CRAP!! I just spent the last hour and a half typing one of my infamous novels and it disappeared when I hit "post" ("
form no longer available"). Oh well, my loss is your gain - here is the Cliff Notes version followed by the more detailed explanation:
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Cliff Notes: The VCA makes no money besides the raffles. We alone were offered a very, very unique SRT vehicle. We took that opportunity, and knowing not all Viper owners wanted a truck, made it a raffle open to everybody.
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Okay, let's expand on the Cliff Notes now. Let me start by saying that I am speaking (typing) only on behalf of myself. I don't take a National office until January 1st. So the following is in no way endorsed by anybody, past or present, from the VCA. Here we go:
First off, how many raffles are held to bring in only the cost of the prize itself? None, of course. That would be absurd. Raffles are designed to raise money for an organization. Pretty simple. Now this particular raffle is for a VERY unique vehicle that many people would love to own - whether it be for $100 or $15,000 (if that were really the tax amount). Does it appeal to all Viper owners? Of course not. And that is why it is the first raffle to be offered outside of the VCA. But what really kills me is that it is the
Viper owners that are complaining about it - and yet they are the
only ones that directly benefit from it. The key is to understand exactly what and why this raffle is what it is.
Quick - how much of your $100 annual dues go to the National VCA? Tick-tock, tick-tock. Give up? The answer:
Not a single penny from your annual dues goes to the National VCA. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Your dues go back to your regional clubs, VIPER magazine, membership badges, and club management (who is 100% JR Thompson - no VCA officers are paid a nickel). Yet the National VCA has to come up with funds for such things as Zone Rendezvous, VCA Notes ($38K), sponsorships like Viper Days ($15K), awards, banners, liability insurance for every member at every club event, membership renewal gifts, website expenses, additional management fees from JRT (800 number, flyers, etc.), board meetings, regional stipends, postage, conference calls, etc. Oh yeah, and raffle cars - often at MSRP plus any costs of customization.
So how much does the VCA spend? Well, according to the budget we received in April, the estimate for 2006 VCA expenses was
$314,217. And the estimated income?
$165,000. You do the math. So, where does the VCA come up with that $165,000 - much less the total amount of $314,217? Besides some minor categories like website advertising, VCA merchandise, and ads in VCA Notes - the raffles, of course. Without those raffles the VCA would cease to exist in a matter of seconds. So that brings us to this one.
Besides a handful of DC execs, how many people can call up the factory and tell them they want the very last car or truck off the line produced for that model? Very few, if any. If you
knew you could end up with that vehicle for $100 or even $83.34, would you take a shot at it - regardless of what it was? Maybe. And if you were a Mopar fan and this was a significant Mopar, even more likely.
Now let's say you run the VCA. And let's say DaimlerChrysler/SRT offered to sell you the very last Viper-engine truck ever made. Even better, it was in the crew cab version (family-sized) and in the limited Night Runner trim. Not only did it carry the #400 of 400 plaque (which offers yet another very interesting twist of trivia), but it was signed by the folks on the assembly line and various folks from Team SRT. Would you turn it down? Or would you jump all over it with the thought of raffling it off to raise much-needed funds for the club? Assuming you wanted your VCA to stay in business, you would jump all over it.
So then comes the question of how many tickets and at what price. Will all the Viper owners want a truck? Nope. So should we sell a lot less tickets than the typical 2000? Or should we make this opportunity open to other car enthusiasts besides Viper owners? The result is that your National Board of Directors was consulted and agreed to raise the number of tickets minimally and decrease the cost as well ($100 vs. $125). What we felt was a pretty reasonable thing considering that we raised the number of eligible buyers from roughly 5,000 to roughly 100,000 that might be interested. Mind you, we had to jump through numerous legal hoops to do it, but we succeeded.
Now here is the kicker: That money
directly benefits Viper owners in the VCA and nobody else. If anybody should be upset it should be the non-Viper owner: Joe Blow drops $250 and doesn't win the truck. Yet his $250 will go to benefit all those fat-cat Viper owners (tongue planted firmly in cheek). Are they complaining? Nope. I have let every car club I know of about this raffle and they were excited to get a shot at a significant "last of" vehicle. Hell, if I had a shot at the last Ford Lightning produced I would have bought tickets to that in a heartbeat - and I am not a Ford guy at all.
The bottom line is that the VCA offers a LOT of benefits for its members. And I suspect those benefits will continue to increase and become even more obvious. Including unique opportunities like this one. Now those benefits come at a substantial cost and the only way to cover that is with raffles. The VCA had the opportunity to acquire an incredible vehicle and jumped all over it. In order to assure that it sells well they offered it to nonmembers for the very first time. The idea is to keep the VCA strong and continue to underwrite major events, gifts, and numerous other direct benefits for our members. Greed? Absolutely not. The VCA wants to give back as much as possible to their members. Where else would it go?
Respectfully submitted,
Chris
PS. I would have been the first to buy tickets for this one but National Officers (or electees) cannot participate. Call me first if you win!
Big loss for Skip Barbers as well but Mazada certainly out maneuvers Dodge. 
