Quick! I need your help. Through work, I got the name of an account executive we deal with from the Red Bulls – the professional soccer team in New York. We're playing a bit of phone tag. He called me back and left a message asking me what exactly I had in mind as far as fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The problem is I don't know what I have in mind.

What do I have in mind?

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I received some excellent suggestions from readers regarding the New York Red Bull soccer fundraiser. Thank you very much.

I did talk to the account exec from the Red Bull and we had a very nice conversation. I approached the conversation thinking that anything at all that they could do would be fantastic and saw great value in simply establishing a relationship between JDRF and the team.

"I had some ideas," he said. "JDRF can be the 'Charity of the Match' for the game of your choosing."

"Uh huh." (I liked where this was going.)

"We can do a 'Jersey off the Back' of one of the players raffle at the game. $5 for a chance to win the jersey. After the game, the player will come out, sign autographs and take a picture with the winner."

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OK, so I haven’t raised a dime yet, but there are a couple things in the works. I contacted our local coffeehouse in town to see if they’d be interested in hosting a small benefit show. It will need to be small. The coffeehouse is about the size of my kitchen.

We haven’t hashed out all the details yet, but a couple friends and I would play some music for a few hours. I guess we’ll ask for a contribution at the door. We’ve played the coffeehouse before and they got my name wrong on their website. "Performing tonight! Mary Potash."

So, I think it’s only appropriate for us to go with it when promoting our fundraising show.

"Mary Potash Gives Back."

"Mary Potash and Friends Fight Diabetes."

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This was going to be the year that I just took a pass on the fundraising; closed down Charlie’s Angels until next year. I just felt burnt out. We’ve done lots of fundraising for JDRF since Charlie’s diagnosis. It’s hard to get up for it every year; especially knowing that with it comes much rejection and wasted energy. It’s also tough to keep telling friends and family that a cure is right around the corner. Is it?

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So I sit down at my desk and my co-worker is all like, [clap, clap, clap] "congratulations!"

And I'm all like, "excuse me?"

And she's all like, "for being a finalist."

And I'm all like, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

And she's all like, "the employee recognition awards. You're a finalist."

And I'm all like, "I didn't even know I was nominated."

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You should have seen it! It was THIS big! [arms outstretched]. I swear!

When I’m in fundraising mode (typically July through October), I take the "hey, ya never know" and the "can’t hurt to ask" approach ad nauseam. With both email and social networking, potential targets are more accessible than they’ve ever been.

Sure it comes with a 99.8 percent rejection rate, but I try not to let that deter me. Like I said, ya never know. Maybe someone will be moved by Charlie’s story from this "desperate dad doing everything I can to bring about a cure for this dreadful disease." Yes, I’ve written that in countless emails. Barf!

And this …

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