Seeking sponsors for placing Bhagavad Gita at Motels
1,017 Views / EMail This Post / Print This Post / Home » Seeking sponsors for placing Bhagavad Gita at MotelsMilan Doshi:
Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obeisance, All glories to Shrila Prabhuapada!
Under the guidance of H G Vaisesika Prabhu, ISKCON of Silicon Valley (”ISV”) has recently started a program of placing soft bound English language editions of Bhagavad-Gita in hotel/motel rooms, similar to the placing of Holy Bibles by the Gideons. We started this “Pancajanya Project” in April 2008, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area, but we have already received a great deal of positive feedback from owners and guests alike. We have therefore decided to expand the program throughout the United States.
We have already placed many thousands of Bhagavad-Gitas, and are now poised to expand the program geometrically. Prominent motel owners, especially the Patels, have whole-heartedly welcomed and supported this program. We have already placed Bhagavad-Gitas in the following chains, among others:
Ø Howard Johnson
Ø Holiday Inn
Ø Quality Inn
Ø Best Western
Ø Days Inn
Ø Comfort Inn
Ø Super 8
Since beginning the project in April, 2008, we have distributed 5,600 Bhagavad-Gitas, which amounts to an average of 509 per month. We expect this number to increase dramatically as we reach out to hotel/motel owners nationwide.
We have recently contacted Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association (“AAHOA”). Representing more than 8,700 members, AAHOA is one of the leading forces in the hospitality industry and one of the most powerful Asian American advocacy groups. Together the members own more than 22,000 hotels, which have 1 million rooms representing over 50 percent of the economy lodging properties and nearly 37 percent of all hotel properties in the United States. They have agreed to give us a booth at their upcoming Annual Convention. This booth for 2 days will cost us approximately $3000. This is a reduced price for Non-profit organizations. We also need to print brochures, flyers, etc. and take care of other incidental costs, including the distribution of sample books to 3,000 convention attendees. Devotees will fly to Washington DC at their own expense, but still other expenses needs to be covered.
We expect many thousands of Bhagavad-Gitas to be distributed during this and future conventions. Each book we distribute contains a label for follow-up communication with readers. We have received glowing testimonials from guests who first contacted ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada by reading the ‘Bhagavad-Gita As It Is’ they found in their rooms.
While our goal is to eventually cover the cost of the books through donations from the motel owners themselves (the BBT price for softbound Bhagavad-Gitas is only $2.50 each), we find that for the time being we must offer the books for free to those owners who are not willing to pay for their books. First, we have to overcome some reluctance or fear that Christian guests or even franchise owners might react negatively to their providing Bhagavad-Gita alongside the Holy Bible in their U.S. motel rooms. Second, these small businessmen are accustomed to receiving Gideon Bibles for free, and many would be willing to take the chance of allowing us to place the books but are not ready to cover our costs in supplying them. (Other motel owners have been proud to pay for their own books and even to contribute something extra to help fund the project). For owners who are not willing to cover the BBT wholesale price of the books, we supply the books “as available” on a first to order basis.
We humbly request assistance in this great cultural and spiritual project. We need a lot of funds to actually implement this project and to eventually realize our goal of making it self-sustaining. By donating, you directly participate in helping make Srila Prabhupada’s books known all over the world. Such activity is not only extremely pleasing to Srila Prabhupada, but is the highest welfare work for humanity at large, and is at the cutting edge of the worldwide Sankirtan Movement of Lord Caitanya.
You can help us cover the costs of attending the upcoming convention in Washington, D.C., contribute the cost of a specific number of books, or even sponsor the placing of books in specific motels from which we have unfulfilled orders, as follows:
Sponsor Bhagavad Gita for Motels
Hotel/Motel
No. Of Books
Cost
Ramada Limited, Santa Rosa, CA
40
$100
Best Western, Willits, CA
56
$140
Super 8 Motel, Willits, CA
50
$125
America’s Best Value, Willits, CA
20
$50
Old West Inn, Willits, CA
20
$50
Pepperwood, Willits, CA
22
$55
Best Western, Cloverdale, CA
70
$175
Super 8 Motel, Cloverdale, CA
50
$125
Vagabond, Ukiah CA
50
$125
Economy Inn,Ukiah, CA
50
$125
General Sponsorhip
Sponsor 1 Case (56 books) Soft-bound Bhagavad-Gitas:
$140
Sponsor 5 Cases (280 books):
$700
Sponsor 10 cases (560 books):
$1,400
Membership at Vaikuntha level:
$5,001
Membership at Dwaraka level:
$11,111
Membership at Mathura level:
$25,001
Membership at Vrndavana level:
$51,001
Sponsor upcoming AAHOA’s motel convention at Washington DC
Cost of booth at upcoming AAHOA Convention:
$3,000
Cost of printing brochures, business return post cards and other convention-related advertising:
$2,000
Cost of 3,000 sample books to be distributed at convention:
$7,500
The Pancajanya Project is a branch of ISKCON of Silicon Valley, a non-profit religious corporation. All donations to this project are fully tax deductible. Tax receipts will be provided upon request.
In addition, if you know any others who might like to contribute to this noble effort, or if you know any hotel/motel owners who might be interested in placing books in their rooms, please ask them to contact us. If you would like to participate in some other way, or if you have any ideas or suggestions as to how ISKCON of Silicon Valley can expand or improve this project, we would greatly appreciate hearing from you. Kindly email me at milan.doshi@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving your help and suggestions.
Thanks and regards,
Your servant,
Milan Doshi
Some Testimonials:
Terrence, A guest who read Bhagavad Gita at a motel “I got my first Gita in a hotel room and ever since I read the first verse my life has been ever increasingly in Krsna Consciousness. Life is a journey back to Krsna. Peace .”
Jitubhai Patel, owner of Holiday Inn, Ukiah, CA : “We have replaced many Bhagavad Gitas in the room that the guests have taken along with them.”
Dilip Patel, Manager , See Breeze Motel, Pacifica, CA : “One of our guest, a middle age lady, approached me at the reception counter and asked me if she could take the Bhagavad Gita along with her. She said that she picked up this book (Bhagavad Gita) just out of curioussity as she was not able to sleep at night. After reading it she found it so profound that she could just not put it down. I gladly allowed her to take Bhagavad Gita along”.
Nilesh P, Manager, Super 8, Sacramento : “I often see guests coming in for breakfast with Bhagavad Gita in hand and reading it while they are in the lobby or in the reception room. It is satisfying to know that I have contributed in spreading this knowledge.”
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This is actually a tremendous initiative, and great credit goes to the inspiration of Milan Doshi and Dilip Patel for their determined effort to make this motel Gita program a success.
Yesterday after book distribution I met with Kiritbhai Patel and his wife, one of Milan and Dilip’s satisfied “customers” who own the Capri Motel in Santa Cruz. They told me their American motel guests frequently tell them how much they appreciate the Bhagavad-Gita in the room and ask if there is an address where they can write to buy one. The guests are very grateful when Kiritbhai tells them they may keep it, and that he will replace it in the room.
[I am wondering whether we should put smart boxes in the motel lobbies so the guests can give donations on the spot if they are inspired to do so.]
After our meeting Kiritbhai asked me if there was anything further he could do, and I told him that he should collect testimonials from guests who have enjoyed the books. I should give him a special “guest book” for the purpose of collecting such testimonials and forwarding them on to Dilip Prabhu for use in future advertising and promotion.
Santa Cruz is a beachside college town, about a 40 minute drive over a coastal mountain range from San Jose. Not many Indians live there, compared to the burgeoning population of Indian engineers and entreprenuers in Silicon Valley.
But Kiritbhai told me that are more than 50 Gujurati motel owners in Santa Cruz who regularly gather for religious observances (I assume they are mostly Pusti Marg followers of Sri Vallabhacarya). He encourages them to take Gitas for their rooms, too.
There are over 1 million hotel/motel rooms in the United States, and more than 50% are Indian owned (mostly by Patels like Kiritbhai). There is no reason Dilip and Milan should not succeed in soon placing hundreds of thousands of Gitas in U.S. hotel rooms, and many guests will read and appreciate them.
Dilipbhai Patel Prabhu is himself a hotel owner and a stalwart member of the ISV congregation. Milan Doshi Prabhu is not a motel owner but is a very dedicated and sincere servant of Srila Prabhupada’s book distribution.
I am going to the AAHOA convention in April with them. This organized effort they are spearheading will do great things. Srila Prabhupada’s books should be in every hotel or motel room, and this can very easily become a reality. Many, many people will be inspired by these books.
I am actually getting very excited about the prospect of this AAHOA Trade Show/Convention, but a little worried that we might get more orders than we are capable of filling. :-)
Nitai-Krpa Prabhu designed some excellent brochures and business cards and business-reply post cards. Our plan is to insert these materials into 3,000 Bhagavad-Gitas and to have one such paperback Gita distributed to each person registered for the trade show.
[When you come up to the registration desk to go inside, you are given a name tag and a bag of literature and other goodies by the Convention organizers. Inside each such bag will be a paperback “Bhagavad-Gita As It Is”, hopefully full of materials about this project.]
The website should soon be up and running: www.MotelGitas.com
If there are any volunteers in Washington D.C. area who can help stuff the inserts into the 3,000 Bhagavad-Gitas, they should get in touch with Lokadyaksha Prabhu. The Gitas should have already arrived yesterday, and the inserts are set to arrive around April 7th or so.
The completed Gitas, whether stuffed or not, must be delivered to the Convention organizers by April 15th, so there is an urgent need for those who can volunteer some time before April 15th to insert brochures, business cards and business-reply post cards into the 3,000 Gitas, if that can be arranged.
I was excited to learn yesterday that His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu will be attending the Convention (April 22-25). Therefore this program is assured of success. This is a visionary project for enlightening the world through distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books, and there is greater visionary (or practical implementer of such vision) than Vaisesika.
The actual convention itself will be in Oxon Hill, MD, just south of the southernmost part of D.C., across the river from Alexandria, VA.
I am wondering if there are any devotees in that area (or anywhere in the greater D.C. area) that would be able to offer me a place to stay for the evenings of April 22nd - 24th.