Biting The Hand That Feeds

Not content with government help in the form of an $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit and a property tax break for homebuilders' unsold inventory which will have a negative impact of $40-45 million on local government revenues, the Triangle Community Coalition (an organization of realtors and homebuilders) is begging for funds in order to bite the hand that feeds, according to a recent letter to supporters:

Dear Friends of the Triangle Community Coalition,

I am coming to you today with hat in hand. The TCC is in great need. As our political environment is showing the need for our organization every single day, our reserves are dwindling. I do not want to waste your time with a recollection of how hard times are right now. As a business leader in this community, you know what it is like better than anyone. Unfortunately, politics carry on even in the most difficult of economic times and right now we need to be more vigilant than ever.

We cannot afford to ignore politics while we try and stay in business. If we do, then we are increasing our chances of being out of business tomorrow. Every governmental agency is out there is looking for ways to raise revenues while we spend countless nights trying to figure out where to put the few dollars we have to spend.

I'd like you to add the TCC as one of your choices for advertising. Sponsorship of one of the upcoming TCC programs will help your business in more ways than one. You will get all the advertising we can possibly get for your money and it will help our organization help take care of the politics, while you take care of your business.

With sponsorship money tight for everyone, TCC has taken a huge hit. We are committed to being relevant to your business and politics in the Triangle. We are planning on holding our two signature events: the Candidate School (July 30) and the Political Pig Pickin'(August 27). We also have a strong programs committee that has been coordinating well attended Lunch & Learn events.

If you can commit to a sponsorship for any of these events, please contact Charlene at ********@tricc.org or visit our website at www.tricc.org for more information. Some events are time sensitive, so please pledge a sponsorship as soon as possible so that we can provide you maximum exposure.

Thank you for your time and considerations,

Laurie Donofrio
2009 TCC Chairman

Update: The sponsorship solicitation email was sent to multiple TCC Members and "Triangle Business Leaders". The email was shared by a non-member "Triangle Business Leader" recipient.

To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: TCC- Request to Members/Triangle Business Leaders