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days. According to the Technology Committee,TCDLA purchased the software, with a 67% offsetof the purchase price by CDLP. This project is essentiallycompleted.6. Facebook & Twitter—TCDLA is considering recruitingvolunteers to send “gossipy” and fun informationand material to our members via Facebook andTwitter social networking. TCDLA needs people whoare somewhat computer literate and who have discretionand common sense when it comes to knowingwhat to post and what not to post. The TechnologyCommittee believes that social networkingwill become a vital tool in attracting and retainingyounger lawyers to TCDLA.Goal—Develop alternative methods of fundraising tohelp insure the long term financial stability of theorganization.Numerous opportunities exist to raise funds in astrategic fashion for TCDLEI or any other entity thatmay come into existence to handle the strategic fundingof TCDLA. Most of these are tried-and-true fundraisingmethods that foundations, large and small, use toraise funds. TCDLA would require the employment ofa full-time person for successful strategic fundraising.The following comprise areas of strategic fundraisingwhich could be pursued by TCDLA.Planned Giving could be used for strategic fundraising.Planned giving includes several avenuesfor a benefactor to leave a legacy. The downsidewith this approach is that it will require a dedicatedfundraiser to make the initial contacts with the benefactorsand see that the gift comes to fruition. Theupside is that a good fundraiser, within a coupleof years, will more than pay for itself. First and perhapseasiest are stocks and bonds that someonehas purchased in the past and do not plan on usingfor retirement. This usually will include smalleramounts of stock that may have been purchasedover the years that the person may have even forgottenthey had purchased. The stocks or bondsare simply turned over to TCDLA and sold, placingthe funds in the foundation. The idea is not toplay the stock market, but to liquidate immediatelyand realize the benefits for the entity. In the samevein, old parcels of real estate can be donated andliquidated for the proceeds. Again, someone hasto be in charge of acquiring these properties andliquidating them as well. Although they may not beworth a great deal, the person may be happy to getrid of them so they can stop paying taxes on them.A common fundraising plan is to get members topurchase insurance policies naming the entity asthe beneficiary. The gift can be in any incrementdepending on how much of a gift the donor wantsto leave. This, again, requires a full time fundraiserto coordinate on following through with these donors.Again, the gift in the will can be cash, stocks,bonds, real property, or anything of worth that canbe liquidated.Grants could be used for strategic fundraising.There are private law firms across the country (TexasDefender Service is an example) who depend almostentirely on private grants for their funding. Inaddition, the Innocence Project receives grants forits operations outside the state grant it has receivedin the past. The TCDLA forensics program couldbe billed as an innocence-based project and couldreadily tap into grant funding. It still makes senseto utilize any outside funding as TCDLA seeks togrow its strategic funds.Other fundraisers include a golf tournamentsuch as the annual golf tournament at Rusty Duncan.Sponsors for each hole allow all (or most ofthe) entry fees to be turned over to the entity. Thefact that it is a fundraiser could increase the attendanceto that event. The Pachanga party could beused as the membership party and the Friday nightparty could be a black-tie affair again, turning it intoa fundraiser. These Galas usually include a silentauction and perhaps a gambling night in additionto the food, drink, and dancing. Sponsors (Lexis,West, etc.) are usually utilized to offset the costs ofthe party so all proceeds from sales of tickets can goto the fund. This would be a good opportunity for“older” lawyers to purchase extra tickets and inviteyounger lawyers to introduce them to the “club.”Since this party has a history, the conversion to itas a fundraiser will be made less difficult.Nonprofit fund raising professionals are today everybit as much a profession as are attorneys. They have aprofessional organization and a code of ethics. TCDLAshould employ a development officer who can widenour financial base.