurutz observed a good solution to the present financial crisis in US and other countries. The following two important observations need to be noted:

“Desperate, Crawford came up with a novel strategy: she would hold a raffle. Tickets would go for $100 each, and one lucky person would win the farmhouse. If they could sell enough tickets, they could walk away debt-free”.

Last December, the couple teamed up with a real estate agent and a local charity, and set about publicising the raffle, posting flyers and calling news outlets. By the time the draw was held at a local country club this March, they had sold almost 6,500 tickets, raising enough money to cover the cost of the house along with a surplus of more than $200,000 that went to the charity. Having already moved back to the log house, they counted themselves lucky to still have a place to live. "We were so happy, because we’d gone on this horrific two-year journey," Crawford said.

Others, though, are finding creative ways around the rules. Julie Sigwart, a Web designer, is holding what she calls a "skills contest" to give away her six-bedroom, four-bathroom house with ocean views in Maui, Hawaii, which she has been trying to sell since last October.

As in the raffle for Crawford and Kelly’s home, she will charge a $100 entry fee, but participants will have to write an essay—the theme is "Aloha, what does it mean to you?"—which will be judged by a group of "prominent members of the community," she said. (The judges have yet to be finalised.) Because the contest isn’t a game of chance, state approval is not required, and teaming with a non-profit organisation isn’t necessary”.

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