To the owner of XXXX:                                                                                  January 27, 2006

            Hello, my name is Michael Varley and I’m a senior at Geneseo.  This semester, my final one at the college, I’m working on a term-long sculpture project with the major theme behind it being the concept of community.  The project is broken up into two parts, with the first part requiring the help of the community I’ve formed while at Geneseo and the second part directly involving every single student and faculty member on campus.  You are receiving this letter because over the course of my four years at Geneseo, XXXX has become a part of what I consider my Geneseo community.
           
I assure you this is not a bulk letter to every business in Geneseo.  I believe very much in artistic integrity, and such a practice would go directly against the entire concept of my project.  Every business that receives this letter has become apart of my Geneseo community through repeated patronage.  I believe very strongly in and am sincerely thankful for every business that receives this letter. 

The first part of my project, the part involving my personal Geneseo community (which includes students, faculty, and businesses), is a fundraiser for the second part of my project.  What I’m working on currently is collecting 150 photographs and testimonials from all different people I have formed bonds while at Geneseo.  The testimonials basically state why I would do a good job with the sculpture project if given the chance.  The next step is to create 150 posters with these testimonials and hang them up all over campus.  Finally, I’m going to set up a booth in the library for a month and sell ‘scavenger hunt’ lists for 1 dollar each, where students can buy a list and search campus looking for the posters on the list.  The first two or three people to turn in a completed list will get a prize. 

This is where I need your help: not through donations but through prizes.  What I’m requesting from you are gift certificates to give out to the winners of the scavenger hunt.  Twenty-dollar gift certificates would be ideal, but any amount is appreciated.  While I can’t offer much in return, here’s what I can promise:

--XXX’s name on a “Sponsored By” sign that will be up at the booth at all times.
--A list of sponsors at the bottom of every related email I send for this semester.
--The publicity of 150 posters scattered around campus
--The sincere gratitude of a crazy art student and XXX patron. 
           
            My email address is xxx and my phone number is (xxx)-xxx-xxxx.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions.  If I have yet to speak with you in person, I will try to do so sometime in the next several days.  The ‘scavenger hunt’ phase of this project starts Feb. 13, so there is no need for urgency.  If you have any suspicions that my intentions for this project are not genuine, please contact the professor supervising me during this project, Dan Dezarn, at xxx. 

I genuinely thank you for your time and consideration.
           
                                    Sincerely,
                                    Mike Varley