Fund-raising phenomenon.

• Author: Berger, Michael
• Position: Fund raising consultants Electra Enterprises Inc. - Company Profile

Who can you call for help to raise bucks for non-profit program? Try these two Anchorage brothers, partners in Electra Enterprises Inc.

Federal and state funding doesn't flow as freely as it used to. For public programs and non-profit organizations, staying in operation means coming up with extra bucks to fill in for fiscal gaps left by shrinking public-assistance funds and cost-cutting government measures.

"To keep public programs and non-profits running these days, you need a plan for fund raising that comes from within the organizations themselves," says Bob Lee, president of Anchorage-based Electra Enterprises Inc. "Our company works with these groups to come up with a viable means of fund raising, blending telemarketing sales, advertising campaigns and promotionals."

Bob and brother Jeff Lee, Electra's vice president, contract their consulting skills to local non-profits seeking an alternative fund-raising avenue. The Lees produce the Northern Lights Coupon Book, a collection of business-discount coupons designed for use in Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. The book is a fund-raising vehicle for the federally subsidized Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

After years of fine-tuning his fund-raising skills with RSVP programs in Oregon, Bob came to Anchorage in 1983 at the request of Alaska RSVP officials who heard about the coupon books at regional meetings. But Anchorage, a city much larger than the small Oregon towns with RSVP programs, was basically an untested market.

"In the beginning, we didn't know Alaska would be a long-term project," says Bob. "I tried to maintain the Oregon programs while running the business from Anchorage. But the distance between the two places made it hard to operate both. So to keep the programs in Oregon working on their own, we trained some of the RSVP staff to keep putting out the product and develop new ideas."

To help his brother produce Alaska's agenda, Jeff moved to Anchorage from northern California, and the two brothers formed Electra, matching the business savvy of private enterprise with the economic shortfalls of publicly funded programs. In its first year in Southcentral, the coupon book generated over $35,000 for RSVP.

The prototype coupon book, valid for one year, included three sections of business discounts, two for restaurants and one for recreation. Electra, with RSVP as the principal sponsor, sold the book to consumers with a carefully planned...