NIGHT/LIGHT POEMS™
Goal
To distribute Night/Light Poems™ as a fund raising method for Libraries and The Night/Light Fund.
The subscriptions, production, distribution and administration fees would be paid for by the sale of the advertising space on the matchbook cover. The ad space is called the "saddle," and it is on the top fold of the matchbook where, "Volume 1, #1, MATCHBOOK POEMS" is printed on the prototype sample.
Potential advertisers would be companies such as booksellers, publishing companies, or companies that produce a product line that have targeted library patrons as their demographic market. Nationwide, the majority of library patrons are educated mothers, middle-aged women and retired people.
Night/Light Poems™ will be published quarterly. The first publication of each calendar year will be offered to the current Poet Laureate of the United States for the publishing of a poem. An anonymous committee shall select the remaining three quarterly publications.
Distribution
Night/Light Poems™ will be presented in a child-safe clear plastic box at the checkout site of the library. A member of the Society of Plastics Engineers will design the box. The plastic boxes will be fabricated and distributed as an in-kind charitable contribution to individual libraries throughout the United States. Toll-free telephone service and a website will facilitate orders and service to participating libraries.
Publicity
Each delivery will include a press release to be copied and distributed to local media. Insert announcements on postcard formats will be provided for display with the plastic box. Tri-folded promotional information cards will be provided to place on tables in reading areas in the library.
Adjunct Program
A complimentary phase of the distribution will target college libraries. Each participating campus shall have a poetry contest per semester. The winner of the contest shall be awarded the funds generated by the donations made to the Night/Light Poems™ . This program is part of our mission to expand the activity of writing and reading poetry.
Financial Projection
Librarians are considered to be among the most ethical citizens in America and their sense of integrity is rarely challenged. Payment for the Night/Light Poems™ will be on an honor system and will be based on funds collected, not the number of matchbooks delivered. A prepaid envelope will be provided for payment, which will be due within the first 30 days after each solicitation cycle.
Each poet will receive $5000, for the use of the published poem. Each artist/graphic designer, who designs a cover, will receive $3000. Artists and photographers will be contracted for a portrait of the poet and presentation material.
A one-dollar donation will be suggested for each copy of the Night/Light Poems™ .
There are 16,000 public libraries in the United States. Each is challenged with finding unique ways to raise funds. This will provide a no-cost method for public libraries to raise funds, and also contribute back to the creative arts community, thus completing the circle of being both the caretakers and advocates of American culture.
If 2000 libraries collected an average of $200 in a 90 cycle, that would generate $400,000 dollars per issue. The library system would raise $200,000 and The Night/Light Fund would raise $200,000, or $800,000 each per year. That would provide 800 creative people with $1000 emergency cash grants. Our goal is to distribute Night/Light Poems™ in a minimum of 5000 of the 16,000 public libraries in the United States by the end of the first quarter of 2004.
Project Coordinator
Artist/poet James Pelletier worked in New York City as a distributor of periodicals for eight years. He worked in circulation management for Helmers Publishing and IDG Communications in Peterborough, N.H., for several years.
Light the Candle of Creativity™