Producing a yearly wall or desk calendar for sale is a creative way to raise money for Pakistan while showing the country's beauty.

The calendar's photographs will focus on some aspect of Pakistan's natural landscape. It could be just flowers, mountains, trees or scenic backgrounds. Also, in the boxes where the dates are listed on the calendar, important points in Pakistan's history will be highlighted. In addition, this calendar will be sold amongst Pakistani-Americans to raise funds for a project or charity in Pakistan. This will make the calendar something that is not only attractive, useful and for a good cause, but also educational.

Given the advances in computer graphics and design, it's very easy to put this project together. Here's how to to do it:

1.Select the charity that you want to send the money to. If possible, target a specific project that has long-term benefits to the recipients: a project to build a school, a regular vaccination program in a village, etc.

2.Choose what aspect of Pakistan's natural landscape you will focus on. What you're looking for is attractive and unique photographs of this aspect of Pakistan. You want to stay away from the typical photos of the country's tourist hotspots which most people can easily find on the web or in most books about Pakistan.

3.Enlist the help of family, friends and local Pakistani-Americans by asking them to dig through their piles of photos from trips to Pakistan in the past looking for these kind of photos. Explain why you want them and that the photos will be returned to them once you're done designing the calendar. In particular, look for friends who may be amateur photographers since the quality of their work is probably better.

4.Make sure that anyone who gives you a picture for the project carefully labels it with their name, a description of the landscape in the photo and if possible the date or at least the year the photo was taken.

5.With the help of two or three friends who have have some experience in photography, choose the top 20 photographs. Then keep narrowing down the pile until you are left with 12, one photo for each month on the calendar.

6.Select important days in Pakistan's history which will be printed in the boxes of the calendar. Get as many dates as possible, from when the constitution was first drafted, to when the national anthem was first presented to when Mohammad Ali Jinnah died.

5.Look for a graphic designer who can scan the photos into the computer and design the calendar so it can be submitted to printers. Try to get a young Pakistani-American to do this as it may spur their patriotic sentiment. Offer some cash to the person if you can.

7.Borrow the equipment you need for the project. A good computer with a decent design program, a scanner and a color printer are what you'll need for this. If that's not possible, look into renting what you need from a nearby electronics store.

8.Give your designer all of the photos and important dates you want listed along with a deadline of when you want the first draft of the calendar to be completed. In addition, remind him or her that the phrase "All proceeds from this calendar will be sent to (name of the charity)" should be printed on every page.

9.Once the first draft is done, review it with your photographer friends who helped you pick out the photos, as well as someone who can proofread the text in the date boxes and description of the photos. Note down all mistakes and give them back to the graphic designer to make all changes by a set date.

In the meantime, you should start looking for a printer. Don't just look for the cheapest option. Look for a printer whose work is good in quality and reasonably priced. Choose best in terms of quality, etc. See if they can give you some kind of discount when you mention that this is a fundraising project for a good cause.

10.Once the final draft is complete, submit it to the printers and in the meantime, determine how much you will sell the final product for and where. Some places to keep in mind are at community bazaars, to family members and friends and through Pakistani-American businesses. Contact some of the businesses and ask if they would be willing to sell the calendars on their premises for a good cause.

Also target your selling to specific months, especially, November to early January, when people are on the lookout for new year calendars.

11.Sell the calendars within the community and if possible, establish a target date by which you want to have all of them sold by. Be creative and don't just ask Pakistani-Americans to buy the calendar. There are plenty of people out there willing to support a good cause anywhere and who will enjoy a beautiful calendar for their home or office.

12.Send the proceeds to your selected charity with a letter explaining how you raised the funds and a complimentary copy of the calendar. Don't forget to specify which project you want the funds to be used for (i.e. Support of orphans, a school project, a training program for widows, etc.).

13. Once you get a receipt of acknowledgment of your donation, write a letter thanking everyone who worked on and bought the calendars along with a photocopy of the receipt from the charity. Get this letter published in the local Pakistani community's newsletter or magazine, or post it in places where your calendar was sold. This will reassure community members that their money reached those it was intended for. Also, this act of following up with donors will virtually ensure that in future, you will have the trust of the community if you decide to work on another project like this.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/17/2002 3:47:44 PM

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