$103,000 pledge

Press, 6 December 1979, Page 10

$103,000 pledge

PA Wellington Social Credit members had pledged $103,000 so far to the Beetham Dwyer Foundation to fight the next two elections, said the league’s president (Mr Stefan Lipa). Social Credit’s National Finance Council recently started at Matamata a “whistle stop” fund-raising tour of New Zealand. The foundation has a target of $1 million — $500,000 to finance the 1981 election and $500,000 as a start for the 1984 campaign. Mr Lipa said it appeared that more than $200,000 would be pledged by Christmas. Fund-raising meetings have already been held at Matamata. Hastings, Feilding, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Nelson, and Wellington. Two further meetings will be held in Auckland and Whangarei. Social credit is employing an Australian fund-raising consultant, Mr Gerald Compton, who told a news conference he was getting a set fee of $52,000. The employment of the consultants caused controversy at the league’s conference this year, but Mr Lipa said he believed any disquiet had gone. Southland, an area where; there had been reservations about engaging professional fund-raisers, had actually produced the highest average individual pledges. Mr Lipa said the $103,000 had come from 84 individual pledges and worked out at more than $lOOO a person over a three-year period. No approach for funds has been made yet to nonmembers in business firms. Mr Compton said he budgeted for about 5 per cent of people who made pledges reneging.