INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Most states have specific rules and regulations regarding fundraising. Different forms must be filed from state to state and there may be taxes you need to pay depending on your cause or location. Before you begin planning a fundraiser, review your state's fundraising guidelines on your government website. If you have any questions, reach out to a local non-profit and ask for advice and insight. Knowing your audience is key to running a successful fundraiser. Try to get a sense of what types of donors flock to what types of fundraisers. This will give you a better sense of what kind of fundraiser to run. Review attendance records and donation records for the cause you're supporting. Look at demographics. Is the crowd older, younger, liberal, conservative? You can get a sense of what kind of fundraiser would be most successful based on this data. If you're working with an older crowd, you might want to fall back on more traditional fundraisers. Things like bake sales and charity auctions might work best. A younger crowd might be more drawn to something light and fun like a karaoke contest. Younger people also tend to be more tech savvy, so online crowd-funding campaigns may be more appealing. Some charities are more effective than others, and you want to make sure that your money will be spent as well as possible. Consider charity rating websites, and testimonials from the community. Some charities are considered unhelpful by the community they claim to support. For example, many breast cancer awareness campaigns spend more money on hypersexualized awareness ads than on helping survivors, and Autism Speaks exploits and dehumanizes autistic people. Do your research, and look for charities that aren't torn with controversy. If you want to run a fundraiser, it's a tough job to do alone. Get a team together of like-minded individuals who believe in the same cause. Work together to put on a successful fundraiser. In most areas, there are groups dedicated to a variety of causes. See if you can find a relevant group in your area, attend a meeting, and see if anyone is interested in helping with a fundraiser. Churches are also big on fundraisers. If you attend church, try seeking out help there. You can advertise on websites like Facebook and Craig's List that you're looking for volunteers to help with a fundraiser.

SUMMARY: Review your state's regulations. Get to know your audience. Research the best charities, if applicable. Gather like minded people.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Popular clothing lines can be identified by signature logos. If you do not already have one, design a logo that is unique and personal. Choose an image that is important to you, letters that identify you, or an emblem that corresponds to what your clothing line is about. For instance, if a four leaf clover is a personal symbol of luck for you, it may serve as an excellent logo for your brand. Associate your clothing with a particular aesthetic appeal. Make this a running theme for your brand. Plan photo shoots and promotional events that reflect this theme. For instance, if your clothing is well-suited for outdoor sports and activities, choose trees and nature as a common aesthetic feature and hold photo shoots and events outdoors. In today's world, even amateur photographers can take beautiful pictures with their smartphones, using apps and filters. Take photos of your clothing on a mannequin, dress form, or live model, so that online customers can see how the garment fits. Adjust the color balance, brightness and contrast of your photos to get the best possible results. Download a free photo editing app for your smartphone, to touch up your pictures. Take wide angle shots so that you can crop the photos afterwards. Take pictures of each color variation of the items. If you clothing features special designs or embellishments, add additional close up photos of these details. Post the photos on your website, social media accounts, and advertisements to promote your brand. Fashion shows are a great way to advertise your designs in a fun, interactive way. These events also attract professionals in the fashion industry, along with other fashion enthusiasts. To attract a greater crowd and help a good cause, hold your fashion show as a benefit for a local charity, to raise money and awareness for a worthy cause, while showcasing your work. Promote your fashion show on social media sites to spread the word quickly and inexpensively. A press kit is an informative presentation about your company that is sent to media and retailers to boost your design profile. The kit can be printed and sent by mail, hand delivered, or sent online as a PDF document. The press kit should feature a story page describing how your clothing line got started, as well as: A personal note from the clothing line's creator and designer A condensed version of the online "lookbook", featuring a few select designs Press about your clothing line, if any already exists (e.g. articles or interviews) Quotes from the creator and designer about their clothing line that media sources can easily use in articles A FAQ (frequently asked questions) section addressing common inquiries about the clothing line Links to or listing of all of the clothing line's social media accounts Updated contact information High quality photos interspersed throughout the press kit After you send out press kits to different publications, you may receive requests for sample clothing from the line. Download a fashion inventory software such as Fashion GPS that will let you print out loan forms for these publications to sign, guaranteeing that the sample will be returned by a specific date and in good condition. Send out samples after receiving the signed form back. Keep track of your samples with fashion inventory software or a simple Excel spreadsheet.

SUMMARY: Create a unique logo. Create a unique visual theme. Take photos of your clothing. Hold a fashion show. Create a printed or electronic press kit. Mail samples to fashion publications upon request.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: . Gain more practice with joking around and laughing by forcing yourself to tell jokes to others. This can help you to take yourself less seriously and show you are willing to be funny. You may want to look up some good jokes online and perform them in a mirror before you try them on others. You may also try out jokes on sympathetic friends before you tell them to a larger audience. It may also be fun to try an amateur comedy night at a local bar or pub and showcase your sense of humor to a room of sympathetic strangers. A good joke consists of a setup and punchline. The setup is the first half of the joke and usually contains the location and the key individuals. The punchline is usually one line and produces the laugh. For example, you may have the following set up: "A priest, a minister, and a rabbi walk into a bar." You may then have this punchline: "The bartender says: 'What is this, some kind of joke?'" . A funny story or anecdote can also help to lighten the mood and show you are willing to laugh with others. Telling a funny story is similar to telling a joke. You should combine timing and physical gestures and create a setup and a punchline for the story. You should also maintain eye contact with your audience as you tell the story and try to end the story on the line that will get the biggest laugh. When you are telling a joke or a story, you should try to be brief and to the point. Your audience has a limited attention span and you do not want them to lose interest in the story before you get to the punchline. Get a better sense of what is considered funny by watching television shows and films that are considered comedic. Professional comedy actors are often very good at using timing and physical gestures, as well as well placed jokes, to get the viewer to laugh. Note if you prefer certain styles of comedy over others, such as dark humor, dry humor, or slapstick humor. You may then be able to determine which jokes you may find funny in real life around your coworkers, friends, or family. If you respond to slapstick humor in film or television, you may respond well to it in your own life.

SUMMARY:
Tell your own jokes Practice telling funny stories to others Watch funny shows and films.